Poker winner 2007: meet the poker winner of 2007. Poker, online poker, poker tournaments

Harrah's Announces 2006 World Series of Poker Schedule

2005-10-27T01:47:00.000-07:00

All you ever wanted to know about 2006 World Series of Poker, but you were afraid to ask for :-) WSOP is scheduled, for the second year in a row, at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in fab Las Vegas.

From biz.yahoo.com
Satellites and live action begins June 25, 2006, and the $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold'em World Championship Event starts July 28, 2006. In all, the 2006 World Series of Poker will consist of 44 separate events in which players can compete for coveted World Series of Poker gold bracelets.

"The World Series of Poker is the most prestigious poker tournament in the world and every poker enthusiast is invited to enter and become part of its time-honored tradition," said Jeffrey Pollack, Harrah's vice president of sports and entertainment marketing. "We're thrilled to be back at the Rio. Last year, the team there did a magnificent job and we know that players and fans alike will be treated to an outstanding experience in 2006."

Last year's World Series of Poker shattered all participation and prize money records for a live poker tournament. The 45 events generated 32,341 player entries and more than $106 million in gross prize money. Joseph Hachem of Melbourne, Australia, won the World Series of Poker Championship and an unprecedented $7.5 million.

Harrah's also announced the Rio will host the Second Annual World Series of Poker Lifestyle Show July 27 through July 30. A trade show featuring exhibitors from around the globe, the World Series of Poker Lifestyle Show will showcase a broad array of new poker products, websites, books and clothing. Last year, more than 50,000 people, including celebrities and athletes, visited the show.

The complete schedule of 2006 World Series of Poker events is as follows:

Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV

Date Day Time Event # Event Name Buy-In
25-Jun-06 Sunday 9:00 AM Satellites/Live Action
begins
26-Jun-06 Monday 12 noon 1 Casino Employee No-Limit $500.00
Event
27-Jun-06 Tuesday 12 noon 2 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
28-Jun-06 Wednesday 12 noon 3 Pot-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
29-Jun-06 Thursday 12 noon 4 Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
30-Jun-06 Friday 12 noon 5 Short Handed (6/table) $2,500.00
No-Limit Hold'em
1-Jul-06 Saturday 12 noon 6 No-Limit Hold'em $2,000.00
2-Jul-06 Sunday 12 noon 7 Limit Hold'em $3,000.00
3-Jul-06 Monday 12 noon 8 Omaha Hi-low Split $2,000.00
4-Jul-06 Tuesday 12 noon 9 No-Limit Hold'em $5,000.00
5-Jul-06 Wednesday 12 noon 10 Seven Card Stud $1,500.00
6-Jul-06 Thursday 12 noon 11 Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
6-Jul-06 Thursday 2:00 PM 12 Omaha Hi-low Split $5,000.00
7-Jul-06 Friday 12 noon 13 No-Limit Hold'em $2,500.00
8-Jul-06 Saturday 12 noon 14 No-Limit Hold'em $1,000.00
w/re-buys
9-Jul-06 Sunday 11:00 AM 15 Ladies Event No-Limit $1,000.00
Hold'em 1 day event
9-Jul-06 Sunday 12 noon 16 Pot-Limit Omaha $10,000.00
10-Jul-06 Monday 12 noon 17 No-Limit Hold'em $1,000.00
11-Jul-06 Tuesday 12 noon 18 Pot-Limit Hold'em $2,000.00
12-Jul-06 Wednesday 11:00 AM 19 Seniors No-Limit $1,000.00
Hold'em 1 day event
12-Jul-06 Wednesday 12 noon 20 No-Limit 2-7 Draw $5,000.00
Lowball w/rebuys
13-Jul-06 Thursday 12 noon 21 No-Limit Hold'em- $2,500.00
Short handed 6/table
14-Jul-06 Friday 12 noon 22 No-Limit Hold'em $2,000.00
15-Jul-06 Saturday 12 noon 23 Limit Hold'em $3,000.00
15-Jul-06 Saturday 2:00 PM 24 Omaha Hi-low Split $3,000.00
16-Jul-06 Sunday 12 noon 25 No-Limit Hold'em $2,000.00
Shootout
17-Jul-06 Monday 12 noon 26 Pot-Limit Omaha $1,500.00
18-Jul-06 Tuesday 12 noon 27 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
19-Jul-06 Wednesday 12 noon 28 Seven Card Stud $5,000.00
19-Jul-06 Wednesday 2:00 PM 29 Pot-Limit Hold'em $2,500.00
20-Jul-06 Thursday 12 noon 30 No-Limit Hold'em- $5,000.00
Short handed 6/table
21-Jul-06 Friday 12 noon 31 No-Limit Hold'em $2,000.00
22-Jul-06 Saturday 12 noon 32 Pot-Limit Hold'em $5,000.00
22-Jul-06 Saturday 2:00 PM 33 Seven Card Razz $1,500.00
23-Jul-06 Sunday 12 noon 34 No-Limit Hold'em $1,000.00
w/re-buys
24-Jul-06 Monday 12 noon 35 Seven Card Hi Low $1,000.00
Split
24-Jul-06 Monday 2:00 PM 36 Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
Shootout
25-Jul-06 Tuesday 12 noon 37 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
26-Jul-06 Wednesday see below Satellite Day
27-Jul-06 Thursday see below Media/Celebrity Event
and Satellite Day

28-Jul-06 Friday 38 No-Limit Texas Hold'em $10,000.00
World Championship
Event
28-Jul-06 Friday 12 Noon Day 1A 2000 play down to 800
29-Jul-06 Saturday 12 Noon Day 1B 2000 play down to 800
30-Jul-06 Sunday 12 Noon Day 1C 2000 play down to 800
31-Jul-06 Monday 12 Noon Day 1D 2000 play down to 800
1-Aug-06 Tuesday 12 noon A + B 1600 to 700
2-Aug-06 Wednesday 12 noon C + D 1600 to 700
3-Aug-06 Thursday Day off for main event
3-Aug-06 Thursday 10:00 AM 39 No-Limit Hold'em $1,000.00
1 day event
4-Aug-06 Friday 12 noon ABCD Play 1400 down to 600
5-Aug-06 Saturday 12 noon Play 600 down to 300
5-Aug-06 Saturday 10:00 AM 40 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
6-Aug-06 Sunday 12 noon Play 300 down to 150
6-Aug-06 Sunday 10:00 AM 41 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
7-Aug-06 Monday 12 noon Play 150 down to 60
7-Aug-06 Monday 10:00 AM 42 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
8-Aug-06 Tuesday 12 noon Play 60 down to 27
8-Aug-06 Tuesday 10:00 AM 43 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
9-Aug-06 Wednesday 12 noon Play 27 down to 9
9-Aug-06 Wednesday 10:00 AM 44 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
10-Aug-06 Thursday 12 noon Final Table

General Information:

Lifestyle Show begins on July 27 and concludes on July 30. For vendor information, please call 702-777-2756.

Super Satellite Schedule:
$230 buy-in Super Satellites will take place daily at 3 p.m.
$1060 buy-in Mega Super Satellites will take place nightly at 7 p.m.

Super Satellite Days on July 26 and July 27:
$230 buy-in Super Satellite will take place at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
$1060 buy-in Mega Super Satellite will take place at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Second Chance Tournament:
$540 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournaments will take place daily at 5 p.m.
$225 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournaments will take place nightly at 11
p.m.

The following percentages will be withheld from each buy-in for each
event:

Buy-in Take-Out
$500 10%
$1,000.00 9%
$1,500.00 9%
$2,000.00 9%
$2,500.00 8%
$3,000.00 8%
$5,000.00 6%
$10,000.00 6%

Poker updates: poker and online poker October, 25th

2005-10-25T03:37:00.000-07:00

Well... Let's start with something about me :-) Recently, I add new pictures to my Poker group on Yahoo, so feel free to give a look there! These are just a few previews of my pics:

Now, time for poker as usual...

My top-pick of the day... This transcript of Phil´s interview with Dale Blasingame has one of the highest density of usefulness per sentence I ever found in poker articles. If you wanna listen the POKER VERB from the POKER CHAMP himself, check http://cctvimedia.clearchannel.com/woai/audio/hellmuth1.MP3

Serious Poker Advice from Phil Hellmuth

From www.woai.com, by Dale Blasingame

Wow.

Did you catch the show Phil Hellmuth put on at the World Series main event this year? ESPN aired Mount Hellmuth's eruption this past Tuesday. It was the "Poker Brat" at his finest. At one point, he even asked an opponent if he knew how to spell poker.

Not all that unusual if you've followed Hellmuth's career. Fortunately, I got a head's up to watch the episode from the man himself, just four days earlier.

Yes, I partied with Phil Hellmuth last Friday night. It was up in Austin... and I guess I didn't really party WITH Phil. I was AT a party with Phil. It was thrown by Green Tie Poker and featured a seminar by the nine-time world champ.

The funniest part? Hellmuth came dressed as Phil Hellmuth. Black windbreaker (it was 85 degrees outside), headphones (it was inside a loud bar) and sunglasses (yeah, the bar was dark).

In real life, Hellmuth's a cool guy. He was funny, sarcastic and, of course, he knows his poker. After giving the crowd of about 250 some great insight into his victory at the Heads Up Championship (seen on News 4 WOAI), he took a few questions.

First topic: How do you build your bankroll to become a professional player?

Phil's key - don't go crazy.

"I think the way to do it is to start in a very small game. That's the way I did it," Hellmuth said. "I would play a $0.50 ante, no-limit hold 'em game. I could just sit there and wait forever. I was in the position where $20 meant a lot to me. The guys at the table...$20 didn't mean anything to them. So I would just sit there and very patiently build my bankroll. All of a sudden, I'd be up $300 or $400 and I'd have all that in front of me and they'd want it match it because it didn't matter to them. So I'd play a patient game and I'd play in situations where I could afford to wait. I think too many people bust themselves in one day, one month or maybe a two month period. You should never lose all your money in a one month time frame. Yet many people do it in one week or one day. Playing professional poker is not easy. I've been very blessed and very lucky and I have a good constitution for it. When I got low on money, I didn't start doing drugs or drinking or freak out. I always thought 'there's this really bright future coming.' I could really see it. So I could be depressed in the moment or I could be really happy about this wonderful future coming. I kind of like having a little pressure on me, so I have a good temperament to do this. You have to build your money slowly at first. Then you work your way up the limits. If you're a great player, you're going to get to the biggest games, don't worry. Some people try to take shortcuts and never make it there. Work your way up and as you get to each level or limit, make sure you're learning new things."

Second topic: Ever wonder what kind of cash games the top pros play?

Let's just say they're games I will probably never see in my lifetime.

"In Aruba, we were playing $200-$400 triple draw 2-7. It's a low-ball game that's been all the rage among the high-end players," Hellmuth said. "I also played no-limit hold 'em down there and won like $16,000 an hour. I should have won more but I folded a winner for a lot of money."

Third topic: What's the difference between online and real-life tournaments.

Obviously... there are plenty.

"The ultimate in fast is probably the online, ten-player tournament. The ultimate in slow is the main event of the World Series of Poker," according to Hellmuth. "So you have ten minutes versus ten days. A big difference, right? There's also about 5,500 more people at the World Series. So it changes your strategy. Online you can take a lot more chances. You can be very aggressive and play more big pots. You know, you have to be lucky at some point in an online tournament. You might wait for KQs and put it all in and hope your opponent has KJ or AJ and you can outdraw them...where in the real world you can just sit there and fold forever. Slow tournament...play slow. Fast tournament...play fast. I have fun at both. I wish we had a World Series of Poker every day, especially since Chan and Doyle got #10 and I didn't."

Final topic: How can you tell when someone is bluffing?

Phil's answer - It's all in the body language.

"It does seem like amateurs, when they miss the flop, they lean back in their chair," said Hellmuth. "When they hit the flop, they lean forward. As if, 'I hit it, I'm getting ready to act,' as if, 'I missed, I'm getting ready to fold.' You would think people would be able to crack that, right? We act the same way as monkeys...when they do the tests and the studies. It's really ingrained in us. I talked to an expert with the FBI and he told me it's impossible to bluff and do this (makes steeple formation with his hands in front of his mouth). If you're going to bluff and you're going to do the steeple, it's impossible without your mouth moving. I tried it...and I think I was able to bluff with the steeple. But the day I figured that out, which was two months ago, I went to the Bicycle Club and every time I bluffed like that and they folded even quicker. So there's something there in their mind. I'm giving them a false tell...so that's a really good one."

After the seminar and Q&A session, Hellmuth stuck around and played in a shootout with some players who qualified online.

My advice? Take the Hellmuth you see on TV with a grain of salt. He himself even admitted this "bad boy of poker" persona has earned him millions and millions of dollars in endorsements. Sure, he's an emotional guy and those outbursts probably aren't planned. But in person, Phil Hellmuth comes across as a good guy... and we all know he's a hell of a poker player.

Well done Earl! Hope I am gonna make it, too, in 2007 :-)

Earl's Excellent Poker Adventure - Day Six

From PokerNews, by Earl Burton
Well, I did it. I made it to the final table of a World Poker Tour tournament!

Granted, it isn't the way that I truly want to. While being a tournament reporter can be an exciting life, you have about four days of true tedium to work through to get to those moments of excitement. When you are at the tables, playing for the opportunity to win large sums of money, those moments of excitement can be more frequent! So while I didn't make it to the WPT Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship as a player, at least I was there as a reporter!

There's a lot of work that goes into these tournaments that you see on TV. The crowd was seated at about 5PM, but the tournament wasn't set to start until seven. The two hours were spent taking crowd shots and filming the WPT Season Four commercial that you should be seeing soon on the Travel Channel. The players all arrived around 6:30 and waited to get their battery packs and microphones on and, around 7:30 in the evening, we actually started the final table of the tournament. It shaped up like this:

Seat 1: Longtime poker player Tony Grand, short stacked with 118,000 chips
Seat 2: Veteran high stakes cash game master Minh Ly, chip leader with 3,056,000 chips
Seat 3: Former World Champion Dan Harrington, 2,937,000
Seat 4: Las Vegas poker player Don Zewin, 552,000
Seat 5: WPT Mirage champion Gavin Smith, 1,368,000
Seat 6: Denmark's Jan Sorensen (2005 WSOP Seven Card Stud Champion), 370,000

This was probably one of the most professional laden final tables of the WPT's history. It could have been better with Barry Greenstein, who finished tenth, and Chris Ferguson (out in eleventh), but the men who worked their way to this prestigious seat at the Bellagio definitely brought some serious poker skills along with them. With three serious short stacks, we at least figured that they would be quickly eliminated and then settle in for a long battle.

We had barely gotten started when, on Hand 8, Tony Grand decided it was time to make a stand. Tony was pretty much the story of the entirety of the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship. At 81 years old, he has played poker for his entire life and, to date, this has been his finest achievement, in addition to being the oldest final table player in WPT history. After pushing in, both Minh Ly and Jan Sorensen both called him. When the board came down 2-7-5-10-Q, Minh bet out and forced Jan from the pot. When the cards were turned up, we kept Tony around for more poker (to the delight of the audience) when his Q-9 barely outraced Minh's Q-8, tripling him up.

Eleven hands later, after Gavin Smith raised the pot, Grand was all in again. After Don Zewin came all-in over the top, Gavin dropped his hand and the race was on between two Las Vegas poker playing veterans. Tony held the edge with his pocket tens, but Don came with an A-Q for the battle. An Ace on the flop and an unnecessary Ace on the river sealed the end of the night for Tony Grand, in sixth place for $96,560.

"I really didn't want to take him out," I heard Gavin Smith say later. Two hands previous to this, Gavin and Tony locked up and Tony drew out a flush on him. He was honestly somewhat relieved not to be the person who knocked the octogenarian from the event! As it was, it was another Vegas veteran, Don Zewin, who did it.

It wouldn't be long before our next departure would occur. Jan Sorensen showed that his skills in the game extended far beyond Seven Card Stud by getting to this final table and, with a stack withering from the antes and blinds, found a hand to go with. He pushed all in on Hand 23 with his pocket fives, only to see Don Zewin call him. Zewin showed a dominant hand with pocket sevens and, once the board provided no help for Jan, he left the Fontana Ballroom in fifth place with $137,940.

This was less than an hour into the event, and we would get into the true nature of poker. For the next four plus hours, there was no one eliminated from the game. Gavin Smith, who is truly one of the bright stars of the future of the game, launched into an ultra-aggressive style that, at one point, captured him more than half the chips left in the game. Don Zewin showed the skills honed in Las Vegas as, repeatedly, he put his tournament life on the line and came out the victor. Both "Action Dan" and Minh repeatedly battled with their other two table mates, but were unable to gain a significant advantage. We went through two level ups before the action heated up tremendously.

With the blinds at 100K/200K with a 20K ante on Hand 135, Dan Harrington decided it was time to play. He raised the pot to 600K, prompting an all in move from Don Zewin. Zewin only had approximately 400,000 more chips, so Harrington made the pot odds move when he called. Dan turned up a very un-Harrington-like hand of the 9-7 of clubs, which was dominated by Don's pocket nines. Zewin had to have hated the flop of 4c-7-Kc and, with a blank turn, was sucked out by the former World Champion when a ten of clubs hit the river. Zewin, who had played tremendously throughout the entire tournament, was eliminated in fourth worth $189,630.

The very next hand would lead to the next elimination. Minh moved all in from the button and, after deliberating for several minutes, Gavin Smith called him from the big blind. Minh's K-8 shrunk in comparison to Gavin's A-7 but, once a King hit the flop, Gavin was crippled to the point that he was all in on the next hand. Harrington moved a raise in to force out Minh and turned up another interesting hand, the 8-4 of spades. Gavin had to like his chance as, fitting of the namesake of the tournament, he turned up the 10-2 of hearts (the Doyle Brunson). This time, however, there was no magic in the hand as Dan hit an eight on the flop and added a four on the turn to send Gavin home in third with $327,610 for his efforts. It was obvious in looking at Gavin, once he was away from the table, that he was truly devastated. In both cases, he had got his money in with the best hand and, both times, he came away the victim instead of the victor. Close friend and confidant Erick Lindgren, who sat in the audience and sweated his compatriot, provided some condolence on the unfortunate turn of events.

Down to two, the chip counts looked like this:
Dan Harrington: 3.375M
Minh Ly: 5.020M

It was nearly over on the next hand. Harrington raised the pot and, when Minh moved all in, called. A more typical Dan Harrington hand of A-J covered Minh's K-J and, when the board blanked out, Harrington captured the chip lead. It was Ly's turn to double on the next hand and we continued the heads up battle for a few more hands.

The two traded the chip lead back and forth and, after a level up to 150K/300K (30K ante), the final hand came. On Hand 151, Minh moved all in and Dan called him. Harrington had the dominant hand of Ah-5c to Ly's Jc-3h. The poker gods graced Minh with a three on the flop and, once the drama of the turn and river blanks, Minh Ly was the champion of the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship, taking the $1,000,060 first place check! Dan Harrington was down in second, but the $620,370 was a nice consolation prize.

Ironically, it was a three that Minh had lost to when he was playing Doyle Brunson heads up at the World Series this year when Doyle captured his tenth bracelet. Perhaps there was some poetic justice in the factor that Minh won Doyle's tournament by defeating his opponent with a three as well! Minh was visibly shocked and stunned during the awards ceremony, with Mike Sexton, Vince Van Patten and the new and lovely (and better than previous) hostess Courtney Friel when he was able to utter, "I wanted to gamble...and I did. I'm happy I won!"

Once the tournament was over, the press corps relaxed as well. I was able to sit back with my peers and enjoy our week of work, including toasting Minh himself as he came by our table. I sat back and truly enjoyed the thrills of poker and life in Las Vegas! In the epilogue to this saga, I'll look at many of the things I came to learn during my time in Vegas and, perhaps, may answer some questions you've been wondering about as my Excellent Poker Adventure comes to a close!

This is a kinf od dejavu´ for most of us...

Why No-Limit Poker is Better Than Poker

From www.andpop.com, by Joshua Heilpern

If you are a tight-aggressive player, you need to consider playing No-Limit Hold 'em if you aren't already. With proper play, not only can you expect to increase your hourly win rate, but you can make it much more difficult for your opponents to draw out on you.

First of all, let's explain the fundamental differences between Limit and No-Limit. In Limit Hold 'em, you can only raise the amount of the big blind and most cardrooms and online poker rooms will cap the betting at 3 raises. In No-Limit Hold 'em, the only betting rule is that the minimum be at least the size of the big blind. You can bet your whole stack if you want to.

Sure, it takes more knowledge, experience, and courage to play No-Limit (NL) well, but it will pay off for you if you play it right.

To get you started, the standard raise in NL is 3-4 times the big blind. After the flop, a good bet to make when you have a strong hand is about the size of the pot. If you're looking for information on the flop, you might consider a bet of 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the pot. You also might consider making only a small bet if you're holding a monster hand and want to get called. Or you could always check-raise in that situation. Also be aware that the value of drawing hands that play well in limit games like K-J suited goes way down in NL play. Better hands to have are big pocket pairs or suited connectors.

So, why is it better to play NL? Simple: It's much easier to make a lot more money. Playing NL, you can afford to play only your strong hands. For example, in a two hour poker session you can play only one good hand and still make good money. You can more than double your stack on any given hand. In Limit poker, you have to constantly be winning pots to come out ahead. The blinds come around too quickly to sit on your hands. You have to work hard, play for a long time, and play your best game at all times to make good money at Limit poker.

Think about this: Most good poker authors will tell you that a good Limit player can expect to make about one big blind per hour. So, in other words, you can expect to make $10 an hour at a Limit $5/10 game if you play it right. On the other hand, if you buy-in for $500 at a $5/10 NL game, go all-in on your first hand with pocket Aces, get called by one opponent with pocket Kings and he doesn't improve, you've just won another $500 without breaking a sweat. That's an average of 50 hours of Limit gameplay.

Also, you can make your drawing opponents always go against the odds. In NL, you control the pot odds that your opponent is getting. If you see two suited or connecting cards on the board, betting the size of the pot into one opponent will make them go against the odds to draw. Sure, they're still going to hit their draws occasionally, but at least you made it a bad play for them to do so.

It takes the right personality to play at NL games. You can't be timid, and you have to know how much to bet at the right times. If you can't do that, then stick to Limit poker for now and come back to try NL if and when the time is right.

As a Limit player who converted to NL, I can tell you that it isn't too difficult to adapt your game. I can also tell you that after I learned to play NL, I never sat down at another Limit table. You can also tell you that after I learned to play NL, I never sat down at another Limit table.

NBC Poker event moves to Caesars

From www.pokernews.com, by Michael Friedman

Last year, NBC made major waves with its broadcast of "The National Heads-Up Poker Championship." The one-on-one tournament featured a college basketball-like, single elimination format and was held at the famous Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.

Ratings were solid for the inaugural tournament and sponsors were pleased with the hotly contested action on the felt. Although the six episodes were broadcast over the course of six weeks, there was no shortage of viewers as the grueling elimination matches reached on average, over four million viewers per broadcast.

But things have changed for the now annual event, as it moves location and sets up shop in Caesar's Palace's new poker room. This year's event features a total prize pool of $1.5 million, paying out $500,000 to the first place winner.

According to Harrah's Entertainment vice president of sports and entertainment marketing, Jeffery Pollack, the move made sense for the recently added venue. "This is a terrific addition to our portfolio of sports ventures. We're thrilled Caesar's Palace has joined with NBC Sports to showcase this increasingly popular event in Caesar's new poker room."

This year's coverage will expand to 10 hours, broadcast in six shows which will be telecasted on Sundays in April and May. Things are sure to be hotter this time around when "The Brat," Phil Hellmuth looks to repeat his first-place finish of a year ago. Hellmuth will have his work cut out for him as he takes on a field of 63 other top flight competitors like the legendary Doyle Brunson, the ever-intriguing Gus Hansen, and the man Hellmuth bested last year for the big cash, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson.

Senior vice president for NBC Jon Miller, believes this type of programming is what the public is looking for. "This event has special qualities that have enabled it to rise in the poker landscape and establish a uniqueness that the public can embrace. The head-to-head confrontation between players, who are now legitimate stars, provides compelling competition for players and makes for entertaining television," said Miller in a recent press release.

With an all-star line-up of players, the match-ups will be decided by the luck of the draw and should immediately raise the stakes for the players. They will have to be able to adjust styles on the fly for this old school, western style shootout.

ONLINE POKER

Some legal changes about internet poker and my usual review of generous online poker free rolls and prizes. Remember, take advantage of every single poker promotion you can, because winning is good, but winning money using money which aren´t ours, well... that´s priceless! :-)

Kasper continues Internet poker push

From AP (it stands for Associated Press, not Angel poker :-)

BISMARCK, N.D. - A lawmaker who advocated making North Dakota the first state to license Internet poker companies has been in demand as a speaker on the issue, making trips to Las Vegas, Montreal and the Caribbean island of Antigua this year.

Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, and four other North Dakota legislators went to Antigua for four days earlier this month on what they described as an unofficial trade mission. Their trip was paid for by the Antiguan government, they said.

Antigua licenses Internet poker companies, and Antiguan government statements on the trip focused on North Dakota's potential role in Internet gambling, including the possible use of the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to handle wagers.

Last September, Kasper was a featured speaker at the Casino Affiliate Convention in Las Vegas, which focused on Internet marketing for the gambling industry.

In June, he attended the annual Global Interactive Gaming Summit & Expo in Montreal, a conference organized by the River City Group of St. Charles, Mo. River City's chief executive officer, Sue Schneider, helped lobby for Kasper's Internet poker measure during the 2005 Legislature.

Kasper believes state licensing of poker Web sites is a potentially lucrative source of money for the state treasury, and industry officials who favored his bill said they were eager for U.S. regulation.

"I am not putting away the idea of getting into Internet gaming licenses in North Dakota," Kasper said. "The revenue we missed is too great to pass up."

Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands have approved bills allowing for state licensing and regulation of Internet poker sites, but have been wary of following through because of U.S. Justice Department statements that Internet gambling is illegal in the United States.

Kasper and the other four lawmakers who took the Antigua trip said a number of trade possibilities were discussed with government officials.

Fargo Reps. Ron Iverson, Blair Thoreson and Bette Grande and Bismarck Rep. Mark Dosch, all of whom are Republicans, went on the trip with Kasper.

Iverson, Thoreson and Dosch were co-sponsors of Kasper's Internet poker measure, which was approved in the state House before it was defeated, 44-3, in the North Dakota Senate last March.

"I wouldn't say it was for gaming," Grande said of the trip. "Was it part of it? Was it brought up? Yes."

Antigua, a tiny island nation west of the Dominican Republic, has a population of about 69,000 people. It covers 108 square miles, compared to Burleigh County's surface area of 1,633 square miles.

The country's gross national product is about $800 million, compared to North Dakota's gross state product of $21 billion.

North Dakota lawmakers who go on trips sponsored by other individuals, companies or organizations are not required to disclose them.

Sen. April Fairfield, D-Eldridge, introduced legislation this year to require lawmakers to disclose their travel reimbursements, and obtain permission beforehand to make any trip from the chairman of the Legislative Council. Sen. Bob Stenehjem, R-Bismarck, the Senate majority leader, is the council's present chairman.

The travel disclosure requirement was removed from the final version of the bill that the Legislature approved. Instead, the threshold at which a lobbyist must report spending on an individual legislator was increased from $50 to $60, and lobbyists' annual registration fees were raised from $20 to $25.

CelebPoker.com is Sending Players “Down Under” for the Opportunity of a Lifetime

From www.emediawire.com

The Australian Poker Championship is held at the world renowned Crown Casino in Australia. The 2005 main event pool was in excess of $2 Million Dollars, one of only a few tournaments outside the US to generate a seven figure prize pool.

(PRWEB) October 24, 2005 -- When the World Series of Poker replays have ended the world will look to Australia this January for the most exciting poker event to ever take place outside the US. The Aussie Millions is a tournament like no other. Players from all over the world will come to compete for a prize pool worth over $2 Million dollars. What makes the event so unique are the buy in options and levels and how many ways there are to qualify for a seat.

One option available to players and tournament hopefuls is winning a seat through www.CelebPoker.com. Every day players can get on the site and play in a qualifier for a mere $10. This is an unbelievable value considering the prize package offered by CelebPoker.com is valued at over $11,600. The details of the tournaments including times can be found at http://www.celebpoker.com/tournaments_featured.asp

The tremendous offer from CelebPoker.com is this; play at one of the low entry tournaments for $10 and win a chance to part of the Crown Poker Championships this year. This is a legitimate deal and no other poker room in the world is making it easier to qualify and attend. Like previous events and promotions, CelebPoker.com is rising to the top and claiming its stake as one of the premier poker rooms online.

The Australian Poker Championship is held at the world renowned Crown Casino in Australia. The 2005 main event pool was in excess of $2 Million Dollars, one of only a few tournaments outside the US to generate a seven figure prize pool. Next year looks set to be even bigger with a projected first prize of $1 Million Dollars! This is becoming one of the most prestigious poker events in the world. Don’t forget you will also have the opportunity to play against Joe Hachem in his home town of Melbourne. Hachem won the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event. You can play against the World Champion on his home ground and become your own international poker icon.

Players are finding this offer exciting and the amount of positive feedback can be seen by the number of hopefuls counting their chips and drawing for the straights at the CelebPoker.com tables recently. The action on CelebPoker.com is so real to life with their advanced software and interactive player chat. People from around the world are logging on and playing the site daily in various tournaments, ring games and celebrity events. What the Aussie Millions does for the poker world is provide an international event outside the World Series of Poker. What CelebPoker.com is doing is giving the average poker player a chance to use this skill and a bit of good fortune to move his game to a whole new level and gain a massive life experience opportunity.

$250,000 Awarded Online at Titan Poker's Jackpot Tournaments

From www.emediawire.com

Any player who wins six consecutive Fort Knox tournaments -- Titan Poker's newest Jackpot Sit 'N' Go promotion -- will win a $100,000 Jackpot Prize.

(PRWEB) October 24, 2005 -- $250,000 in Jackpot Prize money has already been awarded to poker players at the Jackpot Sit 'N' Go Tournaments of Titan Poker (http://www.titanpoker.com)-- one of the newest and fastest growing online poker rooms. Winners of consecutive Titan Poker's Jackpot Sit 'N' Go Tournaments, staged in conjunction with the iPoker network, take home huge Jackpot Prizes as large as $100,000.

Since their introduction a few months ago, nearly 60,000 Jackpot Sit 'N' Go Tournaments have been staged on the iPoker network, and 159 unique players have won Jackpot Prizes. A total of $250,000 in prizes have been distributed, with a number of individual players taking home over $30,000 each.

The Fort Knox Jackpot Sit 'N' Go Tournaments are the latest jackpot tournaments to be offered by Titan Poker. Any player who wins six consecutive six-player Fort Knox Jackpot Sit 'N' Go Tournaments will take home a Jackpot Prize of $100,000. Players who finish in first or second place in six consecutive Fort Knox tournaments will be awarded a $750 Jackpot Prize.

Already available at Titan Poker are the popular Rio and Maui Progressive Jackpot Sit 'N' Go Tournaments, which offer starting jackpots of $25,000 and $15,000 respectively. The Rio and Maui jackpots grow progressively each week if no player manages to win enough consecutive tournaments to take the jackpot prize.

More poker humor to start our poker week...

2005-10-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

Something light to start our poker week :-)

Poker humor evergreen: my fav. "Women playing poker"

Good, Evil, Order, Chaos and Truth at one poker table. Who is the winner?

(from www.launchpoker.com):
Order: Is each here? Does each have his opposite?
Chaos: I am here, but my opposite is you.
Order: Huh?
Evil: Don't let him bug ya'. We're here.
Truth: My opposite is not here.
Good: Is your opposite "Lies"?
Truth: My opposite is "Void". He couldn't make it.
Evil: : (snicker) Figures!
Order: Agh! How are we going to seat five! This table is made for six!
Evil: Just take out his chair and move over. Sheesh!
Good: I have the cards.
Evil: I've got the chips.
Truth: I have the beer.
Chaos: I have the cards!
Order: Shut up.

Order: Whose deal is it?
Evil: Do ya' gotta ask that EVERY time?
Truth: It is Good's deal.
Good: OK, five card draw...uh, everything is wild.
Evil: How can anyone win if everything is wild?
Good: No ONE can win, but we all can call ourselves winners if...
Order: I like this game.
Evil: This is pointless.
Truth: It is time to deal.
Good: Here we go! Your bet, Truth.
Truth: Five.
Order: Five and raise you five.
Evil: Don't you morons get it? It doesn't matter how much you bet!
Order: I like ten better.
Evil:(sigh) Call.
Chaos: I fold.
Evil: YOU CAN'T LOSE!
Chaos: I still fold.
Good: OK, I'll call. How many, Truth?
Evil: What's the point in taking more cards?
Truth: I will keep the cards I have.
Order: I will take two.
Evil: Why?!?
Order: I didn't like those.
Evil: None for me.
Chaos: I'll take six.
Good: Sorry, you folded. Dealer keeps his. Bets?
Evil: Oh, just get this over with.
Order: But now we have to bet!
Evil: Any money you put in, you're just gonna get back!
Truth: I am in agreement with Evil. Let us show our cards.
Truth: I have five aces.
Order: I have five aces of spades.
Chaos: I have a three.
Good: Please be quiet. I also have five aces. We all win.
Evil: Hold it, bub. Six aces, read'em and weep.
Good: Where did you get that card?
Truth: He stole it from Chaos.
Evil: You know the rules, boys. The pot's mine.
Good: That was a stupid game.
Order: Whose deal is it?
Truth: The dealer progression is opposite the deal. Chaos deals.
Chaos: Whee!
all but Chaos: (groan)
Chaos: Eleven card stud-hold'em with threes, eights, jacks, and kings wild...fives count as fours, fours count as nines, and queens don't count unless there is a prime numbered spade showing...
Order: I fold...

POKER JOKES: Party Poker Offers US Government Massive Signup Bonus

(from www.parttimepoker.com):
WASHINGTON DC - Government sources here confirmed today that PartyPoker.com has in fact extended a massive signup bonus offer to the US Federal Government.

According to representatives from Party, the UFSG is eligible for a 20% bonus up to $500 million on its initial deposit. "With so much talk of regulation, we thought it would be a good idea for the government to get to know us better", said Party Poker Host Mike Sexton. "We're sure that once they experience the thrilling action of over 40,000 simultaneous players and non-stop multi table tournaments, they'll come around."

Analysts believe that the cash-strapped US will consider the offer seriously. "That's 500 million they didn't have before, first off", contends Brian Smernag of the Cato Institute. "I mean all they have to do is play, what, a trillion raked hands, they get the bonus, plus whatever they make. And", Smernag added, "if they can convince Russia to sign up, the US could make a pretty sweet amount off the referral commission."

POKER JOKES: Aspiring Online Pro's Career Delayed By Inability to Come up With Unique Screen Name

(from www.parttimepoker.com):
SPRINGFIELD, IL - Aspiring online poker pro Jason McDonald had a simple plan - quit his day job, read every poker book he could get his hands on, and make a living playing online poker. Things turned out to be a little more complicated than he imagined.

"The quitting my job part was easy", McDonald reported. "I hated that stupid ass job anyhow. And buying the poker books, no problem there either. I just went to Amazon and maxed out my credit card buying anything with 'poker' in the title."

It was while McDonald waited for his books to arrive that the fatal flaw in his plan presented itself. "I figured while I was waiting for the books to come, I could just sign up at a few sites and poke around, get comfortable, figure out which one was for me", recalled McDonald. "Little did I know the shit I was in for. Turns out every single good screen name is, like, taken."

McDonald first attempted to register as 'teddykgb'. "I wanted a name that showed I knew what was up, that I wasn't some newbie", he said. After trying variations such as teddikgb, KGBTEDDY, ted_kgb, tdkgb123, tedeekaygeebee, all without success, Mcdonald moved on to other Rounders-related names: daWorm, WORM, worm_player, rounder_worm, grama, kgb_grama, mikedarounder, kanisch, and sorryjohnidontremember, to name but a few.

After exhausting Rounders-themed possibilities, McDonald focused on more generic names. "I tried like 60 fucking names with 'pro', you know, so people would know I was a pro - pokerpro, propokerpro, pro123, pro_of_poker, dapro, and nothing. I was like, shit. Then I tried the same combos but instead of 'pro' I swapped in 'rock' or 'nuts'. Nothing. All taken."

Actual online professional Rick Hastings sympathizes with Mcdonald's plight. "Choosing a cool, intimidating name is a very important step in becoming an online pro", said Hastings, who plays as rickh and made over fifty thousand dollars in 2004 playing 10-20 online. "Mike should definitely focus on getting a good name as soon as possible, and not worry about reading all those books he bought or fiddling around with annoying simulation software. He needs to get online and playing as soon as possible, preferably playing 10-20 at interpoker between 5pm and 12pm EST."

POKER JOKES: 4-8 Players Apparently Entertained By Rounders Quotes, Dealer Unamused

(from www.parttimepoker.com):
TUNICA, MS - An overwhelming majority of players seated at table 5 [4-8 limit hold 'em] in Tunica's Gold Strike poker room were apparently entertained by an unidentified player who spoke only in quotes from the movie Rounders, casino sources reported Tuesday.

"There was this guy sitting in the one seat", Gold Strike dealer Mason Brennan recounted, "and every five minutes, no fail, he would spit out at least one quote from Rounders. That wasn't the weird thing, I mean it was annoying, but not unusual. The weird thing was the other people at the table. They were laughing and nodding like they've never heard this shit before."

Other dealers and floor managers reported hearing the unidentified man issue such well-worn, context cued quotes such as "I'm sorry John, I don't remember" [when a player would ask him about a mucked hand], and "Women are the rake of life" [anytime a woman was mentioned in passing conversation]. As the night progressed, the man began affecting a vaguely Russian accent in an apparent attempt to mimic John Malkovich's character.

"When I left the table at 9, it was pretty tame", recalled Brennan. "Just your standard, cheesy-ass Matt Damon-spoken poker aphorisms. But by the time I got rotated back, say around 11, he's doing this horrible Russian accent, like 'Eet izz bheg joke eeneway. I am jahust paheeying you wiv your ohn mohnee from last thime I steek it in you'."

While Brennan gamely attempted to hide his disgust, players at the table continued to egg the man on, laughing and providing a variety of verbal and non-verbal forms of positive, encouraging feedback. With each laugh and cheer, Brennan became more concerned: "I was really afraid he was going to do the little screwing dance Teddy does when he says that. That would've been it. I woulda just clocked him, just made like I was reaching for his cards after a hand, and then BAM! I don't make that much here anyway, and I've got a buddy at the Commerce who can hook me up. Thankfully," Brennan added with a sigh. "It didn't come to that. He had to go to some tournament or something, racked up his chips, said 'Eye see ahl ov you lay-tar' and split."

"I swear", said Brennan, "if they ever make a sequel to that fucking movie, it will be the death of me. Well, probably the death of someone else first, by my hand, and then me."

My comment: I passed this test, what about you? Lol...

POKER JOKES: TOP 5 REASONS YOU'RE READY FOR THE WSOP

(from www.parttimepoker.com):
Last year the World Series of Poker had around 2500 players. Five reasons why you should be player 2501 :

1) Really, 2500 players is no different from 250 $5 sit and go tournaments at Party, and you money in those, like, all the time.

2) You have a pair of novelty sunglasses that would freak out even Greg Raymer.

3) You have bought every single poker book sold by amazon.com. On top of that, you have serious plans to read some of them. Eventually.

4) They say the WSOP is a collection of local champions, and you fucking dominate your weekly home game. Of course, there was that time your 8 year old sister checkraised you with a set, and that other time she bluffed you with 9 high, and a few times where you just quit in anger after she cracked the aces you didn't raise preflop with, and that game where you thought you had a flush but your novelty sunglasses caused you to misread your hole cards and last week where you just didn't get any cards, damnit - but other than that, you dominate.

5) The buttoned-down working world just doesn't get individuals like you. This is your ticket out of their square-ass world full of rules and responsibilities [and health insurance and retirement plans and regular pay, but man, don't forget those oppressive rules].

Poker: questions and answers

(from www.launchpoker.com):
Q: How can you tell a poker player is lying?
A: His chips are moving.

Q:What's the difference between a guy praying at a poker table and a guy praying in church?
A:The guy at the poker table means it.

Q: How do you get a professional poker player off your porch?
A: Pay him for the Pizza!

Q: What is the difference between a poker player and a dog?
A: In about ten years the dog quits whinning.

It's poll time! And usual poker news...

2005-10-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

I was suggested to start a poll, to see if you think I'll make it in 2007... Well, these options sounded funny so I decided to launch the poll. Let me know what's your opinion!!!

POLL - Will I be poker winner 2007?

Of course!

Maybe

Sorry Angel, I'll beat you at the final table

No, but I love you anyway :-)

From www.send2press.com

Everest Poker to Sponsor the Second Annual French Poker Tour

2005-2006 French Poker Tour to Culminate In 20,000 Euro Freeroll at Prestigious Aviation Club de France in Paris

MONTREAL, Quebec (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Everest Poker announces its sponsorship of the 2005-2006 French Poker Tour, a series of live and online poker tournaments culminating in the 20,000 Euro freeroll championship in January, 2006 at the Aviation Club de France in Paris.

"We're extremely excited about this affiliation," said Sandrine Dubois, Everest Poker's French Marketing Manager. "France has always been a huge market for us, and we're thrilled to help bring the French Poker Tour to poker players all over France." *(Photo Caption: Everest Poker online poker room.)

Professional and amateur poker players can qualify for the final in a number of ways:

* Live poker tournaments at 15 local clubs throughout France. The winner of each tournament wins a seat to the Paris final. The first event in Colombes, France on October 9 drew 115 players. Upcoming events take place in Tours, Lyon, Marne La Vall�e, Strasbourg and more.

* Online freeroll qualifiers at Everest Poker on October 22, November 5, November 19, December 3, December 10 and December 17, 2005. The winner of each freeroll at www.everestpoker.com wins a seat to the Paris final.

* Frequent play at Everest Poker. Qualified players with the most hands played at ring games in each of October, November and December will win a seat to the Paris final.

From www.launchpoker.com/

Mac Poker A Hot Ticket Item

Recently the online poker market found an under developed market in Macintosh computer owners who also wanted to play poker on the Internet, and responded by creating Mac-only versions of popular poker rooms. Now that there are more than one such locations for Macphiles to play at, the battle is on to win the most players.

Those companies who opened Mac Poker Rooms understood the loyalty quotient of the Macintosh phenomenon; over all, Mac users are willing to spend more money to get what they like, and what they like Mac-friendly programs. Once a company earns their business, Mac users are loyal repeat customers; as such, they are a valuable customer base to woo.

Two of the largest online poker rooms who are duking it out over market share are PokerRoom and Pacific Poker.

The new no-download software offered by the sites allows Mac users to play poker online without having to resort to expensive Windows emulation software. To get a feel for which site Mac users prefer, and online survey is being completed, with Pacific Poker currently in the lead. Final results will be reveled once one thousand users have taken the survey. However it turns out, the obvious care these and other sites show for pleasing the Mac public is a great sign for the future of online poker for Mac users.

From www.prnewswire.com

'National Heads-Up Poker Championship' Moves to Caesars Palace in New Deal

"The National Heads-Up Poker
Championship," which brings together 64 of the world's best players competing
in a unique one-on-one, single-elimination, bracket-style format, will move to
Caesars Palace starting in 2006, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET)
announced today. NBC will broadcast 10 hours of tournament action over six
shows next April and May.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20021220/LAF055LOGO)
The inaugural edition of the tournament generated solid ratings on NBC and
strong buzz in the poker community. This year's event, featuring a total purse
of $1.5 million, including a top prize of $500,000, will be contested March 3-
5 in the casino at Caesars Palace.
The first-ever "National Heads-Up Poker Championship," (NHPC), held at The
Golden Nugget in Las Vegas in March, generated big crowds at the casino plus
an average of four million home television viewers for each of six telecasts
(eight total hours) on NBC. Television audiences grew as the tournament
progressed, with a total audience of six million watching the finale on May
22, when Phil Hellmuth bested Chris Ferguson in the two-hour telecast.
"This is a terrific addition to our portfolio of sports ventures," said
Jeffrey Pollack, vice president of sports and entertainment marketing for
Harrah's Entertainment. "We're thrilled Caesars Palace has joined with NBC
Sports to showcase this increasingly popular event in Caesars' new poker
room."
The 2006 TV coverage will be expanded to 10 hours over six shows to be
telecast on Sundays in April and May. Hellmuth will defend his title against
many of the sport's most prominent players, with the field expected to include
legendary Hall of Famers Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, plus established stars
such as Howard Lederer and 2003 Player of the Year Erick Lindgren. Others
expected to compete include 2005 Poker Superstars champion Gus Hansen; 2003
World Series of Poker champion Chris Moneymaker; 2004 Player of the Year
Daniel Negreanu; 2004 World Series of Poker champion Greg Raymer; and 2005 and
National Heads-Up Poker Championship semifinalists Antonio Esfandiari and T.J.
Cloutier.
"This event has special qualities that have enabled it to rise in the
poker landscape and establish a uniqueness that the public can embrace," said
Jon Miller, Senior Vice President of NBC Sports, which created the event.
"The head-to-head confrontation between players, who are now legitimate stars,
provides compelling competition for players and makes for entertaining
television."
A blind draw will put the contestants into college basketball tournament-
like brackets that, because of the quality of the invitational field, produce
attractive match-ups between some of the best players in the world throughout
the competition. Tournament officials will conduct the draw at Caesars Palace
on Thursday evening, March 2, as part of a media event to be attended by the
64-player field.
"All the top players were excited last year when the 'National Heads-Up
Poker Championship' was announced," said Hellmuth, the youngest player to ever
win the World Series of Poker Main Event (24 years old in 1989). "Then the
event exceeded our expectations. This is the type of big-time stage that will
enhance poker's position as a mainstream institution for decades to come."
Further information on NHPC, including 2005 results, player biographies
and informational updates, is available at http://poker.nbc.com.

News about poker (and news about the site)

2005-10-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

THANKS FOR YOUR FEEDBACK about my Poker group on Yahoo and my restyled poker blog!!!

I am reading your email carefully. So, it seems you want to have more (poker) educational content on the blog, reviews of poker software and poker statistics, plus more frequent activity in the group and more pictures... Well, I'll see what I can do! Soon, you'll find new interesting content on the site, and the news will be joined by "history of poker" specials with my comments.

For now, let's give a look at what's new in the world of poker...

We start for the 1 zillion dollar question:

Freebies are always welcome :-)

"AOL, Harrah's Join Forces In World Series of Poker(R) Strategic Alliance"

www.prnewswire.com
World's Richest Poker Tournament and AOL Offer Free-Play Poker Games and
Chance to Win a Seat at Prestigious Tournaments

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harrah's License Company,
LLC, an affiliate of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., (NYSE: HET), announced
today it has joined forces with AOL to create a co-branded poker room for AOL
users featuring a suite of World Series of Poker free-play games and special
content.
As the exclusive online partner of the World Series of Poker, AOL.com (R),
the AOL (R) service and AIM (R) will feature free-play poker games for novice,
intermediate and advanced players; private poker rooms and tournaments;
behind-the-scenes reports from World Series of Poker events, and other content
designed to enhance the player experience and improve the prowess of poker
enthusiasts of every skill level.
"We're thrilled to pair the best brand in poker with the best brand in
online games and content," said Jeffrey Pollack, vice president of sports and
entertainment marketing for Harrah's Entertainment. "AOL's powerful reach will
help more people than ever before experience the fun, excitement and energy of
the World Series of Poker. This strategic alliance is an important foundation
for our growth strategy over the next 24 months."
"The renewed interest in poker has also been reflected on AOL.com, where
poker is constantly among the most popular games on our service," said Ralph
Rivera, vice president and general manager, AOL Games. "Joining forces with
Harrah's to create the most compelling World Series of Poker-branded poker
destination online is a great way to satisfy our users' interests in all
things poker."
AOL will be the only free-play Internet poker game offering in the United
States where, subject to applicable laws, 12 poker fans, 21 years of age or
older can win a free seat valued at $10,000 to play in the 2006 or 2007 World
Series of Poker Main Event.
In addition, one visitor to AOL per year will also win, subject to
applicable laws, a free seat at the World Series of Poker Tournament of
Champions, an annual tournament that brings together the world's best players.
The World Series of Poker, the world's richest and most prestigious poker
event, will take place next summer at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las
Vegas. During the 2005 World Series of Poker, more than $52 million in prize
money was awarded in the Main Event alone, and every player who advanced to
the final table won at least $1 million. The World Series of Poker is
televised exclusively on ESPN.

New Survey Reveals Continued Growth in Poker Interest
Mainstream interest in poker has increased significantly over the last
year. According to a recent study from AOL Games and SRBI Public Affairs,
almost half (47 percent) of Americans surveyed play poker in some form. Among
poker players, almost one in five (17 percent) say they have played poker
"more than ever before," and about a quarter (26 percent) have taken up the
game just in the past year.*
Furthermore, more than one-third of the poll respondents (37 percent)
watch poker events such as the World Series of Poker on television, and about
one-in-10 (11 percent) have played poker online. Additionally, when asked why
they play on the Web, most players said it was to learn the game or to
practice before playing at offline casino events.

About Harrah's Entertainment
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded
casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada 67 years ago,
Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and
acquisitions. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value
with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent
products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology
leadership.
More information is available at http://www.harrahs.com and
http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

Poker uber alles...

GERMAN POKER TOUR A SUCCESS

www.online-casinos.com
German Poker Association shines

PR Newswire reports that over 200 German poker players from throughout Germany participated during September and October in the first German Poker Tour, sponsored by Ultra Internet Media's Everest Poker.

Everest Poker, which claims to be the first online poker room fully translated into German, sponsored 5 live tournaments across Germany featuring prizes worth over Euro 4,000. The finale was held in the Kalsruhe area last week, awarding the top 5 winners with prizes.

The tournaments were organised by the founder of the GPA, Horst Koch in collaboration with Everest management.

Qualifying tournaments took place throughout September 2005 in four selected German cities: Munich, Landau (Karlsruhe), St. Augustin (Cologne), and Berlin, with 16 players qualifying for the finale, also held in Landau. The GPA was founded in 1996 and is the only poker association in Germany.

"No distance is too far for a poker final with Horst Koch and Everest Poker" comments Dr. hc. Fischer, who drove cross-country from Berlin to Landau to attend the German Poker Tour final: "It's totally worth it for an exciting game and good prizes!"

Each qualifying tournament was played in "shootout" style, with the winner of each table advancing to the final table of the night. Up to 12 of these shootout rounds were played in each tournament, resulting in play throughout the night. The winners of each qualifying tournament received not only a seat in the final, but also prizes courtesy of Everest Poker.

The Poker Professor Goes Mobile

www.pokernews.com
Cingular Wireless, the largest wireless carrier in the United States, and Summus Inc., a top provider of mobile media applications, have joined forces to bring mobile phone owners, "Secrets of Hold'em with Howard Lederer." This is Cingular's first move into poker-based mobile applications.

Lederer, known as "the Professor," is as qualified a poker teacher as they come. This famous player is also a two-time World Series of Poker champion, winner of two Hall of Fame titles, and is the owner of three Bellagio titles.

'Secrets of Hold'em, with Howard Lederer', differs from other mobile poker applications in that it combines challenging action with a teaching component that allows players to improve their games. The game
Buy $20 and get up to $500 free!
can be played "stand alone" or as a companion to an existing mobile game.

To help players develop their games, Lederer and company have built in game features that include hints, tips, and interactive strategy charts that are sure to strengthen a player's understanding of the game.

After learning the poker "ropes," players can challenge several computer-simulated poker celebrities such as Annie Duke, Chris Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Matt Savage, and Greg Raymer. Players begin the game with $500 and may enter a series of tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $100 to $10,000. The biggest prize of the game comes when players win the $10,000 and they get to face the man himself in a head-to-head battle for mobile poker supremacy.

According to Lederer, his move into the field of mobile poker tutorials is a bold step into the future of the game. "I am very impressed with the way Summus captured the essence of my tutorial products and integrated it into a fun, challenging, mobile hold'em game. We are excited at the prospect of imparting poker knowledge via mobile phones at any time or location."

In a recent press release, Lederer also suggested that the game is a perfect fit for all player types. "The product is valuable to all poker players whether they are practicing for a big tournament, or needing access to pre-flop tips while actually playing a hand online or at a real table."

According to Cingular Wireless vice president of consumer data, Jim Ryan, the timing was right for the poker venture. "For millions of consumers, Texas Hold'em has clearly become a favorite pastime, one that can be easily and conveniently enjoyed and played in person, on the PC and on the wireless phone. As a company, we are always on the lookout for innovative and compelling products and services that appeal to Cingular customers' communication and entertainment needs."

A chance to hit big...

Is this really a $ 100 million online poker tournament?

www.online-casinos.com

Recent publicity from Noble Poker has raised the eyebrows of industry observers with its eyecatching claim that it can fund a reward of $100 million in an upcoming online poker tournament.

Noble was recently taken over by the recently listed Empire Online, but the consensus is that $ 100 million is still a big ask.

Noble Poker announced that they will top the $1 Million dollar giveaway mark by having a $100 Million dollar Mega Tournament in April 2006 at Las Vegas, with qualifiers available online now.

While the Mega Tournament in Vegas has a direct entry fee of $10,000 with a $2 Million prize pool Noble is also apparently prepared and capable to give a bonus of $100 Million to anyone who hits a Royal Flush in spades at the final table, according to the following analysis of final table bonuses:

The Final table winning hands bonuses:

1. Spades Royal Flush- $100 Million
2. Any Straight Flush - $1,000,000
3. 4 of a kind Aces - $500,000
4. 4 of a kind Kings - $500,000
5. 4 of a kind Queens - $250,000
6. 4 of a kind Jacks - $250,000
7. 4 of a kind 10's - $250,000

Noble's parent, Empire Poker is respected for its innovative and effective marketing, but many in the industry are sceptical on the offer.

The qualifying tournaments are running around the clock starting at $2.50 and up to $58 buy ins. These qualifiers will get winners into the $125 000 Heat Tournaments where seats to the $100 million dollar tournament and cash will be given away.

Another Poker Company Goes Public

www.launchpoker.com
In Matthews, South Carolina a local company makes and sells electronic poker tables designed to allow up to ten people to play Texas Hold’em went public Friday. PokerTek sells its products to card clubs and casinos, and decided to gamble a bit on its own stock by initiating public trading.

The initial offering started at $11 and more than 460,000 shares were traded Friday. The day ended with a final price of $10.25 per share.

The tables designed by PokerTech allows ten people to play together by displaying cards on private screens, and general information displaced on a large center screen. The tables allow uses to set up betting accounts and keeps statistical information as well. The company says its electronic tables saves casinos money by eliminating the need for a dealer, and allows more hands to be played per hour, which means more rake for the house.

Motley Crue frontman to host celeb poker

www.therockradio.com
Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil will host a charity poker event in Las Vegas next month. The "Off The Strip" tournament will be held at The Joint At The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on November 11th, and proceeds will go to the T.J. Martell Foundation via the Skylar Neil Foundation. That's the organization Neil founded after his daughter Skylar died of stomach cancer. The No Limit Hold 'Em Game costs $540 to enter, and players will have to concentrate on their cards while an "all-star collection of dancers from the hottest Vegas clubs" will be in the room. Only 150 players will be admitted, and the top 10 players will get paid, with the winner taking home an expected $50,000 Grand Prize.

Following the tournament, there will be an award ceremony and an auction, which will be hosted by "a surprise emcee."

Poker is hot, that you like it or not :-)

2005-10-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

More news about the success of poker. I have been playing and blogging for more than year now... For some people, it can look as long as eternity, for some people just a short time... Some times I won, some times I didn't, but I always saw poker winning every challenge, day by day. So, a big standing ovation for poker and let's cross our fingers that my dream becomes true in 2007...

Reuters reporting about the success of poker:
Sportingbet poker sales up
Sportingbet (SBT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday that poker revenues had increased 71 percent in the first 10 weeks of the current financial year, as it announced a sharp increase in last year's profit.

Although Sportingbet gets 91 percent of its revenues from online sports betting, investors were keenly watching its results for indications of how the online poker market is faring amid tumbling share prices across the sector.

The average number of games played each day on Sportingbet's Paradise Poker site, which it bought last November, rose 66.3 percent in the year to July 31, while the cost of attracting each new player to Paradise Poker rose by $10 (5.74 pounds) to $139.

Profit before tax was 40.8 million pounds in the year to July 31, versus 8.3 million pounds in 2004.

Sportingbet's core U.S. betting arm increased its number of sports bets by 34 percent to 25.4 million. The number of sports bets taken in Europe rose 86 percent to 20.2 million.

Sportingbet shares closed at 287 pence on Tuesday, valuing the group at around 968 million pounds.

------------------------
News from Poker Room and Party Poker:
NAME CHANGE FOR INTERNET POKER NETWORK

And greater gaming diversity, too

Top Swedish gambling software provider Ongame has announced that it is introducing a new name and greater gaming diversity to its global Internet poker network. Formerly titled Poker Network, the operation hosts almost 4 million regular poker players, mainly under Ongame subsidiary Poker Room.com.

The network branding has been changed to Ongame Network, and with it a new range of non-poker games has been made available, including casino games like Craps, Roulette, Blackjack, PaiGow Poker and Video Poker Multi-Hand. Slot machines will also be introduced offering seriously large progressive jackpots, for example the forthcoming Sultan’s Treasure slot machine game which will have a starting jackpot of $300,000.

Ongame Network’s director, David Flynn says, “Multi-player casino games and Blackjack tournaments, along with high quality graphics, will differentiate Ongame Network from the broad offering that currently exists in this part of the industry.”

The move comes at a time when online poker market leader Party Poker has also announced that games other than poker will be available to its network players. In distancing Party Poker's network from that of its white label partners this week, Party Gaming said that it planned a major new site to be launched early next year which would present not only poker but a variety of other games to its claimed 9 million players.

------------------------
Always from online-casinos.com:

NEW ONLINE POKER ROOM OWNED BY UK NEWSPAPER

Poker freeroll tournament to celebrate the launch

The latest poker room to enter the online poker sector is owned by British newspaper The Sun and operated by veteran gambling group Victor Chandler (see earlier Online-Casinos.com & InfoPowa reports)

Formerly titled Caribbean Sun Poker, Sun Poker.com is powered by Cryptologic and launched a freeroll tournament designed to send the final top nine players to the Grand Final at London’s Palm Beach Casino in December, where finalists will battle it out to win over GBP 30,000 in prizes, including a Mini Cooper car.

The site is the product of a deal signed between Sun Online and Victor Chandler. Sun Online’s Head of Commercial Development, Amy Copeland says the newspaper has planned to expand into the online poker market for some time. “VC Poker’s technology, marketing experience and large community of players, made them a natural choice for The Sun to work with,” she said.

------------------------
A good excuse to take a trip to Costa Rica... Well, every excuse sounds good to me for that!!! Anyone joining me? :-)

Poker Industry Expo to be Held December 3-4, 2005 in Costa Rica
Ticonderoga Ventures, Inc. announces a Poker Industry Conference and Exposition will be held the weekend of December 3-4, 2005 in Costa Rica at the Barcelo San Jose Palacio.

The Poker Industry Expo (http://www.PokerIndustryExpo.com) is an event that will cover the business of poker, focusing on management, marketing and technology. Poker room and online poker executives will be in attendance.

The event will also have a tournament in the evening for industry executives and professional players. The tournament will be held at the Herradura Casino, a licensed casino operating in San Jose, Costa Rica. The tournament will represent the best of poker strategies, tactics and playing skills by poker executives and some of the most seasoned poker players that exist today.

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From: www.pokernews.com. Poker from the other side of the fence:
Running a Major Poker Tournament is Hard Work
October 12, 2005
Michael FriedmanPrint
Email to a friend
Post a comment Without a doubt, playing poker is a tough business. The long hours and mental strain can wreak havoc on the minds of even the best in the game, but poker players aren't the only ones on the floor who are trying to beat the energy-draining environment. Consider what it takes for a tournament director to work his or her magic. More specifically, a tournament director for one of the biggest, most lavish casinos in the United States who has to run a 12-day tournament series that includes a televised World Poker Tour main event. Some say playing poker is tough, but they've never had this job.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa tournament director Tab Duchateau is the perfect image of cool. Starting his career in the poker industry at Resorts Casino a little over 12 years ago, Tab immediately knew that poker could offer him new opportunities and a possible change in careers. "Someone said that Resorts was opening up a poker room and hiring people to deal full-time off the bat. I didn't know much about poker at the time but I knew I wanted a nice salary. So I went over there. They taught us by hiring dealers from California, because poker was still relatively new to New Jersey.

As time flew by on various casino floors, Tab's experience grew. He bided his time and waited patiently for the chance to become a tournament director in a rapidly growing division of the gaming industry. "To tell you the truth, I got a bit tired of the everyday, same people, same thing. Tournaments aren't that way, especially with the unhappy people. You lose in a big tournament and you leave and the remaining players are happy because they are still in. It kind of provides a balance. Instead of having a bunch of unhappy people at your table, everyone really wants to be there."

Fast forward to the recent Borgata Poker Open. Over 4,000 players, double last year's number of players, made the pilgrimage to the Borgata and laid down their hard-earned dollars in hopes of earning big cash and a beautiful gold diamond-encrusted championship bracelet. According to Tab, things have changed dramatically from when he started as a tournament director.

"When I started, there were 40 players playing mostly Stud. We had a $20 entry fee and a $10 vig on it. Those $30 tournaments had first prizes between $400 and $500. These days there is no more Stud. It's a dinosaur in the industry. That's why we went to all No Limit tournaments this year for the Open. No one really wants to know who the stud champion is. Everyone wants to know who the new No Limit millionaire is."

With changes in the game have come changes in job responsibility. "It used to be that you stood at a table and you just ran the tournament. Now it's all encompassing. You are heavily involved in orchestrating the whole event. For an event like the 2005 Borgata Poker Open, we started meetings the day after last year's tournament finished. We want to figure out what went right and what went wrong for the next tournament. We wanted players this year to feel that the tournament was worth their entry fees. There is nothing worse than someone saying they just paid $1,000 to play an event and they didn't feel like they got their money's worth."

This year's event structure was a big focus for the Borgata's poker team because many players left bigger events like the World Series of Poker feeling much like the famous poker-playing bad guy from the movie Rounders after he had taken a big beating, "Just like a young man coming in for a quickie. I feel so unsatisfied."

According to Duchateau, the staff knew they needed to make a change if they wanted more action at the events. "Stan Strickland, my boss, and I discussed the tournament structure and decided to make it a player's event. We wanted to make it more of a fair tournament structure and bring in more players. Give the players a lot of chips and give them a lot of time. Really let the skills of the players shine. Let the best players win the tournaments. It doesn't always work out that way, but at least more advanced players have the chance to make some headway with this kind of structure."

This approach was one of the major reasons for the success of the 2005 Borgata Poker Open. Not only did players have a great chance to make the money, but they also enjoyed one of the most luxurious and player-friendly venues on the planet. "The great thing about working for the Borgata is that an event like the Borgata Poker Open won't make any money. But we do it, because we want everyone to experience the Borgata. It's great publicity for the company as a whole. The Borgata is always thinking first-class and they give us a lot of leeway in running the event. This is an expensive venture for us, but the Borgata has always been very poker oriented and they have been behind us from the start."

Even with the support of the Borgata, the tournament series is a difficult undertaking, especially for the tournament director. "For us, it's a 12-day, 38-event tournament series when you include the super-satellites. That makes things a bit tougher. We are constantly on the go. From the time we arrive in the ballroom to the time we leave, it's been a 24-hour a day process for us. There are both day and night events so there is no down-time. It's difficult orchestrating the sheer number of events, but somehow we get the job done."

According to Duchateau, there is one key rule to finding success in an event series like the Open. "The most crucial element would be that there wasn't a mistake made during the series that eliminates a player. We did our jobs and they eliminated themselves. The players' destinies were in their own hands."

With the conclusion of the 2005 Borgata Poker Open, it has become evident that poker is here to stay. With the largest field in the history of Atlantic City (WPT main event), the Borgata and its tournament director are ready to meet the growing needs of today's poker hungry masses.

When asked about his feelings on the success of the 2005 Borgata Poker Open and the future of the game Duchateau replied with a big grin, "Any time you take a small amount of money and turn it into a million dollars, people will come. Here we have a $65 tournament that could actually cost a player $15, if they won a voucher, and they could win entry into the WPT main event. You could take $15 and make a million. As long as this is going on, I don't think poker will ever go away. As long as the little guy with a little bit of money and a dream is around, it will continue to grow."

Poker room gives 40% of profits back to players

2005-10-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

This one looks interesting... This online poker room, using UltimateBet poker platform, is returning 40% of its profits to players. Make sure you read carefully this explanation, so you can take full advantage of the deal:

How to get 40% of the profits back
When you play on this poker room you earn what we call ‘Ultimate Points’ that can be used for betting, buying merchandise or gaining entry to tournaments. When you receive an Ultimate Point, the poker room will give you one SharePoint that entitles you to a percentage of the poker room profits.

Unlike the Ultimate Points that you earn, your SharePoint total will only rise, so the more you play, the more you earn.
How do I earn SharePoints?

These points are earned in the following ways:

1. One Share Point is earned for every hour of play at any ring/cash game table

2. Six Share Points are earned for every $1 in tournament entry fee

3. Share Points are earned for each cash pot that a player contributes to.

For more details on how you earn points Click here.

The more SharePoints you earn, the bigger the share you own.

For example, after three months, if all of the players of this poker room have a collective total of 10,000 SharePoints, and you have 500 SharePoints, then you own 5% of the of the players’ share.

After the second three months, all of the players of this poker room have earned 15,000 SharePoints, then the total SharePoints in circulation is 25,000. You’ve earned 2,000 points in this three months, which puts your total to 2,500 points and so your percentage of the players’ share is now 10%.

As you can see, if you didn’t play in the last three months and you only had 500 points, then your percentage of the profits would have dropped to 2%.

So the more you play the more you earn!
How is this different to owning shares in a traditional company?

Share prices can go up as well as down. With this poker room, you have all of the benefits of owning a share, but none of the risks. You also don’t need to buy your share of this poker room, you earn it.
How is my ownership affected by new members joining?

When new members join, they start earning SharePoints immediately, so the profit is effectively distributed to more people. However, as more players join, the profits will increase. Therefore existing players will receive a similar or higher reward than they would have done previously.
How will the profits be shared?

Every quarter, the this poker room Trust will distribute any profits that it receives from the poker room. The amount a player receives will depend on the number of Share Points they’ve earned, all dividends will be returned to players via their player accounts.
What is the role of the this poker room Trust?

The role is three-fold:

1. Preserve the shareholding interest of the players
2. Encourage and foster the enrolment of new players
3. Distribute funds to the players
Do I need to keep playing to maintain my benefits?

Yes, you must play on the poker room during the three month period prior to profit distribution otherwise you will forego your reward for that quarter only.
How much is a SharePoint worth to me each quarter?

The value of a SharePoint will change depending on how many players there are and how many SharePoints each player has. For Example, if the combined number of player SharePoints is 10,000, and you have 500, then you own 5% of the profits from the PokerShare Trust!
Can I gamble with my SharePoints?

You can’t gamble with your SharePoints, but you can use your Ultimate Points to bet, buy merchandise, or even for entry into tournaments! You can’t lose SharePoints, so you’re total keeps growing!
How do I see how many SharePoints I have?

You can check the number of SharePoints you have by visiting the MyShare section. Here you will find information on your share points and how they have grown since you first started playing. You will also find out what your last dividend payment was and when the next dividend payment will occur.

Women playing poker...

2005-10-05T04:59:00.000-07:00

Do you really think that playing like a woman means playing badly? Just make sure you are reading us in the right way, not that you are reading just want we want you to read... Lol...

Live from Las Vegas... WSOP pictures and photo gallery

2005-10-05T04:36:00.000-07:00

Wanna see where the pros are playing and winning? Check this out

http://www.lasvegasvegas.com/poker/photogallerysearch.php

you find pictures of WSOP and casinos on our gambling Mecca, fab Las Vegas!

About the power of blogging, check this out:
"I was in horrible shape and still drunk when I taped my interview with Sean & Headhunter Mark on Sunday morning for the Lord Admiral Card Club Radio Show and Podcast. If you don't know by now, it's the best podcast dedicated to poker in the universe and I was wicked hungover after an all-night bachelor party here in the big city.[...]"
http://taopoker.blogspot.com/

There, you also find some podcastings about poker and online poker.

Poker humor
Is there such thing as too much poker? Well, if this happens to you... :-)

Mac poker rooms, EPT and other blogging about poker

2005-10-05T04:20:00.000-07:00

Hello poker aficionado :-) enjoy your daily dose of poker news...

EPT Baden
Updates from the German front... Here, you see the power of blogging: you can be interested in a big or small poker tournament, and thanks to blogs you can find realtime updates. Blogs connect players! Ok, and in my case they help on the road to success as 2007 poker winner :-)

Quoting Rolf Slotboom blog:

"http://mambo.pokerpages.com
Wednesday, 05th of October 2005 01:10 PM

If in the future tournament organizers want their events to be over quickly, it might be a good idea to have them started at 11 a.m. Because in just two hours of play, we have lost over one thirds of the initial 36, and the action has been fast and furious. With all these youngsters who just love to move in, and who are not afraid to call big bets either, the luck factor is enormous - especially for those with short or medium stacks. All in all, we are down to 23 now, and the next prize money increase will be at no. 18.

27. Jonathan Hancock EUR 4,104

26. Frode Fagerli EUR 4,104

25. Daniel Larsson EUR 4,104

24. Stefan Rapp EUR 4,104

Wednesday, 05th of October 2005 12:35 PM

We are in the money! Chip counts of all remaining players:

David McGeachie 5K
Martin Pollak 76K
Julian Thew 25K (but has just doubled for the fourth time, so is at about 50K now)
Dustin Dorrance-Bowman 93K
Morten Jensen 45K
Frode Fagerli 27K - is now OUT
Eric Kollmann (29K, just doubled up with K 8 versus Thomas Bihl's 99, a king and an eight on the flop)
Tobias Persson 38K
Thomas Bihl 44K
Abel Meijberg 86K
Daniel Larsson 91K (has just lost a big pot with AQ versus Kurt Muller's AA, was down to 55K and is now OUT)
Stefan Rapp 31K - is now OUT, as he lost with 99 versus Abel's 33 (all-in preflop)
Torstein Iversen 111K
Kurt Muller 36K (after winning the pot with AA, up to about 82K)
David Kleman 30K
Patrik Antonius 165K
Paul Testud 29K
Edgar Skjevold 141K
Henrik Joern 162K
Christian Grundtvig 14K
Ingemar Backman 44K
Gunnar Osterbrod 199K
Kjersti Grini 14K (just doubled again with AA. Was down and out when the turn gave her opponent a full, but then an ace on the river gave her a bigger one)
Zhengfa Ye 31K
Peter Muhlbeck 199K
Jason McCombie 42K"

Internet Gambling Report - Eighth Edition
Overview of internet gambling from a business point:
"http://www.casinos.ch/
An Evolving Conflict Between Technology & Law
Eighth Edition, 632 pages
ISBN 0-9717718-3-9
Price: $95.00

WHAT CUSTOMERS SAY...
"An indispensable reference tool."
-David G. Schwartz Coordinator
Gaming Studies Research Center University of Nevada Las Vegas

"Quite simply the definitive industry reference guide."
-Mark Blanford Executive Director, Sportingbet

The Internet Gambling Report has been the definitive legal resource on Internet gambling since its
first printing in 1997. Authored by the world's top legal experts in the field of online gambling,
this comprehensive, authoritative guide offers a thorough, updated review of the legal and
political climate for Internet gambling throughout the world. In seven years it has established
itself as the legal bible for the Internet gambling industry.

The Internet Gambling Report covers a number of important legal, social, technological, and
business issues related to electronic interactive gambling, including:
„h Regulation
„h Security
„h Taxation
„h Marketing/advertising
„h Funding
„h Harmonization enforcement
„h Compliance

The book touches base on the significant areas of concern for the Internet gaming industry that
have received national attention over the past year:
„h Person to person betting
„h Cross Border Gambling
„h Advertising
„h Funding
„h Games of Skill

Key Developments Covered:
„h DDOS attacks
„h The UK Gambling Act
„h The Australian IGA Review
„h EC Policy and European Case Law
„h New I-Gaming Jurisdictions
„h Jurisprudence Pertaining to Advertising
„h Person-to-person Betting
„h Internet Poker
„h The Antigua/US WTO Dispute
„h Prohibition and Law Enforcement

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Anthony Cabot, Founding Editor
Anthony N. Cabot is a well-known International gaming attorney. Conference organizers from around
the world have sought his expertise to serve as the conference chair on Internet gambling issues.
He has chaired Internet gaming conferences in Sydney, Chicago, and New Orleans. He recently
organized a full day seminar to help educate the Nevada Gaming Commission on the role that the
Internet will play in the future of the gaming industry. He also has, by invitation, testified
before the United States Senate and the National Gambling Impact Study Commission on Internet
gaming issues. He also was invited to give a presentation to the National Association of Attorneys
General at Stanford University earlier this year. He also is the principal author of The Internet
Gambling Report 4 (2001), a 426-page book that covers this evolving conflict between technology
and the law.

Mr. Cabot is a partner (1987-present) with the law firm of Lionel Sawyer & Collins, Las Vegas,
Nevada. Since 1995, he has been the Chairperson of its Gaming Practice Group. Besides his
activities with the firm, he is Adjunct Faculty (1994 - present), International Gaming Institute,
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration. He is vice
chairman and a member of the Board of Directors (1981 - present) of the Gaming Law Section, State
Bar of Nevada. He is also a past president of the Nevada Gaming Attorneys Association and past
general counsel to the International Association of Gaming Attorneys.
Mr. Cabot is the co-editor of Gaming Law Review and is on the editorial board for Gaming Research
& Review Journal and Cyberlawyer. He is the chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Casino
Management Association and the chairman of the Annual Gaming Industry Awards. He was a Monthly
Columnist from 1991 -1998 for Casino Journal, on "Gaming Law."

He also authored Federal Gambling Law (Trace 1999), Casino Gaming: Public Policy, Economics And
Regulation, (International Gaming Institute, University of Nevada, Las Vegas 1996). a 527 page
book covering all aspects of casino gaming. He is the coeditor and contributing author of
International Casino Law - (Institute For the Study Of Gambling And Commercial Gaming, University
of Nevada, Reno, Third Edition, June 1999). He also is the editor and principal author of Nevada
Gaming Law (Lionel Sawyer & Collins, Third Edition 2000).

Mark Balestra, Editor
Mark Balestra is the vice president of publishing for River City Group LLC and the editor of
Interactive Gaming News (IGN). Balestra began researching and covering the I-gaming industry as
the editor of Rolling Good Times Online and went on to play an instrumental role in establishing
IGN as a premier industry publication. In addition to his work with IGN, Balestra oversees the
company's industry research projects and publications. Balestra has spoken at industry trade
shows, and his articles have been published by several print and electronic publications. He also
authored "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Gambling."

Poker and finance
It seems Party Gaming flopped today on financial markets...

"http://www.sharecast.com
Online poker giant was also PartyGaming well also off shopping lists’ today after UBS downgraded the shares to 'neutral' from 'buy' and slashed its price target to 100p from 175p before. "

75 pence in one hit is a kind of bad hit, but I think the company will be back soon with a strong hand.

My brand new blog

2005-10-05T03:19:00.000-07:00

Hello poker players!

As you may have noticed, my blog is going... all in :-) to give you everything you need to play and win at poker. I am trying to be helpful, while sharing with you my updates and fun about poker.

For now, you find news and a small poker directory, which I hope will grow day by day, in the right frame of the page. My homepage gets shorter, so you can download it faster, and my previous posts are archived fastly. Also, soon you'll get what you asked for: my new pictures!!!

Stay in touch for even more poker from the Poker winner of 2007 :-)

A.P.

Poker, online poker and more poker!

2005-09-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a selection of poker news for you!

Legends of Poker: Billy Baxter
From www.onlinecasinonews.com
By Al Moe, www.pokernews.com
In my lifetime I've been lucky enough to meet and talk with the top (at least in my mind) dozen poker players of the twentieth century. Every one of those players has a common ground of competition. They love to compete, they are well educated (either at university or via the school of hard knocks), and they have an uncanny knack for knowing how to find the "chink" in the armor of their opponents.

The worlds best players don't just play good poker, they "work the solution." If I knew exactly how they did that, I'd be in the top dozen also. I am not. However, I am smart enough to see that some players are able to really get into the heads of their opponents. They find that minor flaw, and expose it to the current situation (singular hand or overall play of an opponent). They examine it closely, and then use it to their advantage.

Ray Zee, a terrific player who plans his moves like a chess master, spends his energy figuring out what his opponent is thinking about him, before making his next play. He has said that the best thing to do is find a game or limit you excel at and exploit it. Boy, does that put poker into perspective.

Even a player as cerebral as David Sklansky has stated that he wants to be in a game with weaker opponents than himself. In David's case, that means he can play comfortably in almost any game, but the upper tier of players got where they are by playing against the best in the world, and at least holding their own.

Billy Baxter is one of those players. Like Bobby Baldwin and Amarillo Slim, Baxter began his gaming career in pool halls. He learned about competition, pressure, and exploiting the game. By the age of 16 (in the mid 1950's) he had socked away several thousand dollars from playing pool, and it wasn't always just because he was better than his opponent. A gambler needs to know how to win (even when he isn't the best player) by finding that crack in the armor of their adversaries.

Like a number of players from the Southern United States, Baxter was able to find plenty of gambling in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia. He learned to play poker, and supported his poker "habit" for over a year with his pool playing income. Eventually, his poker playing improved to where it was the bulk of his income.

Over the next several years, Baxter would concentrate on poker, and sports betting. He was a part owner, and then full owner of a local casino called the Paisley Club, and successfully ran the operation until pressure from the local sheriff convinced him to put his energy into just sports betting.

Although quite a gentleman, Baxter has learned over the years how to successfully use "pressure" to beat his opponents. As one of the best deuce-to-seven no-limit players of all time, he feels the game involves more bluffing than any other form of poker. Although a seasoned hold'em player has to have the ability to use bluffing as a winning tool, deuce-to-seven is a single-draw game, and you need to know your opponent very well to make accurate decisions from just the one draw.

In the mid 1970's, Baxter stayed at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas and began playing with players like Doyle Brunson and Sid Wyman. The games were tough, but they also attracted some very wealthy players who were overmatched. Convinced of his ability to win, Baxter entered the WSOP for the first time in 1975. His results proved him correct. In fact, few players have been as successful at the WSOP, and fewer still have been so successful their first year.

Baxter won the $5,000 deuce-to-seven tournament in 1975, and then won the 1978 $10,000 deuce-to-seven tournament. He also put a serious hurt on the local Las Vegas bookmakers, and was one of the first "known" players to fight the IRS over a fair way to file gambling winnings.

In the mid 1980's, I was in the courthouse on Booth Street in Reno, Nevada when Baxter took on the IRS over his "filing status," and every professional player owes a debt to Baxter for standing up to the IRS. His court case led to allowing professional gamblers to file as "professionals," with the ability to deduct expenses like any business professional. There is a lot of gamble in Baxter, and not even the IRS ever scared him.

Although he does not believe in backing players, he did support Stu Ungar in 1997 when he played in the championship event of the WSOP. Billy and Stu had been friends a long time, and over the years they constantly tried to take each other's money. Although Stu beat him the first time they played gin, Billy says with pride that it was the only time. Although Stu was a tremendous gin player, he was not always a successful gambler. Baxter got him to make additional bets besides just the outcome of the game, and always wound-up a winner after their first meeting.

During the 1997 World Series of Poker, Baxter put up the fee for the main event, and Stu played his heart out - winning the championship for a record third time. I don't believe that number will ever be equaled, and I wouldn't have bet on it happening in 1997. Baxter, however, proved his continuing ability to read people, and pocketed $500,000 from Stu's amazing win.

Baxter was married in 1975, right before he and his wife, Julie, traveled to Las Vegas and stayed at the Dunes. They have three children and have made Las Vegas their home. The local games have been good over the years, and Baxter has added WSOP tournament wins in California Lowball and also Razz. In fact, Billy now holds seven gold bracelets (behind only Brunson, Chan and Hellmuth; he is tied with Erik Seidel) and has 21 cashes, and his career earnings at the WSOP total almost $1 million dollars.

Baxter has been playing more hold'em the past few years, and continues to cash at tournaments across the United States. Most notably, in the past two years he has finished 8th, 11th and 18th in World Poker Tour $10,000 tournaments. Obviously there is still plenty of gamble in Billy Baxter.

Online Casino Launches New Poker Room
Betmaker has added poker to its roster of online wagering options. Betmaker, is also assuring users a bot-free playing environment.

A veteran in the gambling industry, Betmaker offers categories such as Sportsbook, Casino and Racing. The company recently unveiled their new and improved homepage at www.betmaker.com and now includes popular poker games such as: Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha High/Low, 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud High/Low. The site offers a different tournament every hour, and more than 150 tournaments per week.

To keep customers from losing an unfair game, Betmaker has taken precautions to deal with the current onset of auto-playing bots at virtual poker tables. Some of these precautions include regularly altering the graphic interface and data transfer code.

Silvia Vasquez, General Manager of Betmaker, said: 'Automated programs posing as real players pose possibly the largest obstacle to keeping online poker games fair and honest. At Betmaker, we are encouraging a sportsbook-only network that will level the playing field for our recreational players, and offer a fair and complete online gambling experience.”

Learning when to hold 'em in poker class
From www.tampabays10.com, by De Anna Sheffield
St. Petersburg, Florida - It's mid-morning on a Monday, and there's a poker game going on.

Those who are trying to figure out when to hold 'em hadn't met before they grabbed a chair and sat around a poker table.

This isn't a casino or someone's house.

This is the Real Deal Poker Academy in St. Petersburg.

John Plenzick, who's been a poker dealer in Atlantic City and now in St. Petersburg, is the instructor.

John Plenzick, poker dealer instructor
"When I first started in 1993, poker was dying off. Then ESPN started broadcasting tournaments, and people wanted to play the Texas Hold 'Em game. You can be 18 years old or 70. There's a lot of thinking involved in the game, and it's something to do in Florida that will last several hours, and you won't lose your mortgage payments playing poker."

Some are making a complete career change, others are interested in the supplemental income: the talk is you can make up to $20-30 per hour.

But some say the added benefit is that it's improving their home game, too.

Dawn Chrimes, taking class
"My friends are like 'quit playing with the chips' or I critique how they deal, and I'm like sorry guys, I'm just practicing!."

24h Poker Starts Browser Based Game

2005-09-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

Earl Burton, www.pokernews.com, about browser-based online poker room.

The surge in popularity of online poker has many home computers loaded down with several icons on their desktop. For those with Macintosh or Linux based systems, however, this is a little more difficult. Many of the more popular online arenas are not set up for users of those operating systems and finding a site that is compatible with those systems can be an exhausting search. Mac users have long played successfully at PokerRoom.com But now, 24h Poker, have entered the Mac friendly poker world.

24h Poker does have a downloadable version that players can use and just recently announced that they have also expanded their offerings into a browser based version. If you use a Linux or Mac system, you can get into the game with 24h Poker through using the particular browser available on your system. Without the burden of a download or another icon on your system, you can access the games at 24h Poker through your browser, thus making it an excellent way to get into the game from virtually anywhere.

If you do take the path of the browser version for 24h Poker, it will take a couple of minutes for it to start up when you first get on. This is normal, so be patient. Once you have passed through this period, then you will be playing on the same game that those people are playing through the downloadable version. The browser-based version has all the same capabilities that the download has, except for the ability to make notes on players.

There is quite a bit of action on 24h Poker, as well. During a recent afternoon visit, nearly 3000 players were on the felt. Additionally, there are several great tournaments that are being played, varying from one to 75 Euros to play. It is even possible to use your VIP points to buy into tournaments.

24h Poker recognizes the fact that, although Bill Gates would like to think so, the entire world is not built around Windows! With the browser based version of their game, the folks at 24h Poker have given Mac users another choice.

Tax law a gamble - Claiming poker professional status can be risky

2005-09-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

By AVRUM D. LANK - www.jsonline.com

In 2001, Thomas L. Pias won about $38,800 in casinos.

The Racine resident dutifully reported the sum on his federal income tax form, but then added the claim that he was a professional gambler. As such, Pias said, he was entitled to deduct $68,861 in losses and $1,727 of other expenses relating to his profession.

In doing so, Pias spun the audit roulette wheel and lost. Last week, the United States Tax Court rejected his claim of being a professional. As a result, Pias owes the croupier, Uncle Sam, $9,934 more than he originally paid.

The outcome illustrates that gamblers not only have to beat the dealer, but also the tax collector, to come away with anything except entertainment. Just as the odds favor the house, the tax laws are stacked in favor of the government.

Why Pias claimed to be a professional gambler is unclear. He declined to discuss the matter, and the Internal Revenue Service can't comment on individual cases.

Had his claim been sustained, however, tax experts say Pias would have owed the IRS less, and he would have lowered his Wisconsin tax bill considerably.

Under federal law, a gambler - professional or amateur - is entitled to deduct losses equal only to his winnings. To do so, though, he must have proof of both.

Wisconsin also taxes winnings but does not allow a deduction for losses.

Proof of winnings is not difficult, as there are strict reporting requirements. For bingo, slot machines and video poker - the game Pias played - the IRS must be told if a payout is $1,200 or more. For keno, the requirement kicks in at $1,500 and for most other gambling at $600, provided the winnings are at least 300 times the bet.

The $38,800 in Pias' case came from such reports, called W2-Gs.

Proof of losses is more difficult. "You can keep a diary, but it has got to be pretty specific," said Craig Zetley, a Milwaukee CPA and tax attorney.

For amateur gamblers, the winnings are reported as part of adjusted gross income and the losses taken as an itemized deduction.

That is a problem, as most people do not itemize.

Furthermore, the higher a person's adjusted gross income, the more likely he is to lose some of his itemized deductions and personal exemptions, or to have part of Social Security income taxed.

'High threshold'
However, because of quirks in the federal tax code, a professional gambler is able to deduct the losses before figuring his adjusted gross income.

Sustaining the claim of being a professional gambler "is a very high threshold to meet," said Zetley.

"It is a facts-and-circumstances test," said Deborah Kossow, a CPA with Clifton Gunderson in Wauwatosa. In 20 years of preparing individual tax returns, she has yet to have a client who could successfully make the claim.

"You have to be pursuing it full time and with regularity to produce income for a livelihood," Zetley said. "Based on the odds of winning, not many people can do that."

If they can, then their expenses also are deductible, including such things as the cost of airplane tickets. Pias claimed automobile expenses of $421, for instance.

However, there are potential pitfalls to claiming expenses, Zetley said. Many professional gamblers are given complimentary food and lodging. If they deduct such things as travel, he said, then the value of those comps is taxable, according to federal tax law.

And then there is the issue of Wisconsin taxes. The state is unusual, but not unique, in not allowing a deduction for gambling losses even while taxing every win.

Theoretically, state taxes are payable on every quarter won in a slot machine in a Wisconsin casino, even if the player ultimately walks away a loser.

However, as the government gets no report on most of the quarters, the tax is probably paid about as regularly as the sales tax on out-of-state purchases.

George Tsouflias of Greendale does not think much of the Wisconsin law.

"It's terrible," he said, as he came out of the Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee Thursday. Most people who have winnings in some bets have lost more in other wagers, Tsouflias said.

"To win $1,000, you have to spend $10,000 losing," he said.

Tsouflias is nothing like a professional gambler. He works as a restaurant manager and comes to the casino infrequently.

For a professional gambler, Wisconsin's law is no problem because state tax forms start with adjusted gross income, which would already take into account gambling losses and expenses for a professional.

So had his claim of being a professional gambler been upheld, Pias would have saved on his Wisconsin taxes, experts said.

As it was, the Tax Court was quick to dismiss his claim. Pias told the judge he started gambling a lot at the end of 2000 because he "was in what I thought was a lucky streak."

"This explanation rings more of a pastime or a hobby than of an activity for the production of income for a livelihood," U.S. Tax Court Judge Carleton Powell wrote in his decision.

State law unlikely to change
Were Wisconsin to allow deduction of gambling losses, then the motivation for claiming to be a latter-day Nathan Detroit or modern-day competitor for Doyle Brunson would diminish.

But the chances of that are slim, according to John Logan, a senior state tax analyst for CCH Inc., a tax information firm in Riverwoods, Ill.

Wisconsin's decision to disallow deductions for gambling losses "really parallels the treatment of other sins, so to speak, not to encourage it," he said. Allowing such deductions is "not the sort of change that a lot of legislators would want to take a strong public stand on," Logan added. "There is not a lot of capital to be gained there."

Poker: high rollers attend New Yorker festival

2005-09-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

The good, old poker times... From Associated Press:

NEW YORK - Doyle Brunson can remember when being a professional poker player meant being an embarrassment.

The 72-year-old Texan recalls old friends crossing to the other side of the street when they saw him coming, and pulling out of the finals of a televised high-stakes tournament in 1972 because he didn't want to shame his family by advertising what he did for a living.

All of which made Brunson's situation on Friday night that much more interesting. With his trademark cowboy hat and his drawl as thick as Texas heat, he was the esteemed elder statesman at the "High Rollers Steak Dinner," one of the opening night events at this year's New Yorker Festival.

More than 100 people paid $200 a plate to sit in a dark, wood-paneled room at Gallagher's steakhouse and listen - and sometimes loudly react - to tales about the suddenly trendy world of poker from Brunson and fellow players Phil Hellmuth, Howard Lederer and David Williams.

"There's no life like the life I've lived," Brunson, a 10-time World Series of Poker champion, said. "You're free like a cloud floating up in the sky."

The festival, in its sixth year, is three days of interviews, panel discussions, readings and musical performances. Writers such as Stephen King, Pulitzer winners Michael Chabon, Jhumpa Lahiri and Edward P. Jones, musicians Ric Ocasek and Ani DiFranco, dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and many others are among those scheduled to appear before it wraps up on Sunday. The weekend event also features actor Steve Martin leading a banjo concert and a benefit for hurricane victims.

With the influx of players who have honed their game on the Internet and the proliferation of poker shows on television, professional poker has changed dramatically in the last few years and many of the world's top players have become minor celebrities. Tournament players are at record numbers, making winning a more difficult goal for longtime pros.

"It's like hitting the lottery," Brunson said. "We've got more tickets than everybody, but you've still got to hit."

The democratic feel of poker, a game that combines skill with luck, was evident during the panel discussion. Many comments made by the players, especially Hellmuth - with his reputation as the game's "brat" - were met either with applause or open derision from the crowd. The atmosphere might have been heightened by the fact that there was an open bar before the discussion began.

At one point when Hellmuth was explaining how he thought poker helped with social skills in teenagers and young adults, a man in the audience yelled out, "That's insulting."

"I'll debate you any time, baby," the nine-time World Series of Poker winner replied with a grin.

For Williams, who made more than $4 million playing poker while still in college and finished second at the 2004 World Series of Poker championship at the age of 23 after qualifying online, the emergence of poker into the national consciousness is both good and bad.

"It's so popular, which is great, but people don't see the bad side to poker," he said, talking about how he receives e-mails from kids who are ready to drop out of school and risk all the money they have to try for a win in a high-stakes tournament.

And all agreed that longevity is the one true way to measure a great champion. In that category, almost no one can match Brunson.

Now, however, there is plenty of money to be made away from the table. Book deals, advertising deals with online casinos and marketing deals for different apparel worn at the table - sunglasses, caps, etc. - have made the actual tournaments and big-cash games seem at least temporarily secondary to some of the world's most accomplished players.

"I feel like this is the time to take care of some of the business opportunities," Lederer, winner of two World Series of Poker bracelets, said in response to a question about why he didn't play in the big-money cash game at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, Brunson delivered the definitive line about the gambler's mentality.

"Money's just a tool to the real gambler," he said. "It doesn't have any value, except for what you can buy and you don't even miss it until you run out."

Poker winner 2007 - Poker girl Angel poker

2005-09-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

poker winner 2007

THANK YOU!!!

2005-01-16T06:18:00.000-08:00

I was linked by a page which states that my site is first on google with kws such as 2007 poker, 2007 poker champion, 2007 poker winner. Well, it seems that poker in year 2007 will be pink, Angel The Gambler Style...

Thank YOU very much guys for talking about me, my blog, my dream and goal.

A.P.

They call it good poker...

2005-01-16T06:12:00.000-08:00

Poker tournament to benefit The Homemakers' Auxiliary

More than $8,600 in prize money will be awarded at the Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament hosted by The Homemakers' Auxiliary and the Rochester American Legion on Sunday, Jan. 23, at the Rochester Legion, 94 Eastern Ave., Rochester.

The tournament entrance fee is $100 in advance, and $125 at the door. Registration begins at 11 a.m.; play begins at noon, and open poker will be held from 1 to 5 p.m.

Prizes will be awarded as follows: first place, $2,500; second place, $1,500; third place, $1,000, fourth place, $800, fifth place, $600 and sixth through 14th places, $250.

To register or for information, call Charlene Paris at 335-1770 or (800) 660-1770, ext. 104, or Gary at 332-2024. Half of the proceeds of the event will go to The Homemakers Auxiliary.

Formed in 1991, the purpose of The Homemakers Auxiliary is to promote community understanding of the services and programs of The Homemakers of Strafford County, to supplement fund-raising efforts and to offer volunteer services to the agency. Since its inception, the auxiliary has raised more than $30,000 for The Homemakers' programs, and donated hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours to the agency.

The auxiliary meets the second Thursday of every month at 4:30 p.m. at The Homemakers facility, located at 215 Rochester Hill Road, Rochester. New members are welcome. Persons interested in joining the Auxiliary may contact Charlene Paris or Lucia DeDe at 335-1770.

Some like it real

2005-01-16T06:11:00.000-08:00

World Championship Poker Reader Review
http://rr.ps2.ign.com/rr/020/020021.html

January 14, 2005 - I realize that all video games give the AI an advantage over the player. Whether it be knowledge of the race track layout or an army of bad guys trying to kill little ole' you, the odds are usually always on the AI. The problem with World Championship Poker is that the AI is given a distinct advantage. In fact, in any real poker game, it would be called cheating.

I only played Texas Hold 'Em in offline mode, because that's all I play in real life. I have Howard Lederer's instructional DVD, several books, and I regularly play on Yahoo! Games. I'm not a novice to the game by any means, but Crave seems to be. I don't think ANYONE at the company bothered to watch Lederer's DVD or read a single book.

I am consistently given 5/3 offsuit. By consistently I mean it is the first hand I am dealt after I sit down at any table. This is annoying in itself, but what provokes me to claim the AI has an advantage is their ability to act on my cards. Most notably, I had three aces, one in the pocket, and two on the board. What did my opponent have? Pocket twos. He played pocket two's against a pair of aces on the board!? Yes, in fact, he called when I went all in! We get to the river, I have him beat, he has only two outs and what happens? The river is a 2. Full house beats Three aces. Ok, it could happen, everyone gets lucky.

Flash-forward to a later hand, I'm holding pocket kings. (A top pair and killer hand, for those of you that don't know.) My opponent has 4/7 offsuit. The flop comes: 6,3,5. Ok, maybe I just have bad luck. Next time I have pocket kings, I am beaten by a flush to the 6. Time after that, straight to the 10. I've only had pocket kings three times, and each time they've lost to a flush or straight. I must have the worst luck in the world.

The AI will check down a monster hand, but they'll call all-in with a pair of twos when I'm the chip leader and the board shows aces!? Either these people have never played poker or they know something that I don't. Maybe they just felt lucky, but calling a four hundred dollar bet with 4/7 offsuit? That's a little strange to me.

The simple point here is that you can't give an advantage to the AI in a card game. If the AI is stupid (which it is) you need to go back and retool it, don't just give it information it shouldn't have! (IE: My cards, and what the flop will be.) I didn't buy this game, but I'm angry over the seven dollars it cost me to rent it. The single player gameplay is absolutely useless, and you can play Limit Hold 'Em online at Yahoo! Games for free. So why would ANYONE buy this game? Exactly, they won't. Well, they might, but only if they're as dumb as the AI.

To sum it up: I absolutely loathe this title.

Poker parties

2005-01-16T06:10:00.000-08:00

Ehy, is it hold'em or fold'em???

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com

Grand Strand bar owner Don Emry was bitten by the poker bug roughly two years ago, and recently competed in a Poker Tour International tournament in Costa Rica.

Emry, who owns biker-friendly bars The Dog House and Steel Horse Saloon along with gay club The Rainbow House, considers himself a mid-level player. "It feeds the competitive need for the average guy," he said. "But poker knows no gender and it knows no age."

He sharpens his skills by playing poker regularly aboard local casino cruise boats and online at sites such as www.partypoker.com.

Emry offers the following tips for beginning poker players:

"Educate yourself. Make sure you understand how the game is played, the strategies of the game, and the strengths of the hands before you commit any money/chips to playing. Read a book to understand the basic strategies of the game."

"Pay attention to the table. Watch to see how each player plays. Some are very loose, some are very aggressive, some are passive, and some are conservative. Use this information when you are making decisions on how to play your hand."

"Do NOT overvalue face cards or aces. Many beginning players make the mistake of calling a hand just because they have an ace or a king in their hand. The second card in your hand is just as important as the primary card in your hand."

"Be patient. You want to be a poker player not a gambler. Don't call a bet just because you are looking for that miracle card to win the pot. This will cost you in the long run. If your hand does not match the flop, fold it."

"Be aware of your betting position. Play fewer hands when you are first to bet, and be more aggressive when you are last."

"Be aggressive when you have a strong hand. You want to be the person betting, not the person calling. Don't let other players chase straights and flushes cheaply, and when the straight or flush is on the board, back off."

"If you want to learn the game, I recommend www.partypoker.com. This is the largest and most secure online site. You can play for free with phony money until you are ready to play for cash."

Deal me out: ESPN poker drama `Tilt' comes up short of a royal flush

2005-01-16T06:09:00.000-08:00

More Tilt than a pinball...

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/tvNews/view.bg?articleid=63208

``Tilt,'' ESPN's new pinball - er, poker - drama, aims to be hard-boiled but never gets deeper than attitude.

Still, props to ESPN for taking a shot at another fictional expose series after its 2003 pro football series ``Playmakers'' debacle and for wisely choosing a game that lacks an industry bully such as the NFL to kill the show.

The Las Vegas-set ``Tilt'' is about a gaggle of cutie-pie card players who seek to bring down the world's greatest, dirtiest poker player, Don ``The Matador'' Everest (played by Michael ``Mickey Rourke Was Out Buying Hair Grease'' Madsen).

The series was created by the guys who wrote the 1998 Matt Damon poker thriller ``Rounders'' and has the same basic idea. You can't go completely wrong with the theme of gambling and the details of its subculture.

Structurally, the writing is interesting. It's a continuing story line that unfolds the histories between the characters slowly while drawing parallels between them. At least we know HBO's ``The Wire'' is a good influence.

But the debut episode spends more time on its perfect-cheekbone leads exchanging trash talk than on anything intriguing or original.

These sexpots look and act as if they could barely count their toes, let alone count cards. Especially lead hunk Eddie Cibrian of ``Third Watch,'' who seems like a Coleman lantern that somehow sprouted a three-day beard. (He plays a character helpfully named Eddie so he won't get confused.)

The story twists and turns, but follows very familiar road maps in doing so. From Des Moines rubes to crooked cops, every film noir plot ever penned seems destined to be rousted from bed to work this one.

There's a character named Miami. The dialogue - such as ``This ain't America, kid. This is Vegas.'' - could almost make you wish Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler were never born. Madsen lurches around saying goofy things about card hands being like mackerel in the moonlight. (It will be worth watching to see whether there will be more flashbacks showing him wearing a cheesy fake mustache.)

``Tilt'' would be good for a laugh if there wasn't a sense that something more meaty was going to waste.

The show plays on TV's influence on the newly popular world of poker tournaments. But the show itself is so overcooked and cliched, it embodies the issue more than exploring it.

And while it delves into the sordid politics of the macho poker world, it's clearly more interested in glamorizing it as a fantasy for the 20-something demographic. With its cute cast, flashy duds and ubiquitous strippers, it's like a long-form beer commercial.

Eventually, the between-scenes filler shots of pros handling cards becomes the most interesting bit. Viewers will decide whether they're being dealt a joker or a knave.

Bluff Magazine Catches Poker Wave

2005-01-16T06:07:00.000-08:00

That's really a good mag, I suggest you to buy it - or at least read it at Borders...

Bluff Magazine, now in its third issue, has been caught up in the poker phenomenon that is sweeping the nation. The magazine, in its third issue, has surpassed more traditional poker titles in terms of popularity and distribution by focusing on the new breed of poker enthusiast that has been spawned by the omnipresence of poker on television, in the papers and in the stores this Christmas season.

“We have been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. The poker bug has bitten America, and we had the right blend of entertainment and information to become the nation’s best selling poker periodical,” said Editor Michael Caselli.

But it’s not just the poker players who are getting famous off America’s favorite card game. Bluff Magazine co-founders Eric Morris and Eddy Kleid have appeared in numerous television programs and publications, most recently on CNBC, talking about the poker craze.

More than 80 million Americans play poker at home, in card rooms and online, where over $170 million is wagered each day. If this trend continues, more than $250 million will be wagered on poker on the Internet alone each day by January 2006.

“We have seen an exponential growth in poker,” says Morris. “In our first issue we printed 90,000 copies. To meet demand, we increased our second print run to 150,000 copies, and our third issue will have 170,000 copies printed and distributed. Additionally, we’ve already confirmed that the print run for our fourth issue will exceed 200,000, further securing our position as the largest poker publication in the nation.”

It’s not just the public that are enamored with the game of poker; “Poker is huge in Hollywood,” says Kleid. “We have had James Woods and Donald Trump grace our covers, and Issue 3 will have Kevin Nealon on the cover to coincide with his hosting of the new TV show Poker Royale. There are a few new poker movies in the pipe and every channel seems to have something poker related in its line up – who knows how big this thing is going to get?”

With Bluff being sold in such mainstream outlets as Borders, Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart and 7/11, it looks like poker has finally made it mainstream.

Poker Itself Is the Winner, Along With the Grifters

2005-01-16T06:05:00.000-08:00

From http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/13/arts/television/13stan.html

Ood does not play dice with the universe, but Universal Studios is playing God with the dice.

Gambling, and especially poker, has invaded almost every form of television. "Las Vegas," the NBC drama about a Nevada casino, is just the prime-time tip of the iceberg. Celebrity poker, championship poker and casino-based reality shows abound on cable and broadcast networks. (A&E's "Caesar's 24/7" began this week, picking up where Fox's reality show "Casino" left off.)

So it stands to reason that ESPN, the sports cable network that covers the World Series of Poker with a hushed reverence once reserved for Wimbledon, would develop a drama about cardplayers. "Tilt," which begins tonight, is a cable version of "Las Vegas." But unlike the righteous security experts and floor supervisors who are the stars of the NBC drama, grifters and high rollers are the heroes of ESPN's drama. Networks cannot idealize gamblers in prime time any more than they could broadcast "The Sopranos," but cable has no such inhibitions.

"Tilt" follows three young cardsharps who team up to take down the reigning king of poker, Don Everest, a mean, cool and corrupt card champion known as the Matador. He is played by Michael Madsen, whose granite face and smoky voice are familiar from "Kill Bill Vol. 2."

"The Matador" rules Las Vegas, not just by skill but also by cheating. The three rookies are a kino card version of "Mod Squad": Miami, a beautiful blonde (Kristin Lehman); Eddie, a moody hunk (Eddie Cibrian); and Clark, a cool black man (Todd Williams III). The trio has a mysterious older backer who has a grudge against Everest; Everest is in league with a smooth-talking casino operator.

"You didn't even look at your hand," a Midwestern rube exclaims when the Matador makes his play. "I didn't have to," he replies silkily, "cuz I saw you look at yours."

The atmospherics are more compelling than the plot. "Tilt" takes great pride in burrowing past the gaudy touristy slot machines and holiday theme buffets to bleak, gritty back-room poker games where players wear do-rags and pull handguns when the cards go wrong.

Two of its creators are David Levien and Brian Koppelman, the team that wrote "Rounders," a 1998 movie about lowlife gamblers starring Matt Damon, and they have a great flair for the seamy, glitter-free underside of Las Vegas.

And that alone is appealing. The more the gaming industry tries to gild and mainstream its vices, the more connoisseurs veer toward the margins. "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" is a happy-talk ad slogan along the lines of GE's "We bring good things to life" - strictly for amateurs.

And we have become a nation of poker professionals. Gambling has always been popular, despite the Puritans' ban on it or perhaps because of the ban. (Chance was considered the province of the Divine.) Even though more Americans are likely to die of clogged arteries in a day than of terrorist attacks in a decade, the world since Sept. 11 feels riskier. The lure of gambling is highest when the economy is so uncertain that people would rather spend than save. It's becoming a common personal finance strategy: biographies and how-to books about poker and gambling are piled up in bookstores the way investment guides like "The Beardstown Ladies' Common-Sense Investment Guide: How We Beat the Stock Market - and How You Can, Too," were in the late 1990's. At a time of deficit spending and talk of the privatization of Social Security, risk has never seemed safer, particularly when television keeps harping on the possibility of a spectacular payoff.

Casino gambling fits our contradictions: we are risk-averse lovers of danger (horror movies, Space Mountain, Outward Bound), a workaholic nation that exalts leisure and a deeply religious country that lets Mammon into the pews.

And in a reality show culture, we are poker voyeurs: armchair gamblers.

And unlike so many cable shows that cater to the elusive male viewer (bass fishing, Nascar-racing and soon, no doubt, tobacco-spitting), poker is gender-blind entertainment. People talk to each other at the card table, and few other games so quickly expose the personality quirks of the players. Players are judged not just on how well they play but also on how gracefully they lose - and the camera captures every tic and tell. That helps explain why "Celebrity Poker" has a strong following: even the suavest movie star can look foolish when bluffing against an inside straight.

"Tilt" tries to restore some of the old-fashioned romance of gambling, a louche veneer that has been stripped off as television cameras invade the back rooms. (The winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker and its $5 million first prize was not named Amarillo Slim or Nick the Greek. It was Greg Raymer, 39, of Stonington, Conn., a patent lawyer for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.)

"Tilt" is not the "Cincinnati Kid," but it creatively evokes an earlier era when gamblers were rogues, not chairmen of the Rotary Club.

'Tilt'

ESPN, tonight at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8, Central time.

Brian Koppelman, Orly Adelson and David Levien, executive producers.

WITH: Eddie Cibrian (Eddie Towne), Chris Bauer (Lee Nickel), Michael Madsen (Don Everest), Kristin Lehman (Miami) and Todd Williams III (Clark Marcellin).

Knowing When To Fold'em Important For Teen Poker Players

2005-01-16T06:03:00.000-08:00

... and not just 4 them!

Video Games Being Supplanted By Poker

POSTED: 2:44 pm EST January 14, 2005
UPDATED: 11:27 pm EST January 14, 2005

What on Earth is interesting enough to pull a kid away from their video games? Try poker.

TV shows with big bucks on the line and professional poker players are glamorizing the game, so NBC 10's Dawn Timmeny took a look at the pros and cons of kids and poker.

Texas Hold'em is taking hold among teens everywhere. The shuffling of cards and the clicking of plastic chips is being heard just about anywhere that kids hang out these days.

Many parents are giving poker a thumbs up.

"I love that they are here. I love that I can watch them interact. Yes, that is definitely a good thing," said Susan Hewitt, a mother.

Ian Borden, 13, has his buddies over a couple times a month for a friendly game of poker.

Borden's dad, NBC 10 producer Deryl Borden, keeps an eye on the game to make sure the stakes aren't too high and no one goes home mad.

"It does teach them camaraderie, friendship and in some ways understanding and how to walk away and lose a little money or a little something and be a good sport about it," Deryl Borden said.

So, just how much money are kids playing for?

"Pots can get up to $5 and Corey won $26 one weekend against me," Ian Borden said.

"The most we ever had in a pot was $60, but that was at a birthday party, so a lot of kids, a lot of money," said Austin Fox, 13.

With poker paraphernalia flying off store shelves as fast as it is being stocked, experts are warning parents that if they are not careful, they could be gambling with their children's health. It is estimated that 8 percent of children who gamble won't know when to fold 'em and could become addicted.

"If you are suddenly noticing that there's some mood changes or something is different or they are borrowing large sums of money or its seem this is their total preoccupation, then perhaps it is a problem you need to take care of as a parent," said Dr. Joanne White, a therapist.

White also warns that you can't predict which kids are at risk, but acknowledges the dangers need to be kept in perspective.

"It may be teaching them critical skills -- math skills -- so there is an academic aspect to it and it's fun. It's a form of socialization," White said.

"There is more thinking than you would think. It's not like video games where you just sit and stare at the television or something," said Jake Messikomer, 13.

For those concerned about whether kids are being dealt a bad hand with this latest craze, keep in mind that, with teenagers, often what's hot today is passe tomorrow.

http://www.nbc10.com/news/4083960/detail.html

Poker sharks seek revenge in Vegas on Tilt

2005-01-16T06:01:00.000-08:00

High stakes... at stake.

Tilt, ESPN's new series about high-stakes poker players, is set in Las Vegas, but unlike some other prime-time series we could name, it's not something the Chamber of Commerce will adore.

It introduces three young poker sharks -- Eddie (Eddie Cibrian), Clark (Todd Williams) and Miami (Kristin Lehman) -- who initially seem to have nothing in common other than perhaps some mutual contempt. But, as we're gradually shown, they're a team, and they're on a mission.

Each has some sort of grudge, in some cases dating back to when they were children of people who should have been in Gamblers Anonymous, against a big-time professional card player, Don Everest (Michael Madsen). In Las Vegas and international gaming circles, he's known as "The Matador."

Everest plies his trade at the Colorado Casino, a fictional Las Vegas gaming hotel. The Mod Squad-like trio is determined to settle old scores with him, and so is Lee Nickel (Chris Bauer), a small-town cop who makes a clumsy attempt at trying to play at the same high-roller table with the Matador and catch him cheating. The poker legend apparently took Nickel's brother to the cleaners, underhandedly, the lawman believes.

Now, potential viewers well may ask: What, beyond the payback plot, does Tilt have to offer that NBC's Monday night hit Las Vegas doesn't?

For starters, a less romantic view of Sin City. Some might even call it a seamy view, what with casino management referring to patrons as "suckers" and houses doing whatever they can to improve their odds.

The executive producer is Orly Adelson, who served the same function on Playmakers, an ESPN dramatic series that met a premature demise because NFL officials were livid at its intimating that professional football players used illegal substances, tomcatted around and acted overindulged. Luckily this time, Vegas doesn't have a commissioner or a players' association.

Madsen's character takes full advantage of his reptilian qualities, the hood eyes and cobra stare, and Don McManus plays casino manager Bart "Lowball" Rogers like a human oil slick. And they're just the tip of a lowlife iceberg in this show.

Along with its favoring of underbelly over glitz, the other seductive thing about Tilt is the way writer-directors Brian Koppelman and David Levien take viewers into the thick of the poker games.

Television often has been called a medium of close-ups, but rarely has its natural bent been so adroitly exploited. Tight head-shots, expressively inexpressive faces and masterful editing turn bluffs and raises into High Noon showdowns.

Whether Koppelman and Levien can sustain the tension of the premiere is anybody's guess. Taking down the Matador seems like a limited premise. But given that millions of people watch celebrity wannabes play cards, don't bet against the vastly more compelling Tilt keeping card-obsessed viewers at the table for a while.

90-Year-Old C.E.O. Is Poker's New Queen

2005-01-16T05:59:00.000-08:00

It's never 2 late! :-)

Pugliese, the C.E.O. of Passport International Productions of CA, Inc., gambled on her son's idea to produce a poker show that everyone could enjoy. The result was "Ultimate Poker Challenge," the first syndicated poker program, which reaches more U.S. households than any other poker show.

Americans are tuning in to watch their favorite players compete for cash and prizes on "Ultimate Poker Challenge," thanks to Mrs. Pugliese. "The show brings the thrill of Las Vegas right into your living room," said Mrs. Pugliese.

"Ultimate Poker Challenge" brings together male and female; amateurs and pros alike to compete for a chance to play in the semi-finals and a shot at the championship title, cash and prizes. Nick "The Kid" Bouyea of New York, proved, anyone can win. Just 22, Bouyea advanced to the semi-finals in the opening tournament. But this isn't just a man's game. Kathy Liebert beat out six male players during the sixth week of play.

"Ultimate Poker Challenge" is the only tournament offering an unprecedented seven seats per table, 26 final tables and 182 chances to participate in televised tournament action. "Ultimate odds for anyone wanting to get in on the action," said Dan Pugliese, Executive Producer. Each week, field correspondent Brandi Williams, named one of the 50 sexiest women of 2004, entertains viewers with her allure, smile and Vegas style. Brandi will be joined by world-renowned poker player Daniel Negreneau during the semi- finals on February 12 and 19 and the legendary Doyle Brunson, along with his son Todd, during the championship tournament on February 26. "Ultimate Poker Challenge" will be re-aired in its entirety beginning in March. Passport Entertainment will be in Las Vegas January 25 - 27, to introduce a new season of "Ultimate Poker Challenge" at NATPE.

"Ultimate Poker Challenge" is produced by the International Poker Championship Series, Inc. and distributed by Passport Entertainment. For more information, please visit www.ultimatepokerchallenge.com.

About Passport Entertainment

Passport Entertainment is a division of Passport International Productions of CA, Inc., a full-service production and worldwide distribution company, which maintains an extensive catalog of audio, television and video programming. For more information, please visit www.passportproductions.com.

Poker goes Game Boy...

2005-01-16T05:55:00.000-08:00

Review from http://gamesfirst.com/v4/index.php?m=l&i=365 No way we can stay w/out poker! :-)

Of all the recent crazes to sweep America, probably one of the least foreseeable would be the enormous popularity of professional poker. It seems like no matter when you turn on the TV you can always find someone, whether it be professionals or celebrities, wagering thousands on the turn of a card. The draw of professional poker is that the game is easy to learn and fun to play, which makes it easy to imagine ourselves holding a perfect hand with the high rollers in Las Vegas whenever we watch the game on TV. Therefore it only seems right that someone would release a video game which, at least to a small extent, lets us live that dream. Enter “World Championship Poker”.

WCP is a new card-playing game for the Game Boy Advance with a price tag under $20. Despite its low price, this game offers you a wide variety of ways to entertain yourself by losing your chips. From the main menu you can jump right into a quick game without wasting a second. For your gambling pleasure you can play four different poker games; Texas hold’em, Omaha hold’em, seven-card stud, and my personal favorite, five-card draw. If you’re not in the mood for taking on three opponents, you can also try your hand at blackjack, video poker, or slot machines. If your knowledge of the rules of a certain game is a little hazy, the game also provides well-written and fully animated tutorials for every card game. However, while the quick games are all good and fun, the real meat of this game lies in its career mode. You start out in a casino called the Wild Corral Casino, just one of four casinos on Casino Lane. The owner of the Wild Corral kindly provides you with $5,000 to start out with. To gain entrance to the higher-end casinos, you must improve your wealth and show your skills by winning tournaments. Also, if lady luck isn’t on your side and you manage to lose all of your cash, there is a loan shark in the game who will provide you with some extra spending money; but you better hope your luck changes if you ever want to pay him back.

Unfortunately there is no save feature included in the game that lets you save your career and your winnings. Instead, quiting means that you are provided with a password in the form of five playing cards that you can use later to continue your career, and not having an actual save feature is a real pain. Even though the career mode isn’t very long and is easily beatable in one sitting, it would still be nice to be able to save where you are in case your batteries start to die. If playing against opponents with real flesh and blood is more your style, you can link up with up to three other friends and try your luck via the game’s multiplayer mode. I don’t know what the odds are of 4 people having a GBA and this game, but somehow, no deck of cards, but the multiplayer mode does have the benefit of shuffling the cards perfectly every time.

There isn’t a whole lot that can be said about how the game looks. Your opponents all take the form of the most clichéd groups of casino-goers. From little old ladies, to suave businessmen, to well-endowed women, this game basically puts you up against any character you could manage to dig up in a typical casino setting. The characters all have a few animations they perform when something happens to them; sometimes you’ll see a snicker when they get a good card or maybe get a frown when a poor card is flipped, and every now and then it appears they just like to taunt you. All of the characters also have a very cartoonish look. While not really adding any realism to the game, this graphic style might be able to at least keep you in a better mood while you are getting your butt whipped. The same holds true for the sounds of the game. Each casino has its own goofy, yet appropriate theme music. The music is simple, but it stays with the toon-like theme of the game and adds some atmosphere to the table. To go along with their animations, the characters also emit strange and occasionally annoying sounds whenever they please. It can really start to make you mad when you are getting every card but the one you need while your adversaries are shouting “Woo!” with every deal. Not all of the sounds are informative, however. Often your fellow players will do things like shuffle their hand or blow on their glasses just to try to irritate you.

Gameplay is about as straightforward as it gets. You use the D-pad to make a selection such as a table, card, or command, and then use A or B to confirm or go back. To bet you use the R and L buttons to increase or decrease your wager. There is not a complex control moment in this game, and it truly deserves its “E” rating. It isn’t like a poker video game needs in-depth control schemes, though. The act of playing is can be both fun and frustrating, depending on the moment. There were a few times I wanted to throw my GBA into the wall. It was also nice to see that each character has their own playing style, and that those playing styles can be exploited after you figure them out.

Overall, World Championship Poker is an entertaining game which should appeal to poker fans of all ages. The AI can be a little weak at times, and the lack of an actual save feature in the game is annoying and occasionally costly, but for those times when you don’t have anybody to play a real game of cards with and you just need something to pass the time, WCP would be an inexpensive and worthwhile pickup.

Strategy key in European tournament on poker steve rosenbloom

2005-01-16T05:52:00.000-08:00

Tips from Europe...

THE EVERYONE’S invited/anybody-can-win hold ’em tournaments are all the rage, from sit-and-go tables to big buy-in events.

But there is another kind of tournament played annually in Europe that would seemingly appeal to television’s desire to crown ultimate champions.

The World Heads Up Poker Championship staged in Barcelona is structured like the NCAA basketball tournament, only doubled. You have 128 contestants divided into four brackets — drawn randomly, not seeded — and if you win, you play the winner of the match next to you.

Each player starts with $5,000 in chips each round. The blinds go from $50-$100 to $75-$150 after one hour to $100-$200 after two hours. But the blinds remain $100-$200, emphasizing skill and delaying desperation all-ins.

It’s like being one of the last two players at a final table. Win seven final tables, win it all.

But strategy changes in this kind of tournament, said “Miami” John Cernuto, the 2003 champion. “Starting out with the same amount of chips, there’s going to be a lot more hands that you need to play,” said Cernuto, who came to big-time poker after President Reagan fired him and his fellow air traffic controllers for going on strike a couple decades ago.

“Against a player who’s not showing me much aggressiveness, I’d be raising his big blind, I’d say, probably nine times out of 10, and it really doesn’t matter what the hands are. It’s just two pieces of paper at that point.”

Ultimately, a player has to make a stand. Mickey Wernick made one in a quarterfinal match last year and doubled up. After taking a small chip lead, Wernick made a big preflop raise as Cernuto picked up A-K.

“I don’t know whether it was the frustration of spending 2-3 hours with this guy and getting him down to nothing and watching him come back and win it all on a bluff, or what it was, but I made a huge reraise with ace-king,” Cernuto said. “I committed myself to this pot.

“He came back over the top. I said, ‘I’m in trouble. He’s probably got two queens or two kings.’ So, I called. I put all the money on the line.”

Wernick indeed had pocket Ks. The flop came 5-5-4. The turn came a 3. The river came a deuce. Cernuto hit a straight.

“I made a wheel with the ace-king,” Cernuto said. “Super lucky. I finished him off after that.”

Williams Hoping for Home Comfort

2005-01-16T05:49:00.000-08:00

People going up, people going down...

Mark Williams is hoping that competing on home soil this week at the Welsh Open will spark a much-needed improvement in his flagging fortunes.

The twice world champion from Cwm is enduring the worst slump of his career.

He has not lifted a trophy since the LG Cup in October 2003. Having been number one on the provisional world list last year, he has plummeted to 12th – placing his continued occupation of a top-16 place at the end of the season in jeopardy.

But the left-hander, recognised as the finest long potter in the game when in full flow, blames no one but himself.

“My results have been bad because I haven’t been practising enough. It’s as simple as that. All of this is my own fault,” he said.

“I’ve found motivation tough and I haven’t been working hard enough.

“Everybody knows you only get out of the game what you put into it. That’s been my problem.”

Williams plumbed new depths in November when he lost 9-3 to Mark King in the last 32 of the UK Championship. But the manner in which he hammered Paul Hunter 5-1 in a Betfred.com Premier League fixture in Colchester on Thursday suggests a return to form could be imminent.

Having overwhelmed Hunter with a hat-trick of century breaks, Williams – who won the first of his 15 world ranking titles at the 1996 Welsh Open – has sights set on an equally impressive series of performances at the Newport Centre.

“Playing in my own backyard could be just the boost I need. The Welsh people always give me really great support, and I hope that will give me a springboard,” he said.

“Of course the Welsh Open’s important to me because I’m Welsh – but at the moment every tournament is important.

“I want a good run of results to get back to where I was. The longer this bad spell carries on the harder it’ll be to fight back.”

Williams, who plays Ali Carter or Adrian Gunnell in the last 32 of the year’s first world ranking event on Wednesday, is not the only high-profile Welsh player treading water of late.

Matthew Stevens scooped 500,000 US dollars by triumphing in the recent Pacific Poker Open – but while the 2003 UK champion has clearly been playing his cards right, success on the snooker table has been in very short supply of late.

The 27 year-old from Carmarthen has lost his opening match in the season’s first three events, winning only five frames and losing 19.

Since winning the UK Championship 14 months ago, Stevens has lost eight consecutive matches contested over the best of nine or 11 frames.

Stevens opens his Welsh Open campaign with a best-of-nine match against King or Steve James.

Ronnie O’Sullivan, who dramatically rallied from 8-5 down to beat veteran Steve Davis 9-8 in last year’s final, launches his title defence against Ian McCulloch or Finland’s number one Robin Hull – while Stephen Hendry, the Welsh Open champion a record three times, starts out against Stuart Bingham or Stephen Maguire.

Henry’s ex-practice partner Maguire could hardly have been more convincing en route to lifting the UK trophy two months ago.

Tells tell you more ......

2004-11-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

QUOTING http://www.pokertop10.com
What is a Poker Tell? A tell is any habit, behavior, or physical reaction, that gives other players more information about your hand. The following are tips supplied to PokerTop10 by the pros, and can apply against novice or advanced players. Remember, that in poker there are many contradictions and exceptions to the rule. Also, experienced pros will give out false tells to fool players.

Watch the Eyes

This is why many pros wear sunglasses or visors/caps when playing, they know that the eyes rarely lie. For eg. many players can't help but stare at big hole cards, so their length of time peeking is longer. Conversely, if a player is looking to steal the pot, he may look to his left to see if the remaining players, who haven't yet acted, have quickly glanced at their cards and are likely to fold. Another eg., a player may try to ask you questions about your hand, knowing that people rarely can "look someone straight in the eyes" while being dishonest.

Facial Expression

Again, many pros try to disguise their entire face by wearing a cap and looking downward. This is to avoid the classic stare down that poker pros are famous for. They may try to study your face for nervousness (detecting a weak hand), or even look for repetitive characteristics like a body "tic". You may have obvious unhappiness in your face when your hand is weak, and conversely, you may show a contrasting show of confidence when your hand is strong.
Weak is Strong/Strong is Weak

In its most simplistic form, this usually applies to novice players but frequently applies to pros as well. Basically, players like to be actors, and when they have a monster hand they tend to look disinterested. eg. "Oh, is it my turn to act" or "Oh I guess I will play these cards". Alternatively, a player increasing the level of his voice while raising the pot, and trying to look intimidating. may be running a bluff.

Anxiety

Anxiety typically occurs in people when they are confronted, or anticipating confrontation. Psychologists call this the "Fight or Flight" stimulus response, which links back to the days when we were cavemen/cave women. Physical changes happen including flexing of muscles, eye pupil dilation, palpitating heart rate, dry throat. In poker, when someone has a big hand they are typically ready for confrontation and can exhibit some of these characteristics. You may see the chest expanding abnormally, or you may notice the players voice become slightly higher as he makes a comment. Some of the top players in the game will stare at the vein on the top-side of your face for blood pressure changes. During a bluff, the player may demonstrate anxiety, but if he knows he will fold the hand if re-raised (non-confrontational end) may look quite comfortable.
Trembling Hands
Also, a byproduct of anxiety, beware of a player whose hands are shaking, this nervousness can represent a big hand.
Glance at Chips
Again, relating to the eyes. It is common for players to quickly glance at their chips if they connect with the board after a Flop for example. This may be a subconscious reaction, but the player is already planning his attack.
Peeking Hole Cards on Flop
Some players will take another look at their hole cards when, for example, the board is showing a potential 3 card flush draw. Typically, the player is looking to see if one of his cards is connecting, because he remembers only that the two cards are different suits.
Repetitive Betting Patterns
Usually the most revealing tells are based on the way a player habitually bets during particular situations. For example, maybe the player always checks when he has made the nuts, or a player may regularly fold after being re-raised.
Body Posture/Attitude
Some players show obvious changes in their posture based on their attitude/hand strength. For instance, you may notice their shoulders drop/slump when they are not confident (weak hand). Conversely, you may notice the player is very attentive and sitting in an erect position when he has strength. You may also notice that a player who bluffs a lot, leans forward in a confrontational way... remember Strong is Weak!
Chip Stacking
When you first sit down at a table, study the way the players stack their chips. Although it is a generalization, loose aggressive players typically maintain unorganized/sloppy stacks, while tight conservative players keep well organized/neat stacks.

Tell me more .... Click and tell; Victor Chandler Poker survey identifies online poker tells.

2004-11-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

Click and tell; Victor Chandler Poker survey identifies online poker tells.

QUOTING http://www.vcpoker.com
Thanks to classic films such as Rounders and The Cincinnati Kid that have dramatized the world of high-stakes poker, the gaming world has always been fascinated with the psychology of the game.

And a large part of that psychology is the ability to read your opponents, to pick up on the subconscious tells that every player gives. Whether it’s the way they stack their chips or look at their cards, many a poker player has been sent home broke after a tell has let slip the strength of their hand.

The rise of online poker, where the only contact between players was via a computer screen, was thought to have removed the role of tells from the poker table. But new research from Victor Chandler Poker (www.vcpoker.com), Europe’s fastest growing online poker room, suggests that a new set of tells are being discovered in the online game.

Offline and online poker tells
Victor Chandler Poker surveyed regular online poker players and asked them about both offline and online poker tells. In the physical world, the most common tells were a player’s eyes (it seems they really are the windows to the soul), facial expressions and playing with chips. The top three online poker tells were:

Quickness to respond, reported by 76% of respondents – a very fast check can indicate a weak hand, quick bets on the turn or river can often indicate a strong hand.
Slowness to respond, reported by 73% of respondents – a pause followed by a check can often indicate weakness, while a delay followed by a raise often indicates strength.
Automatic play, reported by 68% of respondents – a lazy approach to the auto buttons lets a player slip into a set pattern of play. Any breaks in this pattern are clear tells.

Online poker players are relaxed
But the survey also indicated that online poker players were more relaxed about tells, with only 31% of players actively looking for tells in their online opponents; yet, if playing offline poker, 58% said they would actively look for tells.

Respondents also had some advise for online poker players:

“The good players vary their responses and leave you guessing as to what they really have – online and offline.”

“I keep a book on everyone I play against. The beauty of online play is that you can accumulate all of this information and refer back to it time and again.”

“Anyone called ‘Imgonnabluff’ will probably never bluff and only plays very strong hands!”.

Getting an edge; pick up on tells and avoid giving them out.
According to Simon Prodger, product marketing manager at Victor Chandler Poker, "… poker is an endlessly fascinating game. You’re not just playing the cards you’re dealt, you’re also playing against your opponent – and they’re human even if you are playing over the web. The small clues that can be picked up add to the fun of the game and can really give an edge to players who take the trouble to look."

Prodger goes on to give three golden rules for all online poker players hoping to get this edge: "Number one, always pay attention whether you’re involved in a hand or not, as you’ll learn a lot about your opponent’s game and temperament. Two, make notes on the players you see regularly in the card room, and use these to guide your play against each player. And three, always look to vary your game; by doing so you’ll avoid becoming predictable and giving out information about yourself."

QUOTING http://www.vcpoker.com/news/Online-Poker-Tells.doc
Introduction
A lot has been written about poker tells – the subconscious clues that indicate to other players, the strength or weakness of a player’s hand.
But do poker tells exist online?
In an earlier issue of our monthly newsletter, Big Slick, we explored some ideas on online poker tells. The article generated some debate among our readers so we decided to conduct a formal survey and see what they really thought. The research was conducted by email and online survey during June 2004.
To give perspective, we asked respondents about both offline and online poker tells.

Results
Question 1: How often do you play ONLINE poker?
Respondents were frequent online poker players with 72% playing between 4-7 times per week.
95% of respondents played online poker at least once per week.

Question 2: How often do you play OFFLINE poker?
Offline poker playing, for example in a casino card room or a home game with friends, was not as popular with respondents.
22% of respondents never played offline poker. 48% of respondents played offline poker at least once a month.

Looking for tells played a significant part in most players’ strategy with 58% saying that they actively looked for tells in other players when involved in an offline game. A further 28% said they would notice and react if someone did something strange. 14% said they just concentrated on their own game.
Question 4: What do you think are the three most common tells in offline poker
Players were asked to report their top 3 from 6 recognized poker tells:
• The eyes – the length of time a player stares at his cards, his willingness to look you in the eye, his eye pupil dilation
• Facial expression – does a player show a noticeable tic, or obvious unhappiness when a hand is weak, obvious confidence when a hand is strong?
• Weak is strong, strong is weak – with a strong hand a player tries to look disinterested, with a weak hand a player tries to appear intimidating
• Anxiety – physical clues such as flexing of muscles, changes in voice, chest expanding
• Trembling hands – showing nervousness by hands shaking, usually indicating a strong hand.
• Glancing or playing with chips – Indicating a player is already planning his attack.
The most common of these were ‘weak is strong’, ‘the eyes’ and ‘glancing or playing with chips’.

Question 5: Thinking about your own poker game offline, what tells do you worry about showing to other players?
Players were asked about what clues they were worried about giving out. Facial expression and ‘the eyes’, were the top 2 worries.

In online poker, fewer players actively looked for tells – only 31% against 58% in offline poker. Indeed, 25% just concentrated on their own game against 14% offline.
Question 7: What do you think are the three most common tells in online poker?
Players were asked to report their top 3 from 5 suggested online poker tells:
• Automatic play – a lazy approach to the auto buttons lets a player slip into a set pattern of play – a break in that pattern is a clear tell
• Slowness to respond – a pause followed by a check can often indicate weakness, a delay followed by a raise often indicates a strong hand
• Quickness to respond – a very fast check can often indicate a weak hand, quick bets on the turn or the river can often indicate a strong hand.
• Chat panel - talk gives clues, silent types often play hard, holding good hands when they raise; chatty, friendly players tend to be looser.
• Player's names - screen names like 'The Gambler' and 'Mad Dog' tend to be loose and aggressive while players with names such as 'The Rock' tend to be tighter players.
The most common were ‘quickness to respond’, ‘slowness to respond’ and ‘automatic play’.

Our Conclusions
• Online poker tells do exist. The most recognized are related to the speed of play – ‘quickness to respond’ – 76%, ‘slowness to respond’ – 73%, and falling into the trap of ‘automatic play’ – 68% scored highly in our research.
“Beware, some players are slow to respond when they get a monster hand as they are indecisive how to play it and get the maximum amount from it - don't mistake this delay for having a weak hand. Also, watch each players’ reaction times whether they have good cards or not and note any difference from their norm.”
• Online tells such as the chat panel and players’ screen names did not score highly, 29% and 8% respectively. However, one player did report:
“I was once playing at a table and one of the other players wrote his hand in the chat screen by accident!” Another that, “anyone called Imgonnabluff will probably never bluff and play only very strong hands!”
• One respondent summed up the whole approach to poker psychology,
“The good players vary their responses and leave you guessing as to what they really have - online or offline.”
• Betting patterns also hold clues,
“I think the only real tells on online poker relate to the size and frequency of bets.”
• Collecting information was also important,
“For me the secret is keeping book on every one I play against. Even if its only a few hands, for me its still important to get an idea of how they play”
“The beauty of online play is that you can accumulate all of this information and refer back to it time and again. You simply cannot do this in bricks and mortar poker. Information and form is the secret I think.
• And finally, one player had a few sobering words to add,
“not really a tell, but I win most on Friday & Saturday nights, after closing time - people are more reckless drunk, obviously.”

The best words ........

2004-11-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

are those about myself! EHEHEHEH! Thanks to Alexander Roth for this press release!!!!! Kiss!

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/11/prweb174513.htm
Meet the 2007 Poker Champion - Yahoo Already Knows Her Blog
Type "2007 poker champion" or "2007 poker winner" on Yahoo. You'll get http://angelthegambler.blogspot.com/, Angel's blog. She comes with clear poker goals and a political agenda

(PRWEB) November 4, 2004 -- Angel devoted her blog http://angelthegambler.blogspot.com to her dreams, ideas, goals. But, instead of talking about what the average woman would like to discuss, she is blogging about poker and her path to become the 2007 poker champion.

It seems Yahoo already noticed her efforts, because she is at top position for "2007 poker champion" and similar searches. Angel is blogging about poker, tips for beginners, updates for professional poker players.

Also, Angel provides a solution to boost the number of voters in the next presidential elections: she suggests starting a special Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament, with a $10,000,000 final prize, with seats assigned by lottery. Every active voter gets one entry to the lottery, plus additional entries for referred citizen who decide to vote. This would spare a lot of paper and save costs on unsolicited political mail.

Some websites have already started supporting Angel, wishing to see her becoming the 2007 poker champion. Webmasters willing to coordinate efforts and give maximum exposure to Angel and http://angelthegambler.blogspot.com can contact Alexander Roth at e-mail protected from spam bots.

The goal is to build a ring of personal websites, devoted to poker and other pleasures of life, where webmasters can talk to each other and support Angel's career as professional poker player. Blogs and site with a strong personal prospective are more than welcome to join the "Angel for 200 poker champion" coalition. It can also be a way to get to know other poker players who blog and share their poker stories online.

Poker Faced Ministers

2004-11-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

Never mind my kind request.......
"(IsraelNN.com) While members of the Likud faction in Knesset are growing increasingly concerned with Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s resignation deadline just 48 hours away, Netanyahu and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remain poker faced, with neither exhibiting a hint as their next move."

Poker faced people, yeah yeah!

If you can't handle it .......

2004-11-07T15:28:00.001-08:00

just stay away! Of course, cashing checks is a marketing tool, but no one is forcing people inside casinos honey!!!!!

QUOTING www.napanews.com

Thousands cash payroll checks at Vegas casinos but at what cost?
LAS VEGAS -- It's payday and a long line has sprouted at the casino's cashier cage, where tellers dole out bundles of money.

Nearly all the folks waiting this afternoon inside the Boulder Station casino are clutching paychecks. A waitress offers free margaritas to the growing crowd beneath catchy banners --"Just cash your check, spin and win?" "Everyone's a winner ... Guaranteed!" and "Free drink with every paycheck cashed."

Many in the line leave the casino without spending a penny of their hard-earned money. But others drop dollar after dollar into the ubiquitous slot and video poker machines.

Some lose everything.

"I come and leave," said John Humphrey, 35, an electrician who said he once lost his entire $1,400 paycheck playing the slots after cashing it at a casino. "It hurt on bills. I don't do that anymore."

Check-cashing is business as usual at many Las Vegas casinos, where residents flock to exchange their payroll or government checks for cash at no charge. The service puts people and their money inside the casinos but it also draws some criticism from those in and out of the industry.

Patrons come to avoid the fees of check-cashing centers and account requirements of banks.

Unlike banks, casinos lure their customers with free booze and an array of gimmicks. People can win food and more money by playing games, such as Poker Payday, Paycheck Bonanza Plus and Paycheck Poker.

Some of the biggest practitioners of this time-honored Nevada trade are Wall Street darlings like Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming, companies that own casinos popular with residents.

At Boulder Station, testimonials hang above the cashier cage from Gilbert, Michael and Dietmar, the last claiming he doubled his paycheck.

The Orleans casino boasts the Paycheck Party Machine that allows players to pick their favorite game: poker, slots or Keno and "Win up to $250,000."

On its massive parking deck, the Palms hotel-casino displays a scantily clad woman holding wads of money with the slogan: "Win up to $10,000 instantly." The casino also advertises in the local newspaper.

Arizona Charlie's tempts workers with the words "Dream Big!" and a free big-screen television.

The biggest companies in the industry -- MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment -- do not partake in the longtime tradition in or outside Nevada. In Las Vegas, these gambling goliaths depend on tourists rather than residents to drive their earnings.

Harrah's Chairman Phil Satre said many communities frown upon the practice and it isn't worth the negative publicity.

Virginia McDowell, senior vice president of operations of Argosy Gaming in Indiana, said her company does not allow check-cashing at its casinos.

"We wouldn't even if we could because ... it's not good business," she said. "It's just not the right thing to do. We are good corporate citizens and we certainly don't want to do anything that's going to cause problems."

Indiana, New Jersey, Missouri, Illinois and Louisiana are among the states that prohibit payroll or government check cashing at their casinos.

Kevin Mullally, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission, said people should not do their banking at casinos, which are for entertainment.

"I'm sure that some would argue that it's a convenience factor for the patron," he said. "But it's just inconsistent with the environment that we would like to create in Missouri. You don't go to the movies and cash your paycheck. You don't go to the bowling alley and cash your paycheck. When you start allowing those type of deviations, then it becomes something other than that."

Scott Scherer, of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said he was approached by a company that wants to go a step further and install automatic loan kiosks inside casinos.

"My gut instinct is I'm opposed to this but I'm open to listening," he said. "It could be a combustible issue for the industry. If you're cashing a paycheck, it's money you've already earned. Do we want to allow this one step further -- gambling away money you haven't earned?"

Executives with MGM Mirage and Caesars Entertainment have raised the question of whether check cashing should be discontinued in all casinos.

When members of the American Gaming Association talked about including the check-cashing business in the industry's new code of conduct, Station Casinos objected.

Stations spokeswoman Leslie Pittman said it would put her company at a competitive disadvantage if only AGA members followed the trade organization's code of conduct. Not all casinos companies -- the Palms for instance -- are part of the association.

"If this is going to be prohibited it should be across the board," said Pittman, who served on a working group that developed the highly touted code that went into effect Oct. 1. "If the industry was going to voluntarily not provide this service, in the interest of fairness, it would have to be as a whole."

Judy Patterson, the association's executive director and senior vice president, said the trade group was divided on a ban.

"The goal is to reach consensus," she said. "There wasn't consensus on this issue."

Station Casinos supplies a valuable service to many residents who don't have bank accounts and don't want to pay a percentage of their check to cash it at other places, Pittman said.

At the off-Strip Orleans hotel-casino, scores of people stood in line one recent Friday waiting to cash their checks. The line was longer than a football field and a waitress couldn't unload her drinks fast enough to the mostly Hispanic crowd.

At the end of it paycheck queue, the Paycheck Party Machine loomed large.

Robert Stillwell, Boyd Gaming's vice president of corporate communications, said the casino tactics are reasonable, including offering free drinks.

"You see a lot of promotions in retail, and it's commensurate with what any business does trying to generate business," he said. "We are not serving minors. We are serving adults."

Rob Hunter, a clinical psychologist who runs the Problem Gambling Center in Las Vegas, said his patients don't need more temptation to gamble.

"The idea of having an entire check in $100 bills and two free drink coupons is inherently dangerous for the problem gambler," he said.

Mixing booze with dollars inside a casino could be a combustible combination, said Arnie Wexler, former executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey.

"That's wrong," Wexler said. "For them to cash checks is a business decision, but for them to give free drinks? That's disgusting. It's an inducement to gamble once you get the money."

Charlotte Haskell, who receives $781 in workers compensation every two weeks, likes to cash her checks at Boulder Station.

"I've been coming here forever," Haskell, 41, said. "I'm going to get my free spin."

Haskell doesn't burn through all her money after she cashes her check at the casino. She's developed a system.

"That's how I control my gambling, having someone drop me off and wait," she explained.

But then again, Haskell doesn't like to gamble on Friday, anyway.

"I usually come back Saturdays. Saturday is my day."

If you can't handle it .......

2004-11-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

Survival of the fittest ......

2004-11-07T15:27:00.001-08:00

Tournaments are all about surviving, QUOTING www.timesleader.com

You're playing a no-limit Hold 'Em tournament, half the field is gone, and you catch pocket Ks.
And you have to lay them down.

It's not as bad as having your aces cracked, but still.

That was the situation a player calling himself Mickeyslick1 (love those poker names) e-mailed about when he faced a preflop all-in of $15,000:

"Since I had roughly the same amount of chips, I decided to fold and not risk it. All my friends say it was stupid, and I myself think it was stupid. What do you think? Pocket kings are nice but aces are better."

Here's the deal: Tournaments are all about surviving, even if it involves laying down pocket Ks, even if it's the World Series of Poker.

Phil Gordon, the insightful pro who also co-hosts Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," faced that dilemma while trying to reach the final table at the 2001 WSOP when Mike Matusow, a well-known tight-aggressive pro, made it $30,000 to go from under the gun.

"The only hand that can beat me is aces," Gordon said. "So, I have to raise here, and I have to find the right amount. I want him to call with queens, but I want him to reraise with aces so I can throw my hand away."

The chip leader with $680,000, Gordon raised $100,000. The action folded around to Gordon's "archenemy," Phil Hellmuth, who was in the small blind with $640,000 and promptly reraised all in.

"This is where you delve into a guy's psychology," Gordon said. "(Hellmuth) wants to get into the final table of the World Series of Poker more than any human being on the planet.

"The only hand he can have is aces. He can't do that with kings. He has got to have pocket aces, period, end of story."

Matusow folded his Qs. Decision, Gordon.

"I said, 'Phil, I know you have the best hand,' and I tossed my cards in front of me," Gordon said. "He turns over his pocket aces. I said, 'Everybody knows you had that.'

"He said, 'What did you fold, ace-queen offsuit?' I said, 'Yeah. That's what I had.' He said, 'That's what I put you on.' I said, 'Come on, dude. You think I'm screwing around? I had pocket kings.' He said, 'You did not,' and he stands up from his chair and says, 'You did not fold pocket kings before the flop. No way.'

"I reached over and turned my hand over. He was crazy because he'd won only $130,000 in a pot where he had aces against pocket queens and kings."

TABLE TALK

Pocket pair: Matching hole cards.

Tight-aggressive: Player who generally plays only premium hands and plays them big.

Poker League Is Dealing In Suburban Amateurs

2004-11-07T15:27:00.000-08:00

QUOTING pokermag.comDon, Jesse, Eric and D.J. crowd around the poker table, knocking back longnecks and short glasses of Jack and Coke. Between deals, as the haze of Marlboro smoke rises into a slow-spinning ceiling fan, their talk is rated-R for raucous or, maybe, raunchy.

They're decent players, it turns out - for guys. Over the past several weeks, though, two of the three best Texas No Limit Hold'em poker players at Bono's Pub in Lisle have been women: Dawn Sapp of Lisle and Andrea Connors of Wheaton.

Whether it's their skill - or simply that they play more than others - Sapp and Connors are among the top practitioners of a style of poker that has captured the attention of large television audiences and soon could be coming to a bar near you.

The Amateur Poker League, a Wichita, Kan.-based company, already has brought its tournament to Lisle and to Goose Island Wrigleyville in Chicago. And it's in negotiations with bars in Bartlett, Mount Prospect and Crystal Lake to have card players share space with pool sharks.

Every Sunday afternoon and Monday night at Bono's Pub, players gather to compete for league points and build their skills. No money changes hands, but the players who rack up the most points will be invited to a regional tournament, where they will compete for a shot at the national tournament in Kansas. The winner there advances to the Poker Millionaire Challenge, where the final prize is $1 million.

Yet, for many, the ultimate goal is to get ready for a different set of tournaments and win a much larger pot of money. Starting in January, there will be another series of regional tournaments in which each player begins with zero points. If they keep winning, they could reach gaming's Holy Grail: The World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas and a shot at more than $5 million in prize money.

The top 200 to 400 point-getters in northern Illinois would participate in a regional championship. The winner of the region would then play in a national championship. That winner would bypass the $10,000 entry fee for a seat in the World Series of Poker.

The popularity of Texas Hold'em - a game in which players are each dealt two cards and then make their best hand with five shared or "community" cards - has been fueled by both serious players and those fascinated by extensive TV coverage over the past year or so, said Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Eadington, who has studied gambling since the 1970s, says part of poker's appeal is that "the rocket scientist doesn't tend to do better than the fifth-grade dropout." Even players who do poorly are lured back, he says, because of "the thrill of little victories along the way."

But that's not what attracted Don Niner of Lisle to play at Bono's."I suckered him in," said his girlfriend, Dawn Sapp, who started a recent round as the bar's overall points leader. Some of the guys at Niner's table tease him about Sapp's status. They all have their own theories - and excuses - about how a woman possibly can be leading in points. She's lucky. She plays more than most the guys.

Niner waits until his girlfriend steps away to admit what the others won't: She's pretty darn good. "But," he adds, "I might be biased." Sapp says she started playing for pennies years ago during family gatherings for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But she didn't get hooked until she began watching ESPN's nearly constant coverage of poker.

"Now I'm ready for the World Series of Poker," she said. But before she can make it to Vegas, baby, there's fierce competition in Lisle from another woman. Andrea Connors, 23, has poker fever, too, although her approach is controlled and calculated.

From the start, the Wheaton woman has been among the top three players at Bono's. For Connors, who works at Clear Channel Communications in Aurora, playing poker means spending time with her fiance, Chris Gawlik, who works for the Amateur Poker League.

As Gawlik passes Connors during a recent game, another player jokes that "a family that gambles together stays together." "Then Chris and I will be married forever," Connors says.

"Or until the money runs out," Gawlik adds.

Despite their success, Sapp and Connors clearly are outnumbered in the Lisle tournaments.

Many players are guys like Mike Manheim, who edits commercials for Clear Channel. Manheim, who says he likes working on previews for monster truck events, learned the game as a boy playing cards with family members.

When he was looking for drinking money while attending Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, he began playing "for nickels, dimes and quarters." He got pretty good and learned Texas No Limit Hold'em, but says his friends weren't particularly interested.

That's changed now with poker a primetime staple most weeknights on cable stations ranging from ESPN and Fox Sports to the Travel Channel and Bravo.

And it doesn't hurt, Manheim says, that the last two World Series champions won satellite tournaments such as this one to earn free seats in Las Vegas. "Ever since (champions) Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer won on TV," Manheim said, "people understand it."

He would like to add his own name to that list of poker multi-millionaires. It's that lure of winning a free buy-in to the World Series through the Amateur Poker League that "keeps me sucked into playing," Manheim said. Like Raymer, cover boy of the October issue of Cigar Aficionado magazine, Manheim also read David Sklansky's seminal work, "Theory of Poker."

Unlike the people who make their living playing cards, Manheim knows he's still a novice. But he's filed away several pearls of wisdom from the experts.

Never play the cards; play the player.

Look for betting tells.

Look for dancing fingers, a cough, anything that provides an edge.

In the first round of play on a recent night in Lisle, Manheim's opponents fade one by one until he finds himself at the final table going head-to-head with Connors. Manheim wins.

An hour later, halfway into the evening's second round, Manheim and Connors again go one-on-one. Manheim enters as the tournament leader, but Connors soon takes most of his chips.

With few chips remaining, Manheim knows he's no longer the shark - he's the blood in the water.

He has no choice. He pushes his remaining chips to the middle of the table. Manheim's "all in."

Connors sits on a king and a 10.

Manheim puts his last hope in pocket kings.

Then comes the flop.

Garbage.

Garbage.

10.

The "turn" is another 10.

And the last card, the "river" ... a queen.

It's too late. The damage is done. Manheim's pair of kings is no match for Connors' three 10s.

In less than an hour, Manheim has dropped from first to last in the night's field of 23.

He has to surrender his seat, knocked out by Connors.

Walking away, he sips his drink and recalls a poker pearl.

"As long as you have a chip and a chair, you're OK," Manheim says. "I lost my chips."

But Manheim hasn't lost his dream of being the next unknown to play into the final round in Vegas at Binion's Horseshoe and win the World Series of Poker.

So he'll be back at Bono's, ready to try again.

Deal: Players dream of a seat at World Series of Poker

Poker Tournament Fee Reduced To $500

2004-11-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

Wow, discounts! Wow, Harley D.!!!!

The entry fee to play in The Horseman's Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament has been reduced from $1,000 to $500.

The tournament will take place 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6 at Sal's Italian Chop House, Tates Creek Road, Lexington, Ky.

The tournament is a fund-raiser to benefit The Race for Education & The Kentucky Equine Management Internship Program. Both programs are non-profit organizations that provide educational opportunities to young people that are interested in careers in the horse industry.

The entry fee is a tax-deductible donation to these charitable organizations.

Prizes will be awarded to the top 20 finishers and include:

1st place--Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycle, (approximate retail value $10,000)

2nd--a John Deere Gator ($4,000)

3rd--Flat Screen T.V. ($3,000)

4th--Set of Calloway Big Bertha irons ($700) and a Taylor Made 7 Series driver ($800)

5th--Mont Blanc man's or lady's watch ($1,400)

6th--Mini motorcycle ($600)

7th-10th--prizes approximately $100 in value

11th-20th--prizes approximately $50 in value.

100 Students Turn Out For Elon's First Poker Tournament

2004-11-07T15:25:00.000-08:00

I always support young players. Go on, you have the stuff to WIN!!!!!!!

QUOTING pokermag.com

100 Students Turn Out For Elon's First Poker Tournament
November 6, 2004

Texas Hold 'Em tournament was held last night in McKinnon Hall and was a big success. 100 students played for as long as four hours, and competed for a first place prize of $200 to Best Buy.

Winning first place was Dave Stoughton, followed in second place by Mike Vasnunes ($50 Best Buy prize), and Mike Goldstein in third place ($25 Best Buy prize).

Thanks to all those who played and helped run the event, and look for more such Poker Night's in the future.

No more poker faces please

2004-11-07T15:12:00.000-08:00

Hey you, media professionals, can you find expression other than "poker face" to describe a dumb face you cannot read? Thanks, thanks so much, that's obstructing my research for poker related news. Not to mention all the improper uses of gaming related words: take a gamble, etc.

Keep it real men!

Online Poker Tells Identified in Victor Chandler Poker Survey

2004-11-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

Don't watch my tells, don't watch my tells at online poker!!!!!!! You son of a gun :-) Must say the report is interesting, but some of the finds aren't brand new ones. Also, be careful, it is MUCH easier to fake tells online than in face-2-face poker. I can always check the "raise at any bet" option two seconds before you make up your mind, and you'll think I has been checked since my last bet .........

QUOTING http://www.prweb.com

'Poker tells' are subconscious clues that players give out about the strength of their hands. But do such clues exist in the rapidly growing world of online poker where the only contact between players is via a computer screen?

London, UK (PRWEB) July 12, 2004 -- New research from Victor Chandler Poker suggests that online poker tells do indeed exist. Thanks to classic films such as Rounders and The Cincinnati Kid that have dramatized the world of high-stakes poker, the gaming world has always been fascinated with the psychology of the game.

And a large part of that psychology is the ability to read your opponents, to pick up on the subconscious tells that every player gives. Whether it's the way they stack their chips or look at their cards, many a poker player has been sent home broke after a tell has let slip the strength of their hand.

The rise of online poker was thought to have removed the role of tells from the poker table. But the research from Victor Chandler Poker, Europe's fastest growing online poker room, suggests that a new set of tells are being discovered in the online game.

Offline and online poker tells

Victor Chandler surveyed regular online poker players and asked them about both offline and online poker tells. In the physical world, the most common tells were a player's eyes (it seems they really are the windows to the soul), facial expressions and playing with chips. The top three online poker tells were:

* Quickness to respond, reported by 76% of respondents – a very fast check can indicate a weak hand, quick bets on the turn or river can often indicate a strong hand.

* Slowness to respond, reported by 73% of respondents – a pause followed by a check can often indicate weakness, while a delay followed by a raise often indicates strength.

* Automatic play, reported by 68% of respondents – a lazy approach to the auto buttons lets a player slip into a set pattern of play. Any breaks in this pattern are clear tells.

Online poker players are relaxed

But the survey also indicated that online poker players were more relaxed about tells, with only 31% of players actively looking for tells in their online opponents; yet, if playing offline poker, 58% said they would actively look for tells.

Respondents also had some advice for online poker players:

"The good players vary their responses and leave you guessing as to what they really have – online and offline."
"I keep a book on everyone I play against. The beauty of online play is that you can accumulate all of this information and refer back to it time and again."

"Anyone called 'Imgonnabluff' will probably never bluff and only plays very strong hands!"

Getting an edge; pick up on tells and avoid giving them out.

According to Simon Prodger, product marketing manager at Victor Chandler Poker, "...poker is an endlessly fascinating game. You're not just playing the cards you're dealt, you're also playing against your opponent – and they're human even if you are playing over the web. The small clues that can be picked up add to the fun of the game and can really give an edge to players who take the trouble to look."

Prodger goes on to give three golden rules for all online poker players hoping to get this edge: "Number one, always pay attention whether you're involved in a hand or not, as you'll learn a lot about your opponent's game and temperament. Two, make notes on the players you see regularly in the card room, and use these to guide your play against each player. And three, always look to vary your game; by doing so you'll avoid becoming predictable and giving out information about yourself."

'Spiderman' is an ace at poker!

2004-11-03T19:34:00.000-08:00

123, what a random number..... :-)

QUOTING www.newkerala.com
New York, Nov 3 : Forget Ben Affleck's recently revealed poker skills, as 'Spiderman' actor Tobey Maguire has emerged as the latest poker ace in Hollywood, after he won the 'Phil Hellmuth Invitational Poker' tournament at the Hollywood Park & Casino last week.

According to the New York Daily News, the actor played continuously for more than twelve hours to win the all night event and defeated 123 other players to win the prize of 95, 480 dollars.

"Russ Bailey Poker" - New, Unorthodox Texas Hold'em

2004-11-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

Yeeessssss, no limit Texas Hold 'Em is a metaphor for life.... Everything can happen, you know that; and several times what happens wasn't among the possible scenarios you outlined.....

QUOTING pokermag.com
Texas Hold'em Poker is at its highest level of popularity all over the world. Who would have ever imagined that poker would be broadcast on TV, let alone on several major networks?!

New poker books are popping up all over the place, but "The Russ Bailey Guide to limit Texas Hold'em Poker" by Dan Krier is unlike any other. It combines a great story with groundbreaking strategies to bring the reader a completely new take on the game of poker.

Fans of Russ Bailey Poker have responded overwhelmingly to Russ Bailey's philosophies on life. Chapter 2 of the book details Russ' "Life Lessons" and explains how success in poker goes hand in hand with being confindent and content.

It sounds strange, but this book is almost like a self-help book before it gets going with its poker strategies. Don't let this scare you. Russ Bailey is not trying to preach; he's just giving his take on things in order to best explain how he achieved such success playing poker. As Russ put it, "To know poker, you have to know people. You also have to know yourself."

This book makes the perfect present for anyone who is intersted in poker. This book makes the perfect weapon for anyone who is interested in winning at Texas Hold'em.

The author, Dan Krier, is a graudate of the USC School of Cinema-Television and currently works as a screenwriter in Los Angeles. Dan has received numerous awards and accolades for his writing, and has just been offered his first major screewriting deal. Look out for Dan's name on movie posters in 2005!

---------
An overview of what you find in the book:
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Hear about meeting Russ Bailey for the first time, and find out how this book came to print.

Chapter 2 - Main Strategies
Learn the fundamentals of winning at poker as Russ Bailey breaks down the "why" behind his strategies. Find out how success at poker goes hand in hand with being confident and content in life.

Chapter 3 - Pocket Card Ranks
Russ details and ranks, from top to bottom, all Texas Hold'em pocket card possibilities. You have to know if your cards are good enough to warrant a Call before The Flop. Russ tells you what cards to play, and what to throw away.

Chapter 4 - Gameplay and Advanced Strategies
Get into the specifics of the Russ Bailey method of play by learning the actual techniques used to win over and over again. Russ left no stone unturned, so this chapter discusses everything you could possibly deal with when playing Hold'em, actual game play and external factors included.

Chapter 5 - Catching A…
This chapter explains every possible type of poker hand one can "catch", from Royal Flush down to One Pair. It recreates, in step-by-step fashion, how to play specific hands straight up, according to the Russ Bailey method of play. By learning to win hands straight up and for maximum benefit, you will understand how and when to bluff effectively.

Chapter 6 - Bluffing
A successful poker player must understand the art of bluffing. Here, Russ boils down the time at which one should bluff, and how specifically one should bet in order to effectively win via the bluff. To win at poker, you must know how to win while playing straight up, but you must also know how to win when you don't have the best cards. All aspects of bluffing are covered.

Epilogue
Russ Bailey 1940-2003. Rest in peace, Russ.

Site deals family poker tips

2004-11-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

Just remember your home poker is not what you play when you turn pro ..... They should put a disclaimer during home poker games: for your family entertainment only, never try this at WSOP or WPT!!!! :-)

A.P.

QUOTING www.chron.com
You know, nothing brings a family together like poker.

That's what the folks behind the Travel Channel's World Poker Tour think, and they've launched a Web site aimed at bringing "the great American card game" home for family game nights.

The WPT Family Resource Center features rules for five-card stud, blackjack, Texas hold 'em and more, along with directions for "family-style" poker without the betting. One idea, according to the site: "playing with your kids for who'll do the chores."

We can see it now: "OK, Mom, I'll see that bathroom cleaning, and I'll raise you one trip out with the garbage ... "

Find the page at www.worldpokertour.com/pokercorner/family/

-------------------------------------------------------------------
An overview of what you can find on /www.worldpokertour.com
Welcome to the World Tour Family Resource Center. Poker is hot and people across the globe are rediscovering the Great American Card Game – Poker. And, all across the country parents are discovering that poker, WPT style, is a great way to interact with their kids, family and friends. So, if you are ready to get into the action – or just want some new ideas to keep the family game fresh, the WPT Family Resource Center is here to encourage families to enjoy responsible, age-appropriate poker.

Family Games:

The Basics – Playing Poker with your Family

The Stakes – Playing Poker for Peanuts (enjoy poker with or without something at risk)

Wacky Game of the Week

Stories from Your Family Games

Responsible Entertainment – Talking to Your Children about Responsible Entertainment

Home Games:

The Basics – How to Organize Your Home Game

Wacky Home Game of the Week

Stories from Your Home Games

Promotions

Etiquette

Host a Tournament:

Planning a tournament – put a new twist on the next Thanksgiving family gathering

Pulling it off without a hitch

What to do when it gets too big

Etiquette

Please note: Every city, state and county have their own rules and regulations regarding recreational games and gaming. We suggest you check with local authorities if you have any questions regarding what you should or should not do in your location.

Lost opportunities ....

2004-11-03T19:23:00.000-08:00

When they say that, in twenty years time, we'll be more sorry for the opportunities we lost than for what we did...

A.P.

QUOTING www.zwire.com
Nebraska votes 'no' to casino gambling

Proposals to allow casino gambling in Nebraska appeared this morning to have lost out in Tuesday's election.

With 93 percent of the results in, the Legislature's plan to allow two casinos in Nebraska was being soundly defeated with 65 percent of voters opposed. Initiative 420, which would legalize two casinos in Omaha and 4,900 slot and video poker machines across the state, was losing with 53 percent opposed; and 417, a constitutional change to legalize casinos, was opposed by 51 percent of the voters.

Council Bluffs looked like the winner on the issue, said Bob Mundt, president of the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce.

"It's certainly favorable for our community," he said. "I think Nebraska had the opportunity to vote on it, which they all wanted, and they chose not to do it."

The results were good news for Council Bluffs, agreed Chuck Smith, president of the Iowa West Racing Association, the license holder for Bluffs Run Casino and license sponsor for Ameristar Casino-Hotel and Harrah's Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel.

"I think it is, from the standpoint that we get a lot of benefit from the casinos here and, to the extent that might have been eroded, good news," he said. "I was a little surprised that it lost. I thought it might win this time."

Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan said he was not surprised by the outcome.

"The remarks I have heard over the last few months were pretty negative," he said.

Smith said he thought the city's three casinos would have been tough targets for any newcomers to the area.

"I think we have three really good products here, and I think they have some market loyalty that would be really hard for the others to compete against," he said. "I think they're pretty solid."

Hanafan agreed.

"They have done extremely well in producing a product that people like," he said.

Smith said the issue will probably be laid to rest by the Nebraska Unicameral, but supporters of the petition drive behind one of the plans may try to bring it back.

Mundt wasn't sure the issue was dead in Nebraska, either, he said.

"I have a hard time believing that something like that won't come up again," he said.

Nebraska Initiative 418, which would increase the number of votes required to change a law passed by public initiative, was winning approval by 54 percent of those whose ballots had been counted this morning. Initiative 419, which addressed the regulation of casinos, was narrowly ahead, 51 percent to 49 percent.

The multiple initiatives made the referendum confusing for voters, Hanafan said.

"There were a lot of choices out there," he said. "Ours was pretty simple - either for or against."

Hanafan said he was "very offended" by some of the advertisements about the proposals aired on Omaha TV channels.

"The ads were so derogatory toward Iowa and Council Bluffs ... I think it's very divisive to do what they did," he said. "I just don't think it's good for the metro. We all live and work back and forth."

Gaming is not new to the area, Hanafan said. What voters in Nebraska did was to say they don't think we need any more.

Council Bluffs' casinos were not commenting on the vote.

- Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.

Intramural sports welcomes Texas hold ‘em star

2004-11-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

When do we get poker at Olympic games ?????

QUOTING news.wisc.edu
Nine University of Wisconsin-Madison students will square off against poker superstar Phil Hellmuth Jr. to crown the Intramural Sports Texas Hold ‘em “Champion of Champions.”

The event will take place from 7-10:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4, in the On Wisconsin Room of the Red Gym. The event is free and open to the public.

Hellmuth, who attended UW-Madison in the late 1980s, is one of the biggest celebrities in the world of professional poker. He has won the World Series of Poker nine times, collecting $3.6 million in winnings. He began playing cards at Memorial Union and ultimately left the university to launch his professional career.

In Texas Hold ‘em, each player receives two cards — known as “hole” cards — face down. The next five cards are all common cards dealt face up, meaning any player can use any of the latter to make a hand. Players bet at each stage of the deal, and have the option to go “all-in,” wagering all of their chips on a single hand.

“I have the innate ability to understand what people are doing at the poker table and away from the poker table, and I can tell if they’re lying,” Hellmuth told On Wisconsin magazine in 2003. “I think that maybe I’m the best in the world at reading people in poker.”

Students in the competitions each won a smaller “satellite” Intramural Sports tournament to qualify for a seat at the final table. No money is associated with the tournament and the only prizes are Intramural Sports T-shirts, along with books and DVDs signed by Hellmuth.

For spectators, Hellmuth will wear a microphone and there will be a table microphone to capture banter and other sounds at the table. Images of common cards will be projected onto a large screen, if technology allows. Time permitting, Hellmuth also may sign autographs.

Internet Casino Spends $4,600 for Celine Dion's Shoe

2004-11-02T18:06:00.000-08:00

They could have had mine for a couple of hours of poker lessons with Caro.... Uhhmm, maybe that makes more than $4,600 :-)

QUOTING a press release
An Internet casino raised money for charity this weekend at the online Stuart
Weitzman Celebrity Shoe Auction for Breast Cancer Research, purchasing shoes
decorated by several celebrities including Canada's own Celine Dion.
The Quebec-born superstar put her own personal touch on her shoe by
autographing the stiletto in black ink and adding a white feather headdress
inside. The winning bid for the shoe was just over $4,500 CAD with all
proceeds going to fund Breast Cancer research in the hopes of advancing
treatment and finding a cure for the deadly disease.
The online casino recently made headlines when they purchased the Beckham
Ball and the Ellen DeGeneres one-of-a-kind Cabbage Patch Kid through eBay.
Both items have since been used to raise over $245,000 CAD for various
charities.
"We are pleased to have helped contribute to this cause and hopefully this
will be a step forward in finding a cure," said GoldenPalace.com CEO Richard
Rowe. "We intend to use these items to raise even more money for charity in
the near future."
In order to increase the value of the items, which will be used to make
even more money for charity, GoldenPalace.com intends to send the shoes into
space along with the other items they have bought through auctions. As part of
the Ansari X Prize, GoldenPalace.com has sponsored the da Vinci Project which
will send a commercial spacecraft into sub-orbital space.
Other celebrity shoes bought by the casino were decorated by Hilary Duff,
Destiny's Child, Jessica Simpson, Cher, 50 Cent, Queen Latifah, Pink, Peter
Frampton, Alicia Keys, and Macy Gray. The total amount spent on all the shoes
was approximately $22,000 CAD.

Casino School Teaches Dealers' Tricks

2004-11-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

From the people at the other side of the table .....

QUOTING casinocitytimes.com

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – As reported by the Press of Atlantic City: " Casino dealers make it look so easy.

"…The Casino Career Institute of Atlantic Cape Community College, on Bacharach Boulevard in Atlantic City, is one area school that turns wannabe dealers into pros.

"All students start with the two-week 'Introduction to Casino Games' course, said instructor Tony Scarpa. That's where they learn how to handle chips, shuffle cards and other basic casino procedures.

"Most people study blackjack first, because few casinos will hire dealers who don't know it, Scarpa said. The students spend the first two weeks learning the basics, and the second two weeks practicing several versions dealt in Atlantic City. At the end, Scarpa gives each student an individual audition in preparation for a job interview.

"…Once they're trained and licensed, poker dealers, for example, can earn between $25,000 and $30,000 per year. Some veteran dealers rake in double that.

"Dealers typically start working part-time and weekends, and the casino gradually adds hours until they have a full-time schedule, Scarpa said.

"…Scarpa reminded the students they will make most of their income from tips, so the better they get along with the players, the more money they'll make.

"But there are rules to learn. Pay winning bets on the left side of the table with your right hand, then switch hands to pay the other side, Scarpa said. That protects the rack of chips from would-be thieves…."

The Hendon Mob Issues Challenge to U.S. Players

2004-11-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

Monte Carlo looks better to play baccarat then poker.... Let's ahve the tournament in Munchen, Germany, maybe there's something left from the Oktober fest ......

QUOTING a press release

MONTE-CARLO, Monaco, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Matt Savage, tournament
director of Monte Carlo Millions and the World Series of Poker (WSOP),
announced today that the final seats for Monte Carlo Millions, the world's
most exclusive poker tournament, are already reserved by the top international
poker players. Monte Carlo Millions, limited to 80 professional and amateur
players is being held at the world-famous Sporting d'Hiver in Monte-Carlo,
Monaco from November 6-13, and will be internationally broadcast as a
television series around the world. The tournament marks the first
professional poker tournament in the Principality of Monaco.
The field of players collectively boasts twenty-seven WSOP gold bracelet
holders, seven World Poker Tour Championship titles, and nearly 20% of the
2004 Top 100 Money List which determines the biggest winners of the year. The
list of attendees competing for the estimated $1 million prize pool include:

* Howard Lederer * Chris Ferguson
* Phil Ivey * Scotty Nguyen
* Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliot * Layne Flack
* The Hendon Mob * Mel Judah
* Phil 'Unabomber' Laak * Antonio Esfandiari
* Tony 'The Lizard' Bloom * Paul Phillips

Playing alongside the professionals is French singing and acting sensation
Patrick Bruel, who happens to be one of Europe's most accomplished poker
players. Bruel joined the ranks of World Champions with his 1998 win at the
World Series of Poker's Limit Hold'em event. A second place finish at the
2004 Five Star World Poker Classic, earning him close to $100,000, cemented
his position on the global poker scene.
In addition to the professional and celebrity players, roughly ten percent
of the field at the Monte Carlo Millions won their seats online at satellite
tournaments through Prima Poker Network card rooms. Online poker offers
players the opportunity to learn, play and win fantastic prizes, including the
chance to play poker idols in the fairytale setting of Monte-Carlo.
To top off the weeklong poker extravaganza, Matt Savage and his fiance,
who met and fell in love at the 2002 World Series of Poker, will exchange
wedding vows in beautiful Monte-Carlo, to go "all-in" on the bet of a
lifetime.

Prima Poker Transatlantic Cup
Prima Poker announced today another must-see event being held during the
Monte Carlo Millions -- The Transatlantic Poker Cup. For the first time in
history, four of the top poker players from Europe and the U.S. will square
off in a no-limit Texas Hold'em battle to settle once and for all, which side
of the pond plays the best hand of poker. The world-famous Hendon Mob,
comprised of Barny Boatman, Ram Vaswani, Joe Beevers and Ross Boatman will
represent the UK and will face down four of the best U.S. players in poker
history: Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and John Juanda. The
Transatlantic Poker Cup will be televised at a future date.
"The Hendon Mob has so far taken on the best 4-man poker teams from
Australia, France and Ireland and has beaten every one of them," said Barny
Boatman of The Hendon Mob. "Now we're ready for the greatest test of all as
we take on America's finest for $100,000 in the first ever Transatlantic Poker
Cup. To those who are predicting a massacre I say: 'Don't write the Americans
off; I hear they can play a bit too!'"

About Monte Carlo Millions
Monte Carlo Millions is the world's most exclusive poker tournament and
the very first poker tournament to be held in the Principality of Monaco.
Monte Carlo Millions is sponsored exclusively by PrimaPoker.com, the world's
largest online poker network that is dedicated to sending players to the best
tournaments around the globe. The $20,000 package includes round-trip airfare
for two, a seven-night stay at the Hotel Hermitage, private helicopter
transportation from Nice to Monte-Carlo, a tour of the French Riviera, gourmet
meals, lavish cocktail parties and the $14,000 buy-in to the event. With an
estimated prize pool of $1 million, Monte Carlo Millions guarantees that every
player will win a minimum of $1,000.

Some take chance on playing poker online

2004-11-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

Plllleeeaaassse, no more republishing of this story:

"NATE SILVER QUIT HIS $55,000-A-YEAR financial consulting job in April to play poker. So far it's been a wise career move: The 26-year-old expects to make more than $100,000 this year playing the card game, mainly on the Internet."

It has been around for days.... News are like fish, they both smell if you keep them around for long! :-)

AP

Hold'em or Fold'em - The 2003 World Series of Poker DVD in Stores Today

2004-11-02T15:13:00.000-08:00

QUOTING a press release

Set in Las Vegas, Nevada, the 34th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw a record-breaking 839 players battle it out for poker immortality and big money at Binion's Horseshoe casino in one of the highest stakes games in town -- the No Limit Texas Hold'Em, the tournament's "Main Event," which had a $10,000 buy-in and $2.5 million first-place prize that included the coveted world-title bracelet.
ESPN and DVD Marketing Inc. have put together the entire 2003 ESPN
telecast of The WSOP on a double-disc DVD, equating to seven hours of un-cut,
commercial-free action in full screen digital video. Hosted by ESPN's Lon
McEachern and sports columnist Norman Chad, the DVD includes revealing
interviews of key players, a "how-to" on playing the game, chapter points at
the key rounds, and highlights of ESPN's Cold Pizza and Pardon The
Interruption tournament coverage. The DVD is available today in retail stores
and online at http://www.championshipdvd.com .
Viewers now have the opportunity to study poker masters at work, including
the legendary Doyle Brunson (1977, 1978 WSOP Champion), stone-cold Johnny Chan
(1987, 1988 WSOP Champion, immortalized in Rounders), Sam Farha, poker bad boy
Phil Hellmuth (1989 WSOP Champion), the showman Scotty Nguyen (1998 WSOP
Champion) and Annie Duke, one of women's best poker players, as they handle
the pressure over a course of five intense days. In the end, Chris
Moneymaker, the out-of-nowhere 27 year-old amateur stunned everyone when he
parlayed a $40 online tournament win for a seat at the 'Main Event' into a
world championship title and a cache worth $2.5 million.
The poker industry is booming and so is the WSOP. According to
casinogaming.com columnist, Maryann Guberman, the WSOP is "the most
prestigious poker event in the universe [that] still outdistances and outranks
any other poker event you can find." More than one million television viewers
tuned into each of the seven ESPN telecasts of the 2003 WSOP. More than 2.5
million tuned in per telecast in 2004. Entries for the 2003 tournament rose
by 33% from the previous year and the 2004 WSOP tripled those numbers with
2,576 players. According to the Associated Press, retailers are betting that
playing cards and poker chips will be among the must-have items this holiday
shopping season.

Think You Know Who Will Win the Election? Wanna Bet?

2004-11-02T15:11:00.000-08:00

Just for the record.... Lines are made to balance action, in the medium term, for the sports books. Lines reflect how the bookmakers think they public will bet, not the true odds to win or loose.

QUOTING A PRESS RELEASE
With hours to go before the next president of the U.S. is elected, and the race closer than it has ever been before, predictions for the presidential election of 2004 are as plentiful as they are varied. Pundits and experts seem to be as split as the public: Half tout another four years for George W. Bush while half espouse a Sen. John Kerry presidency.

Now internet odds maker Play4Kicks wants those spin doctors to put their money where their mouth is. That is, why not bet on who the next president will be.

That’s right. Even on the day of the election, even after the polls have opened in all 50 states, online casinos, sportsbooks and odds makers are still taking bets on who will the election.

“It’s a great wager,” says Eli Feldblum, Director of Play4Kicks, which offers up-to-date polling and odds on the next U.S. President. “Bush and Kerry are practically tied. Both pay out at above 1 to 1. You’ll never see a sporting event where both teams are pegged to win—or lose.”

Polls released early today show Bush with a slight lead, around 2%, in most National Polls. Given the margin of error, and the fact that Kerry leads nationally in a Fox poll, means the national vote is practically tied.

Where it gets interesting is in regard to the “swing states.” The electoral votes in these states will really determine who wins the election. But conflicting polls released today show that no one knows who leads in these states. Bush leads in Florida according to a Quinnipiac poll, but Kerry leads there according to Fox poll. Kerry leads in Ohio according to Gallup, but Fox has Bush leading in Ohio.

“It’ll be down to the wire,” says Feldblum. “There is no favorite. I don’t even know whom to bet on.”

SportsInteraction is paying 1.72 for a Bush win and 2.00 for a Kerry win. U.K. casino Ladbrokes is paying 4 to 6 for a Bush victory and 11 to 10 for a Kerry presidency.

For full polls and odds, and to bet on whom you think will win, visit Play4Kicks.

Is Britain ready for Las Vegas?

2004-11-02T15:08:00.000-08:00

The Millenium Dome, the London Eye, casinos.... and fish & chips! :-)

QUOTING USAToday

WEMBLEY, England — Rosie Scott barely looks up. The machine in front of her, named Double Jackpot, requires feeding, and the octogenarian doesn't really want to talk. She prods a succession of coins into the hungry slot and starts punching buttons.
"A casino?" she asks, considering the potential for an upgrade near the slot joint she frequents. "Well, I suppose it's a good idea."

Ms. Scott eyes the rundown interior of Cash City, a primitive joint with a dozen slot machines and a few desultory customers. "But I don't know if I'd go. It's just another place to lose your money."

Britain is bracing itself for a slew of new places to lay down money after the government unveiled plans late last month to revamp gambling laws.

The overhaul would ease restrictions on casinos for the first time in almost 40 years, opening the country up to new Las Vegas-style complexes with hundreds of "slots," some of them offering jackpots of up to a million pounds — something never seen in Britain before.

But the proposed legislation being debated this week is highly controversial. The government says it is aimed at modernizing the industry worth $100 billion in Britain and bringing all forms of gambling, including online bets, under tighter regulation. It would be far better, the government claims, to concentrate gambling in 40 or so megacasinos rather than have slot machines throughout centers where children can access them.

It also argues that casino-building will create tens of thousands of jobs, attract billions in investment, and regenerate some of Britain's faded tourist spots.

Skeptics are not so sure. A powerful alliance of churches, charities, lawmakers, and press has frowned on the move. They lament the looming Las Vegas-ization of provincial Britain, and warn of problem gamblers, recalling the stories of addicts who have lost homes, jobs, and families.

A recent poll shows that 53% of Britons oppose the move for more casinos. Some cynics, meanwhile, see an ulterior motive, noting that more gambling means more tax revenue for the government.

Britons are generally not averse to bets on horse racing or football, but higher-stakes casino gambling strikes many as a counter-cultural.

Indeed, 10 years ago, the beginning of a National Lottery was greeted with suspicion and warnings that it would encourage the poor to squander what little money they had. Today, that prediction has been largely discounted. As for casinos — and there are barely 100 of them at present — they are still often seen as exotic places for the James Bond crowd. Slot machines, meanwhile, are ubiquitous, but their jackpots have been limited to a 2,000 maximum.

The new legislation promises gambling complexes with hundreds of tables and up to 1,250 slots each, some dangling seven-figure prizes in front of bettors. Already, major U.S. players like MGM Mirage and Caesar's are planning their moves.

"The gaming industry has been playing close attention to Britain as market," says Robert Stewart of Caesar's, which is planning a $600 million mega-complex in the shadow of the Wembley football ground. "People believe that the UK would be a very good opportunity," he adds by telephone from Las Vegas.

Wembley hopes that casino development will bring revitalization. Caesar's is sure it can put this washed-out London suburb famous for football back on the map.

"It needs a lot of regeneration, but think about it when it's redone with a brand new stadium," says Mr. Stewart. "Think about a beautiful fountain and plaza and shops and restaurants instead of the concrete you've got there now."

Critics fear that the promise of such dazzling riches — particularly big jackpots — will lure the vulnerable into bad habits and aggravate instances of problem gamblers.

"We have never had big-prize machine gambling before and all over the world that is what's most popular," says Prof. Peter Collins of the Centre for the Study of Gambling at Salford University in northwest England.

Comparisons have been drawn with Australia, which altered its gambling laws a decade ago, encouraging rapid growth in both the number of slots and in the number of problem gamblers.

Around 2% of the population are now thought to be hooked. Research published in August linked gambling to middle-aged homelessness: 38% of homeless Australians in the survey blamed their plight on gambling, compared to just 4% in Britain.

"More opportunities to gamble will lead to increases in problem gambling," says Sarah Miller, a spokeswoman for the Salvation Army.

"The only winners in this debate are the government through increased taxation and the gaming industry," she says. "The real losers will be people whose lives have been blighted by gambling."

The issue has opened up a familiar debate in Britain over the extent to which the government should protect individuals from themselves.

To support problem gamblers, authorities will set up a fund to which the new casino operators would contribute 3 million a year.

Stewart says Caesar's would be happy funding such programs, as it does in the US, but resents the suggestion that casinos are rife with gambling addicts.

"The vast majority of our guests come to enjoy gambling as part of the entertainment experience."

But Ms. Miller says that easy access to slot machines mixed with high jackpots is a potent — and risky — recipe.

"We are not talking about a handful of people who might get into trouble; we are talking of hundreds of thousands of people and the knock-on effect on families."

How to get people to vote...

2004-11-02T11:44:00.000-08:00

Gonna be a quick one, I'll have more time to post later ......

I suppose everyone has been storing political (junk) mail, to burn it during winter and keep the house warmer ...... Well, while I think it is every citizen right and duty to vote, I think people can be convinced to vote in less intrusive ways ......

For the next presidential election (will it be Schw. vs. Kerry or Clinton (Hillary) vs. Schw?), let's make a lottery! Every citizen who votes get one free entry; you also get additional free entries when you convince friends to vote. After the election, 100 voters are randomly selected to take part in the "All American Series of Poker", with a $10 million prize ..... If winners don't wanna play poker, they can sell on Ebay their entries ..... or give one free entry to me, for free :-)

If you take into account all the $$$ spent to send around junk mail, all the trees which went down to provide paper, etc., an "All American Series of Poker", texas hold 'em incentive to vote would be the SMART CHOICE!!!!!

A.P.

The Tournament Players' Championship of Poker

2004-11-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

http://www.wppa.info/cp/tpcp_sched.aspx for full program

All Tournaments start at noon

$1000 entry includes $30 for dealers and staff
$1500 entry includes $45 for dealers and staff
$5000 entry includes $100 for dealers and staff

WPPA Championship Event
WILL be televised!
100% of income goes to the
players of the WPPA
You participation is requested.
Satellites start daily at 8 am You don't have to be a WPPA member to enter tournaments, but you must be a WPPA member to share TV income!

Super Satellite 1 $200 with re-buys + $200 add-ons for first 3 rounds. 4pm & 7pm Daily
Super Satellite 2 $500 no re-buys daily 10pm Nov. 1 at 12pm
1 Table satellites $115 for $1000 seat + $30 cash, $120 house fee, 15 min rounds
$165 for $1500 seat + $30 cash, $120 house fee, 15 min rounds
$515 for $5000 seat, $120 house fee, 20 min rounds
Super Satellites will award as many $5000 entries as possible for Nov 19th WPPA Championship

WPPA - World Poker Players Association

2004-11-01T15:22:00.000-08:00

QUOTING wppa.info, brand new World Poker Players Association

HOW TO JOIN
I agree to contribute .00333 (1/3 of 1 percent) of my tournaments winnings (cashes) in order to support our WPPA and its endeavors. This agreement entitles me to a full vote on any and every issue decided by the WPPA.
I further understand that the WPPA will not collect these amounts nor keep track of my tournament wins but rather I will volunteer these amounts via the online system and thereafter the WPPA may publish these results and contributions to its members only.

The 4 pillars of the WPPA
I. TV

When we see poker on TV, with our fellow players and dealers, we notice that we are getting filmed and used to sell products. But the profits from the filming and the promotion of the products we have all consumed for years don't benefit us. We are outraged at this entire process of exploiting the game and its players and dealers for profit but giving nothing back to the game or the players or the dealers. Most all of us agree that we should be receiving something from TV and sponsors. The WPPA is negotiating with TV and will assist in the process of getting sponsors so that all members can share in the revenues from the TV broadcasting of our great game of poker.

II. Juice.

We all know what juice is and most of us believe it should be going down in cost as tournaments get bigger and bigger and more and more money is derived from our game. However, we do not see this happening. The owners of the ORLEANS have graciously accepted our proposal to conduct tournaments for lower juice with the understanding that eventually TV and sponsor dollars can pay it for the players, making the WPPA MAJOR TOURNAMENTS juice free for the players.

III. Rules, ethics, guidelines, structures, and prize pools.

Most tournament players have opinions on these issues. We think that an organization that we control should address them. No other group of people knows as much or has any better claim to expert status than we do. The WPPA will be the governing body of Tournament Poker, settling all of these issues as we, the poker players, believe they should be settled . Again the ORLEANS owners agree with us and will allow we the players and dealers to use our WPPA rules, ethics, standards, structures, and payouts for all of the MAJOR TOURNAMENTS we have scheduled.

IV. Dealers and Floor Personnel

They are a very big part of poker that has been ignored for too long -- especially with regard to how they are paid. Their expertise and experience have also been neglected, to the detriment of the game. Our plan is to take them into our organization with no direct dues other than contributions from their tournament winnings just like the rest of us.

There are many other issues that need to be discussed and decided by the poker players and dealers of the WPPA. But these 4 pillars seem to reflect the most important opinions that we share about why we need the WPPA. Getting it up and running will allow us to organize our great game of poker in the best interests of all parties involved.

Poker, poker and more poker on TV !!!

2004-11-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

GSN Adds Poker Tournament to Programming

QUOTING casinocitytimes.com
SANTA MONICA, California – (PRESS RELEASE)-- Based on the success of the network's blackjack casino programming, GSN, the network for games, is now expanding into the poker business with Poker Royale: The WPPA Championship, an exclusive six-episode series sponsored by Pizza Hut featuring the country's best players. GSN's foray into poker includes three World Series of Poker champions -- Chris Moneymaker, Carlos Mortensen and Kathy Liebert. The show also includes other highly skilled players, and will feature an added bonus -- the chance for the tournament champ and a GSN viewer to split an additional $10 million grand prize in the final episode. During the telecast of the final episode on January 11, the winner will be dealt five cards, if it's a full house or better, the player and the sweepstakes winner will split $10 million dollars.

The series debuts Tuesday, December 7 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, and covers the first tournament organized by the World Poker Players Association (WPPA), headed by Louis J. Asmo, recently held at Las Vegas' Orleans Hotel and Casino. The series follows the classic No Limit Hold'em rules established by the WPPA which reward skill over luck.

In making the announcement, GSN's Senior Vice President of Programming Ian Valentine said: "We know that poker fans across the country will enjoy watching this brand of poker and appreciate the additional skill required to come out at the top. It's fantastic that we are adding competitive poker to our programming schedule with some of the game's top professionals and amateurs."

The over 50 million poker players in the country will enjoy the action of this event which features No Limit Texas Hold'em with buy-ins and blinds (a bet put in play before any cards are dealt) designed to emphasize skill over luck. The tournament will showcase the true skill of the players, both professional and amateur, as they climb up the tournament ladder. POKER ROYALE will include a unique graphic enhancement, giving insight to each of the player's hands and the strategy behind them. GSN's coverage will also center upon the skill and expertise of the player, highlighting player strategy, including bluffs and tells as well as the player tournament background. With 22 cameras covering the action at the featured table, viewers will have a bird's eye view of how each expert plays his/her hand.

Poker Royale: The WPPA Championship is being sponsored by Pizza Hut(R), which recently introduced the "Full House XL Pizza(TM)." As the show's main sponsor, Pizza Hut will be the title sponsor of the "Full House" poker tip of the day which will be included in each episode. As previously mentioned, GSN will have a sweepstakes with the winner getting a chance to split $10,000,000 with the winner of the poker tournament. In each of the six episodes, a password will be given out and viewers will be asked to log onto poker.gsn.com and enter the password, qualifying them into the final drawing on January 11. During the final episode, one last password will be given, and viewers will have 30 minutes to log on and enter it. In a random drawing GSN will pick the winner's name and announce it on air. At the end of the episode, live from the Orleans Hotel, the tournament winner will be dealt five cards. If they draw a full house or better they split $10,000,000; if they don't draw a full house or better each will walk away with $10,000 and a year supply of Pizza Hut pizza.

Poker Royale: The WPPA Championship joins other GSN casino series including the network's popular returning blackjack series, Celebrity Blackjack, and the soon-to-be-filmed second season of World Series Of Blackjack, featuring the top blackjack tournament players in the world.

Jeff Mirkin ("Greed," "Card Sharks"), Jim Coane ("Dragon Tales," "Card Sharks"), and John Faratzis (Olympic Diving Competition, "The American Poker Championship") serve as the executive producers of the series. Scott Winters, Vladmir Perlovich and Ed Mattioni serve as co-executive producers for Last Word Productions.

GSN, the Network for Games, is the only U.S. television network dedicated to game-related programming and interactive game playing. The network features game shows, reality series, documentaries and casino games. GSN is the industry leader in interactivity and as such allows viewers a chance to win prizes by playing along with GSN's televised games via GSN.com. Reaching 57 million Nielsen homes, GSN is distributed in the U.S. through all major cable systems and satellite providers. The network is jointly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation. For further media information, visit GSN's press website at corp.gsn.com.

World Poker Players Association (WPPA) is the only players organization representing poker players worldwide. Founded in March 2004, the WPPA represents all levels of players from beginners to professionals and as of this month boasts 300 members worldwide. For further information on the WPPA or to join, log onto wppa.info.

Las Vegas Man Wins $13.6 Million Jackpot

2004-11-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

Ehy Lucky Mickey, do you have room for a fourth, adopted granddaughter ?????

In the poker room of The Palms Casino where he plays regularly, he is known as Lucky Mickey and Michael Glass earned the moniker this afternoon when he won $13.6 million on Nevada Megabucks®. The 56-year old retired postal worker moved to Las Vegas several months ago and said he plays poker and Megabucks nearly every day at The Palms.

"This afternoon a lady won $900 on the machine that I had been playing so I went to another machine and, on my second or third pull, the Megabucks symbols fell into place. My glasses must have steamed over or something because when that third symbol showed up, everything got blurry. I just couldn't believe it," Glass said.

"It may sound weird but when I came home from Vietnam, I just knew I'd be a millionaire one day," he said. "When I lived through the war, I knew that the guy upstairs would take care of me."

Glass isn't sure how he'll spend his money other than helping his three children and three grandchildren. "I'll continue to play poker at The Palms and enjoy my life," he said. "Isn't that what money is for?"

In addition to an oversized souvenir check, he received a bank draft for the first of 25 annual installment payments.

This is the second consecutive Nevada Megabucks® jackpot to hit at The Palms -- in March, a New Mexico woman won $8 million at the casino -- and the 63rd jackpot on the statewide MegaJackpots® system. Megabucks is the oldest wide area progressive system in the country and also has the distinction of holding the world's record for largest slot jackpot, $39,713,982, won in Las Vegas in 2003.

Bluff sale on Ebay

2004-11-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

Saw the first issue of this magazine some weeks ago. Too cool to sell it on Ebay now .... I wait to get three figure offers before selling it :-)

QUOTING www.onlinecasinonews.com

An entrepreneurial consumer has placed and sold an issue of the first run of Bluff magazine on Ebay. Bluff is a new poker focused magazine, distributed globally, but with a high concentration in the poker-mad US. The magazine is to be found at casinos, tournaments and other events related to poker, and has obviously been snapped up by one poker fan who decided to make their own profits on the success of the magazine.

This first run of Bluff features an interview with Hollywood actor and poker fan James Woods. Alongside the celebrity interview the content includes editorial from poker experts, interviews with professional poker players and players tips. It is now the only magazine being produced for the fast growing army of poker fans and professionals. Designed to aid with improving one’s game, or just for people who are interested in reading about the game, Bluff is a magazine entirely devoted to the great game. This Ebay opportunist obviously has taken it upon themselves to also capitalise on the vast market for poker related product.

Texas Hold 'Em tourneys skirt law

2004-11-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

Uhhhmmm, we should make clear to legislators that poker is a skill-game. Yes, there's also fortune involved ...... as in every thing in life!!! You can exercise for the olympics, if you break your leg the day before the race ..... that's bad luck! And taking into account that poker dealers don't play, poker should be legal everywhere, even outside casinos......

QUOTING pittsburghlive.com, by Jason Walker:

The recent bust of a Beaver County card game may make organizations think twice about going "all in."
The game of Texas Hold 'Em, often called the Cadillac of poker, has become so popular that it can be viewed on at least five cable TV networks, and the names of professional poker players Doyle Brunson and Howard Lederer, who played their game for years in obscurity, have become household names to many. Across the Valley, Texas Hold 'Em tournaments have popped up as fast as bars during the California gold rush.

But according to state police, organizations are not allowed to make a profit from these tournaments because they are not covered under the Pennsylvania small games of chance law. The law allows organizations to get a license to hold bingo and raffles and similar games to turn a profit, but it also limits the amount of profit the organizations can make.

On Oct. 23 troopers from Troop D Butler's vice unit along with Rochester Police and the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation raided the B & B Cigar Shop at 139 Brighton Avenue in Rochester. Police said several people were at the establishment at the time of the raid and they seized gaming tables, chips, cards, ledgers, flyers, and $943.55 in cash. Sports bets were also received by state police , and a .45 caliber pistol was found.

Sgt. James Martsolf of the Butler state police said the vice unit covers Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties.

Capt. Jon Perry of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, in Harrisburg, said the only way the tournaments are legal is if all of the money goes back to the players.

He said the games are technically illegal, but admitted that enforcement across the state has been lax

"We are looking into that," Perry said.

However, Martsolf is advising organizations not to hold these tournaments.

"The position of the state police is that we are going to enforce the law," Martsolf said. "The state police have a zero tolerance policy for breaking laws."

He wasn't aware Friday of any tournaments that have been raided in Butler County.

Butler County District Attorney Tim McCune could not be reached for comment.

Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck referred questions to the state police vice squad in Greensburg.

Lt. Jim Fulmer, crime station commander with the Greensburg State Police said troopers do research and keep track of where these tournaments are being held, but he said troopers move on the guidance of agencies such as the district attorney and state attorney general's office.

"If the DA is not going to prosecute, there's no point in the state police taking action," Fulmer said.

Mike Manko, a spokesman for the Allegheny County District Attorney's office also referred questions to the state police.

"We're not involved with the enforcement of the law," he said. "The enforcement is with the state police."

Perry said it would take a change in legislation for organizations in the state to legally profit from these tournaments.

State Rep. Darryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, said there is legislation in the house that would increase the amount of money organizations can profit from with small games of chance, but he knows of no legislation that includes Texas Hold 'Em.

Metcalfe said he's against the expansion of gambling, but said he supports the rights of individuals to lobby for it.

"Personally," Metcalfe said, "I would probably veer on the side of not supporting that type of legislation."

InterPoker Players Choose Kerry

2004-11-01T15:11:00.000-08:00

QUOTING a press release:

It is often said that people don't vote with their hearts, they vote with their wallets. The result is that over the past two presidential elections, betting on political outcomes has been a more accurate indicator of the outcome of a presidential election than the gallop poll.

Taking this to the extreme, InterPoker.com (http://www.InterPoker.com) has held an online poker tournament, allowing America's poker players to cast their opinion on the presidential election two days early.

The InterPoker.com Poker Poll tournament asked InterPoker.com players to register their decision by entering either in the President Bush or Senator Kerry online poker tournament that was held Sunday the 31st of October. The winner of each tournament was eligible to win the standard tournament pool, but the winner of the tournament named after the next president of the United States will receive a Bonus of $1,000.

The Bush tournament had 46.3% of the vote, while Kerry racked up 53.6%. That puts Senator Kerry as the leader by a margin of 7.3% percent in the race according to America's Poker Players. Do they know something the rest of us don't? We'll find out on Tuesday when either "harrower", winner of tournament Bush or "Amak", winner of tournament Kerry, get their $1,000 bonus.

For friends in Cali

2004-10-31T17:26:00.000-08:00

Check www.PokerCalifornia.com

Players can rate and review poker rooms in the sunny California. Some of the (naughty boys!!! Watch your mouth ...... :-)comments there:

"This place is own by same people XXX and show same lack of casino management. They cater more to tourist, not gamblers. The BJ are unwinnable. Double Deck BJ has one of the most unfavorable rules, no DDAS, DD only on 10,11. The staff seem largely consist of old ladys who are senile, the pit bosses are very anal. I played 10 hrs and lost $1700 and they would not even comp me a buffet. I am never returning and telling everybody. Bad marketing... "

"if you like playing in tournaments with crazy asians" then you like it" otherwise stay away because you can easily get caught up in the "im all in" bit that alot of these guys do for the hell of it. I also think the card room encourages it, because they give you such a low amount of chips in the tourneys" only 300! sometimes its 500" which is why you almost have to make a move sooner than you would like, or you'll just get eaten by the blinds. "

Scaaary stories of poker, death, ghosts.

2004-10-31T17:24:00.000-08:00

BRRRRRR

On April 18, 1906, John Barrymore, famous actor and alcoholic, was sleeping it off at the St. Francis Hotel when the big earthquake tumbled him out of bed. The great hotel, now known as the Westin St. Francis, survived that cataclysm, only to be shaken to its foundation 15 years later. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, having just completed a film, "The Life of the Party," was ready for a party of his own. His celebration at the hotel culminated in a starlet's mysterious death. Though acquitted of any wrongdoing, the comedian found his life and career ruined.

The notorious (and most requested) Suite 1221 proved still more unlucky for singer Al Jolson, who died while playing poker there in 1950. The Al Jolson Society held a seance in the hard-luck suite, hoping to lure their hero. Jolson was a no-show, yet there are some staff members who believe that he, Arbuckle and Barrymore all haunt the halls.

Just down the hall, in the St. Francis Suite, guests have seen a woman in an elegant white dress float by. Howard Mutz, the hotel's historian, speculates that it's the ghost of Edith Pope. Pope and her husband, George, among the city's social and philanthropic leaders, occupied the suite, a large apartment, during the 1930s and '40s. Frequent guests were Adms. Nimitz and Halsey, who are said to have planned some of their World War II Pacific campaigns there. If only the walls could speak. ... Perhaps the ghost tries to. The lovely apparition has startled many.

$1,000,000 or 1 million euro?

2004-10-31T17:21:00.000-08:00

Ehy, if I get a ticket for Monte Carlo, may try to be the 2006 poker champion in Europe, just to warm up to be the 2007 Poker champion in US..... Also, Euro is stronger than dollar, that would allow me to afford an accountant to take care of my finance and make him happy with all those zeros.... Uhhhhmmm, already have a lot of zeros in my bank account, but there's no number at the far left of them ......

Poker faces seem to be getting much younger these days

2004-10-31T17:20:00.000-08:00

Quoting www.trivalleyherald.com

Card game's popularity attracting a brand-new generation of players

By Peter Applebome, New York Times

LARCHMONT, N.Y. -- The table was antique mahogany. The chips were casino-quality clay in a gleaming, Bond-like steel carrying case.

The game was, of course, No Limit Texas Hold Em, except for the players who had already lost their buy-in and joined the poker and dice games in another room.

Records of earnings and losses for the 15 regulars and seven occasional players were kept on an Excel spreadsheet on an organizer's computer.

After 11 p.m. or so, the winners pocketed their cash.

The players snacked on popcorn and chips and whatever else they could forage from the kitchen, argued amiably about who was the biggest poker addict, and then ran into the ample back yard, where the floodlights allowed for a high-energy game of midnight football, the perfect way for a group of ninth-graders to end an evening out.

Do you know where your high school kids are at night?

If the answer is yes, chances are it's because they're poring over poker hands, practicing their dead man's stares, and aping the big-timers on ESPN sitting there with dark glasses and million-dollar piles of chips at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Some youngsters have always played poker for money.

But, thanks largely to the mania for televised poker, an evening out for adolescent boys (and it is almost all boys) in almost any suburban town these days almost invariably takes the form of a marathon poker game with stakes as low as the $5 buy-in at this game or considerably higher at some impromptu tournaments.

The favored game is Texas Hold Em, where each player is dealt two cards face down and then plays a poker hand with four rounds of betting based on those and five communal cards dealt open-faced on the table.

Were this "The Music Man," Robert Preston could easily proclaim: "We've got trouble, right here in River City. With a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Poker."

But, as is often the case, when we look at what our kids are doing, we see ourselves reflected back, so even those inclined to wag fingers are mostly keeping it in check.

Certainly, most high school students don't see playing poker for $5 or $10 a night as a huge moral conundrum.

"It's not much different than going to someone's house and throwing around a football or baseball," said Ben Wrobel, a junior at Mamaroneck High School, who was sitting with two friends outside school on Thursday. "You get together with your friends to play poker, just as you would get together to watch a game."

His friend Andrew Klein makes money giving drum lessons.

He has won some money at poker, too, and he figures if he loses $10 or $20 at the game, it's his money.

As for kids getting in too deep, he hasn't heard about it, but, with the world-weariness of youth, he figures you can never tell.

"Nothing surprises me anymore," he said. "Bomb threats. Middle school kids getting wasted at school dances. You never know." (There was a notorious drinking incident at a middle school dance last year.)

Pick a town, any town, and you'll find kids more often than not who know the difference between the flop (first three communal cards in Hold Em), the turn (the fourth) and the river, (the fifth). The World Series of Poker on ESPN has made poker stars like Doyle Brunson and Chris Moneymaker as familiar to adolescent boys as Kobe and Shaq. (And if the pot bellies and sallow visages of the supremely unglamorous poker elite aren't typical celebrity profiles, their air of eccentric inscrutability does have a certain middle school appeal to it.)

The Travel Channel's World Poker Tour and Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown have also been enormous cable hits, spawning other imitators.

At East Hampton High School on Long Island, the principal, Scott Farina, said he hadn't heard about kids gambling on poker. But of a handful of boys interviewed, all said they played.

Kevin Gomez said he played only once a month or so, Robert Dayton and Noah Kouffman said they usually played two or three times a week, and James Westfall, a tall, red-haired junior, said he liked to play in "block periods": he doesn't play for a few days and then maybe plays for several days in a row, sometimes from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.

"Everyone has chips and decks," he said, adding that most games are for modest pots, although he once won a pot of $230. "I usually win, but when I lose I walk away."

His mother, Daryl Westfall, said she could tell there were days he was happy because he had won, but poker was mostly a mystery to her.

"It's like a secret club being a teenager," she said. "As long as we don't have to create a new 12-step program for teenage poker players, let's be happy they're doing something. I'm not going to worry until they're booking Las Vegas junkets through East Hampton High."

Poker begins well before high school these days. John Nakashian, who owns Creative Entertainment Associates, which arranges parties and other events, said he now regularly took poker tables and dealers from casinos to bar mitzvahs, where kids don't play for money but often can win prizes, usually modest, sometimes as pricey as an iPod.

"I started with three Hold 'Em tables; I just had to order six more," he said. "The 13-year-olds know more about it than I do."

For almost all parents, the calculus of teenage poker begins with the alternatives. What's worse, they say, kids playing for a few dollars with friends at someone's house, with parents around? Or out in cars, drinking beer on a golf course, or tempted by drugs? For most, it's a pretty easy decision.

"My initial reaction was concern that it's gambling, but with parental restrictions, I'm comfortable with it," said Lori Brandon, whose son, Matt, 13, was one of the group of youngsters whose poker evening culminated in the football game. Most are good students and athletes at Mamaroneck High School.

"They play for $5, so when it's gone, they're done," Brandon said. "The risk of losing more than $5 is zero. They're together with friends I know. There's a parent around. I know where he is. He'd spend more money going to the movies."

Some fathers not only are comfortable with the games, but like sitting in sometimes. And for some parents, there's the ancillary benefit that the game takes concentration and math skills, so it's not true slackerdom.

"Someone said that the kids usually left at the end are the ones with the highest SAT scores," one Larchmont mother said.

Helene Fremder, the social worker at Mamaroneck High, and experts elsewhere say for some youngsters gambling at a young age will lead to addictive gambling. Experts say parents should be aware if youngsters play too often, obsess too much, or start letting poker crowd out other activities. (It's probably not a great sign, for example, that some Mamaroneck High students play at restaurants, on the school steps or at someone's home during lunch.)

"Most of it's harmless," said Nancy Petry, a professor of psychiatry and an expert on gambling and addictions at the University of Connecticut. "But parents should know that it can become a problem, and I think a lot of them don't know that."

Still, she and experts at Harvard and the University of Minnesota were all quite sanguine about poker's hold on America's youth. They note that the country is in the midst of a revolution in its view of gambling -- now a $70 billion annual business -- from casinos to lotteries to sports betting to poker on television -- and that the young are part of that shift

People can make different moral calculations about how good or bad this is. But Ken Winters, of the department of psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, said that despite real risks of addictive gambling, so far the spread of legalized gambling has not sent the country hurtling toward perdition and it probably won't send its youth there either.

"I worry about sexually transmitted diseases and drug abuse a lot more than I worry about gambling," he said. "I really don't think the sky is falling with Texas Hold Em. My parents' generation said the Beatles would be the beginning of the end. I don't think it really led to all that much trouble."

Fraternity poker tournament draws full house

2004-10-31T17:16:00.000-08:00

I LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS! WELL DONE!

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. A University of Tennessee fraternity held its first-ever poker tournament yesterday and there was a "full house," so to speak.

Pi Kappa Phi sponsored the tourney despite warnings from a state official the event constitutes illegal gambling.

It drew 240 players who helped raise thousands of dollars for Pi Kappa Phi's charity PUSH America, which assists disabled children.

Each player paid a 30-dollar entrance fee and was given a commemorative T-shirt.

Some players entered the tourney with hopes of knocking out celebrity player Chris Moneymaker of Nashville, the 2003 World Series of Poker champion and a former brother at U-T's Pi Kappa Phi house.

But Moneymaker proved impossible to beat, winning the tournament hands down.

Time to change time ........

2004-10-31T17:14:00.000-08:00

Ehy, don't do as I did, showing up sixty minutes in advance and complaining because no player was there as they were supposed to be ....... I forgot to turn back the clock ..... If I think I could have slept ONE hour more, damn it! :-)

A.P.

Online Casino Popularity Spurs on World Poker Tour

2004-10-31T14:20:00.000-08:00

Quoting www.onlinecasinoreports.com

The rise in online casino popularity has brought a lot of new focus to some old and classic casino games. You can find all the most well known games on line including blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat and of course poker. Poker has become so immensely popular at the online casinos that a whole series of related events are starting to emerge including TV poker, celebrity poker tournaments and more. The growing popularity of poker at the online casino has helped boost an interest in poker tournaments including the US World Poker Tour and now a New European Poker Tour to follow.

The European Poker Tour was started as an answer to the unbelievably popular World Poker Tour in the USA. The World Poker Tour in the USA proved that there is an enormous audience on television that is enamored with professionally produced programs that focus on the drama, tension and excitement of the existing poker circuit and tournaments.

The USA Tour was such a success that the European counterpart was inevitable. Seven hour and a half long programs will be produced, focusing on existing tournaments across Europe while leading up to a Grand Final Event in the brilliant surroundings of the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco. The final event will include ten top finalists and runners up selected from the six EPT preliminary events who will also compete along side the finalists for the title of EPT Series 1 Grand Champion.

The European tour has been planned for 2005. The tour will sweep through the major cities of Europe including London, Paris, Barcelona, Vienna and Dublin.

John Duthie of the PokerStars European Poker Tour had this to say, “All across Europe, from land based casinos to online casinos, interest in poker is booming. It´s only natural to provide a circuit for the serious European poker player.” He added, “Finally, Europe will host a premier poker tour.”

The final event will take place in Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco and is expected to draw a lot of media attention and hype. Prize money is estimated to exceed more than 2 Million euros for the final event alone. The final winner of the poker tour is estimated to take home over 1 Million euros.

TV tournament: Boston vs. NYC

2004-10-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Just heard there will be a televised poker event, Boston vs. NYC

I already know who is gonna win...., not gonna tell you anyway :-)

A.P.

Experienced Players See Green on Online Poker Sites

2004-10-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't completely give up offline poker for online poker, can't distract players online .... ... :-)

CHICAGO, Illinois – As reported by the Chicago Tribune: "Nate Silver quit his $55,000-a-year financial consulting job in April to play poker.

"So far it's been a wise career move: The 26-year-old Silver expects to make more than $100,000 this year playing the game, mainly on the Internet.

"Silver belongs to a new generation of poker players who feast on the growing number of novices taking up poker after watching televised contests.

"While few players go to the extreme of quitting their jobs, many spend their evenings stalking sites such as Party Poker.com and PokerStars.com, pocketing an extra $20,000 or $30,000 annually on top of their regular salaries.

"And as more novices keep appearing, opportunity grows for experienced players.

"…In January 2003, $11.1 million was wagered on the major poker sites. That number rocketed to $136.1 million in September, according to Poker Pulse.com, which tracks activity on 21 of the largest poker sites.

"…Still, the easy money could quickly disappear if the poker fad fades.

"…Internet poker offers experienced players some advantages, particularly the ability to play at multiple tables at the same time. Online games generally go faster than casino games, and by playing three or four tables simultaneously, players can easily participate in more than 200 hands an hour.

"The main disadvantage of Internet play for poker pros is the inability to 'read' competitors - noticing small ticks and other mannerisms that can reveal if somebody is holding a strong hand or bluffing.

"…To prosper at Internet poker, players must be technically strong and quickly assess the thousands of scenarios that arise - betting aggressively on strong hands and folding when they're in a weak position…"

Fraternity poker fundraiser may be illegal

2004-10-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

What? ..... The game of GODS is forbidden at Universities?????

Quoting http://www.volunteertv.com/
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. A fraternity at the University of Tennessee says it plans to hold its poker tournament for the chapter's philanthropy despite indications from a state official the tournament constitutes illegal gambling.

The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity says the money they raise goes to the PUSH America foundation with help from Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 World Series of Poker champion.

Moneymaker is a former member of the UT chapter of Pi Kappa Phi.

Pi Kappa Phi spokesman Steve Evans says he believes its OK because no one actually plays with money on the table.

Players don't "buy in", they simply pay a registration fee. Entrants get a T-shirt, while prizes for top winners include a 32-inch television, an Xbox video game system and a digital camera.

But the director of charitable solicitations for the Tennessee Secretary of State said the tournament is an "unlawful event" -- even the way it is set up.

Evans says they are going ahead with the tournament scheduled for today.

Playing Poker in the outer space .....

2004-10-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Uhhhmmm, math applied to poker. That brain scares me!!! :-)

Quoting http://www.larchmontchronicle.com

CARD SHARK and aerospace engineer George Epstein with one of his numerous awards.

When you think of card sharks, you probably envision back rooms, cigar smoke, bad lighting, half-empty whiskey bottles, maybe being stared down by hard, flinty characters with flashy suits.

Then you meet the warm, jovial and trim George Epstein, and all these clichés explode. Today the self-proclaimed “card shark” is actually an intellectual and a bit of a philosopher.

At the poker table, where George Epstein becomes George “The Engineer,” he employs algorithms, statistics, probability and various other strategies that enable him to hedge his bets against the decidedly fickle lady luck.

“There’s a difference between playing poker, and playing “winning” poker,” he says.

Epstein is enigmatic in the best sense of the word. Over Sanka with Sweet-n-low, he talks of high stakes poker at his favorite casino, the Hustler. He loads his language with hard-boiled poker talk like “the Rake, Third Streets and Stringers” which contradicts his image of the benign, retired engineer.

There are two kinds of players, according to the Detroit Ave. resident. “Poker pigeons and poker sharks. The poker sharks win the money from the poker pigeons.”

Nevertheless, his smooth segue from poker to engineering is as natural for him as peeling an ace off the top of the deck, and it becomes clear how close the two subjects actually are.

“Poker is a game of probability,” explained Epstein, “and if you have a little engineering knowledge it helps you. Engineers solve problems, and they do it in a certain way. For instance, solving the problem of building an airplane.

“You don’t just sit there and design it, you break it down into simpler problems, called systems, subsystems, components and so forth,” he said.

Of course, his good-natured demeanor and intelligence belies the scale of what numerous awards in the field of chemistry and engineering confer. Take, for example, Epstein’s invaluable contribution to the science of global positioning and communications satellites that orbit the planet. Before Epstein’s work, these very expensive machines had a very short life span because of a deficiency with the navigation booster rockets that should have kept them in a more stable orbit.

In the simplest terms, Epstein discovered that the material in the rocket engine was deteriorating due to contact with the engine’s fuel itself, thereby causing it to malfunction. He and his team created a new material that solved the problem. This boosted the life span of satellites to decades rather than years, which had significant implications both technically and economically.

Aside from poker and engineering, his favorite topic is his granddaughter Esther. She is a budding poker expert herself (trained by granddad, of course) with her own poker how-to book. Epstein proudly declares that she will be the next World Poker Champion (in about 20 years). In fact, I had a chance to see young Esther in action when she arrived home from school–it was genuinely impressive.

I also got the impression from her mother that she (though very proud) was not completely in love with the idea that her eight year old could probably fleece the milk money out of every kid or even parent in the school district.

In his latest book “The Greatest Book of Poker for WINNERS!” as well as his new “Rules & Strategies for Winning at Texas Hold’em: Epstein’s Secrets for Becoming a WINNER!” he outlines simple, but very effective strategies on what makes a winning poker player.

Perhaps more importantly, his books and courses emphasize the fact that playing poker is healthy for seniors. It’s a matter of keeping your mind nimble, not with stressful problems, but with relaxing intellectual pursuits, anything from learning a new language to simply reading a book instead of watching TV. Epstein keeps himself very busy with several columns in poker magazines, an aerospace industry newsletter, and teaching a course in engineering at UCLA.

Recently, Epstein kicked off a seven-week course at the Claude Pepper Senior Center at 1762 S. La Cienega Blvd. The class meets from 4:00 to 5:30 pm each Wednesday. The nominal course fee includes copies of Epstein’s poker books.

“Poker is like a microcosm of life,” said Epstein. “If you stop and think about it, it includes interacting with people, negotiating, making money, spending money. And like the journey of life, poker shows us that it is smart to have contingencies for whatever card you are dealt.”

For more information on joining George “The Engineer” Epstein’s poker course, call 310-559-9677. Space is limited to 18 students.

Adding statistics to my site .....

2004-10-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'll soon add statistics to my poker blog, so I can see who is helping me out and spreading the word about your Angel at poker ....... :-)

The only way we can get in touch is if you link to my site, so later I can check my referrals and post a comment note on your blogs.

XXX XXX

A.P.

YOU can make a difference!

2004-10-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hello boys,

how are you??? About Angel Poker ....... Well, jsut recovered from Friday night fever, waiting for Sat.-Halloween fever ........

If you like to help me out with my 2007 poker prize, you may .... start adding to your site the codes you find here:

http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex8/dhtmlwindow.htm

Just replace www.google.com with angelthegambler.blogspot.com

Thnxxx !!!

A.P.

Also I am not .....

2004-10-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.backdoors.to/

or

http://www.cardplayer.com/

or a service known as "Welcome To Dating Angels Poker- The Premier Online Dating / Poker Website For The Discerning Professional Seeking Fun, Friendship Or Love... " Donnut want to link it from here.

But I would like to be Sam Angel who won $17,000 at Seven-Card Razz ....................... lol

Who am I?

2004-10-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

For sure, I am not this one .....
http://www.thepokerforum.com
http://www.cardplayer.com/

but I may like to meet the man behind the poker face .... lol

His info:
Angel LargayFrom: Oceanside, CARank: 1,784Total Points: 40Total Winnings: $3,325Total Final Tables: 1Results for the year 2004

He is even giving opinions on http://www.thepokerforum.com/angel1.htm
Determining the size bankroll you need can seem like quite a challenge but it's really not all that difficult. First of all, you need to determine what your poker goals are? The size bankroll needed to play some .25/.50 on weekends with family is much different than the bankroll needed to go pro. It is actually quite impossible to have someone come up with a one size fits all number and yet it's not hard to find those 'one size fits all' numbers in many poker books.
To determine the size bankroll you need it is important that you have some numbers handy as well as your goals set out. The question has come up a lot about how much is needed to go pro and so the following is geared toward that end. Just remember, that if all you want to do is play $3/$6 every other weekend or so - you probably don't need any more of a bankroll than a decent job. Some of the numbers you're going to need are your hourly rate, your standard deviation (SD) and you're going to have to make a determination how much risk you are willing to take that you won't go broke due to poor short term luck. Truth is, you can never be 100% sure that you won't go broke due to short term fluctuations. The good news is you can pick any other percent you want for instance, you can calculate a bankroll requirement to assure that you won't go broke due to short term luck 99.999999999999999999999999999% of the time if you like - you just can't pick 100%. This is called the risk of ruin and is actually expressed as the inverse of your chance of not going broke i.e.: if you want to ensure that you don't go broke 99% of the time, then your risk of ruin is 1% or 0.01.
Standard deviation is a number that most people don't calculate and can be tedious to do so which is why many people use 10 times their win rate as a standard approximation. There are many reasons to do the math yourself, not the least of which is that I'm going to take the time to walk you through it and we both know that you don't want me to waste my time.
So... ready? Bankroll needed = -(SD^2/2*hourly win rate)ln(risk of ruin).
Let's say you are playing $10/$20 (which is probably the minimum for making a living wage) and your win rate over time is 1BB/hour or $20/hr. Let's also say that you are willing to accept a 5% risk of ruin. Punching these new numbers into our formula we get: -(200^2/2*20)ln(.05) or -40,000/40*ln(.05) = $2996 (rounded to the nearest dollar). 5% is pretty risky though - it means you'll go broke 1 time in 20 which is not a good plan if this is your only source of income. 1% is a more practical and advisable number to work with. Let's try it: -40,000/40*ln(.01) = $4605 (rounded to the nearest dollar). So assuming that you are a winning player with a standard deviation of 10x your win rate - you can expect to play forever with a 99% confidence with a bankroll of $4605. The bonus is - if you are winning and adding to your bankroll this confidence number goes up quickly. i.e.: a 99.9% confidence requires a bankroll of only $6908. I say 'only' because your likelihood of not going broke has increased 1000% but your bankroll only had to increase 50%. Note that $6908 is approximately 345 big bets. Did you ever wonder where that magic 300BB number came from?
Keep in mind that your standard deviation is important and if it is off significantly, this can really affect these numbers. For what it's worth, my standard deviation is way off the tenfold my win rate number. You should calculate standard deviation yourself if you want to be certain. So how do you do that? Standard deviation is the square root of variance and variance can seem a bit difficult to calculate if you haven't done it before so I'm going to put an example in here so anyone that wants can have an example to work off. Let's say you played 10 sessions and lo and behold (because you're so great and the poker gods love you) you won them all. Here were your results:
1. +100 - 8 hrs 2. +300 - 8 hrs 3. +200 - 8 hrs 4. +200 - 12 hrs 5. +100 - 12 hrs 6. +250 - 10 hrs 7. +400 - 10 hrs8. +50 - 10 hrs 9. +300 - 12 hrs 10. +100 - 10 hrs
Now if you wanted to calculate your standard deviation you would probably just think to yourself, "Hell, I made so much money I'll just hire a mathematician!" which isn't a bad idea but since this is imaginary money you'd have to get an imaginary mathematician and they aren't too useful so... let's assume that you want to do it yourself - you know, to build character.
First, add up all your results. This equals $2,000. Now add up all your hours. This equals 100 hours which we'll also refer to as 'T'. To determine your hourly earn simply divide your total amount won by the total number of hours played: $2,000/100hrs = $20/hr.
Then it gets a little tricky. Add up each win squared divided by the hours; in other words: 100^2/8 + 300^2/8 + 200^2/8 + 200^2/12 + 100^2/12 + 250^2/10 + 400^2/10 + 50^2/10 + 300^2/12 + 100^2/10 =
10000/8 + 90000/8 + 40000/8 + 40000/12 + 10000/12 + 62500/10 +160000/10 + 2500/10 + 90000/12 + 10000/10 =
1,250 + 11,250 + 5,000 + 3,333 + 833 + 6,250 + 16,000 + 250 + 7,500 + 1,000 = 52,666 which we'll call 'x'.
Not to worry, that was the tough part - it gets easier from here:
Variance = (1/number of sessions)x - ((hourly earn)^2/number of sessions)(T) =(1/10)(52,666) - ((20)^2/10)(100) = 5,267 - (400/10)(100) = 5,267 - 40 = 5,227
Recall that the standard deviation is the square root of variance so we need the sqrt of 5,227 which is $72 (to the nearest dollar). Note that this standard deviation is only 3.5 times your hourly earn; here our ten times approximation would yield serious differences (over 7-fold). Your standard deviation should be calculated using (according to Mason Malmuth who is a guy you can trust when it comes to math) a minimum of 30 sessions but when you get these 30 sessions - you'll know how to calculate it now.

Rules of WSOP

2004-10-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

Go to http://www.harrahs.com/2004wsop/rules.html , can't keep mirroring all those information on my own !!!!

The $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship Event will be limited to 200 tables. All other events will be limited to 100 tables. Players may register for any event by signing up for a player ID, signing the required release, and posting the required buy-in at the tournament registration desk prior to the start of the event. The tournament registration desk will be open 24 hours a day beginning April 22.
Floor people are to consider the best interest of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual circumstances can, on occasion, dictate that the technical interpretation of the rules be ignored in the interest of fairness. The floorperson's decision is final. (Note, this rule used to be rule #31, but TDA members voted to move it to rule #1.)
Chip race rule: When it is time to color-up chips, they will be raced off with a maximum of one chip going to any player. The chip race will always start in the No.1 seat. A player cannot be raced out of a tournament. In the event that a player has only one chip left, the regular race procedure will take place. If that player loses the race, he will be given one chip of the smallest denomination still in play
Odd chips: The odd chip(s) will go to the high hand. In flop games, when there are two or more high hands or two or more low hands, the odd chip(s) will go to the left of the button. In stud-type games, the odd chip will go to the high card by suit. There will be an exception to this rule: An attempt will be made in identical hand situations to split the pot as evenly as possible: Example - a wheel in Omaha/8.
Side pots: Each side pot will be split as a separate pot. They will not be mixed together before they are split.
Calling for the clock procedures: Once a reasonable amount of time has passed and a clock is called for, a player will be given one minute to make a decision. If action has not been taken by the time the minute is over, there will be a 10-second countdown. If a player has not acted on his hand by the time the countdown is over, the hand will be dead.
Dead Button: Tournament play will use a dead button.
Penalties: A penalty MAY be invoked if a player exposes any card with action pending, if a card(s) goes off the table, if soft-play occurs, or similar incidents take place. Penalties WILL be invoked in cases of abuse, disruptive behavior, or similar incidents.
A player must be at the table by the time all players have complete hands in order to have his hand live. Players must be at the table to call time. In flop games, the big blind's hand will be dead if he is not there to act on it before the flop. In stud-type games, the forced low hand will be immediately dead if the player is not there to act on his hand at the time he is required to put money in the pot (the minimum bring-in will be posted and the hand will be killed).
All cards will be turned face up once a player is all in and all action is complete.
If a player puts in a raise of 50 percent or more of the previous bet, he will be required to make a full raise. The raise will be exactly the minimum raise allowed.
In limit games, an oversized chip will be constituted to be a call if the player does not announce a raise. In no-limit, an oversized chip before the flop is a call; after the flop, an oversized chip by the initial bettor put in the pot will constitute the size of the bet. In pot-limit and no-limit, if a player states raise and throws in an oversized chip, the raise will be the maximum amount allowable up to the size of that chip.
The one-player-to-a-hand rule will be enforced.
Tournament and satellite seats will be randomly assigned.
The English-only rule will be enforced in the United States during the play of hands.
A player who wants to use a cellular phone must step away from the table.
There will be no foreign chips on the table except for a maximum of one card cap.
Deck changes will be on the dealer push or limit changes or as prescribed by the house. Players may not ask for deck changes.
When time has elapsed in a round and a new round is announced, the new limits apply to the next hand. A hand has begun with the first riffle.
A player may not miss a hand. If a player announces the intent to rebuy before the first card is dealt, that player is playing behind and is obligated to make the rebuy.
Players must keep their highest denomination chips visible at all times.
Verbal declarations as to the content of a player's hand are not binding; however at management's discretion, any player deliberately miscalling his hand may be penalized.
No rabbit hunting is allowed.
A player who intentionally dodges his blind(s) when moving from a broken table will forfeit the blind(s) and/or incur a penalty. The money will be put into the next pot and will be considered dead money.
All chips must be visibly displayed at all times. Players may not have tournament chips in their pockets at any time. A player who has chips in his pocket will forfeit the chips. The forfeited chips will be taken out of play from the tournament.
Moving players: In flop games, players will be moved from the big blind to the worst position.
In limit events, there will be a limit to raises, even when heads-up. (The limit will be the house limit.) Once the tournament becomes head-up the rule does not apply.
In stud-type games, if any of the players' two down cards are exposed due to dealer error, it is a misdeal.
If a dealer kills an unprotected hand, the player will have no redress and will not be entitled to his money back. An exception would be if a player raised and his raise had not been called yet, he would be entitled to receive his raise back.
Dealers cannot kill a winning hand that was turned face up and was obviously the winning hand.
Verbal declarations in turn are binding. Action out of turn may be binding.
Floor people are to consider the best interest of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual circumstances can, on occasion, dictate that the technical interpretation of the rules be ignored in the interest of fairness. The floorperson's decision is final.
Management reserves the right to cancel or alter any event at its sole discretion in the best interest of the casino or its players.
Players going from a broken table to fill in seats assume the rights and responsibilities of the position . They can get the big blind, the small blind, or the button. The only place they cannot get a hand is between the small blind and the button. A player moved to balance tables will take the worst position. A dead button situation may occur.
Penalties available for use by the TD are verbal warnings, 10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes away from the table and may be used with discretion. These may be utilized up to and including disqualification. A player who is disqualified shall have his chips removed from play.
Players are obligated to protect the other players in the tournament at all times. Discussing cards discarded or hand possibilities is not allowed.
A player who exposes his cards during the play may incur a penalty, but will not have his hand killed.
In NL or PL, when raising, a player must either put the amount of the raise out in one motion or state the raise amount. By stating the word raise, a player protects his right to raise, but the raise must be made in one additional motion unless he states the amount.
Verbally disclosing the contents of your hand or advising a player how to play a hand may result in a penalty
In no-limit, less than a full raise does not reopen the betting to a player who already has acted .

World Series of Poker

2004-10-28T15:50:00.000-07:00

World Series of Poker official website

2005 World Series of Poker will be hosted by the Rio in Las Vegas ...... I am curious about the 2007 edition ...... Maybe at my house!!! :-)

History of the WSoP, QUOTING http://www.harrahs.com/2004wsop/history.html

Though the World Series of Poker made its official debut in 1970, the idea of the Horseshoe's annual tournament was actually conceived more than two decades earlier.

1949
In the summer of 1949, as the story goes, inveterate gambler Nicholas 'Nick the Greek' Dandolos approached Benny Binion with an unusual request-to challenge the best in a high-stakes poker marathon. Binion agreed to set up a match between Dandolos and the legendary Johnny Moss, with the stipulation that the game be played in public view.

During the course of the marathon, which lasted five months with breaks only for sleep, the two men played every form of poker imaginable. Moss ultimately won 'the biggest game in town' and an estimated $2 million. When the Greek lost his last pot, he arose from his chair, bowed slightly, and uttered the now-famous words, 'Mr. Moss, I have to let you go.' Dandolos then went upstairs to bed.

1970
It wasn't until 1970 that Binion decided to re-create this excitement and stage a battle of poker giants--dubbed the 'World Series Of Poker'--to determine who would be worthy of the title 'World Champion.' Some of the best players in the country were assembled, and Johnny Moss came out on top. The decision was democratic in that the champion was decided by popular vote.

1971
The tournament winner was now determined by a freezeout competition, with players being systematically eliminated until one player had all the chips. Johnny Moss again was declared the World Champion.

1972
A new champion arose - Thomas 'Amarillo Slim' Preston. After the tournament, he went on the talk-show circuit, which gave the WSOP more exposure and wider following.

Early 1980's
With the introduction of preliminary 'satellite' competitions with lower buy-ins, Binion's prophesy came into fruition and the popularity of the World Series of Poker soared. In 1982, the tournament had 52 entries. Five years later, there were 2,141 entries and the 2002 event had 7,595 participants. The prize money increased from $7,769,000 a decade ago to a staggering $19,599,230 in 2002!

1989
On Christmas Day, Benny Binion passes away.

2002
The event draws 7,595 participants, and the prize money increased from $7,769,000 a decade ago to a staggering $19,599,230

Every fish is welcome, to put hard earned money in the pot ...... Right now I am the FISH, 'cause I do not know who the fish is ....... lol

A.

Spread the voice!

2004-10-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

Hello!
Here we go again....... You can help me to achieve my goals!

No, I am not begging for money....... :-) Just spread the voice around, tell your friends about my blog! Join my Yahoo! Group and stay in touch with the '07 poker champion! Who said that poker and women don't go together? Ahahaha, ahve you ever seen a man playing against a woman? All the mistakes made to flirt or be gentle? That will help to find my way to the final prize ......... :-)

Kiss,

A.

The 2003 World Series of Poker on DVD November 2nd

2004-10-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

Found my next perfect gift :-) and about seven hours of learning material to improve my playing.......

QUOTING from Yahoo! News:
Set in Las Vegas, Nevada, the 34th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw a record-breaking 839 poker players battle it out at Binion's Horseshoe casino in one of the highest stakes games in town -- the No Limit Texas Hold'Em, the tournament's 'Main Event,' which had a $10,000 buy-in and $2.5 million first-place prize that included the coveted world-title bracelet. On November 2nd, ESPN and DVD Marketing Inc. will bring the entire 2003 ESPN telecast of The World Series of Poker (WSOP) on a double-disc DVD, equating to seven hours of un-cut, commercial-free action in full screen digital video.

..........

Viewers now have the supreme opportunity to study poker masters at work, including the legendary Doyle Brunson (1977, 1978 WSOP Champion), stone-cold Johnny Chan (1987,1988 WSOP Champion, immortalized in Rounders), Sam Farha, poker bad boy Phil Hellmuth (1989 WSOP Champion), the showman Scotty Nguyen (1998 WSOP Champion) and Annie Duke, one of women's best poker players (recent guest on David Letterman), as they handle the pressure over a course of five edge-of-your seat, action-packed days. The WSOP is reality TV at its best. Chris Moneymaker, the out-of-nowhere 27 year-old amateur who won a seat in the 'Main Event' by winning a $40 online tournament, stunned the industry when he walked out with the world champion title and the cool $2.5 million. Hosted by ESPN's Lon McEachern and sports columnist Norman Chad, the double-disc DVD comes replete with revealing interviews of star players, a 'how-to' on playing the game, chapter points at the key rounds, and special highlights of ESPN's Cold Pizza and Pardon The Interruption tournament coverage.

Welcome from Angel!

2004-10-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

HELLO world!

This is Angel, the 2007 poker champion. Yes, you are gonna see me with all those stakes of money surrounding me, it will just take some time to get the entry fee (or win one at satellites) and travel expenses, plus the knowledge necessary to beat the other poker champions.

I kiss you :-),

A.

Poker

2004-09-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

Poker