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Easy Game Episode 3: Shaun Deeb (Video Mini-Doc)

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 04:35:41 -0800

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Battle of Malta Full Video Recap with Kara Scott

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 09:57:09 -0800

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Dan Cates Out of the Jungle, Into the Water (Pictures)

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 04:44:07 -0800

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Battle of Malta Daily Show: Piccolo Crowned Champion (Video)

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 18:59:53 -0800

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Norwegian Best Friends Both Cash at Battle of Malta (Video)

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 10:39:52 -0800

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Battle of Malta Picture Book

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 10:20:42 -0800

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Uk Pro Chris Kiefert at Battle of Malta Final Table (Video)

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 09:28:36 -0800

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PokerListings Battle of Malta VIP Party (Video)

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 08:52:34 -0800

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Battle of Malta Day 2 Update with Kara Scott (Video)

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 18:21:11 -0800

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Dan "Jungleman" Cates Drops Stakes for Battle of Malta (Video)

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 12:36:35 -0800

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Battle of Malta Day 1B Update with Kara Scott (Video)

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:12:39 -0800

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Battle of Malta Day 1b Chip Counts

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:24:48 -0800

Christian Bergstrom

234,500

Fernando Cimaglia

147,400

Piotr Sekula

98,600

Kristian Svensson

97,900

Jan Helander

87,000

Jackie Cachia

84,700

Gaetano di Franco

83,600

Biagio Torrisi

83,600

Fabrizio Fagiolini

79,700

Simon Berntsen

79,200

Salvatore Chillemi

79,200

Bart Kuiper

72,200

Nicodemo Piccolo

70,300

Chris Kiefert

69,800

Puk Nabuurs

69,400

Tellef Igland

68,900

Daniel Dalsborg

68,400

Giovanni Raffa

68,400

Gabriele Russo

63,500

Carmel Praeni

61,400

Mohamed Almani

58,200

Daniel Bradhe

52,300

Johnnie Samuel

51,900

Paul Rieger

48,700

Simon Hoffman

47,400

Vincenzo Germiglio

45,700

Lars Kollind

45,100

Mirko Cammisuli

44,700

Danny Nielsen

44,600

Philip Stupar

43,900

Siwkowski Lukasz

43,700

Marco Laino

42,800

Kara Scott

42,800

Andrea Maria Patorno

42,200

Ettore Minardi

41,000

Ville Savonlanti

40,500

Francesco Crisapulli

40,300

Adriano Sannelli

37,300

Kristars Bertulis

37,000

Sean Capone

35,900

Donato de Bonis

35,400

Antonino Agnello

35,000

Alessandro Barone

34,800

Arved Klohn

34,300

Erik Lennartsson

33,800

Roger Hardy

33,700

Salvatore Ubaldini

31,900

Dilbahar Demirbag

30,800

Lukasz Pomianowsli

29,900

Fransesco Caruso

29,500

Marin Vella

29,000

Mario Scibberas

28,000

Simon Skovmand

27,000

Alessandro Forleo

27,000

Matthew Hoffman

25,700

Giulio Astarita

25,100

Philipp Steuer

24,900

Antonio Trapuzzano

24,500

Kevan Lim

24,000

Giovanni Rizzo

23,200

Roger Bruget

23,100

Bonetta Pietro

22,900

Fabrizio Terranova

22,500

Hans Christian Folkmann

22,400

Mehmet Donmez

22,300

Kevin Price

22,000

Daniel Mountford

21,900

Eli Mazano

21,900

Emma Goodchild

21,600

Antoine DeGeorgeo

20,800

Hampus Eriksson

20,400

Fabio Assennato

20,300

Klaus Dachu

20,200

Giuseppe Fichera

19,800

Toni Karjalainen

19,600

Francesco Renda

19,000

Jan Balken

18,500

Ugo Farris

18,000

Fabien Mezanger

17,400

Ciprian Vosloban

16,900

Eric Moller

15,500

Fabio Salvador

15,200

Roman Lanzerstorfer

14,900

Jean Louis Breux

14,200

Andreev Alexey

13,500

Terence Byrne

12,600

Marcello Galletti

11,100

Georges Debru

9,400

Michal Jankowski

8,100

Ilenia Barreca

7,300

Tudor Mikov

4,200

Ole Ronny Bergan

3,200

Niklas Bergstrom

1,800

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US Freeroller Mark Mattson Takes on Battle of Malta (Video)

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 11:10:42 -0800

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Gaelle Baumann Crushes Battle of Malta Day 1A (Video)

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 05:59:22 -0800

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Battle of Malta Day 1A Update with Kara Scott (Video)

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 18:50:01 -0800

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Battle of Malta End of Day 1A Chip Counts

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 16:16:54 -0800

Michael Agoutborde 135,500 Stevan Sudar 97,300 Peter Öttl 95,000 Alexander Lieff 91,400 Louis Salter 88,000 Gareth Edwards 85,000 Johan Linder 79,300 Marcus Zigaluris 79,000 Johan Nilsson 78,600 Thoma Panayiotis 78,000 Erik Hedenstierna 74,600 Nick Jakobsen 73,400 Erik Gjerde 72,900 Matti Kinnunen 72,600 Gaelle Baumann 72,000 Pieter Michael de Goede 70,500 Favaretto Martino 68,600 Cammisuci Flaviano 68,600 Steven van Zadelhoff 68,000 Davide Guerrasio 67,300 Lina Teuma 66,900 Joe Grech 65,700 Mattias Lundström 61,000 Joep Raemaekers 57,600 Björn Gustafsson 51,900 Daniel Cates 51,900 Hans Riisagen 51,700 Aladin Mrkaljevic 43,900 Jonas Broden 40,500 Dario Amorello 40,500 Aaron Vogelsang 39,300 John Stubbs 38,400 Tornau Kjartan 38,100 Cato Vonheim 36,600 Guiseppe Bellinghieri 36,100 Thomas Braun 35,800 Stefano Stefanacci 35,600 Johan Lilja 35,100 Rafa Contangulu 35,000 Per Erik Lindkvist 33,400 Negron Marc 31,900 Jack Salter 31,300 Giovanna Dimartino 30,500 Charlo Azzopardi 27,100 Bastien Lebel 26,500 Vaida Tudor 26,000 Pavel Mackevic 25,200 Andreas Barstad 23,800 Jordi Urlings 23,500 Thony Coomber 23,000 Gaikis Peteris 22,200 Thomas Steinbicker 22,000 Mikel Allende 21,600 Luca Ittiresu 21,400 Mads Bertelsen 20,500 Olle Sundin 20,300 Jean-Michel Porcq 20,000 Jacob Nielsen 19,700 Jorn Haaarsma 18,000 Joris Mourelon 17,800 Michael Cafiero 17,500 Laurent Turin 17,500 Chris Grech 15,500 Thomas Rewwer 13,000 Luigi Knoppers 9,900 Viktoria Lucenkova 9,100 Jeremy Perici Calascione 8,600

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Kara Scott: The Battle of Malta is All About Fun

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 15:41:15 -0800

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Kara Scott Kicks Off Battle of Malta (Video)

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 11:39:53 -0800

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Howard Lederer Doesn't Know, Can't Remember and Never Saw That Email

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:25:36 -0700

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Photoshop of the Week: The Great Stewie Ungar

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 13:16:54 -0700

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Watch the EPT Barcelona Final Table Live Stream Here!

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:57:54 -0700

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Easy Game Episode 2: Matt “ADZ124” Marafioti (Video Mini-Doc)

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 12:13:45 -0700

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Easy Game Episode 1: Barry Greenstein (Video Mini-Doc)

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 11:19:53 -0700

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Strategy Tip: Learn to value bet

New Full Tilt Poker: Leaked Ad Campaign*

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 10:48:42 -0700

* "Leaked Ad Campaign" is completely false and meant for entertainment and satirical purposes only.

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How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: Which Hand Wins Calculator

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:39:58 -0700

More articles on How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game:

Part 1: Equipment Part 2: Hand Rankings Part 3: How to Play Part 4: How to Set Up Part 5: What to Drink Part 6: What to Eat Part 7: Who to Invite Part 8: Etiquette Part 9: How to Beat your Friends Part 10: Cheaters Part 11: More Games, More Gamble Part 12: Odds and Exceptions Part 13: Which Hand Wins Calculator

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How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: Odd Rules and Exceptions

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:56:54 -0700

All About All-In Situations

Two players all-in with different size stacks: In this situation, you take the amount of the smaller stack from the big stack into the pot, returning the difference to the big-stack player.

Short stack all-in against two opponents: When a short stack is all-in against two larger stacks, the blinds, short stack, plus the amount of the short stack from each larger stack is placed in the main pot. All players can win this pot.

The two players on the side are now free to play and bet as usual into a side pot, which only they are eligible to win. (This means there can be two winners in the hand - a side pot and a main pot winner.)

Multiple players all-in: When multiple players are all-in, you must make multiple side pots. Make a main pot as described above. After you've done that, repeat the process with the next-smallest stack.

Balancing Tables

Sometimes when you’re running a tournament you’ll run into a situation where table 1 loses two players while table 2 is full. It’s obviously unfair for one table to play out short-handed so you’re going to have to move one player from table 2 to table 1 to keep everything balanced.

When moving a player it’s important to give them a seat on the other table closest to their current position to keep them from having to pay blinds twice, or not at all.

Breaking a Table

In tournaments you’ll get to the point where you have so few players that you might as well merge them onto another table.

You just randomly draw for who goes where. If everyone is moving to a final table, typically every player draws for a seat, even those who are already in a seat.

If you don’t have seat cards just use the deck counting from lowest to highest, starting left of the dealer.

Can a Player Cash Out Half Their Chips?

Sometimes players will win a big pot early and want to set some of their chips aside so that no matter what they leave with a profit.

The problem with this is that it doesn’t give the other players a chance to win back their chips. Cashing out half your stack (also known as going south) is against the rules and, at the very least, considered poor etiquette.

In other words you either play with all of your chips or none.

Can One Player Buy Chips from Another?

This is usually not a good idea. It's essentially the same concept as going south. The table loses the amount of chips the new player would be buying in for.

In home games it’s always much easier if one person is in charge of all financial transactions.

That said, you will see this rule broken a lot in home games. That doesn’t make it right.

Cards Dealt Before All Players Have Acted

This is a very common mistake in home games.

If the dealer burns and turns fourth street before every player has acted, the play is temporarily halted.

The dealer takes the turn card and puts it back into the deck, shuffling the entire remaining deck sufficiently.

Once the deck is shuffled, and the player has made his final flop action, the top card is turned over as the new turn (there has already been a card burned for this street).

Card Exposed While Dealing

Perhaps the most common mistake in home games is when the dealer accidentally flips up one of the hole cards.

If it’s the first or second card dealt, it’s considered a misdeal and the entire deck must be reshuffled before dealing again.

If it’s any other card the dealer continues to deal as normal. At the end of the deal the dealer takes back the exposed card and gives the player the top card on the deck to replace it.

The exposed card should be put on the top of the deck and will be used as the first burn card. Make sure that everyone has a chance to see the exposed card before throwing it on the top of the deck.

If more than one card is exposed while dealing, the hand is considered a misdeal.

What to do with Cards that are Scratched or Marked

If you notice a badly marked card in play you should first play out the hand normally. Once the hand is complete you’ll want to either replace the marked card with a new one or get a completely new deck.

If you don’t have a new deck your best bet is to remove the card from the game, making sure everyone is aware the card is no longer in play.

If you start to see a number of marked cards, you should take caution, it can mean you have a cheater in your midst.

Dealer Deals an Extra Hand or a Hand to a Seat with No Player

This is easy, as long as no one looks at the extra hand, it's folded as a dead hand, and play continues as usual.

How Long Can a Player Wait Before Rebuying?

Usually after a player loses all of their chips, they must choose whether or not to rebuy before the next hand is dealt.

In a home game there is room for lenience on this issue, just as long as the player isn't doing it on purpose to gain some sort of advantage. It’s common for players to have to make a quick trip to the ATM to grab more cash.

What Happens When There are Only Two Players Left?

When a poker game goes down to two players, it’s called heads-up and some special rules go into place. The player on the button becomes the small blind and gets to act first before the flop while the big blind gets the option preflop. After the flop the roles reverse and big blind acts first.

Is a Single Big Chip Considered a Raise or a Call?

By putting in one over-value chip without saying anything, it is always considered a call. For example, if the big blind is $25 and you're first to act, putting in a $100 chip without actually saying "raise" is considered a call.

The more lenient atmosphere of a home game means the dealer will typically ask the player what they actually wanted to do.

You can always avoid these issues by verbalizing your actions. For instance saying out loud “Bet, call, check, fold or raise.”

More on Misdeals

Sometimes a hand simply can’t be saved and you’ll have to call the hand dead due to dealer error. These are a few of the circumstances where a misdeal will be necessary:

The first or second card in the hand are exposed More than one card is exposed The dealer starts on the wrong player (some home games will allow the dealer to simply move all the cards over) One or more players receive more or fewer than the proper amount of cards

Player's Stack Size Less Than the Blind

If a player has less than the small blind in their stack they are automatically considered all-in in the next hand they play, regardless of position.

If the player's stack is larger than the small blind but smaller than the big blind, they will be considered all-in in any position other than the small blind, assuming they fold for their option.

When all-in, the player can only win the amount of their stack, plus that same amount from all of the callers and blinds. If the person has less than the big blind, they can only win the portion of the blind equal to that of their stack.

Suit Rankings

In poker, the official suit ranking goes with the official Bridge ranking system, which is alphabetical. From worst to best:

Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades

Turn-Dealing Mistakes

This is another common one in home games. The dealer will lay down the turn card without burning a card.

If it happens that card is simply treated as an exposed, or flashed, card. The dealer makes sure to show everyone and then puts it down as the burn card, dealing the real turn as normal.

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How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: More Games = More Gamble

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:16:23 -0700

#1 – Pineapple/Crazy Pineapple

Pineapple and Crazy Pineapple are two of the easiest ways to dip your toe in the mixed-game pool. That’s because it’s played almost exactly like Hold’em.

In both the sane and mentally unstable versions of Pineapple each player receives three cards.

The difference is:

In Pineapple you must discard before making your preflop action In Crazy Pineapple you must discard before making your action on the flop

In both games, if you fail to discard by the appropriate time and act with three cards, your hand is dead.

The concept is easy. By giving players an additional card you’re going to see big hands more often, infusing your home game with some much needed action.

Strategy Tip: If the rest of the table is playing Pineapple like it’s Hold’em, tighten up and make a monster before putting your chips in. Because of the extra card you’ll need a bigger hand on average to win than you would in Hold’em.

#2 – Pot-Limit Omaha

Pot-Limit Omaha is arguably the game that strikes the best balance between action and poker skill, and it’s easy to learn if you play Hold’em.

The only differences between PLO and Hold’em are:

Each player gets four hole cards You must use EXACTLY TWO of your hole cards, with three community cards, to make a five card hand (If there are four clubs on the board, you still need two clubs in your hand to make a flush) The game is played pot-limit, instead of no-limit

In pot-limit games you can only bet and raise a maximum of what’s in the pot. If you’re just opening the betting it’s easy to figure out (just count the pot) but when there’s a raise or two in front of you it gets more complicated.

Trick to calculate how much you can raise: Take the last bet and multiply by three, then add the pot and all other bets. That total is the maximum you can raise to.

Example: There’s $100 in the pot and the big blind has led out for $50 on the flop. Another player has raised to $150 and now you want to raise pot.

Multiply the last bet ($150) by three and add the pot ($100) and all other bets ($50). Raising pot here will mean raising to $600.

Even if you fancy yourself a PLO shark, you should check out our How To Not Suck at PLO series. Seriously, it will help you not to suck at PLO.

#3 – Sviten Special

The Swedish are the only people on Earth sick enough to come up with a game like this.

Developed in the underground card clubs of Stockholm Sviten Special is a split pot game that’s essentially a mix between Five-Card Omaha and Five-Card Draw.

The gameplay is the same as Omaha, except there’s a draw after the flop where you can exchange up to five of your cards.

Betting continues on the turn and river but at showdown the pot is split between the best board hand (Two hole cards and three board cards) and the best Five-Card Draw hand (The five cards in your hand).

One Card Draw Rule

If you choose to exchange only one card, the dealer will turn over the top card of the deck, letting all players see that one card. You have the choice to take that card, or receive the next card in the deck face down.

This is an action game and it’s not for the faint of heart.

Check out our comprehensive Sviten Special Rules and Strategy to get yourself up to speed.

Works Best Shorthanded

Because each player can use up to ten cards during the course of a hand, you may find the deck depleted when playing with five or more players.

There are two easy ways to deal with this.

Limit the number of cards you can exchange Reshuffle the discard pile from previous players’ draws

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How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: Protect Your Game from Cheaters

Fri, 11 May 2012 13:09:12 -0700

Former WPT Hostess Layla Kayleigh

Assert Yourself as the Host

Step number one for running a smooth home game is making sure the other players know who’s in charge, and it’s the number one way you can deter cheating.

Announce the rules we’re going to cover in this article and impress upon your players that you understand poker rules in general and that you will be enforcing them.

A good host is looking out for all his players, and that includes making sure they’re not being taken advantage of.

Assert Yourself as the Cashier

Why cheat at cards when you can take cash directly out of the pot, or take chips without putting in money?

Keep the money in a secure place and make sure everyone understands they must go through you to either buy chips or cash out.

It’s helpful to keep a small float of bills and coins to help make correct change.

Cards Stay on or Above the Table at All Times

Unless you’re committed to dealing every hand of your home poker game you’ll have to trust the other players to take their turn handling the cards.

Depending on the players’ levels of experience you might see some questionable shuffling techniques. But again, unless you’re willing to hire a dealer or do it yourself you just have to accept it.

The only thing to really worry about, however, is if the deck come off the table and is getting shuffled in someone’s lap. It’s easy to look at or rearrange cards if no one’s paying attention.

The same thing goes for hole cards. Players should keep their cards on the felt, and protect them when they look, but if they must pick them up, under no circumstances should they end up below the table.

Use Two Decks and Shuffle Behind the Dealer

By using two decks you’ll not only get more hands per hour, you’ll cut down on players’ opportunities to cheat.

Make sure to use two different colored decks.

The player behind the dealer should shuffle for the next hand. That means when you’re done dealing a hand, you just shuffle the cards while the player to your left is dealing.

This will stop players from setting up the deck over the course of the preceding hand while they’re dealing.

It’s acceptable for the new dealer to cut the cards before dealing.

Be Prepared with New Decks of Cards

It’s very important to have a good supply of cards, and to be vigilant about the condition of the cards with which you’re playing.

Expensive KEM or Copag cards have a long life span if no one tampers with them, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe from players marking them with dents, creases and crimps.

You should also count down the deck regularly. Banking cards is the art of hiding key cards and substituting them into your hand when appropriate.

It’s one of the easiest ways to cheat but you can effectively limit it by always making sure you have the correct number of cards.

Use a Cut Card

Cut cards are incredibly affordable and they’re one of the most effective ways to limit your opponents’ opportunities to cheat when they’re dealing.

A cut card is a simple plastic card that sits at the bottom of the deck when dealing and it makes it impossible to base-deal (dealing a predetermined bottom card).

It will also stop inexperienced dealers from inadvertently flashing the bottom card.

Choose a cut card that contrasts sharply in color to your playing cards so you’ll know where it is. White or bright yellow is perfect.

Use Unique Cards and Chips

If you use the most common varieties of chips and cards you’re giving potential cheaters an easy way to reload their stack without buying in, or to swap in high-value cards during play.

Ideally you should order cards online and buy chips you know are hard to find.

For many it won’t be feasible to track down unique cards and chips. Focus on the first two rules in this guide to make up for your commonplace equipment.

Shorting the Pot

Shorting the pot is when a player pays less than he owes, disguising the shortfall by throwing his chips directly into the pot or someone else’s bet, taking more change than he’s owed or simply hoping no one will notice

One of the easiest ways to get away with it is by splashing the pot. By throwing a bet or call into an already large pot, cheaters can play for a discount without anyone noticing.

Collusion

Collusion is when two or more players at the table are operating as a team and it comes in all shapes and sizes.

Common forms of collusion to watch out for at your home game include:

Soft-playing: When a player does not bet or raise with a very strong hand, usually to save their team-mate money. Whipsawing: When two players raise and re-raise each other to trap other players’ money in the middle. Dumping: Usually in a tournament-style game, a player will intentionally lose chips to his teammate to keep him in the game. Signalling: When two players trade information about what they’re going to do, or what cards they’re holding.

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Top 12 Worst Poker Etiquette Mistakes (Infographic)

Wed, 09 May 2012 12:03:28 -0700

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How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: How to Beat Your Friends

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:19:08 -0700

First-Timers, Noobs, Fish

There’s an old saying that applies particularly well to poker: You can shear a sheep many times but you can skin it only once.

When you identify a player as a complete newcomer, do your best to give them some play for their money.

It’s almost guaranteed they’re going to go broke so try put a few good memories in their head to replace the cash that won’t be in their pocket.

Playing fish is easy. Simply value-bet anything resembling a good hand. Second pair is a good hand against a complete newcomer.

They will call down with complete garbage, and raising will only become an option for them when they have a big hand.

Most importantly, be sure to console them with a few sage words when they lose their money.

“We all lose when we were learning,” is a good option. Or the always popular, “You got very unlucky there.”

The Tight Rock

If you can’t remember seeing a player put money in the pot when they weren’t in the blind, chances are you’re dealing with a tight, rocky player.

This player is 100% focused on their own two cards and chances are their sense of hand-value is completely out of whack.

If they have top pair second kicker they’re afraid of top-top. If they have a straight and there’s a possible flush they’ll shy away from raising.

Don’t give these players an inch. Simply bet and raise them aggressively, until they play back at you.

If they’re calling chances are you’re going to need a top-pair or better hand to win the pot.

Strategy Tip: Find ways to be more aggressive

The Overly-Aggressive Maniac

While less common than the tight rock, the overly-aggressive maniac is someone you need to be on the lookout for because he’s going to provide a lot of the value in your home game.

These players always seem to be in the hand. When you’re checking they’re betting, and when you’re betting they’re raising.

Aggressive players can be frustrating because they're always betting and they tend to never let you see any cards for free. It can also be difficult to put them on a hand.

In reality playing against the aggressive maniac is easy.

Just make a hand and let them do the betting for you. Relative hand value goes out the window when you’re dealing with a maniac. In the right spot, bottom pair can be enough to win you a big pot.

Strategy Tip: Learn how to tighten up

The Experienced Regular

In this day and age everyone’s got a few friends who take poker seriously.

These are the guys who tell you about “The golden days of Party Poker” and sported Full Tilt baseball caps before Black Friday ruined their lives.

Unless you’re up to the challenge of out-maneuvering these talented grinders, there’s only one technique you need to know: Stay away.

Just don’t play against them unless you clearly have the best hand.

Tighten up, especially when you’re out of position, and wait for spots to play pots against the less experienced players at the table.

Strategy Tip: Read every article in our Poker Strategy section.

Practice Online at Micro Stakes

Generally speaking you’re going to see a lot of similarities between micro-stakes online players and home game players, which makes it the perfect place to get some experience.

It’s also the perfect environment to focus in on whatever style of poker you’ll be playing in your home game.

If you’ve got a one-table tournament style night planned, play a few dozen $1 single-table Sit and Gos.

If it’s going to be a mixed cash game, cycle through the different poker variants now offered by sites like PokerStars.

Another benefit of playing online is that it will force you to classify opponents based on their actions, not their appearance.

Oftentimes players will put on a big show of being a maniac but actually play like Allen Kessler. Or they might try their hardest to appear as cold, calculating rounders when in fact they’re spewy, bad LAG-tards.

Sometimes they’ll even believe their fabricated personas themselves, which makes them even easier to beat.

You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and you shouldn’t judge a poker player by his bravado, or lack thereof.

Don’t make assumptions. Classify your opponents only according to what you’ve seen them do firsthand.

Click here for reviews of the world’s best online poker rooms to find the one that’s right for you.

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Phil Ivey Photo Collage - Poker Wallpaper

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:38:46 -0700

Phil Ivey Wallpaper Collage By The Numbers

87 photos we took 1 we did not 4 face-palms 13 smiles 43 Full Tilt Poker logos 20 pairs of headphones 11 stare-downs 1 toothpick

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How to Host the Perfect Home Game: Etiquette

Thu, 03 May 2012 12:28:37 -0700

Top 9 Nitty Poker Etiquette Rules

If you’ve played in many home games you know not everyone abides by a universal poker rulebook.

In fact, it’s a lot like playing pool in another country. If you don’t ask beforehand you might have to bank the eight ball three times and once off the jukebox before potting it.

Some of these tips straddle the line between poker rules and poker etiquette, but they’re all important if you want your game to run smoothly.

It’s up to you how strictly you want to enforce them.

1) Don’t eat food with your hands and play poker: This is a rule so steeped in common sense it shouldn’t have to be included but a quick trip to your local casino will prove people still do it. Don’t let your home game suffer the same fate! Ban all finger foods or, if you just have to have nachos, make sure it’s on a break from the poker game.

Don't do this.

2) Don’t splash the pot: No matter how many times your friends quote Teddy KGB, telling you that in their club they splash the pot whenever the *** they please in a terrible Russian accent, it doesn’t make it okay.

Splashing the pot is when, instead of placing your bet or raise in front of you like a sane person, you fling it directly into the pile of chips already amassed in the middle of the table. It makes it hard to see how much really went in, and gives unscrupulous types an easy way to short the pot.

3) Always keep track of the action: Nothing ruins a home game more quickly than people who sit staring into space when it’s their turn to act. Trust us, an oblivious punter can look much the same as a contemplative grinder in those moments so do everyone a favor and keep track of when it’s your turn to act.

4) Never talk about a hand in which you’re not involved: If you’re not involved in a hand just sit there and sip your drink. Under no circumstance should you make comments about what you think people have, what they should do, what you would do in their spot, or what Phil Hellmuth would do in their spot. Wait until you’re in the hand, when it’s more acceptable to run your mouth.

Zip it.

5) One player to a hand: This is a reformulation of Rule 4 but it’s so important it warrants its own entry. No one appreciates you trying to coach a beginning through a hand, not the beginner themselves or the player on the other side of the hand.

Show every player in your game the basic courtesy of letting them play their own hands.

6) If you get called on the river, you must show first: If there’s a mix of experienced and inexperienced players in your game this is a situation that’s sure to come up.

Picture this: Your friend who fancies himself something of a rounder makes a big hero call on the river and demands to see the cards of your much less experienced friend. It might be rude but the rounder is in the right. If you bet or raise and get called on the river, it is incumbent on you to show first.

7) Show one show all: There’s nothing wrong with showing your cards after your opponent has folded but the rules state that if you show your BFF sitting beside you, the rest of the table has the right to see them as well. If you and your besty just have to have a secret, restrict it to your common love for the local sports team.

That's right, show 'em to everyone.

8) Never make string bets or raises: String betting is one of the most commonly known nitty poker rules but it’s also commonly misapplied. Think back to all those old movies with poker scenes, when the savvy poker player would drawl, “I’ll call your bet … and raise you!” In fact that is an example of a string bet.

Another common instance is when a player fails to announce raise, puts chips over the line for a call and then reaches back and makes a raise. The easiest way to never string bet is to just announce your raise and the amount. Then you can make as many motions as you want. If you don’t announce it, you must put in your full raise IN ONE FORWARD MOTION.

10) English only at the table: This is mostly directed at those Trekkie goons you know from high school who keep showing up at your home game and quoting Rounders in Klingon. You know the ones.

To avoid collusion and to keep an inclusive atmosphere English is the only acceptable language at a poker table.

If you’re not from an English-speaking country and no one you know speaks English you’re pretty much out of luck. Accept that it’s going to be a quiet game.

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How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: Who to Invite

Tue, 01 May 2012 14:13:35 -0700

Spider-Man is everyone's best bud.

Best Buds

This is your bread and butter. You want to invite your closest friends because you know they are trustworthy and good people to be around.

You can call them up on short notice and fill out your game if you need.

Pros

It’s way better bluffing someone you’ve known for years Even if they dominate you at the table you may get a free drink out of it later Ability to taunt your friends for years to come

Cons

They’re probably going to borrow money They may not leave They’re pretty damn offensive

Never trust co-workers who wear sunglasses.

Co-Workers

Co-workers are a great source for fodder at the poker table because you know they make money!

Putting the word out in an office is a good way to build your game quickly.

Pros

You know where your opponents work so collecting is easy Poker can be a bonding experience You’ll all be equally tired at work the next day

Cons

Bluffing your superior out of a $100 pot could make things interesting the next day Things get awkward when crazy Phil from accounting suggests everyone put their next paycheck on the line Bill Lumbergh keeps reminding you about your TPS reports

Members of the Opposite Sex

This is a tricky one. If it’s an all-guys game it sounds great to get a couple good looking women in on the game. The thing is it can change the dynamic considerably.

Sara Underwood is always invited to our home games.

Remember you’re not going to look very attractive to a member of the opposite sex if you bluff them out of a $100 pot and dive onto the table to perform a chip backstroke.

Conversely ladies’ poker nights work very well and sometimes women feel more comfortable just playing with other females. Proceed with caution.

Pros

Game tends to be more civil Your home game could conceivably double in size The game is usually more relaxed and fun

Cons

Game tends to be more civil Sleeping on the couch for check-raising your wife/significant other sucks If you’re a guy, losing a massive pot to a girl who had “double kings” might hurt your ego In the poker game of life, women are the rake

Brings his own Dom Perignon.

Professional Poker Players

Poker pros are a long shot, of course, and will arguably destroy the game for everyone else.

On the plus side you have a shot at getting your game televised!

Pros

Good story to tell all your friends

Cons

You will lose all your money Several pros keep nagging you for a buffet comp Phil Hellmuth keeps referring to you as an “idiot from Northern Europe” They’ll convince you to “play with the pros” then simply take all the money on the table and wait for the DOJ to come for it

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How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: What to Eat

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:41:47 -0700

I’m not much of a gambling man, though I did have kids, which, truth be told, must be the biggest parlay of married life (and I doubled down, becoming a parent twice over), so I guess I’m not terribly risk adverse.

Back in my single days, I was once a part of a monthly poker game with some “card-playing friends” from work. I put that in quotes, because the only way our friendship could continue was if I stopped playing cards with them. You must know that old saw about knowing who the sucker at the table is? Well, it took me about two nights around their table to figure out who it was. That was the end of my gambling days.

If I was going to have a poker party, though, I would have to serve food with it. I checked with some of my card-playing friends to see what kinds of things might work. Pretzels were the universal answer—It seems you don’t want anything sticky or greasy, lest you mess up the cards.

Well, pretzels would never satisfy me—I need to snack on protein or else I feel jangly and worn out—so I racked my brain, and came up with some other ideas. They might be far afield, but I think they’ll meet the requirement that you hands remain more-or-less clean, and no matter what the cards turn up, you’ll be a winner with these two dishes—they’re rich in protein, and that will make you feel good, and keep going.

Mussels a la Plancha

For something savory, make mussels a la plancha. It is pretty foolproof—all you need (besides the mussels) is a cast iron frying pan. These would be good with beer, too.

1 pound mussels

1 cast-iron frying pan

Rinse the mussels well and pull any beards off them. Use only the intact ones that are completely closed.

Heat the cast-iron pan until hot.

Place the mussels on the pan in one layer.

Cook over high heat until the mussels open, release their juices, and the juices boil off. When the liquid is gone, the mussels are ready.

Eat them right out of the pan. They will be smoky and delicious.

This will serve about 2-3 people. Do up to 3 lbs of mussels in two pans for more folks.

Meringues

For something sweet, make meringues, which may be a dessert, but they are almost all protein, so you won’t suffer a sugar crash. These must be made well ahead of time. I don’t know if these would be any good with beer, or not.

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

4 egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

Beat eggwhites til frothy.

Add vanilla.

Add sugar a few spoonfuls at a time.

Beat until stiff peaks form.

Scoop onto parchment paper and bake (really, oven-dry) at 225 degrees for a long time (about a hour) -- depending on whether you like them chewy inside or crunchy.

Proper recipes will tell you to make sure the egg whites are at 70 degrees, and to sift the sugar. I'm lazy and don't do either. It is important to preheat the oven or you may burn the bottoms. Also, Joy of Cooking says that if you like chewy, 275 degrees; if you like crunchy 225 degrees. And leave them in the oven, with the heat turned off, and the door cracked open, to cool, for 30 minutes or so.

Serve with berries and ice cream on top, if you want the whole experience. Otherwise, just pop them in your mouth and keep playing.

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How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: What to Drink

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:48:33 -0700

By Christopher Null

You’ve got the cards, chips, and table all set – now what? You can toss a case of Busch tallboys in an Igloo, or you can put a little thought into what you drink.

Take it from me: A bad beat goes down much easier if you chase it with a shot of high-grade Bourbon.

Here are three suggestions on what to serve your crew, depending on the stakes of your game.

Blue Collar

When beer is on the menu, Busch or Bud will work well enough, but even the most casual of players are likely to appreciate a little extra thoughts. Check out Guinness Black Lager – a new brand from Guinness that is black as coffee but drinks like a traditional lager. $8.50 per six-pack.

Casual

One of the best values in the spirits world today is Bourbon and other U.S. whiskeys, and you can find an awful lot of great American whiskeys on the market without having to spend a whole lot of money. Try Evan Williams Single Barrel 2002 or Big Bottom Port Cask Finished Whiskey, both of which are available for $30 a bottle or less. Of course, if you’re ever worried the bottles will offend, you can always pour the whiskey into a crystal decanter and tell everyone it’s Pappy Van Winkle.

High Stakes

It’s not cheating to get your opponents stinking drunk before the game ever starts, and the best way to do that is by serving a delicious, high-end cocktail that goes down easy (but is manly enough to invite continued consumption). This original cocktail drinks like a martini but adds a touch of sweetness so your victims, er, guests, never know what hit them. You can make these bad boys a pitcher at a time (just multiply all proportions by 8) so you can have refills at the ready:

Drinkhacker’s Big Blind Cocktail

1 oz vodka1 oz gin¼ oz dry vermouth¼ oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur2 dashes orange bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

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How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: The Set-Up

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:26:48 -0700

Keep it Simple

It’s all about the less is more mentality when starting a home game.

One of the best things you can do to keep a home game running smoothly is have one person who handles all the buying in, cashing out and rebuys.

It’s critical, because if you have everyone getting their own chips mistakes (both honest and not so-honest) are bound to happen.

It’s an all too familiar situation where at the end of the night two guys go to cash out and there isn’t enough money to cover the chips that are in play. That’s when people get upset.

You’ll also have to choose chip dominations and we’re going to reiterate the point that simple is better. Don’t use all five colors that came with your chip set just because you can.

If you’re setting up a standard $.50/$1 game then two colors are all you need. One to represent $.50 and the other to represent $5 chips. That’s it.

Meanwhile if you’re setting up a tournament with 1,500 starting stacks, use three colors for 5 chips, 25 chips and 100 chips.

Try to stick with the same colors for every game. It reduces confusion for regulars at the table.

Step 1: Don't invite this guy.

How to Set Up Cash Games

Cash games are very simple to run and we’d suggest going with one for your first poker home game.

1) Max buy-in should be 100 big blinds

A good starting point is that you should have 100 big blinds for whatever level you are playing. So if you’re playing 5¢/10¢ blinds you should have a $10 maximum buy-in.

Most games operate on this standard whether live or online as it allows for sufficient play and doesn’t make it a shove-fest.

Setting the buy-in is a very important part of running a home game. Talk to everyone who wants to play and don’t make it higher than anyone feels comfortable playing.

Make sure that people are OK with losing a buy-in or two.

2) Say your action out loud

To avoid confusing hands have all players vocalize their actions. Instead of just shoving your chips in the middle actually say “bet” or “raise.” It’s a good habit to get into regardless of where you will be playing.

It’s really simple to host a successful cash game. All you have to do is keep the buy-in at a comfortable level, keep play running smoothly and keep track of the cash.

That’s really all there is to it.

Fishy tournament

How to Set Up Tournaments

Single table tournaments are arguably the most popular home poker games right now.

They have been popularized by TV shows like Poker After Dark and even the World Series of Poker.

Many people enjoy tournaments because they generally last a set length of time and one player walks away as the clear winner.

The games start with between three and nine players (sometimes 10) and it plays just like regular Texas Hold’em, except that you can’t get more chips.

One by one players begin to fall until only the winner remains.

One challenge with poker home game tournaments is the lack of a tournament clock. This can lead to blinds going up slowly and subsequently the action will start to drag in a big way.

To keep the game going, blinds must go up at regularly scheduled intervals.

We suggest you use our PokerListings tournament clock or another comparative one online.

Using the Tournament Clock

The tournament clock on PokerListings is a professional-grade clock that you can use to easily run tournaments from your own home. It’s simple to use and you can customize it in a variety of ways.

Step 1. Add all the standard details. Give your tournament a name. Select how many players will be playing and enter the buyin.

Step 2. Choose the starting stack. A good starting stack usually has players starting with 100 big blinds. If your first level is $25/$25 why not make your starting stack $2,500?

Step 3. Select how long you want the tournament to run. Once you choose the length, the tournament clock will automatically update the level times. It’s like magic.

Step 4. Finally choose what kind of payout structure you want. It will automatically adjust for the price of the buy-in! A good standard is top three players get paid.

With all those details in place, you can just hit the play button and the tournament is live. No more guessing when to raise blinds or what the next level will be.

You can even get information such as the average stack. The tournament clock handles pretty much everything for you.

Here's the clock:

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Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:07:51 -0700

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How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: Basic Strategy

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:22:05 -0700

Common Trouble Spots

Below is a quick summary of two common areas of confusion and how to actually figure out who wins the hand:

It's Flush vs. Flush

Always remember that if more than one player has a flush, you award the pot to the player with the highest flush. This includes all five cards. For example:

Board:

Player 1:

Player 2:

In this situation, the first player wins the pot. The reason is that when you look at all five cards, Player 1 has the higher flush:

Player 1:

Player 2:

The cards are the same until final fifth card. Since 7♦ is higher than 6♦, player wins the whole pot. This is sometimes referred to as being out-kicked. If you replace the 3♠ with a T♦ then both players would have the same flush (playing the board) and they'd split the pot.

What if We Both Have Two Pair?

Sometimes two players will each have two pairs, which confused players as to who should win.

Take this example:

Board:

Player 1:

Player 2:

In this scenario, Player1 wins the entire pot. Two pair is always ranked by the value of the highest pair first, and only if that pair is the same for both players do you rank by the second pair.

If both of two pairs are identical, it will be the kicker that will decide the winner (the highest-value fifth card is the kicker).

In this scenario because the two paired on the river, Player 1 has two pair - A♦ A♣ 2♠ 2♣ with the kicker K♦.

Player 2 has the lower two pair - K♦ K♥ Q♠ Q♥ with the kicker 3♥. Aces are higher than kings, so Player 1 wins the entire pot.

Who Wins with an Awesome Board?

Board:

Player 1:

Player 2:

Take a second to think this one though. This is a very bad beat, as once the river falls both players now have four of a kind with nines.

Only Player 1, who up until this point had nothing special, has the highest kicker with an ace.

Even though Player 2 flopped a full house - K♠ K♣ K♦ 9♠ 9♣ - once the fourth nine fell, he was now playing four-of-a-kind nines with a king kicker.

Player 1 wins the whole pot.

A Quick-Start Guide to Hold’em Starting Hand Strategy

If you’re hosting a poker night you want to have at least some idea what you’re doing out there and the following guide is a crash course in poker strategy.

This guide will at least give you some initial insight into what you should do with certain hands right off the bat. Poker is a very contextual game, however, so keep in mind that it can sometimes be right to fold powerful hands like pocket kings in certain scenarios.

Here’s a look at all the major hands in Hold’em:

Pocket Aces

The best starting hand in the game. There are books written about how to maximize profit with this hand but other than folding, it's difficult to make a mistake with pocket aces pre-flop.

Post Flop: Pocket rockets get signicantly more complicated post-flop. If the board doesn't improve your hand you still only have one pair. Watch out for sets and two-pairs.

Pocket Kings

You can play pocket kings just like pocket aces pre-flop. You'll occasionally see them folded if players think they smell A-A but it's almost always a bad decision. Don't do it.

Post Flop: Pocket kings are also similar to pocket aces post-flop although now you have to be on the lookout for an overpair if an ace hits on the flop. Be very careful if an ace shows up on the flop.

Pocket Queens and Jacks

Pocket queens and pocket jacks are powerful hands but not true killers like pocket aces or pocket kings. They can be very difficult to play but you're still going to want to play them.

You can actually fold these pre-flop if you're facing a ton of bets pre-flop, unlike pocket kings or pocket aces. If it's a tight table then a raise and a re-raise can spell trouble for pocket queens and below.

Post Flop: If there's tons of action pre-flop you'll want to be very wary on the flop. Sometimes you'll only want to continue if the board improves your hand. Watch out for overpairs.

Suggested Reading: Pocket Jacks Part 1: Pre-Flop Play

Pairs Below Pocket Jacks

Example:9♠ 9♥, 8♣ 8♦

These hands are playable but you're primarily looking to hit a set. It's simple really, if you don't hit your set, don't bet.

Tip: The lower your pair, the better chance you'll get into an unlucky sit over set situation.

Top-Pair Hands

Example:A♠ K♥, K♠ Q♦

A-K, A-Q, A-J and K-Q can be good hands to play, especially if you're at a aggressive table and you have position.

You're primarily looking to trap your opponent and get them in a situation where you have top-pair, top kicker against an opponent with the same pair and a weaker kicker.

Watch out if there is heavy betting pre-flop. You're almost guaranteed to be up against at least a pair.

Post-Flop:

You still have to remember that one-pair hands can easily be beaten by sets, two pairs or worse.

Suggested Reading: Ace-Queen Part 1: The Worst Best Hand

Suited Connectors (and Suited One-Gappers)

Example:8♠ 9♠, 9♦ J♦

Suited connectors can be one of the most profitable hands in No-Limit Hold'em. Part of the reason is that they tend to either hit big or whiff completely. That makes playing them simple.

They will miss most of the time, however, so you don't want to be calling huge bets pre-flop. Stay away from them in early position. You want to get in cheap and hopefully get paid off later.

Suggested Reading: Playing Suited Connectors in Six-Max

Suited Aces

Example:A♠ 3♠, A♥ 8♥

Generally you don't want to be putting a lot of money into the pot with these hands pre-flop as you're crushed by pairs, better aces, almost everything.

Post-Flop: Don't get into a betting war against someone with better ace. You want to BE the one with the better ace and getting paid off. If you don't hit big on the flop, feel free to muck small aces. They can be very problematic.

Everything Else

Example:5♠ 9♦, 2♥ 7♣, K♥ 10♦

If you're new to poker, avoid these hands altogether.

You're just not going to be very profitable with them. Even big ones such as Q-J or J-T look good but are simply going to lose you money eventually.

If you play these hands your decisions are going to get much more difficult.

Wait until you're an experienced player and then you can start expirimenting with these.

Remember the three most common beginner mistakes are:

Playing out of position Playing bad starting hands Playing weak hands against a raise

To sum up: stick to playing hands in this list, throw away the weaker of these hands whne out of position and try to only play against a raise if you have a very strong hand or a strong drawing hand.

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Black Friday History Week: D-Day and Aftermath

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:36:10 -0700

Domains Moved to .eu, Payment Schedule Agreed to with DOJ

The poker rooms immediately responded by switching their domain names to .eu and continuing to cater to players from the rest of the world.

All three poker rooms also issued statements that essentially saidthe same thing: sorry for the inconvenience, but everything's OK and U.S. players will be paid back shortly.

A section of Full Tilt’s statement would come to look ridiculous in the following months:

“In light of recent events involving the freezing of certain accounts, Full Tilt Poker would like to assure all players that their funds remain safe and secure. Processing of both deposit and withdrawal requests is proceeding as normal and is still available to all of our players.”

It turned out that was a straight up lie.

PokerStars Pays Back Quickly, FTP and AP/UB Drag Feet

On the other hand, PokerStars quickly arranged a dela with the DOJ to release its .com domain name and began paying back U.S. players immediately. Thanks to PokerStars' heavy presence in Europe, it also continued to generate profit.

Both Full Tilt and UB/Absolute Poker weren’t so quick to pay back players, despite similar deals with the DOJ to release their domain names back.

It was later revealed that phantom deposits coupled with money seizures had left FTP with no way of paying back players. Even worse, massive shareholder distribution payments continued while money was not coming in. Money was also still being accepted from players around the world, despite the FTP inner circle knowing it was going into a black hole.

The company behind AP/UB, Blanca Games, was simultaneously filing for bankruptcy. Blanca Games released a statement that refuted that claim but did say it was clearing house and re-hiring 20% of personnel in key positions.

AP/UB has yet to pay back its U.S. players and there has been no communication about doing so in the last nine months.

Phil Ivey

FTP PR disasters, Ivey Lawsuit

Full Tilt came under fire for going silent after Black Friday and not keeping its players apprised of the situation.

Things went from bad to worse on the first day of the 2011 WSOP when Phil Ivey dropped a bombshell on the poker world saying he would boycott the entire Series to stand in solidarity with FTP players who had money stuck on the site and were unable to play the live tournament series.

He also announced he was suing his former sponsor.

Tiltware released a short response that said the Ivey statement was “meritless” and he was only thinking of himself.

Ivey would later withdraw his lawsuit against FTP, but true to his word he boycotted the entire 2011 WSOP.

In September 2011 the Alderney Gambling Commission revoked Full Tilt’s license after a six-day hearing. No one has played on the site since.

In the Fall of 2011, the DOJ added Howard Lederer, Rafe Furst, Chris Ferguson to the DOJ's list of targets and erroneously declared the entire operation a “Ponzi scheme.”

The Future

One year removed from the events of Black Friday, the status of online poker around the world is still, to some extent, in limbo.

Full Tilt players have yet to be paid although a potential deal with the Bernard Tapie Group that would see players get their funds back is rumored to be close.

Issues of legality and taxation linger in virtually every country with a variety of implementations across the world.

In France and Italy, access is restricted to licensed companies and limited games. Player pools are also exclusively in-country.

Germany, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Scandinavia – all are to some degree battling with the next step for poker legislation.

The UK continues to be at the forefront of online poker legalization and encourages poker sites to base their headquarters in the country.

Australia and Canada have essentially avoided tackling poker legislation and citizens can play on whatever site they choose.

While it’s still possible to log in and play from virtually every country in the world, the largest market, the United States remains virtually off limits.

While some smaller skins on the Merge network are still accepting US players, it’s essentially a no-fly zone for online poker rooms.

Rumors continue to circulate that the U.S. will legalize and regulate online poker but as of April 13, 2012, U.S. poker players are still out of luck.

For more information be sure to check our Black Friday bulletin board.

Read More Black Friday History Week posts:

How it All Began How the UIGEA Changed Everything The Peak of PokerStars, Full Tilt and CEREUS Warning Signs

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: Poker Hand Rankings

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:34:53 -0700

Poker Hand Ranking: Royal Flush

A straight from a ten to an ace with all five cards of the same suit. In poker all suits are ranked equally.

Straight Flush

Any straight with all five cards of the same suit.

Four of a Kind

Any four cards of the same rank. If two players share the same Four of a Kind, the bigger fifth card (known as the kicker) decides who wins the pot.

Full House

Any three cards of the same rank together with any two cards of the same rank. Our example shows "Aces full of Kings" and it is a bigger full house than "Kings full of Aces."

Flush

Any five cards of the same suit (not consecutive). The highest card of the five determines the rank of the flush. Our example shows an Ace-high flush, which is the highest possible.

Straight

Any five consecutive cards of different suits. Aces can count as either a high or a low card. Our example shows a five-high straight, which is the lowest possible straight.

Three of a Kind

Any three cards of the same rank. Our example shows three-of-a-kind Aces, with a King and a Queen as side cards - the best possible three of a kind.

Two Pair

Any two cards of the same rank together with another two cards of the same rank. Our example shows the best possible two-pair, Aces and Kings. The highest pair of the two determines the rank of the two-pair.

One Pair

Any two cards of the same rank. Our example shows the best possible one-pair hand.

High Card

Any hand not in the above-mentioned hands. Our example shows the best possible high-card hand.

How to Make a Hand

In Texas Hold'em you combine your two hole cards with the community board to make the best five-card poker hand. Both hole cards, one hole card or no hole cards (play the board) can be used to comprise a hand.

Example: Hold'em

Hole Cards A Hole Cards B

Flop Turn River

Final Hand A Final Hand B

Two pair (Q's and 3's with a K) Two pair (K's and 3's with an A)

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Black Friday History Week: Warning Signs

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:02:43 -0700

Following Black Friday, Full Tilt-sponsored player Brandon Adams told the Chicago Tribune, "Along with everyone else in the poker world, I'm shocked."

"The expectation was that there would be warning signs. These sites went from multibillion-dollar enterprises to on the ropes overnight."

But in hindsight we know there were warning signs and that they should have tipped us off to an impending Black Friday event. Here are the three biggest.

Department of Justice vs. Neteller

The first concrete sign that the US government was serious about enforcing the UIGEA came in January of 2007 when two of Neteller’s founders were arrested for what the Department of Justice alleged to be unlawful transactions between online gaming companies and American customers.

Preet Bharara became a US Attorney in 2009, two years after the Neteller case began.

Just days later Neteller announced it would no longer handle money for gamblers in the US.

After paying $136 million and undergoing a two-year period of intense DOJ scrutiny to make sure they’d stay out of the American market, the DOJ finally dismissed the complaint.

The Neteller case was a clear indication that in order to go after online poker rooms, the DOJ would be targeting payment processors.

IntaBet’s Daniel Tzvetkoff Arrested

One year almost to the day before Black Friday hit, known payment processor Daniel Tzvetkoff was arrested in Las Vegas on a litany of charges, including bank fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to operate and finance an illegal gambling business as well as processing electronic fund transfers in violation of the UIGEA.

It was the first time the UIGEA had officially been cited in an arrest, which should have started the alarm bells ringing.

The main reason Tzvetkoff’s arrest should have raised the red flag, however, was his ongoing legal problems with PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker.

It was reported by Australia’s Courier-Mail that Full Tilt’s parent company Kolyma Corporation had sued Tzvetkoff’s company Intabill for $52 million.

With intimate knowledge of how online poker rooms were moving money to and from the US, Tzvetkoff had valuable information to trade with the DOJ.

Phantom Deposits on Full Tilt Poker

Phantom deposits account for roughly $130 million of Full Tilt Poker's shortfall.

Near the beginning of 2011 players were beginning to report making deposits on Full Tilt and having money credited to their accounts, despite it never actually leaving their bank accounts.

Most chalked it up to red tape delays but some saw a likely connection between the payment processing problems and the UIGEA.

In this thread started in late 2010 numerous players talk about months going by without money being taken out of their accounts.

In a very prophetic post on Two Plus Two, “Snipez” writes the following in reference to money being credited to accounts without being withdrawn from player’s bank accounts.

It’s the first use of the word “phantom” in connection to this problem, and to make things more mysterious, Snipez joined the day he made this comment, and has never posted again on the forum.

There is no way that Full Tilt doesn't know about this. Lots of customers are emailing them asking why the money has not been taken from their account. It boggles my mind why they don't just disable Quick Deposit on the accounts in question? Of course people are going to begin gambling more aggressive and degeneratively with their "free phantom money." It's almost like a trap but I can't see any legal recourse for an offshore gambling site against a U.S. citizen. They are going to lose a lot of money from this and it's gonna be a disgusting mess for them and ruin their reputation.

By the time Black Friday rolled around Full Tilt Poker had accepted roughly $130 million in phantom deposits, a fact they never revealed to the public.

Check out our Black Friday Bulletin Board for a full accounting of what's happened since Black Friday.

Read More Black Friday History Week posts:

How it All Began How the UIGEA Changed Everything The Peak of PokerStars, Full Tilt and CEREUS

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Black Friday History Week: The Peak of PokerStars, Full Tilt, UB

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:22:57 -0700

PokerStars Gets Busy with International Poker Tours, WCOOP, Daniel Negreanu

With PartyPoker gone, PokerStars was heir to the throne in the U.S. and the site certainly didn’t waste its opportunity.

PokerStars boasted software that was among the best in the industry, a group of pros that included WSOP Main Event winners Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem, and it was ready to make its case as the best poker site in the world.

The sheer numbers behind PokerStars at its peak from 2009-2011 were astonishing. Consider for a minute:

It was not unusual to see more than 200,000 players logged in at the same time. The site broke the Guinness world record for most poker players in a tournament at 200,000 players. PokerStars also broke an unofficial cash game record when it had 105,000 players playing at the same time in late 2010. As of March, 2012, there have been over 75 billion hands recorded on PokerStars.

Not content with dominating the online market, PokerStars also launched a series of live tournaments starting with the uber-popular European Poker Tour in 2004 but eventually expanding to include the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, the Latin American Poker Tour and even the short-lived North American Poker Tour.

PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure became one of the most popular tournaments in the world with thousands of players descending on Nassau to play live poker every year.

The site dominated the online tournament world and was the only major site to have a weekly tournament that offered a $1 million guarantee.

PokerStars also pioneered online poker series such as the World Championship of Online Poker and later the Spring Championship of Online Poker.

Perhaps the biggest pro signing in the history of PokerStars, outside of Chris Moneymaker, came when they inked Daniel “Kid Poker" Negreanu to a deal in 2007.

The Canadian pro was one of poker’s biggest free agents and even had his own poker skin, Full Contact Poker, but decided to join forces with the industry giant.

It was a move that paid off for both parties as Negreanu continued to be the darling of the poker world while PokerStars secured one of the bona fide top three most recognizable players as the face of the site.

They further augmented the team by signing upcoming stars like Jason Mercier, Liv Boeree and Viktor “Isildur1” Blom as well as a number of regional poker celebrities.

Howard Lederer

Full Tilt Takes Cash-Game Crown, Solidifies Pro Team, Introduces Onyx Cup

PokerStars wasn’t the only player in the post-UIGEA poker world. Not by a long shot.

Full Tilt Poker busted on to the scene in 2004 and quickly built a following by having arguably the best pro team in poker with Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Howard Lederer and Erick Lindgren.

The FTP slogan was “Learn, Chat and Play with the Pros" and the poker world responded by flocking to the site in droves.

FTP became the home for high-stakes professionals with millions of dollars being swapped back and forth between players like Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and Patrik Antonius.

Full Tilt Poker didn’t let up in its relentless pursuit of big names either as dozens of players were signed as “Red Pros” which usually meant they got some combination of rakeback and an hourly wage for playing on the site.

In later years FTP would also sign high-stakes gods Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen and Tom "durrrr" Dwan and further solidify its place as the home of the biggest games on the internet.

Although Full Tilt never got into the live tournament scene the way PokerStars did, they were a major player at the Aussie Millions and sent a large portion of their team to the popular event every year.

In 2007 FTP also made headlines by finally nabbing a WSOP Main Event winner in Jerry Yang.

Just prior to Black Friday in 2011, Full Tilt Poker also announced a special Onyx Cup tournament series that would have been a six-tournament tour with buy-ins ranging from $100,000 to $300,000 for some of the best, or at least richest, poker players in the world.

PokerStars usually gets more credit for pioneering the online poker game but it’s worth noting that Rush Poker was developed by Full Tilt Poker and it was one of the first sites to offer rakeback.

Full Tilt Poker also hosted the massively popular Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) every few months.

There were many players who held fast to the notion that Full Tilt’s software was simply better than PokerStars.

Annie Duke

UB Poker, Absolute Poker Merge to form CEREUS

Thanks to several cheating scandals, the history of UB Poker and Absolute Poker isn’t nearly as glamorous as PokerStars or Full Tilt but the fact remains they were a major player in the online poker industry for much of the 2000s.

UB Poker had two of the biggest poker pros in the world in Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke. The powerhouse pair were used on TV shows like The Best Damn Poker Show on Fox Sports Net and Duke went on to star in Celebrity Apprentice on CBC.

Both UB Poker and Absolute Poker were very active at the WSOP and had VIP lounges for their pro team. UB Poker also sponsored the Aruba Poker Classic.

In the late 2000s UB Poker went on a major pro-signing spree and hired Joe Sebok as its media and operations consultant.

UB was also a major advertiser on Sebok’s Poker Road pokertainment site and the short-lived Poker2Nite TV show with the aforementioned Sebok and Scott Huff.

Absolute Poker and UB Poker were owned by the same company so in 2008 they made the decision to merge and form the CEREUS Poker Network, which shared players from both sites.

Despite the site’s success there were always vocal detractors. Daniel Negreanu blasted Prahlad Friedman for signing with the site in early 2011. He posted this Tweet as a response to the signing.

“Imagine a world where crooks weren’t held accountable and continue to rob people with no recourse? The world should know… I’m all about 2nd chances in the right circumstances; this isn’t one. They are no more transparent today than in the past.”

That statement proved prophetic as the CEREUS Poker network closed its doors after Black Friday and has yet to pay back its players.

The U.S. Department of Justice Takes Aim

You may wonder why the U.S. government was sitting idly by while offshore poker sites continued to rack in hundreds of millions of dollars in profit after UIGEA passed.

It turns out they weren’t.

The U.S. Department of Justice were in the process of building a massive case against the three sites based on the way they processed payments.

Playing online poker is not illegal. It never has been. Technically the UIGEA only restricts banks from processing payments from players.

PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and CEREUS got around this by using third-party payment processors who figured out a way to get cash from U.S. players to the offshore poker sites.

One such processor was Australian Daniel Tzvetkoff, the former head of Intabill. Tzvetkoff was arrested in Las Vegas in 2010 by the FBI and charged with money laundering, bank fraud and wire fraud.

Tzvetkoff faced a severe prison sentence but was released a few months later and reportedly turned state’s evidence to form the basis for U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s case against the big three online poker sites.

The result was the United States vs. Scheinberg, a criminal case against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and CEREUS that alleges the founders took part in bank fraud and money laundering to process their players’ funds.

Since Black Friday none of the big three have offered for real-money poker games in the United States.

For a full accounting of what's happened since Black Friday, check out our Black Friday Bulletin Board.

Plastic Carousal Chip Set

Black Friday History Week: How the UIGEA Changed Everything

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:45:37 -0700

Black Friday - Five Years in the Works

Bush: Signed the UIGEA into law.

The indictments of the owners of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker/UB.com (plus five payment processors) may not have come down until April 15 of last year but the hammer had been slowly dropping for almost five years.

Passed in late 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was, as mentioned, a last-second add-on to a Safe Ports bill.

Having virtually nothing to do with online poker per se, the law was shoehorned onto the Safe Ports Act as a means of "protecting” against the movement of funds by offshore terrorism groups.

Known originally as "H.R. 4411", the bill was merged with another anti-Internet gambling act, H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, in July 2006 to form the full Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act.

H.R. 4411 ostensibly prohibited Internet gambling transactions made through American financial institutions but also tried to update the Wire Act of 1961 (which prohibits gambling over telephone wires) to include sports betting, casino and poker Web sites.

The Act also expressly prohibited lotteries based on sports events but activities such as securities and commodities traded on U.S. exchanges were not considered "gambling." Horse racing was also exempted from the Act.

While not expressly declaring any form of online gambling illegal, it did make the processing of any online gambling transactions illegal.

Despite several attempts to both repeal the bill and pass new legislation amending the UIGEA, particularly by Rep. Barney Frank, the bill still holds as law.

The Rise and Fall of the Big Three

Learn, chat and play with the pros became defacto poker motto.

Despite a 270-day implementation period, shortly after the UIGEA was passed the fallout began across the online poker and sports betting industries.

Party Poker, at that time the largest poker site on the US market, voluntarily withdrew from offering services to the US market despite it making up 80% of its overall business.

Founder Anurag Dikshit eventually settled with the US government for $300 million over its participation in the US market prior to the UIGEA.

Other, smaller sites also withdrew from accepting US players over the first few months. Stepping into the void, however, were Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars.

Citing legal advice that assured them online poker fell outside of the realm of the UIGEA, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker ramped up their marketing and promotional efforts quickly to grab market share.

With expansive outlays on TV time and growing stables of sponsored pros, the two sites scooped up almost all of the Party refugees and within a year were easily the most dominant forces in the US market - where they remained until the Department of Justice seized the PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker .com domains on April 15.

Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet also continued to accept US players post-UIGEA, although a forthcoming superuser scandal, financial meltdown and eventual re-birth/merger on the new Cereus network prevented the two sites from ever competing on the FTP/PokerStars level.

Moving Money the New Crux and Ultimate Downfall

While legal opinion convinced both PokerStars and Full Tilt to stay in the US market, the UIGEA still changed how sites could move money from American players to and from accounts.

Daniel Tzvetkoff, the man behind the DOJ case.

With direct credit card payments, PayPal and bank transfers eventually becoming off limits as enforcement came into play, third-party payment processors began to sprout up to take the weight.

Falling directly in line with the UIGEA's mandate however, payment processors quickly fell into the DOJ's sights.

In what was a sign of things to come, in July of 2007 the DOJ arrested the founders of payment processor Neteller and seized millions of dollars in funds reportedly transferred from US players to online gambling sites. Notably caught up in the seizures was $800k of Isaac Haxton's take from finishing second in the 2007 PCA main event.

The owners eventually reached a settlement and relinquished over $136 million in funds to the DOJ. Haxton also eventually got his money back.

Given increasing uncertainty over the legality of transferring money from US players, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker began looking for alternate processing solutions.

One of those solutions turned out to be the Daniel Tzvetkoff-led Intabill, an Australian payment processing company that masked online gambling transactions as retail purchases.

Four years later, after stealing well over $1 million from the online poker sites while processing those transactions, Tzvetkoff was arrested in a Las Vegas casino.

A few months later, he reportedly turned state's witness and his private correspondence reportedly makes up the bulk of the DOJ's case against the 11 indicted individuals.

You can find a comprehensive accounting of the events since Black Friday on our Black Friday Bulletin Board.

More articles from Black Friday History Week:

Black Friday History Week: How It All Began

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game: Equipment

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:35:06 -0700

Quite simply you’re going to need a table, chairs, chips and cards. Chairs are quite self-explanatory and you can use anything you have kicking around the house (or go for Herman-Miller Aerons, we don’t care) but the rest of is where shopping gets fun.

Below is a look at the gear you should buy for your home game, broken down by how much money you want to spend.

Budget Poker Set Up

Cards

Bicycle Playing Cards

If you're on a budget just go with the staple. The basic Bicycle playing cards are made from card stock and while they are prone to creasing and wearing down. they’ll get the job done just fine.

Price range: $1-5 for a deck

Chips

These aren’t pretty but they’re better than playing with pennies. Your grandparents likely own one of these dinosaurs. They stack together using plastic grooves to make neat stacks. Most serious poker players would scoff at them but they are the rock bottom cheapest way to get a set of chips. If you’re going to have around 10 players you can get by with 500 chips. In other words at least 30-40 chips for each player. 50-100 is even better.

Price range: $10-$20

Table

Da Vinci 2-Sided 36-Inch x 72-Inch Texas Holdem & Blackjack Casino Felt Layout

Technically it’s not a table but if you’ve got a flat surface you can throw down some felt on it and have a somewhat respectable game. Felt helps chips stay in place and keeps them from sliding or rolling too much. You can also start learning to riffle chip stacks like the pros if you have felt on the table.

Price: $10-$15

Total budget home game price:

$22-$40

Legit Poker Set Up

Cards

Copag Cards

Now we’re talking. Copag Cards are 100% PVC plastic and will last up to 50 times longer than card stock cards. They will also shuffle much easier and deal flawlessly. This the go-to deck for serious games worldwide so you’ll be playing with the same cards the pros use.

Price: $15-$20 for a two deck set

Chips

Da Vinci 500 Poker Set

We chose the Da Vinci set but you could really go with any lightweight plastic poker set. They are all essentially the same and come with an aluminum case as well as a dealer button, small and big blinds, dice and cut cards. Either way these are approaching respectable status and you’ll actually be able to perform some chip tricks if you so choose. The Da Vinci chips come with a metal insert for added weight, which gives them a more professional feel.

Price: $20-$100

Table

Full Size Texas Hold'em Green Felt Poker Table 83x44

Your table is likely going to be the most expensive item you purchase for your home game but it also makes the biggest difference. This is a full-size table with room for 10 players. The table also includes high quality casino felt, cup holders and padded armrests. Fortunately it also has folding legs, which makes storing it much easier.

Price: $250-$300

Total legit home game price:

$285-$420

Baller Poker Set Up

Cards

Kem Cards

Widely considered to be the best cards in the world Kem Cards are 100% Cellulose Acetate Plastic Playing Cards. Exceptionally durable and stylish. It’s not uncommon to find Kem Cards that are 20 years old and still in perfect condition after a quick scrub. You might recognize them from iconic poker movie Rounders.

Price: $20-$30 for a two deck set

Chips

500 Paulson National Poker Series Chips with Mahogany Case

Clay poker chips are the best chips on the market. The added weight gives the chips a superior feel and you’ll notice almost all casinos use clay chips exclusively. The WSOP gets its chips from Paulson so they’ll be more than good enough for your home game. Clay chips have the added bonus of wearing in nicely over the year making it easier to riffle. They also come with a sweet case. Rich mahogany for the win.

Note: If you don’t to spend close to a grand on chips you can also find cheaper clay chips in the $150-$500 range.

Price: $800-$1,000

Table

Deluxe 96 inch Hold'em table with dealer position

Get this table and don’t be surprised if a few rich businessmen start showing up looking to play. This is a full on luxury table complete with professional grade construction, marble columns, chrome trim, dealer position and supple padded armrests. We like classic green for the felt but there are a variety of options including burgundy and blue.

Price: $2,000-$3,000

Total baller set up price:

$2,820-$4,030

More articles on How to Host the Perfect Poker Home Game:

Black Friday History Week: How it All Began

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:00:00 -0700

PokerStars: The Hero

PokerStars has played the hero in the Black Friday story since day one, making a deal with the DOJ to continue operating outside of the US, and facilitating the return of player money.

Despite federal indictments including money laundering and illegal gambling PokerStars’ image is untarnished by Black Friday.

One of the few photos of Isai Scheinberg.

But while PokerStars may be the best and brightest online poker site in the world now, it wasn’t always the case.

Stars got into the game early, launching a beta play money poker client on September 11, 2001 and following it up with real money poker on December 12 of the same year.

Stars started life in Costa Rica as Rational Enterprises Limited, created by Israeli-Canadian Isai Scheinberg.

The turning point in PokerStars history came in the form of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006.

Party Poker, the world’s biggest online poker site at the time, pulled out of the US market.

PokerStars did not, and by taking much of Party's market share it became the giant it is today.

Full Tilt Poker: The Villain

It's hard not to see Full Tilt as the villain in the Black Friday saga. The site was knocked out completely and has yet to repay its former customers.

And the information that has come to light about how the company was managed in the months leading up to Black Friday is disturbing, to put it lightly.

But in the years leading up to April 15, 2011 FTP was an industry-leading brand represented by the biggest names in the game.

Team Full Tilt

It was the home of high-stakes poker online and its logo adorned the caps and hoodies of a generation of online poker players.

Full Tilt Poker was born Tiltware, LLC, a software company based in Los Angeles that had an initial budget of just $5 million.

Ray Bitar was the businessman while marquee poker names like Howard “The Professor” Lederer, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and the great Phil Ivey lent their credibility and poker expertise to the product’s development.

Also on the Team Full Tilt roster from the beginning were Erik Seidel, John Juanda, Andy Bloch, Erick Lindgren, Phil Gordon and Clonie Gowen.

The site became fully operational on July 10, 2004.

The years between then and April 15, 2011 saw steady growth as the adolescent FTP grew into one of the biggest poker sites in the world.

When the US government introduced the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act in 2006 Full Tilt Poker continued to offer online poker services to US players.

Joseph Tokwiro Norton

Cereus Poker Network: The Pariah

With major cheating scandals having tainted both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, it’s a wonder the Cereus Poker Network was even around to finally go down for the count as a result of Black Friday.

Ultimate Bet was launched in 2001 by eWorld Holdings in Antigua and licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

Previous to 2006 Ultimate Bet’s parent company Excapsa Software traded on the London Stock Exchange, but when the UIGEA was introduced Excapsa sold its assets to Tokwiro Enterprises.

Absolute Poker was launched in 2003 by Tokwiro Enterprises which, not coincidentally, has its headquarters in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory nine miles south of Montreal, Canada.

In 2008 Tokwiro Enterprises launched the Cereus Poker Network, which housed both Absolute Poker and Ulimate Bet, which rebranded itself UB.com in 2009.

Both sites continued accepting players post-UIGEA.

New PokerListingsBlogEntry

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:32:41 -0700

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Texas Hold'em Starting Hands Cheat Sheet (Infographic)

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:53:46 -0700

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Make Your Own Phil Hellmuth Rap Song

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:23:19 -0700

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10 Questions with Team PokerStars Pro Ville Wahlbeck

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:15:42 -0700

PokerListings.com: What’s the biggest prop bet you’ve ever made and did you win it?

Ville Wahlbeck: Overall I think I am a small winner in my golf bets. And other prop bets also.

I did win a good one two years ago when I bet quite big that I would make more than 33 out of 100 three-point throws (European lines). I got a nice extra from everything over 33.

"It's always nice to see Juha's face after he loses a bet."

I was far from certain if I'd make it since it had been years since I had touched a basketball and I never actually played the game. I only liked to shoot some baskets every now and then.

But it wasn't even close because I scored 46. The joy of winning was increased by the fact I collected from Juha Helppi, and it's always nice to see Juha's face after he loses a bet.

I also have a funny prop bet in football, where Theo Jorgensen and Johnny Lodden both have to make at least 6 out of 10 penalties against a national level goalie. I'd say Theo has a small chance and Johnny is close to drawing dead, so I'm expecting to collect that one too.

Who are a few young Finnish up-and-comers, who we might not know but who you think will be big poker stars?

There are many young Finnish players trying to work their way up. I'm a bit hesitant to name any because I don't really know if they would like it, so I leave it in secret.

Why does Finland keep producing some of the world’s best high-stakes players, even though it’s a relatively small player pool?

I agree that there are loads of Finnish players in high-stakes games at the moment. But I would say the main reason for this is that PLO has taken over NL as the usual high-stakes game.

And in Finland PLO has a long tradition, and obviously it is much easier to develop your game when you’re playing against good opponents.

Is there something different about the Finnish playing style compared to other Nordic countries?

Not much. There are some spots where I occasionally notice differences, but it is nothing major. I would say the difference is in experience.

Most of the Finns that are playing in high-stakes PLO games these days play hundreds of thousands of hands each year. They don’t have many leaks in their game. They have good game selection and they don't tilt.

"I think by far the best value is to play less known poker variations with a slightly smaller buy-ins."

Some might play only heads-up or three-handed and some focus on six-handed games. Some like to play with full buy-in and some prefer to shortstack. Everyone seems to be playing according to their strengths.

Have the fields changed much in big buy-in tournaments in games like HORSE and 2-7 since 2009 when you had so much success at WSOP?

I'd certainly like to play more big buy-in tournaments in HORSE or 8GAME, but unfortunately it is not possible. They play them only during WSOP. So I can't really say much about how the fields are since I can only play them once a year.

What games still offer good players the biggest edge in bigger live tournaments like the WSOP?

This is a good question. For a good all-around player in WSOP I think by far the best value is to play less known poker variations with a slightly smaller buy-ins like $1,000-$2,000 dollars, like 10-Game tournament, Razz or a Omaha Hi/Lo tourney.

They have a relatively big number of participants, but more than half the field is clueless and a solid player has a great chance to make a deep run.

The same goes with smaller NL tourneys in general. It is much easier to make a score in a $1,000 dollar EPT side event than in the main event.

What are you focusing on in your poker game these days?

Mostly cash games, but I'd like to start playing a bit more tournaments.

What are the biggest goals you still want to accomplish in poker?

Another bracelet or a win in an EPT main event would do fine :)

What kind of image does poker have in mainstream Finnish culture? What do people in Finland say when you tell them you’re a poker pro?

Being a poker pro is more "normal" than what it used to few be years ago. But I still think poker pros’ images to the mainstream are more glorified than it actually is. People don't understand how much practice and dedication playing poker professionally really takes.

What are your thoughts about PokerStars.eu and what impact it will have for Finland?

It is simply great. I expect more Finnish players to move their action to PokerStars now that it is working under EU license.

Ville Wahlbeck is a member of Team PokerStars Pro and you can play with him on PokerStars.com.

5 Questions with Jens "Jeans89" Kyllönen in Copenhagen

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:00:46 -0800

PokerListings.com: We’re here with Jens Kyllonen at EPT Copenhagen. You’ve played EPT Copenhagen before and you’ve actually won. How is it to be back?

Jens Kyllonen: It’s good. I haven’t really played any live tournaments in a long time. I haven’t had the motivation. I just decided there was a good group of Finnish people coming so I decided to try and come. It would be a nice, fun thing if I happen to win it again. So I figured it was worth a shot.

Jens "Jeans89" Kyllönen

You’ve been playing a lot online poker lately and it's seemingly going pretty good. Is that correct?

Yeah, that’s correct yeah. I’ve been playing way too much online but I just had good results and I feel like I played very good so I just have kept going.

Is it hard to adapt to playing tournaments again when you normally play a lot of cash games.

Yeah it is a little bit, especially when I’ve played such high stakes and won a lot it’s hard to focus. That’s why I actually just came in. I decided to skip the first two levels so I wouldn’t do anything stupid there. But I think I can focus if I don’t play too many tournaments. Just you know one every few months and I think I can have focus on it.

So tournaments for you are more like a vacation just to relax a little bit?

Ah yeah, pretty much. I wouldn’t do this for the money you know because, it’s just, your hourly rate isn’t going to be too good anyway. You play long days and there’s all the rake and tips and everything. It would be better to stay at home and play online but you can only do that for that much.

EPT Copenhagen is known for really hard competition. Is that your feeling as well?

Yeah, well I haven’t played yet or I just came inside but I’m sure I guess a lot of Scandinavian players so usually they know how to play. Plus I haven’t really played too much Texas Hold’em in the last two years or so I think I’m not even probably close to the best player here. But I think I can still manage.

Thanks Jens and good luck.

No problem, thank you.

Jens "Jeans89" Kyllonen plays high-stakes on PokerStars. Keep an eye on our Poker News Section for daily high-stakes online poker reports.

Four Minutes with Mickey "mement_mori" Petersen, EPT Copenhagan Champ

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:30:57 -0800

PL: I’m standing here with Mickey Petersen, also known as mement_mori online, at EPT Copenhagen. Mickey, you played Day 1b today how did it go?

MP: Yeah I played today, it actually went pretty well. I was just like winning all the medium pots, not really playing any big pots.

Then I lost one big one for 50k but I still bagged up 57k I think. So overall it was a pretty good day, a little above average. I just never put a lot of chips in the pots … just one of those good days I guess, everything was going my way.

PL: Could you explain to the readers what exactly you do to adjust from the normal online grind when you get to a big tournament like this?

MP: Sure. I feel like there are two things - or like two distinctive differences.

The one is that you’re playing a lot deeper than you usually are online – especially on Day 1 when you’re like 300 big blinds deep to start it off.

So like the hand rankings and stuff like that change. Like you can’t… you’re not like, online often even if you have a set or top pair, top kicker you’re just going with it where live it’s sort of a different pace.

The other thing is playing live you’re actually watching people so there’s a lot more information at your disposal. Picking up reads and betting patterns and stuff like that is a lot easier and you’re one-tabling of course instead of having like 20 tables.

You have as long as you want for making a decision, within reason, and yeah, it is a little bit different. I like it a lot.

PL: Do you feel that you are good at reading people? Do you feel like you’re just getting better or are you really good now?

MP: I feel like I’m decent at it. I feel like by some people it’s also a little overrated in the sense that you don’t look at a guy and go “Oh, he has AK…”

Well, you can, but most of the time it’s just you watch for people if they’re uncomfortable, you watch for timing tells and stuff like that, how they behave.

I feel like I’m OK at it but there’s certain people who are a lot more experienced than me.

PL: We’ve seen that you’ve dropped down the PocketFives rankings for Danish players. Is that just because you’re not playing as much online or are the other guys like Rasmus (Nielsen) playing a lot more?

MP: I feel like there’s three main reasons. One being that they’re playing more now.

Since PokerStars got tax-free everyone’s started grinding that in Denmark – which obviously has the biggest tournaments online so that’s where you can win the most points.

Second of all I have played less this year. I’ve been in the US for a bit visiting some friends and you can’t play from over there and just, you know, I definitely play less now.

I feel like the third thing is I’m only playing on Stars now and PokerStars.fr so there’s some tournaments I’m missing out on now that I used to play that all the other people are playing. So it’s hard to … the way the ranking system works you can only get I think it’s 20 scores from one site and I only have one site that qualifies instead of the five or six sites that other people have.

And also I haven’t really won anything big lately to be honest. Like I’ve had some OK scores but stumble at the finish line like every Sunday so I feel that’s the main reasons probably.

And also the other people are doing really well. I mean I got to give them credit, especially Rasmus, yeah, he’s grinding a lot.

PL: If you could rank some players, not just Danish but international, who would you rank online?

MP: It’s so hard to say on the spot. Someone like Michael Tureniec who’s here now, like he’s one of the best players in the world for sure.

He won the EPT here last year so he’s obviously good live as well. Who else … someone like Elio Fox who’s a good friend of mine, you know won the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event this year and I played a ton with him online like way before he could ever cash a live tournament.

These are just two guys that pop into my head. There’s so many good players now ... there’s definitely a very high caliber.

PL: Ok, thank you and good luck tomorrow.

MP: Thank you very much.

From Penalties to Poker: Liverpool FC Legend Jan Mølby Interview

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:54:39 -0800

PL: I’m standing here with Jan Mølby, former Liverpool legend and National Team player from Denmark playing at EPT Copenhagen. How’s it going for you?

JM: Well, I’m still in the tournament, I’ve got 50,000 which is some way below the average but it’s been an extremely tough day. I’ve had nothing so I’ve had to use my tight table image to pick up a few pots. But hopefully the cards will sing.

PL: I’ve heard that you learned to play poker on the bus in Liverpool?

JM: Yeah, that’s kind of how it happens you know when you travel a lot on the buses or you go to the World Cup or the European championships a lot of times you get up to playing cards.

In the mid 90s we had a lot of young players on Liverpool and the card games we were playing weren’t quick enough for them so we started to play poker.

Then when I retired, obviously we had the poker boom online and I just continued.

PL: Are there any good players from that time that are playing now or were they good at that time?

JM: There’s plenty that think they’re good players but there isn’t many. There’s obviously players from other clubs from my time in England like Teddy Sheringham and Tony Casterino are professional poker players but of the boys I played with no, they were just ultra, ultra aggressive.

PL: How do you approach this (poker)? Do you feel that you are learning every day or just picking up new stuff?

JM: Yeah, I think so. Obviously poker evolves all the time. There’s new ways of playing.

Fifteen years ago you played ABC poker everybody knew if you raised you had a good hand. Now it’s all about creating situations. You play the man, you play the moment, you play your position.

There’s so many things to take into consideration.

PL: I saw you talk to Jesper Hougaard just a second ago. Did he give you any good advice?

JM: Well, we’re kind of on the same team with Bet24 so he… you can never get too much advice.

I’ve found this from day one that poker players are very open with their advice and I do appreciate it.

PL: Thanks Jan, good luck the rest of the way.

JM: Thank you.

While at Liverpool Mølby scored a total of 62 goals - 42 of them from penalties. He was only stopped three times from the penalty spot in his career at Liverpool and still holds the club record for most penalties scored.

Photo By Numbers: Hellmuth's LAPC Entrance

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:16:26 -0800

1. Phil Hellmuth arrived a few hours late to the LA Poker Classic this afternoon, and he didn't have much in the way of an entrance planned. Lucky for him a few Royal Flush Girls came to his aid.

2. One of the aforementioned RFGs, her hair blowing in some magical indoor wind and her back arched.

3. Busted.

Annie Duke Full Interview Transcript - Taking Poker Mainstream

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:18:05 -0800

PokerListings.com: Do you think it’s possible for poker to make big advances as far as getting more mainstream? What are the biggest obstacles in the way?

Annie Duke: I think the biggest obstacle really is just the perception of poker. When Joan Rivers went on her diatribe (on Celebrity Apprentice) about who poker players really are, she’s not alone in that opinion unfortunately.

There’s still a large part of the population that are sort of scared of poker and think that it’s sort of shady or some sort of backroom activity.

So it’s important to show people that poker really is about skill. Just like the best basketball players in the world excel and end up in the NBA, you can do the same in poker. It’s not about gambling.

That makes it much more palatable to sponsors because it’s just like any other skill game.

When you can say to a sponsor that you’ve got a closed group of people that are going to be cycling through these events, and they’ve signed a code of conduct, that’s does a lot.

But the biggest thing is figuring out how to engage fans better.

I was really lucky to have been around right at the beginning when there were only 100 people or so playing every event. So it was a limited group of people that the fans were engaging with and it allowed them to get to know the players really well.

They were seeing the same people over and over again and when I was thinking during the early days of Epic, about who poker’s biggest stars are now as far as the average American is considered, it’s still these same pros that were around in the beginning.

That doesn’t mean that they’re the best players, but in the mainstream they’re still the most recognizable.

Because we haven’t seen any other really big stars generated since then. The only person you can point to is durrrr and even though he’s done a great job, he’s still hasn’t been able to get to the level of Phil Hellmuth and I think that’s because it’s just so hard to get the mainstream exposure.

So, looking at what was happening back then in the first half of the 2000s, and trying to sort of reverse-engineer it now, you realize that there are a few things you can point to as far as what made these players the big stars.

There were small tournament fields, about 100 of the people that the fans got to see over and over again. That just hasn’t been the case since about ’04 so it’s tough for fans to really get to know these players and build them into real stars.

PL: Given that poker does have a certain stigma attached to it, and it actually shows up in some professional sports’ codes of conduct, do you think there are unique challenges to moving it more into the mainstream?

Annie Duke and Erik Seidel.

AD: I think it’s the same challenge that poker has legislatively. It’s just about getting people to understand that if you’re going to accept something like options-trading as a skill-game, you have to accept that poker is as well.

So the challenge is educating people. I’ve always said that poker is really unlucky to have started in the same building as craps.

People kind of group all these things together and think of them as similar activities but the truth is they’re not similar at all.

But I think it’s important that we have some continuity. It’s tough when some guy wins a tournament and then you never see him again.

We need to showcase the amazingly talented poker players that are in the game and are being objectively measured.

When you have someone win a tournament like the Main Event and they’re supposed to be the world champion, but no one’s ever seen them before and you might never see them again, that feels like a step backwards.

PL: What was the biggest motivation for making ethics and the code of conduct a key part of the Epic Poker League?

AD: Really early on when we were discussing Epic Poker, the issue of a code of conduct came up as a discussion point.

The idea was that if you’re professionalizing poker, it’s important to realize that players within a closed pro league are going to be representatives for the sport and they’re going to be representing poker to the public, the sponsors, advertisers and everyone else.

So if you realize that poker presenting itself in a more professional light is really important I think these ethics and codes of conduct issues, within a closed league like Epic, become really important.

Poker’s never had that before and a big part of that is just a practical matter. When you have thousands of people playing in open events it’s not like you can vet anyone.

But once you’ve got a closed system, in terms of qualifying for membership, it becomes easier to start holding people to the same standards we see in other professional sports.

And there’s no other professional league that doesn’t have some sort of code of conduct that the players have to adhere to.

PL: You mention veteran players like Phil Hellmuth as being the biggest stars in poker, but do you think there’s an opportunity for a new generation of these superstars, given the amount of talent we’re seeing in younger pros these days?

AD: Not only do I think that but that exact idea was one of the biggest driving forces behind creating the league.

When you run the numbers fully 50 percent of the league is 30 or under, and that reflects where the stars of this generation are right now and this huge part of the elite poker playing community that’s largely unknown to the mainstream poker audience.

I think skill should be rewarded and today’s really great players should be given the same kind of platform that players from my generation had.

So if you give these players a chance to enter events with limited fields people are really going to be able to get to know the Jason Merciers and the Adam Levys and the Isaac Barons and the Noah Schwartzs and the Mike MacDonalds and the Chris Klodnickis and the Andrew Lichtenbergers.

These guys are just so amazing but they’re pretty much unknown to the public because it’s just too hard to get on final tables in these huge-field events enough in order for fans to engage with you.

In the beginning Jeffrey (Pollack) and I were saying, “It’s not the players you know, it’s the players you should know.”

What Full Tilt Poker Did

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:19:39 -0800

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Nguyening! The Scotty Nguyen Soundboard Baby!

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:45:43 -0800

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

WPT vs. EPT: Which Poker Tour is Best? (Infographic)

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:17:13 -0800

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Photo Recap of Ivey’s Epic $2 Million Win

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:30:48 -0800

Phil Ivey was a man possessed after busting out of the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event in 12th. The $250k Challenge went until 6 a.m. but Ivey didn't miss a beat.

John Juanda was partially responsible for getting four Chinese businessmen in on the game.

Patrik Antonius came in second place and cashed for $1.2 million. Despite his notable cash game winnings, it was his biggest ever live score.

Daniel Negreanu busted in fourth and experienced one of poker's worst bubbles. Instead of making $823k, Negreanu lost $250k. Gus Hansen snagged the min-cash for $823k.

The $250k Challenge took place entirely in Crown Casino's TV friendly studio 3. The event began at 4:30 p.m. and ended just after 6 a.m. the next day.

After the last hand was dealt, Patrik Antonius and Phil Ivey agreed to go get breakfast together. Ivey just asked that Antonius wait while he sorted out how he was going to get paid.

Black Friday Bulletin Board - US Online Poker Legal Updates (Updated 09/19/2012)

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:00:00 -0800

September 19, 2012

Nelson Burtnick, a Canadian man who processed payments for PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, pleads guilty to breaking the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act in New York.

Burtnick admitted to breaking the law and deceiving banks in order to process illegal online gambling payments following the introduction of the UIGEA.

“We had to do this type of deception to enable U.S. poker players to load their accounts with funds,” Burtnick said in court. “I know that what I did was wrong.”

Burtnick will be sentenced in New York December 19. He could receive up to 15 years and will have to forfeit all funds generated by the crimes.

Get the full story here.

September 11, 2012

The US Department of Justice files a second amendment to the complaint against Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker, including $137 million in forfeiture charges against Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Ray Bitar and Rafe Furst.

The funds described in the complaint represent owner distributions generated by the proceeds of Full Tilt Poker in the four and a half years leading up to Black Friday.

The DOJ is alleging that since those funds are proceeds from unlawful activities, they are subject to forfeiture.

According to the amended complaint the DOJ will be seeking forfeitures in the amounts of:

$42.5 million from Howard Lederer $42 million from Chris Ferguson $40.8 million from Ray Bitar $11.7 million from Rafe Furst

Check out the full story here and the DOJ's Second Amended Complaint here.

July 31, 2012

Absolute Poker forfeits its assets to the US government in exchange for them dropping all civil charges against Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet, Absolute Entertainment, S.A., Blanca Games, Inc., Hoop & Javelin Holdings Limited, Hoop Payment Solution Services Ltd., and Morning Bliss Overseas Ltd.

The forfeiture includes:

Deposited funds Receivables Hardware and Intellectual Property

While the civil charges have been dropped, not everyone at UB made it out unscathed. Head of Payment Processing Brent Beckley pled guilty and received 14 months in prison on July 23.

The Absolute Poker forfeiture was first broken by Bloomberg.

July 31, 2012

PokerStars and the US Department of Justice announce a settlement agreement whereby PokerStars will acquire Full Tilt Poker and all its assets in a deal that will see all Full Tilt players recover their player balances.

PokerStars will forfeit $547 million to the DOJ over the next three years and will also repay an additional $184 million to non-US players with money in their Full Tilt accounts.

Part of the deal also stipulates that PokerStars will have the Full Tilt Poker website up and running for non-US players within 90 days.

PokerStars announced a number of significant aspects of this deal and its implications.

PokerStars (and Full Tilt Poker) will be permitted to apply to relevant U.S. gaming authorities to offer real-money online poker if/when state or federal governments introduce regulation. All civil forfeiture and money laundering charges against PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker will be dropped. PokerStars' Isai Scheinberg will be forced to step down from PokerStars management. PokerStars is prohibited from employing or otherwise hiring Full Tilt insiders Ray Bitar, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Rafe Furst and Nelson Burtnick. There are plans to re-launch Full Tilt Poker in most markets as a separate brand, following the appointment of a "new, independent management team." PokerStars will relaunch Full Tilt in most markets within 90 days of deal closing with player accounts available in full for play or withdrawal. PokerStars will not seek a license to operate as Full Tilt Poker in France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Belgium or Estonia.

Click through to our story on PokerStars acquiring Full Tilt Poker. Additionally, read about what the deal really means for poker.

July 30, 2012

Numerous online poker sources claim a deal between PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker that will see FTP players repaid has finally been reached.

As of July 30 at 12 p.m. PST, nothing has been officially announced by PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker or the U.S. Department of Justice.

July 10, 2012

Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar is released on a $2.5 million personal recognizance bond backed by five unnamed supporters.

Bitar is free to return to his Calfornia home for the first time in over a year but will be monitored electronically by federal agents.

Full story and transcript of Bitar's reported email to staff here.

July 3, 2012

Bitar pleads not guilty to all charges against him and is held in custody on $2.4 million bail.

If found guilty on all money laundering, wire fraud and illegal gambling business charges, Bitar stands to spend a maximum of 145 years in prison.

Says Bitar in a statement released by his lawyers:

"I know that a lot of people are very angry at me. I understand why.

"Full Tilt should never have gotten into a position where it could not repay player funds."

Story here.

July 2, 2012

Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar is arrested at John F. Kennedy airport in New York after he decides to return to the US to answer the charges against him.

Bitar reportedly sends an email to the Dublin staff of Pocket Kings suggesting a deal with PokerStars is imminent and his return is "part of this process."

A new superseding indictment is also slapped on Bitar with several new charges suggesting Bitar encouraged new deposits from players around the world post-Black Friday despite knowing the company was insolvent.

May 1, 2012

According to a leaked email, Laurent Tapie made a last-ditch effort to steal top staff away from Pocket Kings and start a new FTP-like poker site anyway.

All 16 "key" staff members were offered the same salary and benefits they currently had plus stock options in the new company, but all had to agree to move for Tapie to go through with it.

None of the staff reportedly took the offer.

Full story and statement here.

April 24, 2012

Laurent Tapie releases a statement regarding the FTP deal and claims the repayment plan for US players and the legal complications around the deal were the primary reasons it couldn't be completed.

PokerStars issues a statement via its corporate blog stating it can't comment on the speculation but doesn't deny that a deal is in the works.

April 24, 2012

A tweet from ChiliPoker CEO Alexandre Dreyfus sets off rounds of speculation PokerStars has bumped the Tapie Group out of the picture and intends to buy Full Tilt Poker for $750 million.

Tapie Group Director Laurent Tapie later confirms they have dropped out of the deal.

Get the whole story here.

April 17, 2012

Information comes to light about a new company registered in Dublin called New Full Tilt Poker Limited.

Named as the company's two directors are Laurent Tapie, Managing Director of Groupe Bernard Tapie, and Prosper Jerémy Masquelier, one of the co-founders of the Internation Stadiums Poker Tour.

According to records New Full Tilt Poker Limited was incorporated on February 14, has a registered Dublin address and is classified as “Software Consultancy and Supply”.

Records also show that the company has been funded with €1 million.

March 29, 2012

The Washington Times reports that Judge Kaplan has refused to accept the misdemeanor plea made by John Campos, saying the DOJ is ""walking away from the case" by not pursuing a felony conviction.

Kaplan has asked for a written defense of the plea from the prosecution before he makes a final decision on at a hearing June 27.

Get the full story with updates here.

March 27, 2012

UK Gambling Commission chairman Peter Dean releases an independent review of the Alderney Gaming Control Commission's management of Full Tilt Poker's gaming license.

The report generally supported the AGCC for its supervision of the FTP licensing process and said it also acted "promptly and proportionately” when irregularities arose.

The full report can be found here.

March 27, 2012

John Campos, the Director of SunFirst Bank in Utah and one of the 11 named in the Department of Justice's Black Friday actions, has also reportedly agreed to plead guilty to one count.

According to a report from Forbes today, Campos has agreed to "plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge, according to three people familiar with the situation."Forbes speculates that by agreeing to let Campos plead to a misdemeanor charge, the DOJ is avoiding a trial that could affect the government’s remaining cases against the founders of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.

Click here to read the story.

March 26, 2012

Chad Elie, a Las Vegas payment processor charged in the Department of Justice's Black Friday actions, pled guilty to once count of conspiracy.

His plea agreement includes forfeiting $500,000 that he earned in connection with processing payments for online poker sites operating in the US post-Black Friday.

Elie admitted to wrongful conduct, and deceiving banks into processing poker transactions.

Click through here to read the full story on Bloomberg.

March 21, 2012

In an article posted on TheAustralian.com, it was reported that David Tzvetkoff, founder of a payment processing company used by Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and PokerStars, will appear in court as a witness for the Department of Justice in the trial of Black Friday defendants Chad Elie and John Campos.

Originally accused of stealing over $100 million by the poker companies themselves, Tzvetkoff was arrested in April 2010 in a Las Vegas casino and charged with laundering over $1 billion in payments from US players for the poker sites.

He will be a cornerstone witness in the DOJ's prosecution.

Get the whole story here.

March 6, 2012

Full Tilt Poker CEO Ray Bitar makes his first statement since Black Friday, via poker website PokerStrategy.com.

Bitar answers three questions focusing on why he's been silent, and what's been happening at FTP since Black Friday.

Here is his response.

“Ray Bitar: There are two reasons. One is the ongoing legal process which has precluded me from providing any relevant information surrounding the on-going investigation, and of course, I have not wanted to jeopardize the process in any way. While I could have made general statements throughout this process, they would not directly relate to the issues under investigation. Any such statements would be so general in nature that they would not provide answers to the many questions people understandably have. The second reason is that, along with others, I have been working every single day since Black Friday to ensure players are repaid, which has been my top priority, as well as working on the future plans of FTP. This work had to be done out of the scrutiny of the public eye. And so while it might satisfy people to have specific information about those ongoing discussions - and it would certainly take some of the heat off myself - I am convinced that such public statements would diminish the likelihood of a successful outcome, which is what we need to be focused on. My love for the sport and the poker community has made it very difficult to keep silent, particularly in light of the many angry sentiments directed at FTP, myself and others, in newspapers and blogs. Given the lack of information that has been made public, I can certainly understand these sentiments. My primary focus has been and continues to be working towards getting us to where we want to be – the repayment of the players and the survival of the company. I have been fully dedicated to this cause and am doing everything possible for a beneficial outcome.”

February 2, 2012

In an exclusive statement to PokerStrategy.com, the lawyer for Groupe Bernard Tapie said that money still owed to Full Tilt Poker by Team Pros like Phil Ivey, Layne Flack, David Benyamine, and Erik Lindgren could pose problems to the acquisition deal.

Behn Dayanim, the lawyer, said the money owed is between $10 and $20 million.

Dayanim said:

"GBT doesn't want to acquire assets which will need to be litigated over later. In total, the sum owed to the company is between $10 and $20 million.

"Several of the players who owe money and have not yet expressed a willingness to pay their debts include Phil Ivey, Layne Flack, David Benyamine, and Erik Lindgren. Barry Greenstein, Mike Matusow, and others owe a smaller but still significant amount."If the money doesn't come in, it creates a serious obstacle to completion of the deal.

"This isn't the only issue with the takeover, and the deal won't end on any one issue - but this is a substantial item."

Read the whole story here.

February 1, 2012

In an interview with IGamingFrance, Laurent Tapie fires back at rumors that Chris Ferguson is holding up Groupe Bernard Tapie's attempts to acquire Full Tilt Poker.

Tapie called the the story “totally false” and said the deal is on track to be completed by the end of February.

Get the whole story with quotes from Laurent Tapie right here.

January 25, 2012

Online poker news site Subject: Poker reports that former Full Tilt Poker co-owner Chris “Jesus” Ferguson had “secret” accounts into which he funneled money prior to Black Friday, and that it could hamper FTP's acquisition by Groupe Bernard Tapie.

Get more on that rumor here.

January 17, 2012

Adding to Ultimate Bet's worries is a new lawsuit brought against the online poker room by a group of players that includes Brad Booth, Dan King and Dustin Woolf. The group claims more than $20 million was stolen in connection to the site's superuser scandal, and they're seeking to recoup their losses plus further damages.

Get the details on that lawsuit right here.

December 20, 2011

Absolute Poker co-owner Brent Beckley pleaded guilty to the federal charges laid against him in connection to online poker's Black Friday this past April. Beckley was charged with bank fraud and breaking US Internet gambling laws, charges which carry a maximum sentence of 30 years. Under his plea agreement, however, Beckley is reportedly serving between 12 and 18 months.

Click here for the full story on Brent Beckley's plea agreement.

December 16, 2011

PokerStars announces a new process for protecting player funds, called The PokerStars Player Protection Plan. Introducing the strategy in the regulated French market, it will involved appointing a third party financial services company to oversee the segregation of player funds. PokerStars hopes this will become the standard in online gaming in Europe.

Click here for the full story on PokerStars' Player Protection Plan.

December 15, 2011

Full Tilt Poker has voted to further the transfer of its assets to Groupe Bernard Tapie, by way of the US Department of Justice. A two-thirds majority by FTP owners was satisfied to reach the agreement, marking another important step towards players getting repaid and GBT getting Full Tilt back on its feet.

Click here for the full story.

November 18, 2011

Group Bernard Tapie has officially acquired Full Tilt Poker, paying $80 million and agreeing to repay all FTP's former non-US customers while the DOJ will manage the repayment of American players.

The deal will also see FTP assets voluntarily forfeited to the DOJ who will then transfer them to GBT.

Click here for the full story on the official acquisition of Full Tilt Poker.

November 15, 2011

Chris Ferguson, whose name was added to the civil complaint against Full Tilt Poker in September, has filed a new group of motions with the US District Court of Southern New York.

The motions are on behalf of the companies that comprise Full Tilt Poker, and seeks to return assets seized by the US Department of Justice on and before Black Friday. One of the motions also seeks to add Los Angeles-based attorney Ian J. Imrich to Ferguson's defense team.

Get the details plus links to the motions right here.

November 1, 2011

Subject Poker publishes an email sent from Ray Bitar to Full Tilt Poker shareholders, announcing that the Department of Justice and Bernard Tapie Group have reached an agreement in principle that could facilitate BTG's acquisition of Full Tilt Poker.

Here is the email in full:

Dear members,

I am pleased to announce that today the Department of Justice and Groupe Bernard Tapie have reached an agreement in principle regarding the acquisition of the companies comprising FullTiltPoker. My understanding is the deal provides that in exchange for an agreed upon payment by GBT, and a GBT commitment to assume responsibility for payment of ROW players, DoJ will reimburse US players and settle the outstanding civil litigation with the companies comprising FTP. Beyond these conditions, issues like the time frame and process for repayment of players remain unclear at this point and time.

With DoJ’s consent now in hand, GBT may now proceed to finalize an agreement to acquire the companies or assets that comprise FTP. That agreement will very likely address the status of your shares or interests in the successor company. When I receive that agreement, I will coordinate with our attorneys to ensure the terms of that proposed agreement will be shared with the membership and voted on.

-Ray

October 20, 2011

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission amends its original tribunal report regarding the amount of money Full Tilt Poker had seized by the US Department of Justice.

The original statement put that sum at $331 million USD but the revision explains that this number more accurately represents the total money "unavailable" to FTP, only a part of which is a result of DOJ seizures.

The AGCC says that the DOJ has seized roughly $159 million from Full Tilt, $115 million of which was seized prior to Black Friday.

Read the statement and an explanation here.

September 30, 2011

Full Tilt Poker signs an acquisition agreement with the Bernard Tapie Group. The acquisition is contingent on a few conditions being met, chief among them being a "favorable resolution" with the US Department of Justice.

The agreement explicitly includes the repayment of Full Tilt Poker funds to its former customers.

Read the statement in its entirety here.

September 29, 2011

After a six-day long hearing the Alderney Gambling Control Commission has revoked Full Tilt Poker's gambling license. While this does not preclude FTP from seeking another license elsewhere, it does end the AGCC's jurisdiction over the now defunct online poker room.

Click here to read excerpts from the statement.

September 22, 2011

Two of the lawyers representing Full Tilt Poker fire back at US Attorney Preet Bhahara's suggestion that Ful Tilt was operated as a "global Ponzi scheme". FTP's lawyers call that description careless and inflammatory.

Read the whole story with quotes from Full Tilt's lawyers right here.

1pm - September 21, 2011

Epic Poker League announces the decision to suspend Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson based on the amendment to the civil complaint against Full Tilt Poker.

Read the whole story right here.

12pm - September 21, 2011

Rafe Furst releases a statement addressing his inclusion in the US civil complaint against Full Tilt Poker.

Read the full statement here.

September 20, 2011

The Department of Justice makes an amendment to the civil complaint against Full Tilt Poker, adding Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Rafe Furst to the list of defendents.

The amendment names the three prominent members of Team Full Tilt and describes Full Tilt Poker as a "global Ponzi scheme".

Read the whole story with excerpts from the amendment right here.

August 30, 2011

Full Tilt Poker releases a statement addressing player funds and the key obstacles standing in the way of repayment. They also discuss potential investors and new management if and when the site re-opens.

Click here to read the statement in its entirety.

August 5, 2011

Full Tilt Poker pays the Alderney Gambling Control Commission outstanding licensing fees totaling £250,000.

Read about the original hearing here.

July 26, 2011

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission holds a hearing in London described by the AGCC “to make public evidence from both AGCC and Full Tilt regarding the suspension of Full Tilt’s licence and to adjudicate the findings transparently.“

The hearing was later adjourned to a date no later than September 15, 2011.

Read about the decision to adjourn here.

June 30, 2011

The LA Times reports, erroneously, that Full Tilt Poker was sold to a group of European investors.

Read that story here.

June 29, 2011

PokerStars and the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission issue statements assuring customers that PokerStars has and will continue to adhere to regulations, and that their license is not in jeopardy.

Click here to read the full statement.

May 31, 2011

Phil Ivey announces that in support of US online poker players he will not be playing at the World Series of Poker. Ivey also announces he is suing Tiltware, one of the principle companies behind Full Tilt Poker.

Read Ivey's statement here.

Read Tiltware's response here.

Read Daniel Negreanu's thoughts on Tiltware's response here.

May 24, 2010

U.S. Attorneys in Baltimore, Maryland announce two new federal indictments, charging two internet gaming businesses and three individuals with money laundering and illegal gambling.

In association with the charges ten internet gaming domains have been seized, including Doylesroom.com, Bookmaker.com, 2Betsdi.com, Funtimebingo.com, Goldenarchcasino.com, Truepoker.com, Betmaker.com, Betgrandesports.com, Betehorse.com and Beted.com.

Read our full story on the new indictments right here.

9am - May 10, 2011

Absolute Poker reaches an agreement with the Department of Justice. Under the agreement, the US Attorney's Office has agreed to provide all necessary assurances that third parties may work with Absolute Poker to facilitate the return of funds, currently held by third party processors, to players located in the US.

Read the full press release here.

Read our story on it right here.

12am - May 6, 2011

Federal prosecutors file a supplementary fortfeiture in Manhattan's federal court, outlining the seizure of five properties in connection with the Black Friday indictments.

Click here for the details.

9am - May 5, 2011

Blanca Games, operator of UB/AP, issues a press release announcing the liquidation of its workforce and the rehiring of 20% of personnel in key positions.

This release contradicts apparently mistaken reports yesterday that UB/AP had filed for bankruptcy in Norway. The confusion arose from a release in which Blanca announced it would cease its debt repayment to Madeira Fjord who then filed for Bankruptcy.

Absolute Poker and UB to Focus on Non-U.S. Business St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda (May 5, 2011) — Blanca Games Inc. (“Blanca”), operator of online poker rooms Absolute Poker and UB, issued the following statement today:

As previously stated, Absolute Poker and UB ceased their U.S.-facing operations due to recent legal developments in the United States. The company is currently restructuring and is focusing its resources on consolidating its non-U.S., rest-of-the-world operation and software business. In order to have a more efficient and successful future business, an immediate need to downsize and streamline operations significantly at both online poker rooms has been required. Absolute Poker and UB continue to operate their non-U.S.-facing business.

This decision comes after considerable review and analysis of the impact that ‘Black Friday’ has had on the business as a whole. The workforce has been liquidated, and the process of rehiring approximately 20% of staff in key positions has commenced. All affected employees have been informed of this necessary restructure.

A company spokesperson said: ”We regret that we have been compelled to take these actions. We have worked tirelessly to create a truly amazing company that is filled with extraordinary people. We have always been and still remain fully committed to our employees and players. At the same time, we are confident that this restructuring will strengthen the company and its future.”

The Company spokesperson also addressed erroneous reports that Blanca has filed for bankruptcy. The apparent confusion over this issue stems from the fact that Blanca recently informed a debt holder, Madeira Fjord, that it was terminating debt payments to, and its relationship with them. As a result, Madeira Fjord apparently filed a notice of bankruptcy in Norway. This notice has no negative impact upon Blanca, the operating company, or its brands. As stated previously, Absolute Poker and UB continue to operate their non-U.S. facing business around the world.

For non-U.S. players, Absolute Poker and UB have increased their maximum withdrawal limits to $1000 for Visa withdrawals and $500 for all other methods. The number of transactions being processed per day has been significantly increased as well. Players are still restricted to one transaction per week, but we are working to return non-U.S. withdrawals to normal service levels as quickly as possible.

As confirmed earlier this week, the company’s legal counsel is in continuing discussions this week with the U.S. Attorney’s office to formalize an agreement that would facilitate the return of funds to U.S. players.

9am - April 29, 2011

Full Tilt Poker representative "FTPDoug" posts answers to forum users questions.

Originally Posted by FTPDoug

Hi all, I've been collecting your unanswered questions and asking around for the answers. The questions that I've "ignored" aren't answered below either because I don't have any kind of answer yet, I can't give any kind answer yet, or they're more general questions that I'll answer in the next "normal" Answers thread. Apologies for the long delay in posting again here. Unfortunately the process of posting is drawn way out when my answers need to be double and triple approved instead of my normal one man show. We're also working on getting a FAQ page up on the US site soon. 1. Any estimate on when we [US players] can begin cashing out? - Here's the official statement about this question: "Full Tilt Poker is diligently working on return of US Players funds which is a top priority and will have a further update for US customers by early next week." 2. What is the procedure for assessing the value of USA player accounts?Tournament tickets (including IM freeroll tickets) - Tournament tickets will be converted to their real money value before withdrawal. I don't have a final answer about freeroll tickets, but my best guess is they will be left untouched (not converted, but not taken from the account).Cash game tickets (soon will be "expired cash game tickets") - All Ring Game ticket balances will be converted to real money, even if they've expired since the 15th.FTP points (as if converted to tourney tickets?) - We're still looking into this one. It's unclear what we can do with FTPs, but they definitely won't just "go away."IM medals (as if converted to tourney tickets?) - We're still looking into this as well. My guess is they will be converted to FTPs once we determine what will be done with FTPs. Bonuses in progress (pro rata as if points/medals refunded?) - Bonuses purchased with points or medals will likely have their "unused" points/medals refunded. First time deposit bonuses (or any other non-purchased bonuses) will probably just expire.IM progress in April (as if purchased up to 4 days for next level? medal value of freeroll?) - We're looking into this as well, but I think we'll give a pro-rated April status (and medals) of some sort. The details still need to be worked out.Unpaid rakeback (or cashback or whatever) - This will be paid out as soon as possible. Almost definitely before cashouts are turned on.Progress toward promised mid-year bonus - This is still under discussion, but I think it's unlikely we'll pay out a potential bonus in cash. What might happen is that we preserve the "potential" from January through April and add it to the next one of those bonuses that our US players might be eligible for.Accumulated months in IM - These will be frozen in time until a player starts playing again. You won't have your streak broken because you can't play at the moment.FTP Academy points - Academy points will be treated the same as Iron Man medals, and likely be converted to FTPs.Take 2 promotion - Take 2 will be paid out (on a pro-rated basis of some sort since US players couldn't participate in the final day or two) as soon as possible, again before cashouts are turned on. 3. Will United States players who move to a new country be allowed to resume play at the site and/or withdraw their funds to a non-US bank account? - I needed to get a very official answer on this one as well: "Yes. But your existing account and balance will not yet be available on logging in. You will be required to provide sufficient proof of relocation, including your photo identification and proof of residency at your new address. You can then use non-US funds to play from outside the US. And, after return of your US funds, you will be able to use those funds as well from outside the US." I know that's still a bit fuzzy, sorry about that. We'll work on clearing up all the details as soon as possible. 4. but Moneybookers are unavailable as a cashout option - Sorry, this was my mistake. The MB issue is separate from other issues, and we're working with them to resolve the situation as soon as possible. I don't have an exact timeline for when it will be available again, but we're hopeful it will be soon. 5. I am a canadian player and it looks like Instadebit is disabled. Im just curious if you plan to use Instadebit in the near future? - Instadebit should be up and running now. Let us know if that's not the case. 6. What about the money that the payment processors BOUNCED us in checks? And pending withdrawals via check that have not been received? Do we e-mail support with the bounced checks? Are the checks requested prior to 4/15 going to be received? Are they good? - Definitely email cashier@fulltiltpoker.com if a check bounced. If you already emailed them a while ago and they haven't gotten back to you, PM FTPSean and he will see if there's anything he can do to help speed things along. You should also email cashier with the other questions so they can look into the specific case for you as I don't think there's a general answer that covers all cases. 7. Is there an estimate time table for withdrawals to Neteller? - Many players started getting their Neteller withdrawals late last week. There have been a couple of hiccups along the way, so there is still a bit of a delay until that clears up, but things are looking good to resume normal withdrawal speeds within a week or so. 8. cashed in medals for points last night but still haven't been credited my points. - If you are in the US, we aren't currently processing Iron Man purchases. It's likely the order will be cancelled and you'll be refunded the medals. If you aren't in the US, there's currently a bit of a delay in the processing because of the US block. Sorry about that. 9. Can players in the US still buy things from the FTP store? - Not at the moment, no. 10. What is going to be done with the multiple US players who were previously able to change their location? - They have been reset back to have the United States as their country. They won't be disqualified from any tournaments they happened to enter, though. 11. Address the PMI issue - We haven't forgotten about this. I haven't seen an update in about two weeks, as you might imagine, but I know we are still looking into it. 12. am I gonna get my tv i ordered last monday before Black Friday? - For the moment the store isn't shipping to any US address. If your item already shipped it will get to you. If it was ordered but not yet shipped, it's been placed on hold. If it turns out we have to cancel those orders, your FTPs will be returned to your account. If you want more details about your specific order, please contact the FTP store at customersupport@fulltiltpoker.com and they can look up the status of your order. 13. when are you paying the take 2 money ? - Non-US players should have already been paid for Take 2. For US players, see question 2. If you are a non-US player and haven't gotten paid for Take 2 yet, contact support and they will look into it for you. We were pretty conservative when it came to identifying players as US players so it's possible you were wrongly tagged and that's why you haven't gotten paid yet. 14. I'm very curious as to what will happen to players that made deposits that have not yet been collected from their bank accounts? - At this point it's not clear what will happen here. We're looking into it and as soon as we know more we'll inform the affected players. 15. i just cashed out large parts of my roll via local bank transfer because i'm still not sure whats happening and i obviously wanna be rather safe than sorry. rumours say that full tilt went bankrupt and is going to have problems to pay out euro players once they start paying the players from the u.s. can you comment on that and explain why my money is supposed to be safe? i dont wanna go to stars or something bc i hate that site but when it comes to security/reliability stars is looking way better these days than full tilt. how can i be sure that my funds are really safe? - We are not bankrupt. While there is some fallout from the US situation on non-US withdrawals (mostly in the form of delays), we won't have any problems paying out Euro (or any other) players, even after players in the US have their withdrawals processed. 16. why Webmoney still not working, sir? - I'm hearing the Webmoney issue will be resolved within a week or so. Sorry for the delay. 17. What about FT [transaction] history. When will that be back up? - Transaction History should be working again for US players tomorrow I think. If not tomorrow, then by next week at the latest. Sorry about that. 18. can us players still play the race to the main event freeroll? - No, I'm afraid not. 19. We all need an answer to when and how long it should take for FTP support to get back to us. - There are a couple of issues here. One is for US players getting nothing back except for a generic template explaining the current situation (or, worse, nothing at all). This was the advice given to support by our legal team, so their hands were tied. We're trying to get more clarity here as soon as possible as to what exactly they can and can't say (as opposed to the current "don't say anything" approach) so that support can be more helpful to US players. I do apologize for the length of silence coming from Full Tilt. It's a sensitive situation and I think we probably were a bit overly cautious here. 20. What will happen with my bankwire I req in early march that still hasnt gone thru? - Contact cashier@fulltiltpoker.com (or FTPSean if the cashier people haven't gotten back to you in a reasonable amount of time) with all of the details and they will look into it for you. Again, let me apologize for the length of time it's taken to give these answers (and apologize for the fact that many of the answers aren’t very satisfying yet). I'm going to do my best to keep everyone as up to date as possible as often as possible, but the situation is complicated and I'm pretty limited in what I can say without a bunch of approval. Doug

9am - April 28, 2011

Ira Rubin, another of the 11 individuals indicted by the Department of Justice, has been arrested and is being held in Miami. Rubin was arrested in Guatemala on April 25th and was since extradited to the US.

Rubin was a payment processor and is facing nine federal charges including conspiracy to violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act; three counts of violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act in connection with Pokerstars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker; three counts of operation of an illegal gambling business in connection with Pokerstars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker; conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering conspiracy.

Click here to read the story.

9am - April 27, 2011

PokerStars begins processing withdrawals for its former customers from the US.

9am - April 22, 2011

Absolute Poker issues its first statement. Absolute Poker nor UltimateBet will be entering into similar agreements with the DOJ as PokerStars or Full Tilt, but Absolute stresses that refunding US players' accounts is a top priority.

Absolute Poker has retained Blank Rome LLP as United States counsel to provide legal advice in relation to civil and criminal matters filed in federal court in Manhattan and made public on April 15, 2011," the statement reads.

Absolute Poker is aware that on April 19, 2011, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York entered into separate agreements with Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. These agreements concern the use of the respective www.fulltiltpoker.com and www.pokerstars.com domain names. The US Attorney, in a press release dated April 20, 2011, stated that the government is willing to enter the same agreement with Absolute Poker and UB.

At this time, Absolute Poker’s top priority is, and must be, the refund of balances to its and UB’s U.S. players. However, given the far-reaching consequences of the U.S. Attorney’s actions for Absolute Poker and for the entire poker community, Absolute Poker believes that the responsible course of action is to review with its attorneys the relevant court filings before taking any action.

Absolute Poker believes that the U.S. Attorney shares the view that refunds to U.S. players are an immediate and pressing concern, and Absolute Poker wishes to make clear that it wants to work cooperatively with the U.S. Attorney to safely and efficiently return its players’ funds. To that end, Absolute Poker’s counsel has initiated communications with the U.S. Attorney’s office and plans to continue proactively advancing those discussions.

2pm - April 20, 2011

PokerStars posts an FAQ, answering common questions for US players with real money accounts.

Click here for the PokerStars FAQ.

10am - April 20, 2011

PokerStars releases a statement in a pop-up in their poker client outlining the agreement they've struck with the DoJ. It includes continued real money poker for players outside the US, and the refund of US players' account balances.

PokerStars.com is pleased to confirm that the US Department of Justice has agreed to release the www.pokerstars.com domain name for use by PokerStars outside the US.The company categorically denies the allegations brought by the US Department of Justice on 15th April 2011 and is taking all steps necessary to robustly defend itself, and the two named individuals.Meanwhile, the company has stopped offering real money poker services in the United States.PokerStars' services outside of the US are not affected. The company has received assurance from the Isle of Man regulator that its license status is unchanged. The company remains compiant with all of its other international licenses.Following discussions with the US Department of Justice, PokerStars has now entered into an agreement which has been publicly filed. The US Department of Justice Agreement expressly states that the domain can be used by PokerStars outside the US to facilitate the provision of real money poker services, and that PokerStars can pay out balances to its former customers in the US.Returning US players' funds is a top priority for PokerStars and the company can now start the process of returning money to its former US customers.All PokerStars deposits are completely safe. The Isle of Man's strict licensing laws (similar to other jursdictions where PokerStars holds licenses) require all funds to be held in accounts that are segregated from company assets. PokerStars has always complied with this requirement and continues to do so. This money is readeily available to meet withdrawal demands, indeed the company continues to comply with withdrawal requests from players based outside the US as normal.Outside the US PokerStars continues to operate business as usual.

9am - April 20, 2011

The US Department of Justice releases a statement announcing that the .com domains for PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and AP/UB will be returned to the companies in order to facilitate the return of American players' funds.

The DoJ will work with the poker operators to create a process for these refunds, since the payment processors used previously are compromised.

Furthermore, the DoJ emphasizes that no player accounts were ever seized in connection to the recent criminal and civil charges.

Click here to read the story.

Click here to read the DoJ press release.

4pm - April 19, 2011

Chad Elie, another of the 11 individuals named by the DoJ, was released on bail after pleading not-guilty. Elie is a payment processor from Illinois.

11am - April 18, 2011

Bradley Franzen, one of the 11 principals named in the federal indictment, surrenders to FBI and pleads not-guilty. Franzen subsequently released on a $200,000 bond.

Franzen is President of Chicago-based IJ International, and acted as an agent for First Data Corp of Atlanta, one of the big processors of e-commerce payments.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704628404576265060852516194.html

10am - April 18, 2011

John Pappas of the PPA appears on Bloomberg to discuss the developing situation. Click here for the interview.

9am - April 18, 2011

Absolute Poker releases a pop-up in their poker client.

As you may be aware, we have suspended real money activity for online players based in the U.S. due to legal developments. Players outside the US are not affected by these developments, and they can continue to access and play in our poker room.

The Absolute Poker website has been moved to www.absolulepoker.eu and our Support email is now support@absolutepoker.net. We ask for your patience as we endeavor to attend to all player enquiries.

We apologize for inconvenience or concern caused by these circumstances. We will update you as soon as possible.

3pm - April 16, 2011

PokerStars begins calling players to assure them in person that their money is secure, as reported by a forum poster on Two Plus Two.

Originally Posted by MattC

PokerStars gave me a call today. Not a whole lot of new information but figured I would share what I was told. I was told they are calling all players to relay this information. 1) They again reassured me that player's funds are safe. 2) They plan to have more information to give us on Monday or Tuesday. 3) I asked them if I made a foreign bank account if that would help me retrieve the funds more quickly. They told me it was their general policy that you can't cash out anywhere but the country you reside in but given the special circumstances that new options may be made available.

11am - April 16, 2011

Working Full Tilt Poker client available for download on new FTP domain.http://www.fulltiltpoker.co.uk/

10am - April 16, 2011

Full Tilt Poker addresses withdrawals and money in players' accounts.

Statement from Full Tilt Poker Regarding Recent Check Withdrawal Issues

In light of recent events involving the freezing of certain accounts, Full Tilt Poker would like to assure all players that their funds remain safe and secure. Processing of both deposit and withdrawal requests is proceeding as normal and is still available to all of our players.

All players who were affected by the current situation have had their funds returned to their accounts and all new withdrawal requests are proceeding normally. We assure all players on Full Tilt Poker that your playing experience will not change and that you will be able to both deposit and withdraw funds as needed. Your money remains safe, secure and accessible at all times.

Full Tilt Poker remains committed to the protection of our players' security and legal rights, and will continue to provide the best and safest online poker room available worldwide.

8:30pm - April 15, 2011

PokerStars releases a pop-up in their poker client.

Important Notice from PokerStars

As you may have heard, we have had to suspend real money poker services to people based in the US due to legal developments there. The developments are confined to the US and do not have any impact on your ability to continue using our services.

Please be assured player balances are safe. There is no cause for concern. For all customers outside the US it is business as usual.

The PokerStars website has been moved to www.pokerstars.eu and our support email address is now support@pokerstars.eu. We apologise to our players for any inconvenience caused by this disruption.

Please be aware that we are currently experiencing a very high volume of emails, so response times are delayed. We will answer player emails as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter.

7pm - April 15, 2011

Full Tilt Poker drops a press release addressing the situation.

Dublin Ireland (April 15, 2011)- Full Tilt Poker is saddened by today's charges against its CEO Raymond Bitar and offers its full support to Mr. Bitar and Nelson Burtnick. Online poker is a game of skill enjoyed by tens of millions of people in the United States and across the world. And, Full Tilt Poker remains as committed as ever to preserving the rights of those players to play the game they love online. Mr. Bitar and Full Tilt Poker believe online poker is legal - a position also taken by some of the best legal minds in the United States. Full Tilt Poker is, and has always been committed to preserving the integrity of the game and abiding by the law. "I am surprised and disappointed by the government's decision to bring these charges. I look forward to Mr. Burtnick's and my exoneration," said Mr. Bitar. Unfortunately, as a result of this action, Full Tilt Poker has decided that it must suspend "real money" play in the United States until this case is resolved. However, Full Tilt Poker will continue to provide peer-to-peer online poker services outside of the United States.

5pm - April 15, 2011

In response to federal charges Wynn Resorts pulls out of its partnership with PokerStars.com and Station Casinos pulls out of its partnership with Full Tilt Poker.

4pm - April 15, 2011

PokerStars.com relaunches site on http://www.pokerstars.eu/

2:30pm - April 15, 2011

Cash play is locked for US players on PokerStars.

The FBI seizes the domain names PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com, AbsolutePoker.com, UltimateBet.com and they are locked by the registrars.

2pm - April 15, 2011

The US Attorney's office in New York communicates in a press release that federal charges including bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling have been brought against the three biggest online poker rooms, PokerStars.com, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute/UltimateBet.

Click here for our news story with quotes from the US Attorney.

View official document here.

Trickett, Mercier, Negreanu Crush Aussie Millions Cash Game

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:12:51 -0800

Antonius was all-in for about $80k, Negreanu for $148k and Mercier had both players covered. This was all pre-flop and they ended up running the board three times.

Incredibly Negreanu tabled A♦ A♣ and the aces held up all three times.

Antonius whiffed with K♠ K♦ and Mercier outright mucked his hand.

Unfortunately for the TV crew the cameras weren’t rolling at the time and they missed the whole sequence.

“The cameras weren’t rolling?” asked Mercier. “Well, that’s a relief.”

Antonius merely shrugged and told the nearest floor manager, “I would like another $100k.”

Considering Negreanu’s bad fortune on High Stakes Poker he might want to consider never playing when the cameras are rolling.

A bit later on we talked to Mercier briefly while the game was still going on and he gave us his thoughts on the experience.

“This game is so sick,” he said. “I lost $100k in the first hour and now I’m up over $200k.”

When the game finally broke it was actually Sam Trickett who was the big winner. “Tricky” bought in for $200k and left with an astounding $648k.

Mercier left with about $160,000 in profit and Negreanu ended up approximately $160k.

Negreanu later Tweeted he now plans on playing the $250k later this week.

The rest of the players? Well let’s just say they can try and make it all back tomorrow.

Here’s a few photos we snapped:

HPT Founder Todd Anderson - Full Interview Transcript

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:00:00 -0800

PokerListings.com: What was the original vision and goal with Heartland Poker Tour, and has that changed as a result of all the changes poker has gone through in recent years?

Todd Andersen: It’ll be seven years almost to the day right now and in the beginning we really didn’t have any lofty goals. We just wanted to create a poker television show that normal people could play.

My business partner and I had been friends for a long time and we were playing a lot of poker casually in local casinos and stuff. We live in North Dakota and there was a casino about 80 miles away where we used to play at once a week or something.

At the time the only thing on TV really was the WSOP Main Event and the World Poker Tour, and it just seemed impossible for regular players to get into a $10,000 event. So we were just kicking around the idea of creating our own show and that was the genesis of it.

Is that sort of the overriding tone of these events, that it’s accessible and comfortable for the recreational player? How have people reacted to that idea?

I remember the first tournament we did and we had like 200 players and people loved it. I think people were excited to see a tournament that could attract a good-sized field and generate a fairly big prize pool but I think a lot of people were skeptical about the idea.

"I know a lot of the casinos we worked with in the beginning were very skeptical about the idea that these two guys from Fargo were going to get a TV show produced."

I know a lot of the casinos we worked with in the beginning were very skeptical about the idea that these two guys from Fargo were going to get a TV show produced. And they should have been skeptical. In retrospect it was a lot more difficult than we thought it would be.

But it’s worked out. I think a big part of why it’s working is because we really try to foster an environment where people get together to have fun, and poker is the thing that’s bringing them together.

The biggest prize we’ve ever had was almost $300,000, which is a big contrast to the first tournament we did where first prize was $30,000.

With so many recreational players in these fields, and a manageable buy-in, are there many professionals following the tour?

I’d have to say the range of players is about as wide as it can get. You’ve got players that have never played a live event before in their lives all the way to some very exceptional players.

The very first final table we had there was a kid named Cody Slaubaugh and he’s gone on to great things as a professional poker player. He’s had great results since but he was just an 18-year-old kid from Fargo back at that final table.

I remember thinking he was some punk kid back then (laughs), but it turns out he’s a really nice guy and we’ve become friends.

I’d say 80 percent of our players are what I’d call enthusiasts. They have nine to five jobs and they play poker for fun. But that other 20 percent are making a living playing poker, and you’re usually going to see a few of them at the final table.

How has Black Friday Changed Things for Heartland Poker Tour?

Since Black Friday we’ve definitely seen an uptick in our events. We had our biggest event ever in October in Colorado where had our first million-dollar prize pool.

A final table on the Heartland Poker Tour.

I think there are a lot of players who used to be able to play online, whether it’s for fun or to make a living, and now they’re forced to come out to the casino to play tournaments.

And our events offer a lot of value. You can win a lot of money. The idea of winning $300k from a $1,500 buy-in is pretty exceptional.

Let me put it this way, a pro in our field is going to have an advantage. I’m sort of surprised our events haven’t been targeted more by the sort of low to mid-stakes grinders because they do offer such great value.

Do you think HPT is showing poker in a positive light, and showing it to people who might otherwise not be exposed to it?

I would definitely say that our tour has brought poker to a lot of mainstream players. We’ve had in excess of 60,000 unique players that have played in HPT events. This is a great way for beginner players to sort of slide into the game.

You can come and play qualifiers for as little as $40, or a $180 super satellite where 10 percent of the field gets into the main.

It’s a great way to get out and play live comfortably and not get overwhelmed and make sure you have a great experience.

It’s a really social atmosphere so people are making friends and coming back to events and seeing each other. It’s really great to see that happening.

It’s different than the big buy-in events where you really feel that pressure, because it’s a lot of money and people have so much riding on it.

HPT’s growth has been very healthy. What are the predictions for the next few years?

I foresee very significant growth for us in the next few years, and I’m not just blowing smoke, there are some very definite reasons.

Every day we’re exposing new people to this brand and our merger with Epic Poker has opened up a lot of new doors for us in that department.

We’ve added six new levels to our main event structure and we’re just going to continue to expand to new locations, and continue to improve our tournament experience for our players.

The other thing is that we have a very unique syndicated television model which makes us a very durable show. It’s basically free to any station that wants to pick it up so we reach a whole variety of audiences.

As long as we’re putting on fair tournaments and as long as we’re putting on a good quality TV show I don’t see any end in sight for the Heartland Poker Tour.

Ride a Unicycle, Win $10,000

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:01:00 -0800

A Picture is Worth $100,000?

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:09:45 -0800

Keep an eye on our Live Coverage section for Live Updates and News from the 2012 Aussie Millions.

Guide to Poker Hand Nicknames in Australia

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:45:05 -0800

– Qantas Airlines

– Crocodile Dundee

– Paul Hogan

– Little Crocodile Dundee

– Kingaroo Jack

– Queengaroo Jack

– Aceroo Jack

– Foster’s LAGer

– Crocodile Dundee

– Crocodile Dundee 2

– Linda Kozlowski

– Kangaroo Jacks

– Wallabies

– the four-be-two

– Vegemite on toast

– Big Crikey

– The Kiwi

– Chopper Reid (Don't ask why he has three cards)

– Quigley Down Under

- Boomerangs

To lose a hand and throw a telephone at your opponent – The Russell Crowe

Nathan "Blackrain79" Williams - Full Interview Transcript

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:18:33 -0800

PokerListings.com: Hello Nathan! Let’s start with your backstory. Please tell us a bit about where you came from, before getting into poker.

Blackrain79: I grew up in Maple Ridge which is a suburb of Vancouver, BC and I was really into sports growing up as a kid. I was really competitive.

I went to Simon Fraser University and did a degree in History and Philosophy and I ended up getting into poker when I was about 24.

It was pretty much the same story. A friend of mine showed us Hold’em at a party and I ended up getting really lucky and winning, and found Party Poker online the next day, this is in 2004, and started playing with play money.

"At the very lowest stakes I have the most winnings ever on PokerStars, at 2NL and 5NL."

I played that for about a year and was winning a lot just playing tight and I ended up finding a way to sell play chips so that’s how I got my first small bankroll. I sold like 5 million play chips for $60.

Eventually I moved to PokerStars and started playing the lowest stakes they had which I think was 1c/2c and just employed my strategy of playing super tight and it worked.

I bought some Two Plus Two books from the PokerStars store, Theory of Poker was the first book I ever read, and I saw the address to the forums on the back.

I started really learning a lot from the forums and I started playing a lot and mass multi-tabling and moving up.

I quit my job in 2007 to play NL100 and I ended up playing millions of hands at the lower stakes. I guess I didn’t really have the right work ethic and I kind of just hung around the micros.

And then when PTR came out my exploits at the lowest stakes became public knowledge and it became interesting for people to talk about.

I’ve been blogging for a long time and in 2010 I got involved with coaching and now I work with DragTheBar.com.

Then I had an idea for a book and wrote Crushing the Microstakes in 2011.

You mention your ‘exploits’. Tell us more about why you caught people’s interest.

I guess because no one was playing as many hands as I was and getting such high winrates. And people just thought it was crazy.

I think it was just the sheer number of hands. I’ve played about 6 million hands online. And most of those are at NL25 or below.

At the very lowest stakes I have the most winnings ever on PokerStars, at 2NL and 5NL.

Are there other people putting in that kind of volume at the micros?

There are actually yeah. In a lot of countries out there where the American dollar goes a lot farther there are a lot of “professionals,” even at the lowest stakes.

If the dollar goes four times as far where you live it’s definitely possible to get by playing these really low stakes.

By writing a book like Crushing the Microstakes you’ve got to be contributing to the rising average skill of the players, essentially making it harder for you to earn money. Do you believe that there will be a time that games are unbeatable, or at least much harder to beat?

For years I actually stopped posting in strategy forums, so did a lot of players, because everyone was kind of scared the games would just get too tough.

But after a while I just realized that the players you make the most from playing lower stakes are just recreational players.

"Recreational players really aren’t doing anything to improve, and that’s where most of your money is coming from at the micros."

They’re not joining training sites or reading forums or buying my book.

Sure, the regs in these games will continue to get better by using books like this, but the recreational players really aren’t doing anything to improve, and that’s where most of your money is coming from at the micros.

And I don’t subscribe to the opinion that anyone can just join a training site or get some coaching and expect to be as good as the best regs.

There’s always going to be a pecking order in poker.

Dusty Schmidt said in a blog post about a year ago that he thought the games are as hard now as they’re ever going to get and I agree with that.

These recreational players are always going to be there to play.

Now that you’ve been making a living playing poker for a while how happy are you with your decision to pursue it professionally and spend a big chunk of your life playing?

I got into poker for the same reason as a lot people. I loved the freedom and the independence that poker offers.

I haven’t exactly gotten rich playing poker but I don’t regret it at all.

I knew that the corporate nine-to-five gig wasn’t for me even though I did get a degree so the freedom and the control over your own destiny that poker has was really appealing.

In poker if you’re willing to take some calculated risks and put in the work you can play all day and all night and move up stakes and give yourself a pay raise.

There’s a ton of benefits if you can make it work.

Do you feel like poker is a viable way to make a living for young people who have the brains and the work ethic that it takes to play poker day in and day out?

Five years ago it looked more optimistic to play poker professionally but even now in 2012 I don’t think my opinion has changed all that much.

If you’re young and disciplined and want to take a shot at this I don’t think there’s any reason not to. You don’t have to give up your life to try poker or anything.

I really feel strongly about going after what you want, that’s how I’ve tried to live my life, and I don’t regret getting into poker.

I’m in my thirties and I’m really happy with the decisions I’ve made.

IG tester

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:50:54 -0800

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Top 5 Real Winners from Isildur1's PCA Title

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:08:04 -0800

5. Andreas “Skjervoy” Torbergsen

Andreas “Skjervoy” Torbergsen may not be the most well-known player on this list but historically he’s one of the biggest winners against Isildur1.

Torbergsen torched Isildur1 for $612,718 in 9,102 hands on PokerStars so there’s a good chance he would be willing to resume the battle against his Scandinavian rival.

Tempers have flared between the two opponents before with Isildur1 calling Skjervoy a “…stupid ugly nit…” and accusing the Norwegian of hitting and running on several occasions.

4. Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond

Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond did not have the best 2011 and after some pretty heavy swings finished with only $2.5k in profit.

That doesn’t mean Galfond is afraid of playing Isildur1, however. Back in the day Galfond was one of the bigger winners against Blom and even booked a $1.6 million session against the Scandi.

In addition Galfond is one of the few players in online poker who has the bankroll to play the highest stakes.

3. RaiseOnce

RaiseOnce is a bit of wildcard in the high stakes games on PokerStars.

Many players believe the account belongs to Phil Ivey but since hitting the high stakes games on PokerStars he’s done nothing but lose.

In just 546 hands over the last few months RaiseOnce has lost a total of $256k.

Phil Ivey and Isildur1 have done battle in the past, however, and there’s no reason why they won’t renew acquaintances over the next few months.

2. Ilari Sahamies

Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies was the biggest winner on PokerStars in 2011 and so far he’s shown no signs of slowing down.

Despite having somewhat similar styles, Ilari Sahamies and Isildur1 have never been the biggest rivals.

Perhaps now that that they both have a considerable amount of money on PokerStars railbirds will finally get what they’ve been waiting for and will see a massive session between Sahamies and Blom.

1. Fake Love888

Outside of Brian Hastings (who Isildur1 simply won’t play anymore) Patrik Antonius was the one player Viktor Blom could not beat.

Antonius famously raked in a $1.3 million pot – the biggest in online poker history – against Isildur1 during the huge 2009 sessions.

Fake Love888 hasn’t exactly lit PokerStars on fire since reactivating his account in late September and has lost over $700k.

Still, Antonius actually has the cash to survive those losses and he’ll likely be hungry to make a big comeback.

If the Fake Love888 is actually Antonius, as is rumored, it’s all but guaranteed the two action-loving players will face off in the near future.

Sergio Garcia Might Be Good at Poker

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:46:12 -0800

If you want evidence, consider that one year ago Garcia also played in the PCA main event but lasted just a few short levels on his Day 1 heat.

This year he's managed to advance to Day 3 in the same tournament.

That's three times as far at least, indicating to us that he’s at least three times as good as he was in 2011.

He hasn't increased his speed much, according to a few reports from his table, but we'll give him a pass on that as that's how he plays golf too.

“Any time you try do something at a high level it’s going to be tough and there are going to be some similarities,” Sergio told us when we spoke to him a year ago.

“There’s a huge mental game in both and it’s important to have mental strength,” he said.

While it is true that Sergio Garcia has no real poker results per se, he did win a televised celebrity event sponsored by PokerStars in Spain.

Check out Garcia here deftly folding A-7 when his opponent had pocket aces. Spanish fluency not mandatory.

And a few pictures we picked up in the Bahamas last year.

Sergio Garcia at the 2011 PCA main event

Sergio Garcia

Twitter Followers: 142,812

Isaac Haxton Might be Good at Poker

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:43:24 -0800

Interestingly it was the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure that first brought Haxton to our attention, and it’s the PCA that put him on our radar today.

The first entry on Haxton’s tournament record is an $861,789 runner-up finish in the 2007 PCA main event.

Since then he’s earned roughly $2.7 million playing live poker tournaments and he’s looking to build on that big-time today in the Bahamas as he leads the final 16 in the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller event.

The Backstory

When you find players excelling in poker at a young age more often than not they excelled at other mental athletics as well. Such was the case for young Isaac Haxton.

Born in New York and raised in Syracuse, Haxton was the son of an English professor and started playing chess at four years of age.

Haxton was too cool for school, or at least the fifth grade.

Like some sort of Tenenbaum replicant Haxton skipped the fifth grade and was absorbed by Magic: The Gathering by age ten. Swept up in the wave of MTG players making the switch to poker, Haxton was making trips to the Turning Stone Casino in New York as a high-school senior. It wasn't long after that he found online poker.

Haxton started winning and, using the knack for gaming excellence he had acquired early on, applied himself to poker in a big way.

The Evidence

Isaax Haxton has been providing evidence that he might be good at poker for years, starting chiefly with the aforementioned $861k PCA score five years ago.

As we reported all those years ago, Haxton ran extremely bad to have transferred his winnings from his PokerStars account to Neteller. That’s because the day after the funds hit his Neteller account, the online payment processor’s funds were seized by the Department of Justice and its owners arrested.

It took many months for Haxton to recoup the money, but luckily for him he went on to earn another $214,000 before the end of 2007. That mini-heater included a final table at the WSOP, and extended straight into 2008 with four more World Series cashes and a six-figure payday at the EPT London High Roller event.

Haxton’s biggest score to date came at the 2009 WSOP when he finished second to Vitaly Lunkin in the $40,000 40th Anniversary event. Haxton earned $1,168,568.

In 2010 Haxton fared well with two more six-figure finishes, winning a $2,500 Venetian Deep Stack event and finishing ninth in the $25k WSOP Six-Max Championship.

His most recent windfall before today’s PCA Super High Roller came in the way of a third-place finish in the $100,000 buy-in event at the Bellagio’s Five Diamond series in Las Vegas. That result earned him $581,806.

Keep an eye on our Poker News section for ongoing updates on the 2012 PCA Super High Roller event.

And now we treat you to the photo reel of Isaax Haxton we’ve compiled over the years.

Haxton used to have long hair, like really long.

Looking very Jim Morrison at the 2007 WSOP.

2008 and the hair remains.

2009 was the first time we saw Haxton 2.0

After a while it just started to look normal.

One year ago in the Bahamas.

Read More Posts About People Who Might Be Good at Poker:

Praz Banzi Erik Seidel Vanessa Selbst Liv Boeree Arnaud Mattern Tobias Reinkemeier Andrew Lichtenberger Ludovic Lacay

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Kevmath > Klout: The Real Top 10 Social Media Players in Poker

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:45:11 -0800

Note: The list doesn't include members of the poker media.

1. Daniel Negreanu

The obvious top choice as the main face of PokerStars. Negreanu influences the poker community through his blogs, tweets and relentless media effort.

Facebook: Interest Page - 27,824, Athlete Page: 19,688

2. Matt Savage

The World Poker Tour head tournament director combines responses to questions regarding rulings, busting Matt Affleck's balls on the links and his wife's obsession with Tim Tebow into an entertaining Twitter feed.

Twitter Followers: 15,959

Facebook Fans: 1,236

3. Doyle Brunson

The Poker Hall of Famer has cut down on the blonde jokes but he's not afraid to offer his thoughts on sports, poker or the world around him.

Twitter Followers: 382,777

4. Jean-Robert Bellande

He's allegedly broke, but he's not living like a dollar millionaire.

Twitter Followers: 30,913

5. Jason Mercier

He may not have created the #whenwillitend hashtag, but he made it his own after another seven-figure year. Also good at #mashing.

Twitter Followers: 33,970

Facebook: 9,697

6. Erik Seidel

Winning over $6.5m this year hasn't stopped the Seiborg from dropping amusing Tweets.

Twitter Followers: 35,140

Facebook Fans: 3,525

7. Jack Effel

THE go-to guy for all questions, problems and concerns at the World Series of Poker.

Twitter Followers: 7,742

8. Phil Hellmuth

Worth the "follow" for his name-dropping and random usage of quotation marks.

Twitter Followers: 105,394

Facebook Fans: 32,685

9. Matt Glantz

The high-stakes regular stepped up his Twitter game in 2011 with his jabs at his fellow pros, especially Allen Bari.

Twitter Followers: 9,132

10. Shane Schleger

This online grinder typified players affected most by Black Friday. Schleger's adventures in Canada and Mexico along with his popular blog make his Twitter feed popular.

Twitter Followers: 3,675

Steve O’Dwyer Might Be Good at Poker

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:21:56 -0800

O’Dwyer has been cashing in live majors since 2007 and though he’s never exactly struggled, he’s seriously hit his stride in 2011.

He once told us he got started online as a beta-tester for Full Tilt Poker, bug-reporting in exchange for tournament tickets.

This past year he’s made 10 final tables in events with a buy-in of $1,000 or more, including such highlights as:

1st - €1k PLO rebuy at EPT Loutraki - $25,439 1st - $1,500 Epic Pro-Am - $43,810 1st - $5k No-Limit Hold’em at Bellagio Cup VII - $259,452 2nd – WPT Venice €3k Main Event - $128,063 2nd – EPT London £5k Main Event - $726,790 4th – Wynn Classic $2k No-Limit Hold’em - $17,227 5th – EPT Barcelona €10k NLHE Single Reload - $67,568 5th – WPT Championship $5k No-Limit Hold’em - $26,715 6th – WSOP Europe €3k Shootout - $48,568 8th – NAPT Uncasville $5k Main Event - $32,330

O’Dwyer has total lifetime earnings in excess of $2 million, thanks to a long list of cashes between his recent heater and the event in which he recorded his first live result, the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Those years were highlighted by eight WSOP cashes, including a final table in the 2009 $10k Heads-Up Championship for $92,580. He also made the final table of the 2009 $15k WPT Five Diamond main event for $202,362.

O’Dwyer is also an accomplished online poker tournament player under the screenname “Mr. Tim Caum”.

Check out the photos of Steve O’Dwyer we’ve collected over the last four years.

O'Dwyer at the 2011 EPT London final table.

Steve O'Dwyer at the final table of the €3k Shootout, 2011 WSOPE

Steve O'Dwyer on Day 5 of the 2011 EPT London main event.

Steve O'Dwyer on Day 1B of the 2011 EPT London main event

Stephen O'Dwyer on Day 1a of the 2010 PCA main event

Steve O'Dwyer on Day 2 of the 2010 EPT London Main Event

Steven O'Dwyer on Day 2 of the 2007 WPT World Poker Finals.

Poker Drop is available for $1.99 in the iTunes App Store

Game Review: Poker Drop for iPad and iPhone

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:39:54 -0800

Cards don’t have to be arranged in sequence in order to count as hands. For example, the cards 2-3-4-5-6 will count as a straight regardless of their position to one another, as long as they’re in the same row or column.

Hands are scored on difficulty and you can super-charge your score using multipliers for speed and cascading hand combos.

While it does take a few minutes to wrap your head around the game-play it’s easy to pick up. And after playing for a few days we’ve yet to pass all ten levels.

This is a game you’ll pick up and play when you have a few minutes to burn, and it’s entertaining enough that you’ll continue to do so for more than a few days.

One thing you’ll notice is it’s very easy to make flushes and two-pair hands, and that they’re scored accordingly. To play this game well you must go after high-value hands, and that’s when things get complicated.

You must manage the board well to deal with the randomness factor of cards coming off the deck, setting yourself up to score big when the cards do come. Just like real poker!

Check out the screenshots below to get a feel for the game.

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Top 10 Biggest Social Media Players in Poker

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:59:39 -0800

1. Daniel Negreanu

Twitter Followers:139,951

Facebook Fans: 27,507

2. Phil Hellmuth

Twitter Followers: 105,394

Facebook Fans: 32,685

3. Phil Ivey

Twitter Followers: 86,165

Facebook Fans: 85,802

4. Howard Lederer

Twitter Followers: 35,141

Facebook Fans: 1,671

5. Erik Seidel

Twitter Followers: 35,140

Facebook Fans: 3,525

6. Jennifer Harman

Twitter Followers: 33,141

Facebook Fans: 3,701

7. Matt Savage

Twitter Followers: 15,959

Facebook Fans: 1,236

8. Liv Boeree

Twitter Followers: 29,165

Facebook Fans: 6,083

9. Joe Sebok

Twitter Followers: 1,039,556

Facebook Fans: 5,549

10. Andy Bloch

Twitter Followers: 20,256

Facebook Fans: 1,239

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Hold The Button, Fry Howard Lederer (Flash Game)

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 06:21:53 -0800

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Q & A with Pius Heinz, Poker's Newest World Champion

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 11:21:50 -0800

PokerListings: It’s been a few weeks now, what’s changed for you since winning the 2011 Main Event?

Pius Heinz: It’s been a surreal experience since I won. Obviously a lot has changed for me.

I’ve had a lot of media attention over here in Germany. I’ve met a lot of cool, interesting people, a great deal of whom I’d only seen on TV before.

PL: What’s the reception been like from the German media?

PH: It’s been pretty good. I’m quite happy about it. You’re always going to have a few negative articles but most of it has been very positive.

The German media, in general, has been quite supportive. I’m really happy about that.

PL: What do you think your victory will do for German poker?

PH: I hope it helps grow the game in Germany. I want to do my part and be an ambassador for the game.

Poker is such a great, interesting game that has a unique psychological aspect to it. Hopefully I can relate that to the general public.

PL: How have your friends and family reacted?

PH: They’re all super happy and very proud of me. A lot of my friends and family came out to support me in Las Vegas and that made winning the title even better.

PL: If the money was the same would you have just taken second place and avoided dealing with the media and the various World Champion responsibilities?

PH: It’s a pretty big honor to be the WSOP champion. In 20 years when you have kids you can tell them you were the World Champion once.

Being the World Series of Poker Main Event champion is something no one can ever take away from you.

It’s like winning an Olympic gold medal or something like that. I’m really proud that I was able to achieve that and happy with how things turned out.

PL: Your white hoodie became one of your signatures at the table. Did you plan that all along?

PH: I just started wearing it at the poker table because it was comfortable. Once my Main Event started going well it became my good luck charm though.

PL: Did you know all your friends and fans would be wearing them at the Main Event final table?

PH: No, they surprised me with that. I thought it was really awesome. (laughs)

PL: Who helped you out most heading into the final table?

Timex was on the Heinz team.

PH: I got coaching from Mike “Timex” McDonald so he definitely helped me out the most.

I’m also friends with a lot of high-stakes tournament players from Germany, Austria and the United States and we all help each other out and talk about various hands.

It’s really important if you want to grow as a player.

PL: It seemed like you didn’t check the live stream very much during the final table, did that affect your game?

PH: I actually checked the live stream quite a bit. Not every 15 seconds or anything but every time there was a big hand I would go talk to my friends.

It definitely helped. It gave me a lot of confidence because I watched the Day 1 coverage and felt that almost every big decision I made was the correct one.

PL: So I guess you’re happy ESPN decided to go with that coverage format?

PH: Yeah I was never against it. I mean it’s the same for everyone.

Everyone is seeing the same thing so no one has an unfair advantage. It’s also good for poker and anything that’s good for poker is eventually good for the player.

PL: Your fans had a very memorable chant during the Main Event. Where on earth did that come from?

PH: It was a friend of mine from Scotland that came up with it. I don’t know how.

I guess he had a few beers and that made him really creative (laughs).

It’s from that song “Baby Give it Up” (by KC & the Sunshine Band). It just caught on. I thought it was really funny.

Pius Heinz, Pius Pius Heinz!

PL: What’s your average day been like over the last few weeks?

PH: Usually getting up in the morning, having some breakfast, doing some phone interviews. Later in the day I do TV interviews.

The TV interviews tend to take a whole day because there is quite a bit of preparation involved.

I spent last week in London and I’m in Cologne right now. I head back to my home in Vienna, Austria next week.

Later in the month I’m going to be on a German poker show, which is sort of our equivalent of High Stakes Poker although obviously the stakes are smaller.

It’s been a pretty busy schedule and whenever I get a day off I thoroughly enjoy it.

PL: Have you played much online poker recently?

PH: Honestly I haven’t played a single hand of online poker in over a month.

I’m really looking forward to playing again when I get the time. When EPT Prague is finished I’m going to go on a little vacation and I think I’ll schedule a little online poker in that time.

Does Staszko ever show up light there?

PL: Perhaps the most talked about hand at the Main Event final table was when Ben Lamb jammed with K-J three-handed. What were your thoughts on the hand?

PH: I don’t think either player played it that well. I definitely see where Ben was coming from though.

I think it’s usually fine but the fact that it was the first hand of three-handed changed things a bit. I tend to feel that players are not light on the first hand back.

Everyone is nervous and usually plays tighter. That’s not to say Martin (Staszko) is not capable of being light there but I would definitely tighten up a bit there.

I also would have preferred if Martin flatted with sevens there. I certainly would have played it differently.

PL: Outside of poker and considering you grew up in Cologne, Germany, are you a pretty big football fan?

PH: Yeah I’m definitely a fan of the Cologne soccer club. I used to go to the Stadium every home game for around three years.

I used to be a pretty big fan but I haven’t followed it as closely over the last few years as I’ve been quite busy. I’m still a fan though.

The NBA finals were actually much more important to me than the Champions League or something like that.

PL: Do you think Germany is a favorite in the Euro Cup this summer?

PH: I hope so. They’ve definitely been playing really well. I mean Spain is always really tough though. They are probably the best team in the world right now.

I think Germany and Spain are the big favorites for sure.

PL: Germany could potentially legalize online poker next year but you live in Austria. Do you feel legalized poker in Germany is still quite a ways from reality?

PH: I honestly don’t know. I’m not really an expert on the topic.

I really hope it’s legalized and I’m going to try and do my part to make that happen. I want to show the German people how beautiful the game of poker is.

PL: What did it mean for you to sign with PokerStars?

PH: It was a really big deal for me. I’m really happy to be a part of the team.

To me PokerStars is probably the best company in the industry. It’s always great when you can work with the best.

It’s an honor to be a part of a team that includes Sandra Naujoks, Jan Heitmann and Johannes Strassman.

Carrying the flag for a new generation of German greats.

PL: You’re known as an online grinder, did you have any money stuck on Full Tilt in the Black Friday ordeal?

PH: I did have a little but not near as much as some of my friends. I know people who have a lot of money stuck on there.

PL: Who are the best German players in the world right now?

PH: As far as tournaments go Benny Spindler is really, really good. Sebastian Ruthenberg and Tobias Reinkemeier are really good as well.

PL: What kind of tournament schedule do you think you’ll play in the upcoming year?

PH: I’m going to play quite a few EPTs starting with Prague next month. I’ll definitely play the PCA.

I’ll probably play around 10 the rest of this season. I’ll also be heading back to the Las Vegas for the 2012 WSOP, probably for the whole summer.

Looking forward to the mixed events at the WSOP.

PL: Thanks Pius, great to talk to you.

Impress Your Friends with a $150k Poker Chip Set

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:49:29 -0800

The entire thing is priced at $150,000 but it could break that number at Christie’s auction at the end of the month.

Down Goes ElkY! RaSZi Wins Long-Awaited Kickboxing Match

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:10:04 -0800

ElkY and Veldhuis, who both played Starcraft professionally before finding poker, had been training for the fight since 2009 and decided to finally get it done as part of a TV show that was filming in the area.

We even talked to Grospellier and Veldhuis earlier this year about the fight and they gave us a few quotes that now seem somewhat prophetic.

“I think his biggest advantage is his reach,” said ElkY. “That’s definitely the hardest thing I’m going to be able to counter. Even though getting hit isn’t very nice, I think it’s going to end well.”

In the end Veldhuis’ reach proved to be too much for ElkY to handle and two roundhouse kicks sent the French pro to the mat.

The match also provided an interesting Thai vs. Dutch angle as ElkY studied Thai kickboxing. At the time Veldhius downplayed the significance of being Dutch.

“Holland is the tallest nation in the world so my genes have given me good reach, which will help a lot,” he said. Holland does do well in kickboxing but it’s not like in Thailand where it’s really part of the culture. It’s not like all kids learn to kickbox in Holland.”

There was a substantial amount of money riding on the event including a $50k wager between the participants. Earlier in the year ElkY said pride was the bigger concern.

“Man I really don’t want to lose to him,” he said. “I will be so ashamed. The money is definitely not the most important thing.”

Unfortunately for ElkY he definitely lost. We’ve found one clip of the fight that you can watch above. That second roundhouse kick looks painful.

Also: This is what you should probably do with your first big poker score.

What Not to Do with a Huge Poker Tournament Score

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 21:32:24 -0700

Special thanks to twoplustwo user sqwerty12 for sharing what might just be the best graph we’ve ever seen.

Photo By Numbers: EPT London Table of Death

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:08:51 -0700

Tony Cascarino is a legend in Irish football (the European kind) and has proved he’s got what it takes to compete on the poker felt as well. Cascarino has earned almost $600,000 since getting his start in low buy-in tournaments back in 2003. His first major win came in a $1,000 side event at the Caribbean Poker Classic in 2006, good for $28,400. In 2008 he took down a GUKPT tour stop for $96,000 and won the Grand Final on the same tour one year later for $283,412, his biggest score to date. Cascasino’s best finish on the European Poker Tour was 14th right here at EPT London in 2007, earning him just under $45,000. Tristan “cre8tive” Wade has made over $1.4 million playing tournament poker online and over $700,000 playing live. This past WSOP was especially lucrative for the Florida native, with a fourth-place finish in the $10k Six-Max championship for $292,866 and a seventh-place finish in a $1,500 donkament good for $94,700. Wade is a passionate blogger and an instructor at Deepstacks University. Steve “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer has earned over $1.1 million playing live and hundreds of thousands more playing online. O’Dwyer’s record begins in 2007 with a $17k score at the PCA and four WSOP cashes worth roughly $70,000. One year later he made over $100k at the WSOP, including his first final table. His biggest scores are a sixth at the 2009 WPT Five Diamond at Bellagio for $202,362 and a win at the 2011 Bellagio Cup in a $5k side event for $259,452. Barny Boatman is a legitimate London old-schooler and full patch member of the Hendon Mob with over $1.7 million in live tournament earnings. Jason Mercier is the favorite in almost any tournament on earth, evidenced by his more than $6.7 million in live tournament earnings. He’s got two WSOP bracelets, an open EPT title, numerous high roller wins and a long list of significant cashes. And all that’s in addition to the huge success he’s enjoyed playing cash and MTT poker online.

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Luke "Full Flush" Schwartz Flaunts New Sandwich at EPT London

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 20:01:26 -0700

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Doyle Brunson EPT London Picture Book

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:46:39 -0700

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Great Poker Rivalries: Daniel Negreanu vs. Annie Duke

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:35:31 -0700

There are very few ongoing conflicts between poker players that have gotten as malicious and continued as long as the one between Kid Poker and the former Celebrity Apprentice contestant.

Although the feud has calmed down over the years, it seems very unlikely that either player will be sending Christmas cards to the other.

Here are some of the highlights, or maybe lowlights, from the decade-long battle between Negreanu and Duke.

1990s: First Contact

Back in the late ‘90s Daniel Negreanu was making his first trips to Las Vegas in an effort to make it as a professional poker player.

Over that time Negreanu was an active member of the rec.gambling.poker community, which included famous members such as Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and Howard Lederer.

In 1999 Negreanu made a post that listed the 10 best Limit players in the world based on his experience in the $500/$1,000 game at Bellagio.

It was arguably the toughest game in the world at that point and Negreanu listed Annie Duke as the sixth-best player in the game and was extremely complimentary of her game at the time.

Sept. 9-18, 2002: Shots Are Fired

Negreanu starts making vague accusations on rec.gambling.poker about an “expert” that acts like a bully in the Bellagio game.

At first the comments are about an anonymous person but Negreanu later starts adding “she” into the thread.

Howard Lederer, a member of the community and brother to Annie Duke, realizes who Negreanu is referring to.

Howard Lederer

September 27, 2002: Big Brother Steps in

Later in the month Lederer posted an open letter to Negreanu accusing him of waging a public smear campaign against Duke

Lederer focused on the following issues:

Negreanu constantly referring to Annie Duke as “Annie Puke” when she’s not at the table Negreanu’s “obsession” and obvious bias for Jennifer Harman over Duke in terms of successful female poker players Negreanu’s “desperate” need for public recognition Lederer also alleged that Negreanu called Duke “digusting” and made fun of her wardrobe.

Lederer finished the letter by saying he never wants anything to do with the Canadian pro unless he’s trying to bust him at the poker table.

Daniel Negreanu

Sept. 28, 2002: You Wouldn’t Like Kid Poker When He’s Angry

The next day Negreanu posted a response, and it’s safe to say he wasn’t very happy when he wrote it.

Negreanu got downright nasty as he said that Duke went out of her way to ridicule him from the moment he met her when he was 22 years old at the 4 Queens.

According to Negreanu, Duke referred to him as “cupboy” thanks to his habit of always having a Styrofoam water cup at the table and frequently criticized his play.

Negreanu called Duke a “horrible person” and maintained there were numerous players that felt the same way.

The post hit a low when Negreanu accused Duke of always wearing the same dirty clothes with no shoes in the casino.

At one point he even said that no one wanted to sit in $2,000 chair that has "urinated foot sweat soaked into it."

He also said that she had been causing harm to many players for years and it was time someone said something about it.

Feb. 19, 2003: “Annie Duke is a low life.”

A few months later Negreanu would yet again post on RGP about the various reasons he thinks Annie Duke is a low life.

He separated the post into seven points:

He accuses her of angle-shooting in Stud-8-or-Better games by not splitting the pot when she said she was going to. He says she habitually looks at the hands of players next to her and once swore on her kids that she didn’t look when she had, in fact, seen the cards. Negreanu referred to a three-handed satellite to the WSOP Main Event where she picked up an opponent’s cards from the muck and looked at them. She apparently said “Just checking” and threw the cards back into the muck. Negreanu accuses Duke of looking at his hole cards during a $300/$600 mix game. According to Negreanu, Duke used to steal other player’s seats. In the 1999 WSOP Main Event Negreanu claimed Duke was involved in a hand where another player made a string bet. Another player at the table, Steve Kaufman, who wasn’t involved in the hand made the dealer aware of the string bet. Duke lost it on Kaufman and said “This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me in a tournament.” Negreanu talked in detail about how Duke treated him when they first met at the 4 Queens.

Negreanu finished the post by saying that a couple years later he had started to win tournaments and all of a sudden she was nice to him.

Finally he apologized to his friends who are also friends with Duke for the awkward position he has put them in.

2003-2005: The Professor and Kid Poker Make Up

It’s not exactly clear when it happened but apparently Lederer and Negreanu patched things up enough they can tolerate each other at numerous poker tables around the world.

Negreanu still seems to have some strong feelings about Duke, however.

Annie Duke

Jan. 15, 2005: Well, this is Embarassing

The aforementioned rec.gambling posts began to circulate on the TwoPlusTwo poker forum and Negreanu posts a blog that says the posts were “nasty” and he was “embarrassed” by them.

Negreanu goes on to say that he always speaks his mind but it’s not his place to judge others.

He doesn’t go so far as to say he actually regretted making the posts but did say that they embarrassed him.

Sept 8, 2005: You Can Read About it in My Book

The autobiography Annie Duke: How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at the World Series of Poker is released and a small portion speaks about Negreanu.

She refers to him as her “online tormenter.”

Throughout their entire feud Duke rarely publically acknowledged Negreanu’s strong words for her.

Daniel Negreanu

July, 2010: Hello Neighbor!

Negreanu and Duke are seated right next to each other in the Tournament of Champions at the WSOP.

Despite the proximity and media attention, nothing of consequence happens. A couple weeks later however…

August, 2010: Did You Just Use the “C” Word?

In an interview with PokerPlayer.co.uk Negreanu allegedly called Duke a c@#$ for belittling the Ladies Event.

Duke would later say she was shocked by the language and wrote an open letter to Negreanu’s online sponsor, PokerStars, demanding a reprimand.

PokerStars responded by saying they don’t support the use of derogatory or hurtful language ever.

Eventually Negreanu would say that he thought he was speaking off the record to the writer of the article and apologized to all women who were offended.

He never apologized directly to Duke, however.

March, 2011: I Don’t Care for UB, Never Have

Throughout the late 2000s Negreanu is also very outspoken in his contempt for UB Poker, a site where Duke was heavily involved as a member of Team UB and as the UB Cardroom Consultant.

UB was tarnished when a super-user was found to have cheated players out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Duke finally left the site in early 2011.

The Epic Poker League

Aug. 11, 2011: Your New Tour Sucks

Negreanu writes a blog post titled “Why I Don’t Play the EPL” that blasts Duke’s newest venture – the Epic Poker League.

Negreanu mentions he doesn't think the tour will be a success without a legitimate source of revenue.

Outside of online poker being legalized in the U.S. and the Epic Poker League starting a poker site, Negreanu says he can't see a way for the tour to be profitable.

He also mentions the lack of big name old-school players like Phil Ivey, Chris Moneymaker, Scotty Nguyen and Doyle Brunson that will seriously hurt any chance the tour has to succeed.

Duke is the commissioner of the league and has yet to respond to any of Negreanu's recent criticism, although she has mentioned on numerous occasions that the league has some very wealthy and committed investors.

The Future?

This is just a brief history of the war of words between the two well known poker pros.

If you really want to get into the nitty gritty of the mud-slinging then you should check out this thread on TwoPlusTwo, which also has the majority of the old RGP posts.

Tom "durrrr" Dwan Talks Full Tilt Poker on FOX Business - VIDEO

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 22:11:24 -0700

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Who's Not Named in the Full Tilt Poker Civil Complaint?

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:31:32 -0700

No one was more central to getting players to play at FTP than Phil Ivey. He's also the best candidate for the individual referred to as "Player 1" by the Department of Justice.

Andy Bloch has been part of the Full Tilt crew since the very beginning. (Photo from 2005)

Andy Bloch was still repping Full Tilt Poker post-Black Friday. (Photo from 2011)

Not you too Erik Seidel!? Say it ain't so. (Photo from 2005)

Unlike Andy Bloch, Seidel took off his FTP patches after Black Friday. (Photo from 2011)

FTP got some of its best exposure ever thanks to Allen Cunningham's appearance at the 2006 WSOP Main Event final table. Cunningham's been wearing the patch since the beginning.

Jen Harman has been a patched member since the beginning, although she took it off after Black Friday. (Photo from 2005)

John Juanda was an original Full Tilter, and didn't take the patch off until Black Friday. (Photo from 2005)

Phil Gordon was central to Full Tilt in the early days but has taken steps to distance himself from the company as of late. (Photo from 2005)

Erick Lindgren has certainly done his part to get people playing on Full Tilt.

Mike Matusow and Full Tilt have always been joined at the hip. (Photo from 2005)

Gus Hansen has always been tight with the Full Tilt crew.

Patrik Antonius didn't join Team Full Tilt until 2008, putting his ownership status in question.

Despite representing the poker site, Tom Dwan has said explicitly that he is not now, and never has been, an owner of Full Tilt.

Brian Hastings in Vancouver - Full Interview Transcript

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:55:18 -0700

PokerListings.com: So, why Vancouver?

Brian Hastings: Well, I’m from the East Coast so it wasn’t exactly close for me, but the proximity to Vegas and LA are good things. I can see myself heading down there a lot to play poker or just hang out with friends.

I knew I wanted to live somewhere that was fairly normal to me, something similar to the US. I lived in Rome for the spring and I wasn’t trying to do somewhere that has a foreign language again.

I was seriously thinking about Montreal even though it is bilingual. It sounded really cool but Vancouver just seemed more like a city I’d want to live in. It has the reputation of being really laid back, with lots of outdoor stuff to do. I’ve always heard that the people here are really nice.

You’ve only been here a week but how is it meeting those expectations so far?

Hastings the man meets Hastings the street.

I like it a lot. My place is really nice and it’s in walking distance from everything downtown which is amazing. A few days ago I walked to Stanley Park in about 25 minutes. All the main areas for going out are walkable. I’m just a few blocks from the harbor and I went for a run there the other day.

How smooth was the set-up as far as getting up here and getting your online poker accounts up and running?

PokerStars wanted a landline phone number, a non-US bank account statement, a copy of the apartment lease and a utility bill.

It honestly wasn’t that bad. I got here on Thursday night and didn’t do anything that evening, then got a bank account on Friday and had my Stars account up and running by Sunday to lose $10k (in the WCOOP high roller event). (laughs)

Is there something special going on right now that got you to make the move up here or were you planning it for a while?

I knew I wanted to play online from somewhere just because it’s so much more profitable than playing live. Online you get so many hands in and there are games to play. Since I’ve been here I’ve been playing over 2,000 hands a day which would be impossible live.

I do like live poker but the games are kind of sporadic, even in Las Vegas. So with the options online you’re able to set your own hours and play when you want to.

You have history online with Viktor “Isildur1” Blom and he’s been playing a lot on Stars. Was that part of the reason to get back in the games right now?

Yeah I’ve played with him a little bit since I’ve been here but it doesn’t seem like he has all that much money on Stars. He seems to be taking shots in games and I actually saw him in a $3/$6 PLO game trying to run it up.

When he does have money though he’s super fun to play with and he brings a lot of action to the games.

Are the games changing with people like you starting to relocate?

I think the games are getting tougher as more players relocate but they will be running more which is good. The higher games are fun to play in but it’s definitely a challenge.

Do you feel like it’s kind of backward that you’ve had to leave the United States in order to pursue your chosen profession?

Yeah, I mean, the US bills itself as the land of the free and prides itself on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and they’re certainly not letting online poker players do that right now.

Phil Galfond is back in the high-stakes online games from his new apartment in Downtown Vancouver.

What’s your line on when that’s going to change?

I don’t have any inside information on the situation or anything but I would take the under on two and a half years for some sort of bill to be passed that regulates online poker.

I don’t know if that means online poker will be available immediately at that point but I definitely see this as a short term thing. It’s a billion dollar industry and with all the budget problems the government is facing I can’t see them ignoring this for very long.

You mentioned a Facebook page for uprooted poker pros here in Vancouver so tell us a bit about who you’ve been hanging out with since you got here.

I’m good friends with Phil Galfond and I met up with him and his roommate Mikey Stotz and went out for dinner and some drinks on Saturday.

I’ve been chatting with Phil pretty regularly. We play in the same games so it’s great to have someone here to talk to and bounce ideas off.

Yesterday it was NFL opening day and I went out with a group of mostly poker refugees.

Do you think this sort of relocation is viable for a lot of poker players or is it only an option for high-stakes players that can afford all the expenses?

A lot of the guys I’ve met are pretty regular tournament grinders and I think if you do it properly and split a place with a bunch of people, not trying to go for the super high end, it is possible.

I feel like the rents aren’t terrible in Vancouver. I’m paying $3k a month for mine but if I had the same place in New York it would be double or more.

If the lockout continues in the US do you see yourself moving somewhere else, and using online poker as a way of living and working all over the world?

Yeah that’s exactly what I’m leaning towards now, moving around and living in a lot of different places. I like it here now but that might change when winter really gets going.

I have a buddy who’s moving to Panama to play which sounds amazing. Costa Rica is pretty popular. I’m thinking somewhere like that for the winter.

The Top 7 Guiltiest Howard Lederer Photos

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:29:01 -0700

We'll let you decide what was actually going through Lederer's head (and what it means for your FTP money) when these photos were taken:

Hold on, I thought heard a siren.

I miss the Mayfair club.

Phil Ivey did what?

I wonder what Department of Justice federal agents look like.

Alright, I'll loan you some money. Only $150 million though.

I'll eat TWO cheeseburgers if you buy Full Tilt.

I did a bad thing.

This Day in Poker: Sept. 9, 2006 - Clear Skies Ahead

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 23:42:10 -0700

Touting poker as the driving force behind the company's success, Party Poker and the rest of the poker industry had no idea what was in store.

Less than three weeks later the House and Senate passed the Safe Port Act, which included the devestating Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Party Poker, as a publicly traded company, was forced to pull out of the US market.

An estimated 77% of Party Gaming's revenues came from customers in the United States. The company's stock fell dramatically to 60% of its former value as Party Poker's player base was cut off at the knees.

But even before getting knocked out of the number one spot in online poker, Party Gaming was making decisions that would give them a leg-up in the post-UIGEA poker world.

In our story from today in 2006 Party CEO Mitch Garber emphasized the importance of international markets.

"PartyGaming has delivered a strong first half performance. These results demonstrate the strength of our business model and also the potential to grow our business through investment in the development of new products and new territories outside North America," said Garber.