The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a high-yield bond and fake-passport filled safety deposit box at the world's most prestigious afternoon poker news bank.
Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.
Today in the 3-Bet we find the fuzzy picture around the new Ivey League coming into focus, poker pros sharing one of the lesser known problems of being a poker pro and an autographed copy of iconic poker book Super System 2 up for sale on Amazon.
1) Ivey League Takes Shape, Prioritizes Training
With 30 signed pros, a semi-developed website and a lot of cryptic allusions to being a “social poker and training site," the future shape of IveyPoker has been a topic of much discussion.
The fuzzy picture is a bit clearer today, though, with yesterday’s announcement that IveyPoker bought poker training site LeggoPoker and will combine efforts to create something called the “Ivey League.”
The best guess says Aaron Jones, the former owner of Leggo, is the Ivey League will be live in a couple of months and will deliver some of the best training content ever - spearheaded by Ivey himself. Announcing the deal on his LeggoPoker blog, Jones says:
"I no longer own Leggo, I sold it to Phil Ivey. In the summer we will launch Ivey League, a training site that is more comprehensive than Leggo was ever able to be.
"I want to keep the same mission Leggo has always had at the core, but expand our ability to educate on Live Tournaments, PLO, and even Mixed Games. The additional resources Ivey Poker offers will make this all possible"
"This probably sounds far fetched to all of you. After spending time with Phil recently, I can assure you that his level of excitement for this project is very high."
2) Katchalov Cut Off By Chase Bank
Being a professional poker pro comes with a wide range of hurdles, from the emotional roller coaster of variance to epicly long hours surrounded by foul-smelling tablemates.
Something as simple as getting and keeping a bank account you'd think would be the least of your worries.
Not so, says PokerStars pro Eugene Katchalov, who blogged today about his recent woes with Chase Bank. Long story short, the bank closed his account for being "high-risk" due to frequent international wire transfers - despite knowing exactly what he does for a living.
"It all started in early 2012. My bank, JP Morgan Chase, sent me a notice. It said, 'Your account is being closed.' My response was basically a very confused, 'What the hell?'
"...Everything had always been great and there were never any issues. They really liked me and knew I was a poker player with lots of poker-related transactions and wires. The branch manager was even a poker fan of mine, which was kind of cool.
After a six or seven-month delay, "the back office people basically wound up saying to me, 'We don't want your business anymore.' The weirdest part is that I wasn't sending that many wires."
Turns out Katchalov isn't alone as several pros chimed in with their own bank woes:
@eugenekatchalov I had same experience with HSBC a few yrs ago, then it came out they've been laundering money 4 drug dealers n terrorists— Olivier Busquet (@olivierbusquet) February 8, 2013
Same thing happened w/ me and @scotiabank in Canada :/“@eugenekatchalov: My new blog is out, check it out...— Xuan Liu (@xxl23) February 8, 2013
3) Autographed Copy of Super System 2 for $2,000
It's one of the most iconic poker books in history, strategy or otherwise, and you can now get a copy of it yourself for the low, low price of $2,000 on Amazon.
Not just any copy though - one signed by every co-author/contributor including, of course, Brunson himself. Who else does that include?
- Crandell Addington
- Mike Caro
- Steve Zolotow
- Jennifer Harman
- Bobby Baldwin
- Daniel Negreanu
- Todd Brunson
- Lyle Berman
- Steve Lipscomb
- Avery Cardoza and
- Johnny Chan
Seems like a bargain when you think about it, really.
