Poker Strategy

Sam Tricket registers for $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop Tournament

Despite the fact that Sam Trickett, the Britsh poker pro’s sponsorship deal with Titan Poker, the online poker site, has come to an end, the former professional footballer has not allowed this to get him down.

Shortly after the end of the sponsorship deal, Tricket registered for the $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop tournament that is due to take place inLas Vegas.

The news that Tricket and Titan Poker had parted company came via Twitter when Tricket revealed that he and Titan had decided to part ways and that he had enjoyed representing them as they were an absolute pleasure to work with.

A couple of days ago Tricket informed his 7,200 followers on Twitter that he had sent off his registration form to enable him to participate in the Big One For One Drop which is the special $1,000,000 buy-in event that is due to take place at this year’s World Series of Poker event in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Tricket’s tweet read as follows – “Just sent my form off to register for the $1 m buy in tournament.  Now I’m excited for the World Series of Poker”.

Tricket has also revealed that he will be sponsored by Matchbox for the $1,000,000 buy-in tournament which appears to be the most obvious sponsor for him.  James Bord, the former World Series of Poker Europe Main Event winner has invested heavily in Matchbook and is also a very good friend of Tricket.  Tricket has been staked by Bord in the biggest cash games inMacauand who has more than enough funds to buy Trickett into any tournament he desires.

Amongst those who have been seen sporting the patches of Matchbook in recent years are some of the biggest names and brightest stars in British poker which include Roberto Romanello, Ben Vinson and Martins Adneiya.  Jake Cody and James Akenhead were also sponsored by Matchbook before signing their own sponsorships.

Poker Stars Purchases Full Tilt Poker

After seven months of intensive work the proposed deal between Groupe Bernard Tapie and Full Tilt Poker has fallen through due to the fact that the US Department of Justice decided at the last minute that the French investor had to make payment to Full Tilt players in full within ninety days of the sale.  Groupe Bernard Tapie was not prepared to do this and the deal fell through.

It therefore came as a pleasant surprise when Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker’s biggest competitor, revealed that it is in the process of negotiating a deal with the United States Department of Justice to acquire the beleaguered online poker room.

Poker Stars will be paying $330 million of the amount of $750 million that it is paying to the United States Department of Justice to repay Full Tilt account holders in order to seal the deal.  The remainder of the purchase price, namely $420, will evidently be retained by the United States Department of Justice in lieu of the complete settlement of all outstanding charges against Poker Stars should the deal go through.

It will be necessary for Poker Stars to accept all the legal and financial underlying risks pertaining to the conditions laid down by the United States Department of Justice.  Full Tilt Poker Players will hopefully be paid immediately by Poker Stars as this has been the United States Department of Justice and everyone else’s main consideration.

Rumors have been circulating that it is Poker Stars intention not to merge Full Tilt Poker with its operations but to run it completely separate under the Full Tilt banner if the deal materializes.    

Party Poker is a poker site with a clean reputation and is backed by a publicly traded company obligated to disclose all the financial information that other privately owned poker sites were able to keep hidden until recently.   Following “Black Friday” players value this transparency and many are following the potential acquisition of Full Tilt Poker by Poker Stars with great interest.

Poker Table Ratings adheres to Cease and Desist Letter

Giant online poker site, Poker Stars, had announced many years ago that they intended cracking down on data-mining sites who they claimed were compromising the reputability of the game.  However, despite the fact that several major sites changed their methods to comply with Poker Stars’ viewpoint, Poker Table Ratings refused to change their way of business.

Poker Table Ratings tried their utmost to hide their identity but Lee Jones, Head of Home Games at Poker Stars, stated that they had managed to get on their trail and had issued a Cease and Desist notice against them.   Poker Stars intended following this up with a full team of lawyers if Poker Table Ratings continued to ignore their warnings.

Poker Stars have issued a claim against Poker Table Ratings for infringement of intellectual property rights and of breaching the terms and conditions of their site.

Until recently Poker Table Ratings had tracked the individual stats of all Poker Stars players without their knowledge and then sold off bundles of hand histories. This data was able to provide valuable information regarding a player’s tendencies as well as their lifetime earnings on the site.

In response to the Cease and Desist letter, Poker Table Ratings failed to admit to any wrongdoing but did, however, promise to remove all data that was previously available on Poker Stars users.  Poker Table Ratings stated via their official blog that although they do not believe that they are a disservice to the online poker community, they will fully adhere to the Cease and Desist notice by Poker Stars.

UK star, David ‘lildave’ Nicholson, stated via his blog that the victory that Poker Stars gained against Poker Table Ratings is a great step forward for online poker and that he hopes that this will encourage other sites to follow in their footsteps so that all sites providing such harm to their industry will have no way of operating and making a profit.

Paul Telford, Chief legal counsel for Poker Stars revealed that the group’s legal team will continue the civil claim for damages against Poker Table Ratings and an injunction through the courts.

Black Friday Commemorated by Online Poker Industry

It has already been a year since the United States Department of Justice swooped down on several leading online poker sites which included Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker on April 15, 2011, charging their executives with multiple crimes.

This move resulted in online poker being shut off to millions of US citizens and also had a far reaching effect on poker all around the world, including theUK.

This day immediately became known as Black Friday and marked the day that many online poker players found themselves without access to their funds.  Full Tilt Poker players are until this day still attempting to get their money paid out to them.

In order to commemorate Black Friday, the American Gaming Association (AGA) issued a statement which read “This Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of “Black Friday”.  Yet, in spite of Department of Justice action against several other illegal internet gambling companies in the year since, hundreds of illegal offshore internet sites are still in operation”.

The statement by the American Gaming Association goes on to say that as long as these sites continue operating outside the reach of US law enforcement and with little to no regulation, millions of Americans who are patronizing these sites are also at risk of being defrauded.

The AGA is calling for the existing gambling laws in theUnited Statesto be modified so as to establish federal guidelines to enable consistent regulations for online gambling in allUSstates that are willing to authorize this form of entertainment.

The US based Poker Players Alliance (PPA) also took the opportunity to commemorate the anniversary of “Black Friday” by re-energizing its campaign for the legalization of online poker with its website transformed with a strong call to action; “Never fold in the fight for America’s greatest card game.”:   The PPA is calling for its over one million members to pressure Congress into changing the existing online gambling laws.

WSOP Committed to the Big One for ONE DROP Charity Event

The World Series of Poker has announced that it will be holding a Million dollar buy-in Big One for ONE DROP tournament as part of the 43^rd Annual World Series of Poker.  This tournament is being held in order to benefit Guy Laliberte’s ONE DROP charity that provides water resources to third world impoverished communities.  The tournament will be one of the most significant initiates in poker history

The Big One for ONE DROP tournament is due to take place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino inLas Vegason Sunday, July 1, 2012 at 12.00 Noon.  According to officials of the World Series of Poker thirty players have already committed themselves to this historic $1 Million buy-in event.

The winner of the Big One for ONE DROP tournament will be awarded with millions of dollars as well as a specially designed World Series of Poker platinum bracelet. 

It is expected that this $1 Million buy-in poker tournament will generate one of the biggest prize pools in tournament poker other than the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Included in the names of the players who have committed themselves to this event are Guy Laliberte, Chair of ONE DROP and founder of Cirque du Soleil, Phil Ruffin, Owner of Treasure Island Resort, Las Vegas, Bobby Baldwin, four-time World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner and President and Chief Executive Officer of City Centre Group, poker professionals Gus Hansen, Johnny Chan, Tony Guoga, Patrik Antonius, Daniel Negreanu and Tom Dwan.  Satellites will also be offered byQuebec’s Casinos and a European group and in addition to Andy Beal, a prominent businessman will also be joining.

ONE DROP is a non-governmental organization established inMontrealand active worldwide.  Its mission is to fight poverty by supporting access to water.

The World Series of Poker is the richest, largest and most prestigious gaming event in the world and awards millions of dollars in prize money as well as the prestigious gold bracelet which is recognized as the sport’s top prize all over the world.

Georges St-Pierre Joins Team 888

Leading online gaming company, 888, is thrilled to announce that Georges St-Pierre, the mixed martial arts champion, is its newest global ambassador. 

St-Pierre, who is the holder of the current UFC Welterweight title, has signed a twelve month contract with 888 in terms of which he will take part in the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event.  The new global ambassador will also be participating in a number of other poker tournaments around the world.

Senior Vice President of 888, Itai Pazner, stated that the recent partnership agreement between the group and Georges St-Pierre is bound to strengthen their brand awareness around the globe and will introduce 888 to the growing sport of mixed martial arts as well as to its fans.  Pazner added that it is very exciting to have an international sports celebrity such as Georges St-Pierre on board with them.

St-Pierre is also due to play online at 888poker.com in a couple of special promotions with the proceeds from the games played being donated to anti-bullying charities.

St-Pierre stated that he is absolutely thrilled to become a global brand ambassador for Team 888Poker and revealed that he has wanted to play poker for quite some time due to the fact that it is a great game of skill.  He added that it is not a matter of “your cards versus my cards” but is, in fact, “you versus your opponent”. 

St-Pierre’s most important aspect of his partnership with 888Poker is to produce a large amount of money for his foundation that dedicates all its efforts towards anti-bullying causes.

There are quite a few other mixed martial arts fighters who have given up the ring in order to join the poker arena in the past few years.  An annual charity tournament titled Operation All In, is hosted by Randy Couture and honors the veterans ofAmerica’s armed forces.  Forrest Griffin, Chuck Lidell and Mike Swick are amongst others who have competed in the World Series of Poker.

New Bwin.Party Poker App for iPad

Online poker players who want to enjoy the game on their iPad tablet will be thrilled to learn that Bwin.Party Poker has launched a new application for the iPad.  According to Berthold Kao, the head of Bwin.Party’s Mobile, Touch and Video Department: “The Bwin iPad poker app gives Bwin.com customers unrestricted access to the Bwin poker account, now with the full iPad resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels.”

The new application boasts the same mobile interface that is used by Bwin.Party Poker mobile iPhone users, as well as Android users. Those who already use the application only need to download the free update for the iPad from iTunes or www.bwin.com/ipadpoker.

According to Kao: “The Bwin iPad poker app extends our lead in mobile entertainment on tablet devices and builds on our hugely successful iPhone poker app that Bwin.party designs with its own mobile development teams.”

One of the greatest attractions of Bwin.Party’s new mobile offering is the fact that it is so easy to navigate, with exceptionally clear images and game design.  Special features include the option to replay hands from existing table sessions. Players will be able to obtain unrestricted access to their online poker account at Bwin Poker using the new application, allowing them unbeatable convenience and poker while on the go.

Players will be able to customize their Bwin.Party Poker experience using the new application, such as picking specific games that match their personal requirements and choosing convenient parameters such as stakes, poker variant and even the number of players at the poker table.

Another cool feature is the display of the player’s best hand automatically on the screen, which is a great tool when players want to guess their chances of winning the game.    Also, if players switch apps or have an incoming call, they will be able to benefit from a one-click sit in feature.

iPad’s full resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels will be used so that players are ensured a great gaming experience, with realistic graphics, easy game playing and ultra convenience.  The new application has been warmly welcomed by online poker players who want to take their gaming action with them wherever they go.

New Fast Poker at Top Online Poker Sites

Players who have been missing Full Tilt Poker’s Rush Poker will be pleased to note that a similar variant will soon be available at several top online poker sites.  Relax Gaming, an online poker software developer, will roll out its Relax Fast Poker Network at sites such as Unibet, Betsson and iGame sometime in the coming weeks. 

The group described the new Fast Poker as follows:

“Instead of sitting down at a single poker table, players participate in a ”player pool”. Whenever a player finishes playing his hand, either after showdown or by folding his cards, he is moved to a new table, consisting of random players from his player pool. The player can even fold his cards before it is his turn to act, and gets moved to a new table instantly, without his old opponents knowing it!”

The new Fast Poker has generated a lot of excitement among poker operators as well as players, who miss the excitement of Rush Poker, which unfortunately halted after Full Tilt Poker was pulled down by US authorities last year.  The Chief Executive Officer of the Malta based iGame, Tobias Fagerlund, said: “We have high expectations of Fast Poker. We will run it on all our brands: iGame.com, 24hPoker.com and pokerihuone.com, and consider Fast Poker an important and vital part of our future strategy.”  He said that it would revitalize the concept of Network Poker and become very popular amongs its players.

The Chief Executive Officer of Relax Gaming, Patrik Osteraker said that his group was thrilled to launch the Fast Poker Network together with some of the leading groups in the business.  He said that everyone was looking forward to the launch and he was sure that many more operators would come on board when they saw what a great product they were offering.

“Fast Poker has the potential to make poker really fun again,” he said. “It’s fun, fast and easy – a great way of playing poker.”

In the meantime, Poker Stars is also rushing to complete the beta testing stage of its real money Zoom Poker platform which is similar to Rush Poker and Fast Poker, giving players ample opportunity to enjoy fastpaced online poker at top poker rooms.

Langley Crowned Mega Poker Series Winner in Nottingham

Tom Langley took down a 227 strong field in the Mega Poker Series at Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham this week, clinching himself a £35,770 payout.  The prize pool, which rose to nearly £134,000, was shared among 36 players who travelled to Nottingham, UK to enjoy the excitement.  The buy in to the tournament was £650.

The competition attracted some of the UK poker industry’s best players, including Sam Trickett, John Eames and Charles Chattha, and World Poker Tour champion, Sam el Sayed also showed up in Nottingham.  Players battled it out with a 77,000 starting stack and blind levels which lasted 77 minutes.

The final table looked as follows:

First place – Tom Langley who won £35,770
Second place – Andrew Hulme who won £21,070
Third place – Julian Herold who won £13,120
Fourth place – Daniel Morgan who won £9,230
Fifth place - Sarbjit Kular who won £7,500
Sixth place – Charles Chattha who won £5,190
Seventh place – Nick Dhondt who won £4,040
Eighth place – Simon Deadman who won £2,890

In June this year, the Mega Poker Series will head to Spain, where poker is becoming even more popular now that the Spanish online poker industry has become legalized and regulated, attracting more players both online and off.  The third main Mega Poker Series event will be held at the Casino Gran Madrid.  Online sattelites will soon be announced and players can try for their place in the next stop of this tournament.

Tom Langley was particularly pleased with his own result, bettering his previous best payout ten times over. Tom “mtspewmore” Langley is a regular at PokerStars and tweeted his followers shortly after his win: “Thank you everyone for the rail. Obv over the moon. Field was sick tough. Ontothenextone. tytytyty all.”

While acknowledging that he was not the most experienced player at the table, Langley nevertheless stuck it out and finally managed to take down Andrew Hulme after a tough heads up battle.

Sky Poker Wraps Up Play the Nation Tourney

A celebration of quality UK online poker wrapped up this week after Sky Poker’s Play the Nation tournament came to an end.  Throughout February, the online poker room encouraged players from different regions in the UK to play for Cash for Points boosters and pitting regions against one another.  Players from Wales, Scotland and the South West, as well as seven other regions, went head to head with one another, vying for top place in Sky Poker’s Play the Nation tournament.

Throughout February, players were pampered with a host of bonuses and special offers, starting with a GBP 5 bonus and continuing on to other specials which kept players well rewarded.  Players who entered the bonus code PLAY, were treated to entry into the Cash for Points scheme, with the objective being to hit at least 500 Poker Points during the month in order to qualify for the bonus.

The South East region proved to be the most active at Sky Poker, and won top place in the Play the Nation competition.  Second  place was Northern Ireland and ROW and third was London.

All players from these top three regions were treated to booster bonuses by the end of February, as follows:  Players from the South East received 100% Cash for Points, players from Northern Ireland received 50% Cash for Points, while Londoners received a 25% Cash for Points bonus boost.

The Play the Nation competition at Sky Poker certainly managed to bring players together according to their region, driving a friendly but competitive spirit and boosting play at one of the UK’s top online poker sites.

Sky Poker continues to provide the UK with a reputable online poker destination, offering players the chance to pay in their own currency and ensuring that the highest levels of fairness and security are maintained at all times.