The Night Before Christmas in the Poker Room

 Twas the night before Christmas and all through the poker room,
Not much was moving, quiet as a tomb,
The chip racks were stacked on the side in a row,
Hoping some good luck would fill them with dough;

The players were sitting hunched in their seats,
Telling their tales of all the bad beats,
The dealer looked at me and asked,
Do you plan to bet or will you pass?

From out in the casino I heard a shout,
I jumped from the two seat to see what was about,
And what to my surprise did appear,
A fat guy drinking a bottle of beer,

He came into the room all in a bustle,
No one guessed it might be a hustle,
He slid into the six seat and yelled for a rack,
Looked around and said, "I'll leave when I've filled my sack,"

Through the air the cards did fly,
Lady Luck loved this red suited guy,
He played every hand never folding a one,
The outcome was always the same, he won and won,

When he had taken most of our chips,
He said I'm going to give you some poker tips,
I've played them all, the good and the great,
And let me tell you I can relate,

I've sat across from Hellmuth, Brunson and Chan,
Hachem, Reese, even a guy called Fossilman,
They remind me of a boxer with a glass jaw,
They can't even play me to a draw,

Now please excuse me, I really must go,
I got to make a stop at the Bellagio,
I left my Mercedes in their valet,
Don't look so surprised, I traded that drafty sleigh,

I hope you all have a very prosperous year,
I'll be back next Christmas to play poker right here,
Maybe you should read a poker book or two,
The way you play you don't have a clue,

Under you're pillow tomorrow you must look,
That's where I'll leave your copy of Brunson's super book.
And with that he turned and walked away,
Have a Very Merry Christmas Day!

Online Poker Room Adds $11 Million Guaranteed per Month

Mansion Poker has recently announced that their players will be able to look forward to $11 million guaranteed prize pool next month – and every month there after. The new monthly prize schedule has a host of guaranteed events that total up to the $11 million. This menas that the weekly prize schedule is up around $2.5 million and more in guarantees, with the last week of each month pushed up to a $3 million collective prize pool, thanks to the Grand Tournament’s half million guarantee alone. Players can buy directly into these events or play in cheaper feeders to win their way in.

More Heads Up for PokerTek

The latest thing when it comes to dealers in the world of poker is to not have them. PokerTek is the company that is making this happen with no-dealer machines that provide a live poker experience that is much like you would expect, just without dealers - and cards and chips. Everything is virtual, including in their Heads-Up version (branded as Heads-Up Challenge World Series of Poker). In this version only two players sit down to play Texas Holdem, and this machine is slated for pubs and restaurants. PokerTek has announced an expanded distribution schedule to include the UK and Ireland as well as the US.

Bluff Magazine Releases Chris "BluffMagCV" Vaughn

Last week, Chris Vaughn and Sorel Mizzi came clean about their account-selling victory in the October 21st Full Tilt Poker $1M Guarantee. Facing fall-out from that admission, Bluff Magazine decided to terminate Chris Vaughn's employment today.

Bluff statement:

Bluff Media, publisher of Bluff Magazine, has made the decision to terminate Chris Vaughn as Managing Editor. In light of Chris’ involvement, recently admitted facts and the feedback obtained from industry professionals, it became apparent that the credibility required to perform the job functions of Managing Editor of Bluff Magazine at our company’s level of standards have become severely diminished. While we regret having to make this decision, we believe that it is the best alternative for all parties involved, including Chris, Bluff Media and the poker playing community at large. We wish Chris the best of luck.

MTV Wants Online Poker Players

  Wanna take part in a breathtaking new documentary showing the exciting lives of online poker players? Yes, you too, can be a television star on an MTV series planned about people who live 'alternative lives' online. (Sounds like this is really someone searching for a Duplicate Poker player, but that's another story.)
The series, called "True Life," focuses on... well... we'll just reprint the True Life producer's pitch as posted on 2+2:
I'm producing a documentary for MTV about people who lead "alternative lives" online. We're reaching out to a number of different online groups and cultures, and we thought it could be fascinating to profile someone who gambles online. The key thing we’re looking for is that our subject leads a life that is very distinct/unique/interesting when juxtaposed to his or her online gambling activities. You must be in the age range of 18-28.
This would be part of the documentary series “True Life” which has won numerous journalism awards. I anticipate some eye-rolling when folks see everybody’s favorite whipping-boy network, MTV. The “True Life” series really does stand out from your typical MTV programming, as it is far less “reality tv” and more objective documentary. The series is always told POV the characters we choose, so there is no editorializing or commenting-on that we engage in. The effort, simply, is to tell the subject’s story in as objective a way as possible.
Please email your story, age, and a photo to: brosen@leftright.tv (Left Right is a NYC-based production company hired by MTV to produce this show)
Thanks!
Let's add a thought or two. First, they could've just hired Dutch Boyd. Not only was he wanting to reunite the 'Crew' a few months ago and trying to sell a series of his own based on online poker players sitting around a large apartment or house and staring at computer screens and farting, but with Dutch, you'd get the whole "alternative lives" thing and then some. Besides, whipping boys love company, too.
Whoever's selected, though, gets the hidden bonus: a return role on "Surreal Life 26" a decade down the road.

Poker legend Chip Reese dies at 56

Various online poker sources are confirming early morning reports that Chip Reese, a legendary poker player considered by many of his peers to be the best all-around player alive, passed away in his sleep this morning. Reese was 56.

Early reports have not pinpointed a cause of death. Wicked Chops Poker noted that Reese had been recently reporting suffering vague symptoms generally associated with flu or pneumonia. Reese suffered from rheumatic fever as a child, which can cause long-term issues with the heart valves.

The story of Reese’s entry into the world of professional poker has become a bit of a legend. As commonly told: In 1974, Reese was on his way out to California after being accepted into law school at Standford when he made a stop in Las Vegas to play some poker - a stop that lasted over 30 years.

The winner of three World Series of Poker Bracelets, author of the seven card stud section of Doyle Brunson’s Super System, youngest living player inducted into the Hall of Fame (1991), considered by many to be one of the best poker players ever–the loss of David Edward Reese will leave a hole in the poker world.

Tony G wins Moscow Millions, donates prize money to orphanages

Russia’s biggest poker tournament ever, the Moscow Millions, has ended, and winner Tony Guoga of Melbourne has won $205,000, two titles, and a gold bracelet. He’s keeping the bracelet, and “Russia’s National Poker Champion” and “RSPF’s Grand Champion of Russia,” but has already donated his winnings to Russian orphanages.

Guoga blogged about the event, saying, “I feel good just being in a position where I can give away money that I win in poker tourneys.”

After showing up three hours late due to a pressing dental appointment, Guoga dealt with the resulting 1k loss and beat out the 52 other players who had ponied up the $10,500 buy-in to compete for their share of the $500,000+ pot. There were originally going to be 150 more players, but those evaporated when Full Tilt Poker pulled out of its sponsorship, taking a much lower buy-in with it.

Speaking of the final table, Guoga commented:

I did not know the rest of the players that well but the standard of poker was really good. The final table was going to last 13 hours so we all had to be set for a grueling test. I was ready and really wanted to win. I think I was able to string together some really good plays and got players to lay down the best hands many, many times.

Poker Stars clears Chris Vaughn of any wrongdoing in Sunday Million win

Chris Vaughn, who made online poker headlines twice in the last few weeks, once for winning both the Full Tilt Million Guarantee and the Poker Stars Sunday Million in October and then again for having his Full Tilt win revoked when Full Tilt security concluded that he had passed off his account to another player in the late stages of the tournament, got some good news today when Poker Stars security confirmed that they had concluded their investigation of his Sunday Million win and found no evidence of wrongdoing.

In response to our email request for comment on the Full Tilt controversy involving Vaughn, PokerStars security replied with the following message:

Hello Chris,

A detailed security review is performed for every Sunday Million, shortly
after the completion of each event.

Our review of the Sunday Million won by ‘SlippyJacks’ revealed no evidence
to suggest that PokerStars tournament rules had been broken.

Regards,

StephenW
Manager, Game Security

Still an open issue: the possible involvement and pending response of well-known online poker player Sorel ‘Imper1um’ Mizzi.

The incident is creating (or revealing) an interesting rift between online poker players who view the scandal as a deep, real threat to the future and integrity of online poker and those who view such actions as inevitable and an inherent part of playing poker online - and perhaps even justifiable.

Reserve not met on Daniel Negreanu’s WSOP truck

Daniel Negreanu auctioned off the truck he won for being 2004’s World Series of Poker Player of the Year, but nobody came. Well, that’s not true. According to the eBay stats counter, 11,678 checked it out, and 23 people bid, but the reserve wasn’t met.

The auction just ended today, and it’s possible that Negreanu will decide to let high bidder “b***2″ take the 2004 Toyota Tundra for $19,100 — $1375 under Kelley Blue Book. The “WSOP 04″ vanity plate alone, which the auction states goes with the truck, just might be worth that to a serious collector.

Negreanu announced the sale on his blog (the same day as, but unrelated to, the announcement of his divorce) and might very well post updates there, too, on whether he will re-eBay the vehicle, sell it on land, or just maybe decide to keep it. After all, “The truck has a lot of meaning to him,” according to auction comments.

Daniel Negreanu Mobile Game

I-play launches poker tutorial mobile videos
It's to tie in with its new Daniel Negreanu mobile game

We were impressed by I-play's Win at Texas Hold 'em Poker game, but now the publisher is extending its licence with its star, poker pro Daniel Negreanu, into mobile video, too.
The publisher is launching a series of two- to three-minute video tutorials featuring Negreanu, which are already being sold through O2 and T-Mobile in the UK, with other operators to follow.
They're targeted at all levels of poker proficiency, with five categories: Beginner, Advanced, Bluffs & Tells, Tournament Tips, and Winning Secrets. They were shot at the Venetian Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas for added authenticity (added poker authenticity, we mean – it doesn't look much like the real Venice).
I-play plans to promote the vids within the actual Win at Texas Hold 'em game, ensuring a captive audience of poker fans.

Hole Card Camera for Online Final Tables

Several online poker sites are going to show the hole cards of final table players in their bigger events. There are several reasons for this and several mechanisms for revealing the hole cards.

The first reason, that no online site is going to admit to, is security. After the fiasco at Absolute Poker last month, everyone wants to be bending over backwards to make it clear to the online players that everything is fair and secure. What better way to do that then to show every player's hole cards.

Now the "reason" the online site are giving is that it makes following a final table more interesting but that runs into a snag because you cannot show the hole cards in real time. (If you don't know why, stop reading now!). So the hole card reveal must be on some type of delay, which takes some of the fun out of watching the final table live. The WSOP encountered the same issues with its ill-fated Sequestrium this past summer.

So either the entire final table is shown with hole cards after the table play is complete OR there is some type of delay. The problem with just a delay is that players still at the final table can get information on how another player is playing hands in nearly real time.

So far the only sites using the hole card reveal are doing it with a delay until after the event is concluded, which takes us back to our original argument about this being all about security and very little about entertainment for the cyber-railbirds.

PokerStars Triples Traffic of Full Tilt

At the top of the online poker battle for most players, PokerStars sits comfortably.  So comfortable is PokerStars that they have triple the traffic now of their nearest rival, Full Tilt Poker. 

PokerStars had originally considered abandoning the US market last year after the passage of a new law that looked to ban online poker.  The popular online poker room consulted with its legal counsel who would ultimately interpret the law as "too vague" in its enforcement.  A court ruling on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and its policy is anticipated within days. 

Recent monitoring shows that PokerStars has had nearly three times the number of cash players as Full Tilt Poker and almost 20,000 at its peak on Tuesday while Full Tilt had under 10,000.  PartyPoker, which no longer accepts US players, has also been beating out Full Tilt.

New Game Show "The Moment of Truth" with host Mark L. Walberg

 

This Saturday, FOX will in town recruiting contestants for a new game show called "The Moment of Truth."

The show will premiere Jan. 23, 2008 at 9 p.m. with host Mark L. Walberg and possibly you competing to win $500,000 just by being honest with their truthiness.

Got nothing to hide? Contestants will vie for the prize by being quizzed on events in their own lives, as verified by a lie detector.

Casting producers will be at the Tuscany Suites and Casino on Nov. 24 from noon to 4 p.m.

For more information, email truth@theconlincompany.com.

No Deportation for Shawn "Sheiky" Sheikhan

Shawn Sheikhan had a bright moment in a fall full of controversy when a judge ruled against a deportation motion brought by the Department of Immigration. The result is that Sheiky gets to stay, pending a possible appeal by the immigration people; had it gone the other way, he could packing his tattoo-parlor fixings and looking to open up a new chain of shops in Tehran. Sheikhan was born in Iran and is a U.S. resident alien.
For those of you not familiar with the longer part of the tale, the trouble came about when Sheikhan's name turned up on a list of old criminals being cross-checked by Department of Immigration, who uses such things to look for people to deport. Sheikhan had a bit of a mess in his past, in a matter concerning with an underage girl in California, back in 1995. Sheikhan served nine months in prison and received five years of probation in that matter, though it was officially booked as a misdemeanor. (Nine months jail time and five years probation is on the healthy side of misdemeanor offenses, one would think.)
But whatever happened, it's mostly forgotten now. That's meant literally. Contra Costa County, where the infraction/s took place, tosses out the details of their misdemeanor convictions after ten years. More than that much time had elapsed when the immigration people tried to make their case, so their motion was empty --- it had no facts from the trial to present, and that's why it was tossed.
So Sheikhan likely dodged a big bullet here, even if the allegations were as overblown as his attorney alleges. Sheikhan remains one of the most colorful and controversial presences on the Vegas 'TV pro' scene, and this episode isn't likely to change that at all.

Nicholas Cage to Play Poker Legend

The man they call Amarillo Slim has always been a character in the poker world, and it seems he will be a character in an upcoming movie of the same name. Thomas Preston Jr, who picked up his nickname in his early poker years, was one of the first poker pros to implement self marketing, a skill that seems to go hand in hand with the profession these days. The upcoming movie is rumored to have Nicholas Cage play the poker legend, something that Slim has said he is agreeable to, after a meeting between the two.

Christina Applegate marries woman in Las Vegas

Seems many a celebrity reveals a hidden Las Vegas wedding... particularly when having something to promote.

Last month it was Lance Bass who said he did a quickie wedding in 1999 or 2000 with a best friend (who was female) because of the free booze, but after no record of the nuptials was found, he later retracted and said he was kidding.

Now Christina Applegate has come out with having married a friend (also female) in Las Vegas circa 1990s. According to an old article in Bikini magazine, she said she married in a club and wanted to show how a marriage between two women is stronger than between two men.

There was no consummation.

Hmm.

Applegate stars in the ABC sit-com "Samantha Who?" where she plays a bitchy woman who loses her memory, remembers nothing of her old personality, and turns into a nice gal. Alas, both pre- and post-amnesia, she likes boys.

Jean-Robert Bellande Booted from Survivor: China

I seldom watch much network TV these days, but was relaxing at the club Thursday night after a workout, pedaling away on a exercise bike for a few minutes. I looked up at the three TVs on the front wall, one of which was tuned to "Survivor: China". There were just 15 minutes left in the show, and I wondered, "Was this the week that Bellande gets kicked from the show?"
It turned out that it was. The nine votes that were cast at the tribal gathering or whatever they call it went 5-3-1, with Bellande gathering the five, and thus exiting stage right. His tiki torch was extinguished (in grand "Survivor" tradition), and the last shot before the closing credits was of his back side trotting down the steps and off to the debriefing station for a reunion with his luggage.
His chances seemed slim from the outset, and reports on the early shows said that he played the laggard for the first week or so, then tried to improve his image later on. Unfortunately, a couple of the female contestants hated him, and lobbied week after week for his release.
That's what happened this past week, though Bellande made at least one or two other boneheaded political maneuvers in the days prior to his departure, according to stories printed in the last day or two. He was a day late and two immunity idols short in figuring out who held what and who was really aligned with who, and that sealed his fate. All the stories about it use some lame poker metaphor like, "He pushed all in and was caught bluffing." Here, we just note that he busted short of the money.

Heidi Fleiss running laundromat while awaiting brothel

 

If you ever find yourself 60 miles west of Las Vegas with a pile of dirty laundry, consider the laundromat Dirty Laundry, owned and run by none other than Heidi Fleiss (pictured above)

Yes, the same Heidi Fleiss who was imprisoned for selling Los Angeles prostitutes as the famed Hollywood Madam and who still has plans to open a brothel nearby her washers and dryers (though probably not in the same building).

Brothels and prostitution in Nye County, Nev., are legal, and the past couple years Fleiss has been waiting to complete her license amidst squabbles with her indicted ex-business partner and getting around a board that denies licenses to convicted felons.

If her license does pass, Fleiss would open Heidi's Stud Farm, the first brothel in the area that would contain male prostitutes catering to women.

For now, she's content to operating her successful coin-operated laundromat in Crystal, Nev.

Are poker forums worthwhile anymore?

As a poker player, I always enjoy a healthy debate when it comes to poker strategy, bankroll management and hand play (especially of what is done live or on televised or reported poker tournaments), among other things.

Before the Internet, the only way to do this was through having a circle of poker-playing comrades who would sometimes pass along less-than-valid intelligence, but from whom you could occasionally glean a viable nugget. Coordinating a bunch of different people's schedules posed problems, so those discussions would only happen occasionally.

Since the proliferation of the Web, this hasn't been as much of a problem. Most poker-oriented sites, including PokerListings.com, have some sort of arena devoted to debating different issues in the poker community. In the beginning, these were dedicated to the same type of discussions that I used to have with my friends and acquaintances: reasoned debate of poker issues, and exchanges of strategy and information on upcoming tournaments or places to play.

Recently, though, I have noticed a significant erosion in the quality of poker forums that has led me to ask if they are necessary at all anymore.

Perusing forums on several sites I have bookmarked, I've noticed that what people are discussing isn't necessarily poker related and, in some cases, would be better relegated to the locker room.

If you search these forums, you'll find threads polling readers on the relative attractiveness of various female players in the poker community. They have nothing to do with assessing these women's poker-playing abilities; they review their physical traits and speculate about their sexual orientation and whether they would make suitable companions (and that's the bowdlerized version!).

Some forums have even gone further than that. With their off-topic (OT) subjects and even entire sections that are marked as not safe for viewing at work (NSFW), they are the equivalent of the section in mom-and-pop video stores that has a sign on the door stating that you must be 18 to enter.

It's definitely disturbing to see these things in forums that are supposed to be for enlightened poker discussion and thoughts on the game.

Even discussions that do stick to poker-related issues can be minefields. Perhaps because of the ability to hide behind one's monitor, a newcomer posing an innocent question often precipitates an all-out blitzkrieg of responses in which their mental abilities, their supposed proclivities and their right to use up oxygen are all called into question.

Such "flame wars" do not make these forums look very good. Frequently two (or more) people who do not agree on what color the sky is overrun a particular subject and fire endless diatribes at each other, completely unrelated to what the original poster (OP) brought up. Thus, serious questions that arise in forums are often lost in the white noise that blasts from various locales around the world.

Managers of some sites have tried to adjust to this by moderating the forums, most of the time with the help of posters themselves. This is better than nothing, but the moderators can't be there 24/7. Other sites lack even this degree of oversight and, to be honest, they are the worst offenders. There are ways, however, to encourage poker forums to return to a viable state.

Moderating is the key and, most importantly, this oversight must be vigilant and thorough. Admittedly, this can be difficult with multiple subjects on a board that can generate potentially more than a thousand new topics and responses in a day. Site managers could apply gatekeeping software that would reduce the potential for raunchy and/or completely irrelevant subjects to reach the boards. This would be an excellent start.

For both moderated and unmoderated forums, in the end it comes down to the posters themselves. Rather than acting like barely postpubescent teenagers, social misfits or out-and-out sociopaths, posters should have the decorum to think before their fingers go to work on their keyboards.

A good rule of thumb before posting a comment to a message board is to ask yourself, "Would I say this in public in a mixed social situation?" If you determine that you wouldn't, then potentially what you're about to write is better off left unsaid.

In terms of picking fights with other members of the forum, restraint is perhaps the best policy. People have had disagreements since the dawn of mankind; most of the time, they can "agree to disagree" and get along despite them. In the forums, though, exchanges sometimes become borderline slanderous or even involve physical threats.

Moderators should watch situations such as this and encourage the combatants to drop their animosity or risk expulsion. In unmoderated forums, it is up to the members to police themselves and act appropriately.

Finally, if you don't have a worthwhile comment to make on a particular subject, don't say anything at all. I routinely read strategy thoughts and come up with a pertinent response, only to find that someone else has beaten me to it. In that case, I normally will not even broach the subject.

There is no such thing as a stupid question (even if it is, "Did I play my pocket aces correct here?"); depending upon the experience of the person asking, they are attempting to become a better player and do not deserve ridicule for posing their query.

Poker forums are still one of the best ways to discuss the intricacies of the game. But the overflow - the verbal assaults and threats; the endless locker-room discussion of people based on gender or race or the posting of lascivious photographs - has to be stemmed. Only then will poker forums again offer something of substance instead of catering to Cro-Magnon mentalities as too many do now.

Tight Players Don't Win Tournaments

Have you ever heard the expression "Tight Players Don't Win Tournaments"? It's a mantra of modern-day tourney play, and it seems to fly in the face of the "tight is right" theme that's just about the first thing most serious poker players learn. But in poker terms it's live fast, die fast for Obrestad, the same as it is with a Dario Minieri or Alex Jacob or a handful of other young, hyper-aggressive players. It can mean a lot of fast exits when it goes bad early, but given a few good cards and a lucky break or two, these players can amass some deep stacks, and then have the rest of the field chasing them, trying to play their game.
So "tight makes right" isn't always the best, it seems.
The tradeoff, of course, is that the tighter and more judicious the play, the greater the chance of running at least fairly deep and having a sniff at the money. What happens to the tighter players, then, is they end up on in a spot where they need to win a big showdown for all their chips, with the Obrestads and Minieris sitting behind deep stacks, willing to make the call. Perhaps it's a bit of a freeroll for the aggro players at that point... but getting to the top of the board in the first place is the real skill.
It's a skill beyond most players, this one included. I'd like to share personal tales of all the times I dominated the tourney throughout and stomped my opponents into submission, but the truth is, I just don't have many --- maybe any --- tales of that type. On the rare occasions that I've done well in smaller tourneys, it's invariably been a situation where I've won that late showdown (or two of them, or three), and surged to the top very late.
Tight may be right, but tight players make lousy frontrunners.
And tight would still always be right, if it weren't for the skew that most tournaments' graduated payout schedules offer. It's the extreme jumps in pay for the highest few spots that justify the risk/reward ratio of the hyper-aggressive play, even if most of us recognize it but still can't pull it off.
So, we adjust and learn, even as other players are adjusting and learning and the entire concept of optimal tournament poker shifts over time. A decade ago a tighter style of player took home the money, but at the moment the looser aggro types have the upper hand. It may evolve to the point that so many people play the loose aggro style that it becomes generally unprofitable to do so, and play shifts back to the tighter end of the scale. For now, though, having the willingness to donk it up a bit increases both the risk and the potential reward.
Will Obrestad stay as hot as she is at the moment? Of course not. No one is -this- good. I remember watching a few months ago when she took down the big Sunday Guarantee on Full Tilt, and with a nod to the crazed fanboys at the rail, she got lucky there, too. She played great, but she still needed several key suckouts to take it down, particularly in the wild three-way seesaw that decided the thing. Most times, those suckouts don't come.
It's very refreshing to see a young female on the poker scene that's really, really good and not just a parlor trick a la Brandi Hawbaker. There's the added bonus for blog readers in that it gives the Wicked Chops boys fits; just for that and that alone it'd be great to see Obrestad win one every three weeks or so. (*wink!*) Unfortunately, that's not gonna happen, not that it'd slow Snake and Chops down any. Makes good reading, anyway...

Venetian Announces 2008 Deep Stack Extravaganza Poker Series

Deep Stack Extravaganza Poker Tournament Series returns to the Venetian Poker Room in 2008. These very popular events were an instant hit because they offered players exactly what they wanted...affordable buy-ins, more starting chips, longer limit levels, smaller blind increases and a variety of events featuring the most popular poker games, Pot-Limit Omaha, Omaha 8 or Better, No-Limit Hold'em, H.O.R.S.E. and more.

Flipchip photos of poker personalities playing in the Venetian Poker Room after the jump...

Jennifer Tilly, WSOP Champion

Venetian Poker Operations Director, Kathy Raymond, has scheduled two Deep Stack Extravaganza Tournaments for 2008 with the first set for early February and the second tournament in the series scheduled to coincide with the 2008 WSOP in June. Poker players that took part in the original Deep Stack events during last years WSOP already know about the popularity that guarantees big prize pools, the convenience of frequent free shuttles between the Rio and the Venetian plus the thrill of playing in one of the most luxurious poker rooms in the world.

Doyle Brunson, WSOP Ten Bracelet Champion

Buy-ins range from $300 + $30 (starting chips $6,000) up to $1,000 + $60 (Starting chips $10,000) and a final NLHE championship event with a $2,500 buy-in and $15,000 in starting chips. The Deep Stack Tournaments I and II during 2007 drew more than 19,000 players and paid out over $10 million in prize money. Another appealing advantage to playing the Deep Stack Series is the opportunity to mix it up with some of the biggest names in the game. Don't be surprised if you're seated next to a WSOP world champion or across from one of poker's TV stars. The Venetian's Deep Stack Series appeals to every level of player from novice to super star.

Carlos Mortensen, WSOP World Champion

Complete details of the 2008 Deep Stack Extravangaza Series is available by calling the Venetian Poker Room direct at 1.702.414.7657. Check out the schedule of events for the February 4th - 24th Deep Stack Extravaganza on the Prof's Las Vegas Poker Tournament Directory, the most complete, up-to-date, and user friendly poker tournament directory on the Internet. Dates for the June Deep Stack will be available at a later time.

Martin de Knijff, WPT Champion

Tom McEvoy, WSOP World Champion

Jennifer Harman, WSOP Champion

Ted Forrest, NBC National Heads-Up Champion

Sam Farha, WSOP Champion

Jill Ann Spaulding

Mike Matusow to teach poker course

Matusow to teach poker

That's MR. Mike "The Mouth" Matusow to you.

Primarily known for his blow-ups and constant heckling of opponents, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow is going to change things up and take a shot at teaching.

Matusow officially signed with iAmplifyVegas to develop poker content and educational resources for the company, which already uses players like Phil Hellmuth and Antonio Esfandiari to teach poker fundamentals.

"I am excited to complete this project," said Matusow. "I hope my fans are not only entertained by the course we are developing, but also learn valuable information to improve their poker game."

The Mouth should provide a unique perspective for those wishing to elevate their poker game. He has close to $6 million in tournament winnings, two WSOP bracelets and a first-place finish at the Tournament of Champions. Recently he cashed for $671,320 by coming in second at the WPT Bellagio Cup III and even more recently he finished sixth at the WPT Borgata event which won him $271,000. He's considered one of the true "bad boys" of poker and has made appearances on High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark.

Matusow's course will soon be available for a variety of formats including computer, cell phone and iPod. It will go live on www.iamplifyvegas.com shortly.

iAmplifyVegas is a Web-based publisher and syndication network, providing tools and distribution for leading authors, celebrities and other media companies to publish paid audio and video content over the Internet. Poker is not their only domain; they also distribute content related to fitness, yoga, relationships, sports, spirituality, nutrition and more.

Scotty Nguyen's tournament is back

Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV begins Nov. 1

Scotty Nguyen

The wealth of poker tournaments isn't limited to just the East or West Coast, which is good for the many people who can't make it to Atlantic City or Vegas. Beginning next week, the state of Oklahoma will be offering one of the bigger tournament events, featuring one of the premier stars of poker.

On November 1, the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV starts up, culminating with its $5,000 buy-in event, which will run Nov. 18-20.

"The Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge is one of three large tournaments that we run each year," stated Chris Province, promotions manager at the Cherokee Casino in Tulsa, Okla., where the Challenge will take place.

"We have the Oklahoma State Poker Championships and the Cherokee Poker Classic, but the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge has been extremely popular since its inception a couple of years ago."

The 35-table poker room is renowned in the area for spreading all disciplines of poker and the schedule for the Challenge reflects that its players don't want to only play Texas Hold 'em.

"Many players come from Texas, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Oklahoma, and they have told us they want to play the other games," Province said. "Thus, the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge reflects the wishes of our players, who are critically important to us. We even expand the poker room to 51 tables to get all the players in the game."

The Challenge features a unique "Jack and Jill" Hold'em tournament to start the festivities on Nov. 1 and will also have tournaments in Omaha (Limit, Pot-Limit and Hi/Lo), Seven-Card Stud and H.O.R.S.E. as well as Limit, Pot-Limit and No-Limit Texas Hold'em tournaments.

Buy-ins for the tournaments also won't put tremendous stretches on the bankrolls of poker players. The smallest tournament buy-in is $100+$10 and, other than the $5,000 championship event, the other buy-ins range from $150 to $3,000 (all tournaments have a 10% vig and 3% of the buy-ins are taken out in a staff appreciation fee).

"We definitely treat the poker players special, like they used to be in the casinos," Province said.

The smaller buy-ins also create large prize pools that can reach $150,000 for certain tournament events.

Professional poker player Scotty Nguyen, the namesake of the tournament, is very active during the run of the tournament.

"Scotty normally will play anywhere from four to seven of the tournaments," Province said. "For the tournaments that he isn't playing in, he definitely makes a point to go around the poker room and wishes the players good luck ... He is very involved with the event, whether he is playing or not."

Challenge won't be lacking in these tournaments either, especially in the championship event. The second Challenge was won by professional player Nam Le, who came back to defend his title during the third Challenge this May.

After the 91-player starting field was whittled down, the final table featured the defending champion Le as well as fellow poker professionals Tony Cousineau and Thang "Kido" Pham. In the end, it came down to Pham (who has also been a champion on the World Series of Poker Circuit) and Le, with Kido taking the title.

Pham should be back to defend his Challenge championship along with a contingent of poker pros who have been to the tournament in the past.

"We have had Alex Jacob, Clonie Gowen, Mike Matusow, Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher here [in the past] and have heard they will be making the effort to be here this year," said Province. "Also, along with Scotty, fellow former World Champion Berry Johnson (1986) will be here as well."

The tournament director will be Jimmy Sommerfeld, widely recognized as one of the best TDs in the poker community.

The championship event of the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV will definitely be one of the tougher fields around, but the entirety of the tournament schedule will feature some of the best players in the Midwestern United States.

The Cherokee Casino is expecting around 5,500 players for this year's version of the tournament, generating total prize pools that should exceed the $2 million mark. So for a chance to enter into one of the toughest tournaments around, be sure to learn more about the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV at www.cherokeecasino.com.

Caribbean Adventure satellites at PokerStars

The 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) is one of the newest additions to the European Poker Tour (EPT). Satellites to the $8,000 main event are now running at the poker site.

Qualifying tournaments to the 2008 PCA, which will be played at the Atlantis Paradise Island Jan. 5-10, are available at PokerStars in six different steps.

The cheapest ones cost $7 to play in and lead up to bigger satellites, ending with Step 6 events, which have a direct buy-in of $2,100.

There will be 18-player Step 6 satellites where three 2008 PCA packages will be up for grabs, and 9-player Step 6 satellites where only the winner gets to take a trip to the Atlantis Paradise Island.

PokerStars prize packages are worth $12,000, and include the buy-in to the 2008 PCA, travel expenses and accommodations.

In 2007, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was part of the World Poker Tour (WPT). Ryan Daut conquered a field of 937 players to take home $1,535,255 in prize money.

Las Vegas Hilton Closing Poker Room

It's official – the Las Vegas Hilton's poker room is closing its doors to the public on Wednesday, October 17. The 11-table room has been open since August of 2005, a little more than two years, according to poker room manager Mark Nelson. Pending its definitive closure, the Hilton card room will be the first in Las Vegas to shut down since poker's resurgence in 2003. The off-strip room struggled to fill the tables in its brief existence and was perhaps overshadowed by the Hilton's world-famous sports book, located just a few feet away.

Five famous Americans to play Great British Poker Tour

Poker's golden boy will be making an appearance on the Great British Poker Tour.

Five of the world's most well-known poker players have signed on to play in the Great British Poker Tour Grand Final.

Jamie Gold, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, Jennifer Tilly and Robert Williamson III have all set their sights on achieving GBPT greatness during the conclusion of the poker tour, which takes place at the Gala Casino Harbourside, Bristol, Nov. 5-11.

"So far in the GBPT we've seen a really high standard of poker from local amateurs holding their own against UK and European pro-players," said GBPT Tournament Director Thomas Kremser. "It'll be a fascinating contest to see what drama will unfold with these star names of World Poker in the frame. For aspiring poker players, it simply doesn't get any better than this!"

Although very different players, all five of the contenders are making the journey from their residences in the United States and their presence should provide a provocative storyline for the tournament.

Gold is best known for taking down the biggest prize in poker tournament history when he won $12 million at the 2006 WSOP. The Hollywood agent is known at the poker tables for his constant chatter and relentless bluffs.

Esfandiari came to fame by winning the 2004 Poker Classic in L.A. Formerly a professional magician, Esfandiari is always entertaining at the poker table. One of Esfandiari's best friends is Laak, another one of poker's more eccentric players. Laak is currently dating Hollywood actress Tilly, who plays a decent poker game herself. In 2005 Tilly won the ladies event at the WSOP and took home a gold bracelet.

Williams is considered one of poker's friendliest characters but don't let that fool you. He has amassed close to $2 million at the poker table and is no donkey.

All five players will be competing for GBPT Grand Final title with an estimated prize pool of £500,000. With side games included the prize pool will be bumped up to a massive £650,000 across the week.

Although there are a number of qualifiers that are being offered players can also buy-in directly to the main event for £2,500.

For more information about the GBPT main event visit the organization's Web site at www.gbpokertour.com.

Doyles Room Re-Enters the US Market

 Online Poker: Doyles Room Re-Enters the US Market

DoylesRoom.com the online poker site endorsed by ten time World Series of Poker champion Doyle Brunson today announced its return to the U.S. market.
DoylesRoom.com makes a massive move by allowing US players to once again play in its online poker room. Returning players will not be disappointed with $4,000,000 in guaranteed tournaments monthly, huge bad beat jackpots and opportunities to play Doyle and other celebrities.
Endorsed by a poker legend and designed by people who love the game of poker, DoylesRoom.com has always been one of the most popular poker rooms on the Internet. Players of all levels come to DoylesRoom to enjoy a wide variety of games such as Texas Hold’em, Stud and exclusive tournaments.
About DoylesRoom.com
DoylesRoom (www.DoylesRoom.com) is the only online poker site endorsed by poker legend, Doyle Brunson. The site is a leading poker provider for North American players and is an international hub for Texas Hold ’em and other popular poker games. Players at DoylesRoom.com can play for free in order to learn the game, or engage in real money play against players throughout the world.

The Absolute Poker Scandal

Is AbsolutePoker.com rigged?

Either way, the company is in big trouble. What follows in this post is huge news in the world of online poker and online casinos.

Our story begins in 2003. Absolute Poker’s software is in development and many test accounts are created to make sure the program is working correctly. One of these test accounts, known as account #363, can see the hole cards at any table. This test account can not be used to play in real money games, it is only used for development purposes to see that pots are distributed correctly. The id number of this account being #363 is important because this tells us that this was one of the first accounts ever opened in AbsolutePoker, making it very likely the person in control of this account is someone with intimate ties with the company (owner, founder, employee, programmer, shareholder, etc.)

Follow with me to the opening of Absolute Poker (AP). Four people in different parts of the United States open up accounts at Absolute Poker. These four individuals do not know each other. The names in question are Graycat, Steamroller, DoubleDrag, and Potripper. They play in Absolute Poker for a bit, but they don’t do well and their accounts are not logged into for many months. These are actual and real players, they are not fake players, they do not know each other, and they are not cheaters.

Key moment in the development of Absolute Poker: a major software upgrade is in process in 2007. The company hires programmers from many areas, including Costa Rica. Our villain in this scandal comes across the test account #363 with hole card access. Visions of big money flash in front of his eyes as he envisions hacking his way to big casino cash. He hatches a plan.

He finds inactive accounts at Absolute Poker and changes the password to these accounts at the server level. He opens test account 363 at a separate computer which allows him to see all the hole cards at the table. He then gets family and friends to cash out his winnings to. The way he does this is after he gets a big amount of cash at the poker tables, he plays against his relatives and buddies and loses all his cash to them. DoubleDrag loses to Reymnaldo, Graycat loses to SupercardM55, and Steamroller and Potripper lose to other various friend and family controlled accounts.

September comes, and as the money piles up, so does the ego and greed. Other poker players make comments in chat that they suspect there is cheating and collusion involved. He logs in as DoubleDrag and then loses every hand intentionally in No-Limit in an attempt to cover up his scam as he senses other players may be on to him.

September 12th. A well-known online poker tournament player named Marco Johnson, who plays under the screen name CrazyMarco plays in a $1000 buy-in tournament at AbsolutePoker.com. Cheat account Potripper is also playing in this tournament. CrazyMarco loses a head-to-head battle with Potripper when Potripper and asks for the hand history of the final table.

September 17th. The four Absolute Poker accounts (Graycat, Steamroller, DoubleDrag, and Potripper) are suspended and frozen.

September 21st. AbsolutePoker sends CrazyMarco a huge Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file (10MB and a full 65,536 rows, which is limit in Excel for most current versions). The spreadsheet is too complicated and scrambled to look into, so he saves it and decides to analyze it later.

October 12th. An AbsolutePoker.com official statement is released with their official comments on the cheating rumors, gossip, controversy, and overall poker community outrage. The company has been made aware of the poker blogs, chatrooms, and online casino discussion forums that are talking about this situation and they state that they take these allegations “extremely seriously”. They have “determined with reasonable certainty” that no can see the hole cards, and thus there is no superuser account. Their poker security algorithms have allegedly not been compromised and have admitted that “allegations that the player accounts at issue ‘always guessed right’ are unfounded”. On allegations this player exhibited “infinite river agression” (the player never called on the river cards, he only raised or folded), AbsolutePoker.com feels this is “also without merit”. The online casino has admitted that chip dumping did occur and will “investigate this issue”.

October 13th. Flashback to the huge Excel spreadsheet file AbsolutePoker sends to poker player CrazyMarco. TheWacoKidd, at PocketFives, reveals that Absolute Poker had accidentally sent hand histories of the entire tournament and of all the player’s hole cards. Looking through the play of PotRipper, it is obvious to see that he could see the hole cards of the other players due to his impeccable decision making, even in the face of ridiculous odds. As an example, Potripper routinely plays hands such as 2/7, but then folds cards such as KQ when AA is dealt to another player.

October 16th and 17th. 2+2 reports that Potripper’s email address is scott@rivieraltd.com. According to a 2+2 member, the IP address (a unique address that computer electronic devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other) cross references to a cable modem owned by Scott Tom, who is a co-owner of Absolute Poker and their President since 2005. The Potripper account is now thought to belong to AJ Green, who is a former Director of Operations at AbsolutePoker.com and Scott Tom’s best friend. A.J. Green is the current Vice President of Operations at nine.com. The domain rivieratld.com points to a mail server which is on an IP address allocated to Absolute Entertainment SA, at a data center owned by Mohawk Internet Technologies (originally thought to be the Kahnawake Gaming Commission).

Mohawk Internet Technologies MIT-BLK-01 (NET-66-212-224-0-1)
66.212.224.0 - 66.212.255.255

Absolute Entertainment S.A. MIT-ABPOK-02 (NET-66-212-244-128-1)
66.212.244.128 - 66.212.244.255

About 2 hours after the results of this investigation is revealed on the internet, the DNS (domain name server) information for rivieraltd.com is deleted. Absolute Poker claims Scott Tom has not been employed by the company for over a year.

October 19th. An Absolute Poker spokesman now states that their online poker software has been hacked by an employee who was playing using the accounts of Scott Tom and AJ Green. “This is literally a geek trying to prove to senior management that they were wrong and he took it too far,” says the Absolute Poker representative. They also release another official statement, which amounts to them admitting they had “an internal security breach that compromised our systems for a limited period of time” and which has been “completely resolved”.

October 21st. Joe Norton, the “owner of Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, which holds a 100% interest in Absolute Poker” releases an official statement which says that “the integrity of our poker system was compromised by a high-ranking trusted consultant employed by AP whose position gave him extraordinary access to certain security systems. As has been speculated in several online forums, this consultant devised a sophisticated scheme to manipulate internal systems to access third-party computers and accounts to view hole cards of other customers during play without their knowledge.” Absolute Poker is now giving $500 restitution payments to all watchers of the infamous September 12th Potripper tournament whose email was in the Excel spreadsheet file. Also, poker players that played in the tournament will be bumped up a spot and will receive a refund of their $1000 + $50 entry fee, with interest that will be calculated at 10% per annum (about 1%)

WCOOP Champion TheVOid Loses Title

 PokerStars has released a statement acknowledging the disqualification of the World Championship of Online Poker main event winner TheVOid. This statement was released after a two week long investigation over the event. The allegations are that TheVOid was an account that was set up by a professional poker player for his sister. When he got eliminated from the tournament he allegedly took over her spot as TheVOid.
Many discussions took place in online forums accusing TheVOid of cheating. Apparently online players knew that the player who set up the account was a very successful player and that the sister had never played in a big tournament before. This in itself seems amiss.
TheVOid took over $1 million in prize money in this year's online event so PokerStars took the matter very seriously. PokerStars took their time and investigated the situation properly. Here is the statement that PokerStars released:
- The investigation into the WCOOP Main Event has now been concluded.
- We have determined, based on the totality of evidence, that the tournament winner "TheV0id" was in breach of the PokerStars Terms of Service.
- In the interests of Game Integrity, "TheV0id" has been disqualified from first place.
- All other WCOOP Main Event prizewinners in addition to the player who originally bubbled in 415th place will therefore advance one place in the prize pool. The necessary financial adjustments to reflect the revised tournament places will be made within the next 24 hours.
"Please note that we are unable to release further details of this investigation, for reasons of confidentiality and privacy," said Mr. Stephen W. PokerStars Game Security Manager.
This is a big step in trying to resolve the problem. Although cheating will occur, the action taken by PokerStars may keep others from doing the same as TheVOid.