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.