Archive for
February, 2007
February 15th, 2007
The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced yesterday that they have decided to extend the deadline on whether to indict the NETeller founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre. The charges against the pair of transferring billions of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds will now not be heard until March 16. This means that US customers will have to wait at least a month to recover their money that would have otherwise been spent on casinos and gambling web site sites.
Lawrence and Lefebvre were arrested on January 15 and soon after the FBI froze all of NETeller’s US customer accounts with the purpose of using them as evidence against the company. NETeller have confirmed that figure is approximately $55 million, which lies in isolated trust accounts. US customers provided NETeller with approximately two-thirds of their business.
“As a result of the restrictions placed by third parties, court-ordered seizures and related legal concerns, NETeller is unable to make payments to U.S. customers,” says a posting on the company’s website.
However, the bad news for their US customers is that no timetable has been set for the return of their funds.
NETeller were the online payment processor of choice for many online casino players who wished to fund their playing, with more than 80 percent of its business done with online gambling companies.
February 12th, 2007
Dear Subscriber
With a total prize pool of AUD$12.6 million and a main event prize pool of AUD$7.47 million, you can bet that the pressure was on for the 312 poker players who put it all on the line for a chance to come away with a fortune so big that Melbourne’s Crown Poker Room can once again claim an Australian poker tournament record.
But then again, what would you expect from Crown Poker, the people who practically invented the poker tournament in Australia.
It took six gruelling days and 746 eliminations to get to the final two hour head-to-head battle that saw Gus Hansen walk away as the undisputed 2007 Aussie Millions Main Event Champion.
The 2007 Aussie Millions Tournament attracted New Zealander Lee “Final Table” Nelson, Kenna “Cowboy” James, actor Michael Vartan and a whole lot more famous and not-so-famous players hoping to make the big grab.
If you are curious about who else played in the 2007 Aussie Millions Tournament and how much they won, you can check the tournament results by visiting the Crown Poker web site.
The Aussie Millions tournament has its roots in the old Australasian Poker Championship which was held at the Crown Poker Room in the world-famous Crown Entertainment Complex during July of 1998. With a $1,000 buy in, the first major Limit Hold ‘em tournament offered a $74,000 prize pool and garnered 74 players. It was big news at that time.
The Crown Australian Poker Championship, or the ‘Aussie Millions’ as it is commonly called, sprang from those humble beginnings. The first Aussie Millions tournament pulled in 40 players who each put in $5,000 for a shot at their share of a $200,000 prize pool. But it wasn’t until January of 2003 that the tournament earned the right to use the word “Millions” in its title. That was the year that 122 players vied for a piece of a then record-setting AUS $1.2m prize pool.
Word spread and the January 2005 Aussie Millions attracted 263 players from around the world who risked $10,000 each for a shot at the No Limit Hold ‘em Main Event that sported a $2,630,000 prize pool which was billed as the “biggest prize pool ever in the Southern Hemisphere.” Players checked in from Canada, Denmark, England, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, USA and, of course, Australia.
The lure of big money drew in a huge field of players for the 2006 Aussie Millions tournament that set another world’s record. A total of 418 players from around the globe showed up to try and collect their share of a whopping AUD $4,18,000 prize pool.
The 2006 tournament finally hit the mainstream and attracted top poker players including WSOP Champion Joe Hachem, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Kathy Leibert, Scott Fischman, Chip Jett, David Williams, Antonio Esfandiari, Mike Sexton, Tony G, Jesse Jones, Clonnie Gowan and a seemingly endless list of others.
Plans are being made for the 2008 tournament to be held once again in July. Be there!
Till next time :)
xox
Lisa Sterling
February 11th, 2007
The EPT (European Poker Tour) is Europe’s richest poker tour - with tournaments televised for broadcast throughout the world. The EPT 2007 is one of the top multi-country televised poker series in the world.
European Poker Tour events take place some of the most beautiful casinos in some of Europe’s most historic cities. The next events are in Dortmund and Warsaw culminating with the Monte Carlo Grand Final at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort in Monaco, starting on March 28, this year.
How can you Win FREE seats to Monte Carlo EPT 2007?
CDPoker.com
Any new depositing player will get a 150% up to $500 bonus and $15 free, instantly. The player will further be presented with an entrance token to the Freeroll. Winner of Freeroll receives the prize ticket to the EPT.
PokerTime.com
Claim your $16,800 seat to this thrilling event for as little as $8.40 + $1! This magnificent package includes travel, accommodation and $500 spending money.
SunPoker.com
Starting this December SunPoker.com will be hosting qualifiers to the 2007 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. Each package is valued at €12,000 (€10K Buy-in and €2K funded to your player account for travel and hotel).
TitanPoker.com
They’ll award a $18,000 EPT Package (including Main Event buy-in, flights and accommodations). The Monte Carlo Grand Final will take place between March 28 to April 1 at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort in Monte Carlo, Monaco. One EPT Monte Carlo Package will be awarded for every 60 players participating in the Super Satellite. The remaining prizepool, if any, will be distributed according to Titan Poker’s standard tournament payout structure.
Good Luck!
February 10th, 2007
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February 9th, 2007
All Jackpots Casino, one of the world’s biggest jackpot casinos, and the Jackpot Factory Group announced today the official start of its Winter Carnival, where online casino players stand to reap in cash bonuses in the tune of up to $100,000.
Every half-an-hour during the month of February, All Jackpots Casino, along with other Jackpot Factory casinos, will choose one lucky player, who is playing, and reward him or her with $50. Should the player be a VIP, then the casino will double up and splash a cool $100 bonus their way.
“Carnivals are tons of fun, because of the excitement and prospects of winning big. We’re recreating this atmosphere amongst our players with our very own winter wonderland. Most of all, since it is random, new players have the same opportunity to win as our seasoned VIPs,” said David Brickman, Spokesperson for the Jackpot Factory, in a joint statement with All Jackpots Casino.
When a player wins, the casino automatically credits the player’s account with the bonus and then sends an email to the player confirming their bonus win. Prospective players that are interested in Winter Carnival and playing on over 290 online casino games are welcomed to first take up All Jackpots Casino’s lucrative 400% sign up offer, one of the largest in the online gaming industry.
“Internationally known, All Jackpots proves once again that it is a leading online slots casino. It might be cold outside in many places in North America and Europe, but inside the slot-filled casino, the action couldn’t be any hotter,” commented Brickman.
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February 7th, 2007
Pan-European survey identifies the demographic and behavioural characteristics of the online poker playing community in Europe.
Nearly 2,000 players in France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and Italy completed the survey online which is the first poker-specific survey on European poker players to be published.
According to the survey, poker in Europe remains a predominantly male game, particularly in southern European countries. On average, over 70 percent of all online and offline European poker players surveyed were male and in Spain and Italy, over 80 percent of poker players were male.
Over 30 percent of all the European poker players surveyed were between the ages of 25 to 34 and this reflects a general trend in most European countries. European online poker players play on average four times per month and close to 40 percent of Europeans surveyed play poker on a weekly basis with evenings and weekends being the most popular times to play. Approximately 28 percent stated that they play poker online to make money.
When it came to judging their own skill, most players were fairly modest, with just 8 percent of respondents from each country considered their poker skills to be above average.
With US sidelined of the online poker main scenario, Poker in Europe will become the meca of the future online poker industry. It is a great idea to keep an eye on european poker players.
Click here to visit Europa Casino, the strongest online casino in Europe.
February 6th, 2007
The richest poker tournament in Asia just got richer – organisers of the Asian Poker Classic (APC) have guaranteed a minimum add in of $250,000 to the prize pool, which means more than $1million could be available at the first professional poker tournament ever staged in India. The Asian Poker Classic, sponsored by MaharajahClub.com, is set to be one of the biggest events on the Eastern poker calendar.
Minaxshi Shah, Director of Events at Asian Poker Classic, said: “We expect there will be between 150 and 200 players, and with a $250,000 add-in the equity in this tournament is absolutely astounding!”
A host of top pros and celebrities will turn out for the prestigious event, which is being held at the five-star Intercontinental, Grand Resort in Goa. The stunning venue will provide an outstanding backdrop to rival any setting for a major poker event in the coming 12 months.
Tournament Director Thomas Kremser said: “The Asian Poker Classic is not just one of the biggest events scheduled for India in 2007 – it’s one of the biggest poker events anywhere in the world. With Goa as a fantastic location, it will be the most exciting new poker tournament of the year.”
Bluff Europe magazine is offering complimentary rooms at the Intercontinental for the five-day duration of the tournament to 12 players who sign up now. To qualify for the offer, simply be one of the first 12 to contact APC, quoting the reference BLUFF EUROPE TAKES ME TO GOA!
Bluff Europe editor Michael Caselli said: “A $250,000 add-in and the chance to visit one of the world’s most beautiful resorts makes this an easy decision – especially since we are paying for four nights’ accommodation at a five-star resort.”
February 5th, 2007
If you have patience at the low-limit Omaha poker games, you will get a lot of opportunities . Many of these Omaha poker games are filled with players who are playing far too loose because everyone thinks that their two-pair is a great hand. The best strategy is to play hands that do well in multi-way pots and bet hard when you have the nuts. Please note: this article is intended for beginners playing low-limit Omaha games where the play tends to be loose and passive. It is not intended for more serious Omaha games.
There is another version of Omaha called Omaha hi-lo poker. In this game the high hand and low hand split the pot. This article will not discuss the Omaha hi-lo poker version; I will only talk about Omaha hi poker strategy.
One good place to play Online low-limit Omaha Poker is Empire Poker.
Starting hands
In longhanded Omaha hands there really isn’t any such thing as a “dominant hand” preflop. You could get two Aces and two Kings and still easily get beat. However, that isn’t to say that you should call to the flop with just anything. You should still play good hands, although now there are many types of good Omaha starting hands, hands that become dominant after the flop hits. So, although some hands are better than others, the implied odds will have a huge effect on what hands you are playing in hyper-loose environment of low-limit Omaha.
The best starting hands in low-limit Omaha are hands where you hit two pair and your draw, for example K Q J 10. (A great flop would be Q J 3.) Those hands are a bit rare, so another good hand in a loose game would just be a hand with a lot of drawing possibilities. If you are expecting a multi-way pot, then it is important to be drawing to the nuts. In other words, you want to draw to an Ace-high flush, not a 9-high flush. Also, you don’t want to draw toward straights if you have low cards and are likely to end up at the low end of the straight.
You may wish to simply call preflop with drawing hands so as to not scare away the loose-passive players. This way you also risk less if you don’t hit your draw. However, if you hold a hand which has strength in high cards, such as A A K J, then you should raise. You should also raise with several drawing possibilities to build up the pot, if you feel that people are staying in too much for big pots.
Hands with only a high pair can sometimes be played. Play AAxx, KKxx definitely; with AAxx you should raise if you think you can knock people out and get the hand heads-up or 3-way. You may experiment with QQxxbut that is very borderline. A set would be nice, but sets aren’t so great in Omaha since someone can easily draw a flush or straight on you. With high pairs you really want to hit a high full house, and rob someone who thinks their lower full house is the high-hand. The main reason high pairs are much less valuable than in Texas Hold’em is because having an Overpair on the flop is worthless in Omaha. Most likely someone else has a two-pair.
Flop play
In general, you want to fold any hand unless you have top 2 pair or a draw to the nuts or near-nuts (for example a King-high flush). These requirements can be relaxed a bit if the game is shorthanded: you can draw to slightly lower straights and flushes. However, you still don’t want to be calling with one pair.
If there is a pair on board and you don’t have trips, then do not draw. Most likely someone has the trips and you’re unlikely to semibluff people out of the pot. If you call and hit your draw, you may be beat by a full house!
Semi-bluffs are only useful if you can think you can win outright. However, in many loose low-limit Omaha Poker games you will get called to showdown by multiple players. In this case, you don’t want to semi-bluff that much. Maybe throw in one or two for deception, but try to avoid it otherwise.
Two pair and sets are troublesome if there is a draw on board. With several people in hand, there may be so many outs against you that you will probably lose the hand! Try to go for a check-raise and punish people for drawing. However, be prepared to fold at the turn if a draw (or two!) hits and you think you are beat. If you hit your full house, you can try slowplaying (if you have the nut full house) and hope someone hits their straight or flush. However, don’t overdo the slowplay, you should only do it if you really can’t be hurt by the river card, and be more inclined to slowplay if the opponents fall for it often and if you have position. If you find your opponents to be call-stations then go ahead and bet on the turn anyway. If your opponents are new at Omahapoker and they think their Ace-flush is the nut hand when the board is paired, you don’t want to slowplay. Often times these players will cap out against you on the turn and river despite the full house possibility showing!
However, please note that full house is not even guaranteed to be high-hand. It is quite common to see one full house beat by another at an Omaha game. Generally, you have a low full house if your trip is lower than the board pair, and you are probably safe to win if your trip is higher than the board pair. The best way to tell if your full house is the best hand is by paying attention to your opponents betting sequence. With a low full house, you may consider trying to encourage a bluff by checking and calling instead of betting out, on a fraction of your hands.
Turn play
If you hit your flush or straight by the turn you definitely should bet hard, and even check-raise if you are certain someone will bet (But bet outright if you have any doubt). There could easily be a set or two pair out against you and they could make their full house on the river. Make sure they don’t get a free card here.
River play
Often times the board will have no straight or flush showing and you think your two pair or set is the high hand. Then a scare card will hit on the river. If this happens, you may want to check down the river. After all, if you get check-raised, you are doubling the amount of money you have put into the hand. It depends on how many opponents are still in the hand and how they played it, but in a multi-way pot, checking is usually the right move. However, if your opponent rarely check-raises, or if he has played the hand like he had two pair, then you may consider betting.
If you are on the other side of the coin, and you hit your hand on the river, you may want to bet out instead of check-raising, because your opponent may check it down. I usually mix-up whether I bet or check-raise in that situation, depending on what I think my opponent has, but also to add deception and uncertainty. It is important to make your opponents fear the check-raise so that they are afraid to bet on the river, letting you see some showdowns more cheaply.
