Poker Blog

Poker loses battle in Switzerland

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:37:39 +0000

Poker is a game of chance, that at least is the opinion of the Supreme Court in Switzerland. The higher court in Switzerland has prohibited high-stakes poker tournaments outside the casinos. The Swiss Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Texas Hold ‘em is a game of chance and not a game of skill, had the court ruled it skill, private competitions would simply remain legal. But the court said that tactics and psychology play a smaller role than luck to determine the winner.

The decision will anger the players of poker, after they have enjoyed tournaments in bars and hotels for many years. Poker tournaments also have numerous fans on TV and the Internet in Switzerland. The ruling of the Supreme Court followed after an appeal was submitted by Swiss casinos to undo the decision of a lower court ruling, which ruled that Texas Hold’em is a game of skill and therefore can be played anywhere. The Supreme Court said that smaller poker games between friends can continue, even when money is involved.

The Texas Hold ‘em debate has also divided opinions in other countries. An appeals court in Pennsylvania ruled that poker was illegal, because the game meets the definition of gambling because the outcome is more dependent on luck than skill. Many amateurs and professional poker players do not agree. In Switzerland, games of chance such as roulette and slot machines is limited to licensed casinos, a substantial 50 percent gambling tax must be paid on profits. The ruling of the Swiss judge can not be appealed.

Poker online will rulll…

Senator Jon Kyl undermines PPA petition

admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 09:38:56 +0000

As of June 1 poker players in the U.S. Will have to put effort into playing their favourite online game, because this day is the day the UIGEA will come into force. The UIGEA is a law that prohibits payment processors and banks from processing payments linked to online gambling.

This means that online poker players are no longer permitted to add funds in their account through the Internet. The Poker Player Alliance is an organization that defends the rights of poker players and is one of the biggest opponents of the anti-gambling law. The PPA is running a petition against the introduction of the UIGEA for poker online. The petition calls for the clarification of the legislation to more clearly explain what illegal gambling is, and exclude skill games like poker from the law. To reach this, they relied on an enemy of online gambling, Senator Jon Kyl. The chairman of the PPA, Alfonso D’Amato recently had an appointment with Jon Kyl to convince him that the poker community is large enough to reject the legislation. But Kyl will have nothing to do with it and fights for a complete ban of online gambling. Pappas said: “It seems unlikely that Sen.

Kyl is willing to accept an exception, he wants to see the legislation introduced.” When Pappas realized that the UIGEA will not again be postponed, he went on to exempt poker from the law. Without the support of Kyl, the PPA prepare themselves for the likelihood that the law will be fully implemented on June 1st.

Gus Hansen loses over half a million

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:32:07 +0000

The recent winning steak of Gus Hansen turns out to be short-lived, because he lost over 556.000 dollar in a six-hour Cap Pot-Limit Omaha session at Full Tilt. The session began with Hansen facing off against Di ‘Urindanger “Dang in a $500/ $1,000 Cap Pot-Limit Omaha for 176 hands. At the end of the match, Dang had earned 57.000 dollar. Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies was the next in line, the two waged an all out battle for nearly three hours. The online poker session was a complete disaster for the Full Tilt poker pro, with Hansen losing 375.282 dollar to Sahamies over 686 hands. Sahamies logged off with a total of 453.459 dollar and opened the door for the next to play against the popular high-stakes player. Ashton ‘theASHMAN103 “Griffin played just 40 minutes, but managed to win 150.000 dollar in that short time, playing 120 hands. Hansen would find his last opponent in Tom ‘Durrrr’ Dwan and to great displease of the current poker profit leader, the Dane managed to make a small profit on the match, ending with a 125.000 dollar profit. Hansen logged out with a loss of 556.270 dollar, more than half his profits this year.

New poker reality series

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:46:25 +0000

The Canadian production company, HeadsUp entertainment has enjoyed with shows like High Stakes Poker, Poker After Dark and 2 Months, 2 Million international success. The company announced today the launch of a new poker reality show. The only thing made known is that they are looking for 12 to 16 people who want to participate in a poker show that will be “one of the most watched poker programs in the U.S. and international TV markets.” Kelly Kellner, CEO of HeadsUp Entertainment said: “There is no question that television audiences in at least 20 countries throughout the world have shown an overwhelming interest in poker television. Our market study has concluded that we can sell the series in at least 10-12 English speaking countries. We are now negotiating with potential sponsors for the series and we believe we can complete production of the series for broadcast in this falls’ television schedule.” TV channels in the U.S. such as NBC, Fox and ESPN have all produced poker related shows, HeadUp Entertainment wants a share of the game. Some suggest that online poker star Daniel Negreanu may be a potential sponsor of the poker television program.

Isildur1 creating great interest fir Big Game IV

admin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:40:27 +0000

There is great interest in The Big Game IV of Party Poker, because the possibility exists that Isildur1 will play live at the poker tournament. Recent Pro to confirm a spot in the cash game on 11-13 April at Les Ambassadeurs Club in London, is DragTheBar.com instructor and Team PokerStars Pro Online Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt, says that the unknown Swede has certainly raised his curiosity. Dusty said: “To play live against Isildur1 is quite exciting to say the least.” According to PartyPoker, Isildur1, who is responsible for violent action in high-stakes poker games online in the past six months, will be participating in the live poker online cash game where he may reveal his identity for the first time ever. Barry Hearn of Matchroom Sport, the organizer said, “Big Game IV will be the most hotly anticipated poker online show of all time,” said Barry Hearn of organizers Matchroom Sport. With Isildur1 participating, interest in the made-for-television poker event might be unprecedented.” Schmidt himself has earned over $3 million in more than 8 million hands in the past five years playing online poker. He claims never to have had a losing month, and reached the PokerStars Supernova Elite status in 2007 in just eight months, only playing poker online cash games. Smith said: “My intention is to grind out the whole 48 hours, I’ll just have one hand to focus on, so it’ll be nice to be able to think things through more. I’m also excited to play deeper stacks in a more creative way than I normally would when playing 15 tables at a time.”

PartyGaming will launch online poker in France

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:24:12 +0000

PartyGaming has announced that they have signed a multi-year agreement, this exclusive deal allows PartyGaming’s to supply online poker services to the French online poker market through Pari mutuel urbain (PMU). Founded in 1891, PMU is France’s horseracing company and is the largest organization in Europe. PMU recently announced its twelfth consecutive year of financial growth, with a turnover of 9.3 billion euros, of which 660 million euros was received from the PMU.fr betting site and a gross profit of € 2.2 billion in 2009. PMU has more than 6.5 million customers in France with 10,000 stores. Under the terms of the agreement the two companies will cooperate to launch a PMU poker online service based on the PartyGaming poker software and will be integrated into PMU’s own player account systems. This service will be available when both PartyGaming and the PMU aquired French betting licenses. The PMU poker service will also provide access to the French players to PartyGaming’s poker network. Jim Ryan, director of PartyGaming said: “The cooperation with PMU is in line with our strategy of ensuring a small number of quality partners in regulated markets. PMU is widely recognized as one of Europe’s leading betting companies and we look forward to them with a world class poker service. “

Isildur1 loses 1.8 million dollar in one day

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:52:58 +0000

After a 2 million dollar run in the last few weeks, Isildur1 lost 9261 online poker hands yesterday, and more than 1.8 million dollars. The unknown Swede started with a heads-up $500/ $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha against CardRunners pro Cole South. He went from more than $300.000 loss after 133 hands, to $557,896 in winnings after 952 hands. Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, who almost plays daily Hold’em heads-up online poker against Isildur1, won $101.000 from the Swede after just playing 300 hands of $200/ $400 No-Limit Hold’em, but was unable to hold the poker winnings. Tom “durrrr” Dwan, would be next, but after 888 hands of $300/ $600 Pot Limit omaha Dwan managed to win a massive $1,051,995, which almost entirely negates Isildur1′s profit. Dwan’s profit moved him into first place for poker online profits in 2010 with more than 3.3 million dollar profit so far. Next was Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond on the $200/ $400 No Limit Hold’em heads-up session on which he won slightly more than 57,000 dolllar after 1482 hands. The two decided to move the game to $300/ $600 Pot Limit Omaha where they played 2182 hands, Isildur1 lost more than 254,000 dollar. Galfond crushed Isildur1 for over 1.6 million dollar accros 2064 hands. In total, the two played 8 pots with a value of more than 300,000 dollar, the biggest pot came in at 415.999 dollar. By the end of the day, Isildur1 had lost 1.9 million dollars soley to Galfond, making a 1.8 million dollar loss on that day.

Goldbet joins the Microgaming Poker Network

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:18:49 +0000

Microgaming, the driving force behind the Microgaming Poker Network (MPN), and the world’s largest provider of online casino software, announces the launch of GoldBet on the Microgaming Poker Network. Founded in 2000, GoldBet is one of the major online bookmakers in Europe in terms of active players and the selection and betting events offered. Cooperation with Microgaming allows GoldBet to extend its offer, providing sportsbook players with access to the leading Microgaming online poker product that is fully integrated into the existing platform. Luigi Amadio, casino and poker online manager at GoldBet said: “We are delighted to be entering into this new partnership with Microgaming and we have found that its Poker product offering more than lives up to its reputation as best in market. With simplicity, usability and security being key parts of our mission statement, Microgaming software delivers in every respect.” Roger Raatgever, CEO of Microgaming commented: “We are proud to welcome yet another established and respected sportsbook operator to the Microgaming Poker Network. We are working closely with GoldBet to ensure that our product is completely tailored in order to ensure smooth integration with their existing platform. We are looking forward to playing our part in making GoldBet the complete one stop shop in gaming entertainment.”

PartyPoker Italy signs Francesco Totti

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:41:47 +0000

Partypoker in Italy has announced the signing of the largest contract in its history, football legend Francesco Totti has signed a contract to become an ambassador of the trusted online poker site and he will play exclusive at the virtual poker tables of the poker online operator. Totti, known as “Er Pupone”, “and Italy’s most famous” Number 10 “is arguably the biggest sports star who ever signed a contract with an online casino gambling company. Partypoker Italy is owned by PartyGaming, the world’s largest publicly traded online gaming company. Totti said: “I have faced many challenges in my career and I always apply myself with skill, intelligence, loyalty and passion. You need all these abilities for poker and it is also a game that excites me and is a lot of fun. Thanks to PartyPoker.it, I am able to combine my passion for sport and the challenge of poker. The qualities you need to become a good poker player are very close to those of a sport.” A PartyPoker.it spokesperson said: “We expect Totti to become the most capped player and number one goalscorer in our history. He is one of the greatest football players of his generation, the question is now will he be one of the greatest poker players of his generation too? What Totti strives for he normally succeeds in achieving! He is a huge signing.”

Clonie Gowens suit against Full Tilt denied

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:22:13 +0000

The lawsuit of former Full Tilt Poker Pro Clonie Gowen, currently playing for online poker site PokerStars, against Full Tilt Poker is refused for the third and final time. The popular poker player chasing a $ 40 million U.S. dollars lawsuit against at Full Tilt, since the beginning of 2009. She has repeatedly claimed that she had an oral agreement to receive a 1% share in the profits of the online poker site, in exchange for the promotion of the Internet poker site as a member of the Full Tilt Poker Pros. Among Gowen’s claims against Full Tilt Poker was that they had breached the contract by not honoring the oral agreement. The accusations between the subsidiary of the company and Gowen, go back and forth since both sides have sued eachother since early last year. An American judge has rejected the case for third and final time because Gowen ded not seem to be able to provide evidence for her accusations. Therefore she has no right to claim compensation from the second largest poker online site, because she is never held responsible for the loss of the popular online poker site before the site became profitable.