15 Feb 06
WSOP Payday Breaks $10M
"February 15 - Poker's monumental surge in popularity, spurred on by the growth of online poker, shows no signs of abating. This year's World Series Of Poker is projecting a first prize of $10,000,000 - far and away the biggest payday in gaming or sports of any kind.
Last year's WSOP winner, Joe Hachem from Australia, pocketed $7.5 million but the tournament directors are confident that the 2006 edition of the World Series Of Poker will attract an even larger field, hence the increase in the first prize."
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14 Feb 06
Top 10 Best and Worst Hands
"Here's a quick guide to the ten best Texas Hold'em poker hands. If you start with any of these ten hands during Texas Hold'em, you are in excellent shape. ... Sure, you know that a pair of aces are the best hand in Texas Hold'em, but do you know the worst starting hands? Knowing that these hands are almost-always-fold'em hands in hold'em is just as important to improving your poker game and not playing like a donkey."
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14 Feb 06
Hellmuth To Defend
One of the most popular poker events in 2005 was the National Heads Up Poker Championship. The tournament, which was held at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas and broadcast on NBC in May, brought sixty four of the greatest names in the game together to determine the best heads up player in the world. Many will remember the epic showdown in the final tournament, which was won 2-1 by former World Champion Phil Hellmuth in a stirring battle over another former World Champion in Chris "Jesus" Ferguson.
Hellmuth will return to defend that hard fought championship when the second annual National Heads Up Poker Championship kicks off competition from March 4-6 at the brand new tournament poker facilities at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
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14 Feb 06
Poker Celebs do the Philippines
"The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) will host some the the world's top poker players for its inaugural World Celebrity Poker tournament, scheduled for February 22. Aside from the main tournament, a cash game, tagged 'The Challenge of Champions,' will also be held.
In honor of the event, poker legend Doyle Brunson as well as his poker-playing progeny, Todd, and several other illustrious players will meet on the felt at Casino Filipino in the city of Cebu. In addition to the poker stars playing in the event, Jack Binion, the legendary former host of the World Series of Poker, will be playing poker host once again for the event."
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13 Feb 06
Naked Truth About Poker
(PRWEB) February 11, 2006 -- ‘Poker 2006: The State of Play’ – a comprehensive survey published today by paddypowerpoker.com delves deep into the hearts and minds of British and Irish poker players and finds that:
• 55% of all poker players have played the game naked or in their underwear.
• 63% would rather play poker than have sex.
• 13% have injured themselves playing poker.
• 33% would stake their partner in a $1 million game.
• 37% have told little white lies in order to play poker.
• 71% have wanted to destroy their computers after a ‘bad beat’.
• 81% believe poker is a game of skill.
• 38% play poker every day.
• 37% think Gerry Adams would make the best poker player amongst British and Irish politicians.
The survey of over 500 poker players across Ireland and Britain also found that most poker players in Ireland will vote for Fianna Fail in the next general election while most players in the UK intend to vote Conservative.
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13 Feb 06
Party to pony up $200M?
Another chapter is about to close in the PartyGaming/Empire Online soap opera. Late last week, rumors began circulating that the online poker operators were close to an out-of-court settlement of their impending lawsuit, pushing the value of Empire's stock up five percent. In response to these rumors, Empire Online released a statement saying that it was indeed close to settling its legal despute with online poker giant PartyGaming. Although Empire Online refrained for offering further details regarding the settlement, stating instead that "a further announcement will be made in due course," various media sources have pinned the settlement at approximately $200 million in Empire's favor.
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13 Feb 06
More women playing poker
PHOENIX -- There will be gambling this night, you can bet on that. ... More than 40 women are gathered at a restaurant in Phoenix to participate in the Hot Damn Lucky Ladies' Poker Club. They're here to eat, drink and socialize, but most of all, to play cards. Many have never played poker before.
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13 Feb 06
LIPS Conference
"The Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS) has to be credited for bringing more women to the poker tables. Through their innovative series of 'ladies' only' tournaments (usually held in conjunction with the World Series of Poker Circuit events), last year's Ladies' Tournament at the WSOP was by far the greatest success it has ever been, bringing in over 600 women to compete for the championship with many of them coming from LIPS events. Now the LIPS Tour wants to help not just the ladies but the men as well with their game with their first annual LIPS Poker Conference."
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10 Feb 06
$500K Online Poker Tourney
Saturday February 11 will see Eurobet’s largest ever tournament with a guaranteed prize pool of at least $500,000. The tournament, called 'Grand Tournament VI', will begin at 15.00 ET on Saturday.
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10 Feb 06
Andy Beal Is Finished
Lisa Wheeler - cardplayer.com: According to the Public Relations Department of Beal Banks, Andy Beal will no longer be playing poker. In a phone call to the Texas billionaire’s office this afternoon, Beal’s PR representative stated for the record: “Andy Beal will not be participating in the 2006 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship (NHUPC) and he’s done with poker for good.”
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09 Feb 06
'Freeze Out': Poker Comes To Indie Films
"Poker has rarely been a part of the cinematic experience. Some may look at 'The Cincinnati Kid' as one of the best poker movies ever but, since the seminal 1998 film 'Rounders' was released, poker has rarely stepped outside of the casinos or television sets. Producer and director of independent films M. J. Loheed is looking to change that with the excellently done 'Freeze Out'.
The film has already captured some notable praise from the independent film community. It won the award for 'Best Feature Film' during the 2005 Westwood International Film Festival in Los Angeles and will also be featured on the website Cinequest Online (cinequestonline.org) during the Cinequest Viewers' Voice Online Festival."
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09 Feb 06
Legends of Poker: Annie Duke
"Annie Duke is a media favorite these days. She has appeared on poker tournament broadcasts countless times, and serves as a spokesperson and advisor to Ultimatebet.com where she can be found playing poker on occasion. Her photogenic face has been splashed across the globe on ESPN playing poker as well as while a featured guest on TV shows such as Good Morning America and The David Letterman Show. Is she a star, or a poker player?"
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08 Feb 06
WPT's film release worries Aces
"A handful of poker pros continue to opt out of playing in World Poker Tour events in a dispute involving the filming release all players must sign before participating in the made-for-TV tournaments that air on the Travel Channel (Cox cable channel 66).
Professional gambler Andy Bloch believes the release is too broad and gives World Poker too much leeway regarding how the organization can use each player's name and likeness for promotional purposes."
Full Article
08 Feb 06
Back-to-back titles are tough to come by
by Daniel Negreanu - cardplayer.com:
Exactly one year had passed since the most memorable moment in my poker career. Going into the last event of the year, I’d just been passed by David Pham for Card Player Player of the Year honors, and had precisely one tournament to regain the lead. If I made the final nine out of 376 players, I’d regain the lead.
Well, not only did I make the final table, but I did so with the biggest chip lead in World Poker Tour open-event history. I won that tournament, the Player of the Year award, and $1.8 million, to boot.
What a difference a year makes! 2005 had been a struggle for me. I still ended the year on the plus side in tournament poker, but nowhere near the $4.5 million I’d won in 2004.
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07 Feb 06
Snoop Dogg Deals
"Snoop Dogg can now add honorary host to his already impressive resume. The rapper is set to emcee The Rapper's Challenge Texas Hold 'Em Tournament onboard a Casino Ship at the Port of Miami on May 5."
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07 Feb 06
Reporter's View On The 'Sport' Of Poker
February 5, 2006 -- PokerMag.com
It's Jan. 29, and they're playing Texas Hold-Em poker at the Chinook Winds Casino Resort. Their seats at the table bought during Pacific Communities Hospital Foundation's 2005 Festival of Trees fundraiser, the 20 players are part of what some are calling the fastest growing sport in the country. A sport? Really? Popular culture would seem to say, "Yes." Of course, popular culture also says Brittany Spears matters, so maybe that's not the best guide.
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07 Feb 06
Legalization Initiative Gets Ready to Fold
"In November 2005, reports surfaced that North Dakota state representative Jim Kasper had renewed the fight for online poker. ... Kasper has stated that his efforts to legally sanction online poker are nearing their end. In a case of the straw that broke the camel's back, Kasper is becoming exasperated by the seeming futility of his efforts. For the tenacious legislators, not even a 44-3 nay-saying vote for Kasper's 2005 bill proposal dashed his hopes. In round two, however, Kasper has found the response of the online poker community underwhelming, and the feeling is quickly rubbing off on him."
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06 Feb 06
'Outside The Box' Poker Books
"D&B Publications (dandbpublishing.com) out of England seem to be pushing their way onto the poker racks with some excellent offerings to help any player improve their play and perhaps seal up some leaks within their game. With these books that are offered, they are taking a look at a game that many seem to have some problems with, the Pot Limit versions of Texas and Omaha Hold 'Em."
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06 Feb 06
Never Underestimate the Rake
casinocitytimes.com -- by Fred Renzey: Live poker is the only casino game in which you play against the other players rather than against the house. Poker also involves more skill than any other casino game. These two conditions make live poker a 'beatable' game – if you know what you're doing.
That 'if' however, is a huge one. The thing that makes it so big is not necessarily your opponents. The 'rake' can be an even larger factor in many games. Remember, the house doesn't run poker games out of the goodness of its heart. The casino 'rakes' a certain amount of money out of each pot. In my local area, most pots are raked $5 each. So let me give you an idea of just how much that rake can affect your chances to win."
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06 Feb 06
SEC looks closer at DoylesRoom.com
"The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is turning the heat up on poker legend Doyle Brunson. Wallace Nakano, the operator of Brunson's namesake online poker room, has been subpoenaed by the SEC, but has thus far refused to testify. The SEC has subpoenaed Nakano in connection with its investigation of a dubious takeover bid issued by Brunson and other investors in the middle of last year."
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