20 Dec 05
BLUFF names 'The Poker Power 20'
"ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 19, 2005--Poker is a game of power: The power to be courageous, the power to win with nothing in your hand but a fistful of determination and the power to turn rags into royal flushes. Bluff Magazine polled a panel of industry heavyweights and poker pundits to identify the most powerful and influential names at the final table of the poker industry - 'The Poker Power 20'. This definitive list ranks individuals and organizations based on their demonstrated ability and willingness to be an evolutionary force in the industry."
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19 Dec 05
Brunson's offer lingers
Remember that $700m offer several months ago made by a group fronted by Doyle Brunson to buy out WPT Enterprises Inc.? Yeah, the one that increased WPT's stock value by 50% in two days only to have it crash back down once "the group" declined to put anything on the table. Turns out the feds are more than a little curious about the whole thing too. They haven't said "pump and dump" yet but everybody else has.
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19 Dec 05
Need an Agent?
Good at your game but not sure know where to go with it? If you think you're good enough to be listed with the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Erick Lindgren then the guy you want to talk to is Brian Balsbaugh. He's a poker agent and those guys are all his clients. He may have started out running golf tournaments but now he brings the first-tier poker names together with the major online sites and the big corporate sponsors and everybody is makin' money.
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16 Dec 05
$1M or the finger?
Ever heard of SaveMyFinger.com? Supposedly it's a bid by one Carl V. to get 2,000,000 people to visit his site before 18 April 2006 ... or else what? Carl says if he gets the visitors then he'll play heads-up with a buddy of his for $1M. If he doesn't hit the magic number then they play for his right index finger? Of course there's an online site, PokerRoom.com, who has graciously offered to host the game. Chalk this up as Lame-o Promotional Scheme #172.
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16 Dec 05
Cheating the Spotters
I like DVDs as much as the next person but somehow this DVD on poker cheating is hard to take very seriously. 'Cheating at Hold’em (The Essentials)' by the Double George company purports to teach the viewer all about such clandestine tricks as "peeking" and "flashing". As a healthy sceptic once asked, who's zoomin' who?
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15 Dec 05
Tournaments for Beginners
"Online Poker and Online Casino operator Bodog.com has launched beginner online poker tournaments. For years, tournaments have usually been the domain of more experienced players. Winners must outlast around 90% of their opponents in order to win, which means that only the most seasoned and experienced players are willing to take up the challenge..."
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15 Dec 05
Tournaments For Mac Users
"Maconlinepoker.com announced on Thursday that Mac users can participate in online poker tournaments and play Texas Hold'Em at its Web site. Since the games are all played through a web browser, no additional software is needed to participate. Additional information about the available games and tournaments is available at Maconlinepoker.com"
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14 Dec 05
Kids + Poker = Criminals?
So there's this university kid from Pennsylvania who supposedly robbed a bank to pay off his online gambling debts. His debts? $5000 His haul from the bank? $2871. Proof that he was just a good kid driven to crime by his terrible addiction? "Class president, son of a Baptist minister, second cello in the Lehigh University orchestra, chaplain's office assistant." Of course this doesn't answer the question of why he thought holding up a bank was the proper course of action. The old saying should be updated: poker players don't rob banks, criminals do.
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14 Dec 05
2005: LOTS of Poker Books
"The key word for poker in 2005 is more; more players, online and in cardrooms; more TV coverage of tournaments around the world (who would have believed that the affable Norman Chad could become a celebrity?); and more entrants in the World Series of Poker. But the poker boom has been felt in another sphere entirely: publishing. In 2005, more than 70 books were (or will be) published on the game, ranging from the sublime (Dan Harrington’s two volumes on no-limit hold’em tournament strategy) to the ridiculous (Penn Jillette’s specious book on how to be a poker cheat)."
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13 Dec 05
WPT Heats up in Early 2006
"There will be no rest for the professionals even though the holiday season is upon us. The 2005 poker tournament trail will wrap up for the season in a couple days, and a short two weeks later they'll have to have their games in shape to kick off the 2006 season. The World Poker Tour is going to be a major part of that kickoff!"
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13 Dec 05
MacPoker
"If you want to play online poker on your Mac, you can either play at the sites that support the Mac platform natively, or you can use Virtual PC to access sites that cater to the Windows platform. I've done both, and I put together this guide to help make it less confusing for those looking to join the massive world of online poker."
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12 Dec 05
Welcome to the PokerDome
Poker TV is going to rise to new heights as Fox Sports Net moves forward with a plan to erect a big tent, the PokerDome, in Vegas specifically designed to enable the TV crews to go deep into the game. Scheduled events include a "speed poker" tournament where players have 15 seconds to act or fold and a $60M winner-take-all shoot-out featuring six top players who have ponyed up $10M each for a crack at the pot. Add cards with computer chips so the computerized table can track every move and a poker table surrounded by one-way glass and you've got yourself a poker tournament in a high-tech fishbowl.
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12 Dec 05
$80 Million Poker Game
The world's richest poker game, with a $80 million winner-take-all prize, will be held at Crown casino in Australia next year. Aussie WSOP champion Joe Hachem is expected to be among the six players who will each pay $13.3 million to enter the tournament. The four-hour event in July will carry the richest prize in Australian history. The tournament, to be launched in Los Angeles today, has already signed up one of the world's leading players, American Phil Ivey. The other five are to be named in coming months.
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11 Dec 05
Freeroll sends geek to Las Vegas
Ken Kafieh, a 36 year old programmer from Toronto, Canada, has won an $18,500 seat to the World Poker Tour (WPT) Bellagio Five Diamond main event.
"Kafieh won the top spot through an online poker freeroll hosted by online poker guide, Poker Listings and the major online poker room, Pokerroom.com last week, competing against 55 other players."
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10 Dec 05
UK Poker Open Crowns Champion
"Poker has become one of the UK's biggest sports as evidenced by the success of the UK Open Championship. The title and £300,000 went to Croydon resident Ian Frazer, a 46-year-old project manager for Vidette Ltd.
"Frazer eventually outlasted the five other finalists which included World Series bracelet winner Brian Wilson and the youngest-ever world poker champion, Julian Gardener. The action was fast and furious, but the last hand typified the intense atmosphere, as Frazer took down the final pot with a simple pair of sixes."
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10 Dec 05
Students 'All-In' For Poker
"'Will you be bold, or will you fold?' That is the slogan for the All-In Poker Club at Oakland University, where students come to master their skills in one of the most popular card games in the country. Up to 25 students meet every Wednesday night in the Oakland Center for pizza, pop and a no-limit Texas Hold’ em tournament."
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10 Dec 05
What's happening in Poker TV?
As pretty much everyone knows by now there's a lot happening when it comes to poker on the tube. That continues to be true but the consolidation is coming and the big boys are starting to fight over air rights and, ultimately, market share.
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10 Dec 05
Canadians are doing it too.
Ever heard of the "Canadian Open Poker Championship"? Nope, me neither but it's coming to Calgary in March.
"It'll be a heads-up, No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em format with $250,000 going to the winner and $125,000 for the runner-up -- the largest guaranteed payouts ever offered for a Canadian poker tourney."
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