Poker News

Doyle Brunson Draws Criticism for Barack Obama Tweet

It has been widely documented that longtime poker pro Doyle Brunson is quite the Twitter aficionado.  While Brunson, better known to his Tweeps as @TexDolly, typically utilizes his Twitter feed for updates on DoylesRoom, chatting with his celebrity friends, updating the world on his prop and sports betting, and providing the world with a seemingly endless stream of blonde jokes, a recent post about politics landed him in hot water.

On January 20th, Brunson decided to comment about President Barack Obama on his Twitter account with the following: “The Democrats say ‘give Obama time.’ Us Repubicans [sic] agree, 25 to life seems appropriate!”  The typo in that post was not the only thing that Brunson followers took offense to.  The ten-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner received a barrage of Tweets in response to the post.  A number of users re-Tweeted Brunson’s statement, while a large contingent chastised the poker pro for his comment.  Here is just a sampling of some of the less-than-positive responses Brunson received:

@JoTinsley: “@TexDolly what has Obama done that is criminal? Bush did warrantless wiretaps. Why isn't he in prison?”

@pattydukesny: “@TexDolly Really? Be a Republican but don't be an idiot.”

@pokerfire26: “@TexDolly It took years to destroy the economy and ruin healthcare do you honestly believe it can be fixed in one year”

More than one person suggested that Brunson’s distaste for the current administration stemmed from racially motivated feelings towards the President.  Brunson was quick to snap back at his critics, Tweeting the following statement just a few hours later: “Just because I don't like the way things are going with Obama's 1st year has nothing to do with the color of his skin. Stop the racist BS!”  He also blocked a couple of his critics from viewing his feed.

However, when one poster, @dfmaicher, informed Brunson that he would no longer be playing on DoylesRoom as a result of the statement.  “Texas Dolly” was apologetic towards the man, replying, “Sorry about that, I hope you reconsider leaving Doylesroom. But if you don't we still have 2,247,000 players left. Don't leave!!”  Since then, @dfmaicher has continued to probe Brunson for a more in-depth explanation of why he is not an Obama fan, but Brunson failed to respond.

One of the people to comment on the hot button Tweet was none other than Full Tilt Red Pro and 2006 WSOP Player of the Year Jeff Madsen.  Madsen respectfully disagreed with the living poker legend via his own Twitter feed, @JeffMadsenObv.  “I respect u doyle but it seems that ur politics aren't very informed are they. Don't listen to television,” wrote Madsen.  Brunson kept the disagreement relatively cordial when he responded to the young pro with this insight: “@JeffMadsenobv..Yep, when I was 23 years old, I thought everybody should get a handout too. Now, I know better, let em get out and work.”

The tiny Twitter spat between the two pros ended on a happy note when Madsen responded with a joke, a smile, and a correction: “@TexDolly hey hey hey! I'm 24!! ”  Madsen later responded to another Tweet Brunson directed towards a mutual friend, which is yet another indication that the two are more than able to agree to disagree.  That may not be the case for some of Brunson’s followers, but hopefully they can take a lesson from the two card players about how to keep their Twitter feuds civil and pleasant.

As for Brunson, he appears to have laid off the political Tweets for a while, although one of his latest blonde jokes had a Presidential theme to it: “Q..Name the most influential 1st Lady in American history...(hint...she was married to John Kennedy)...Blonde answer..Mrs Kennedy.”

Tunica WSOP Circuit Event: Michael Crump Wins Kickoff Tournament

After events in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, and Atlantic City, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit traveled south to Tunica, Mississippi for its sixth stop of the 2009-2010 season. Michael Crump won the $340 buy-in No Limit Hold’em kickoff event.

A total of 304 players entered the first tournament of the Circuit schedule at Harrah’s Tunica, the closest casino to Memphis, Tennessee. The attendance was markedly lower than in 2009, when 514 players entered the same $340 buy-in event. Accordingly, that meant attendance was down 41%. Nevertheless, Crump made the most of the truncated field, coming out on top for $20,000. In the tournament’s final hand, Jerold Rogers was all-in with 10-5 on a board of 2-9-A-10 for second pair. However, Crump held A-9 for two pair and a queen hit on the river to earn him the win.

Fifth place finisher Mark “Pegasus” Smith owns four WSOP Circuit gold rings and was gunning for a record-setting fifth piece of hardware in Tunica. Smith earned two gold rings in the final two months of 2009, taking down $345 and $340 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournaments in Southern Indiana and Atlantic City. Tied with Smith for four gold rings is 2009 Poker Hall of Fame nominee Men “The Master” Nguyen. All told, Smith owns $450,000 in career WSOP and Circuit Event earnings.

Here’s how the final table shook out in the Old South:

1. Michael Crump - $20,185
2. Jerold Rogers - $12,277
3. Ryan Enis - $8,738
4. Gerard Thorpe - $6,246
5. Mark “Pegasus” Smith - $4,992
6. J. Austin Hijar - $3,746
7. Joseph Pace - $2,500
8. David Couch - $2,027
9. James Whittinghill - $1,719

A total of 19 poker tournaments will play out at Harrah’s Tunica, culminating in the series’ $5,150 buy-in Main Event on February 8th, one day following Super Bowl XLIV. The remaining schedule, which features all No Limit Hold’em events, is as follows. All times are Central:

Friday, January 22nd at 12:00pm
Event #3: No Limit Hold'em
$550 buy-in

Saturday, January 23rd at 12:00pm
Event #4: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Sunday, January 24th at 12:00pm
Event #5: Seniors No Limit Hold'em
$230 buy-in

Monday, January 25th at 12:00pm
Event #6: No Limit Hold'em
$230 buy-in

Tuesday, January 26th at 12:00pm
Event #7: No Limit Hold'em
$230 buy-in

Wednesday, January 27th at 12:00pm
Event #8: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Thursday, January 28th at 12:00pm
Event #9: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Friday, January 29th at 12:00pm
Event #10: No Limit Hold'em
$440 buy-in

Saturday, January 30th at 12:00pm
Event #11: No Limit Hold'em
$550 buy-in

Sunday, January 31st at 12:00pm
Event #12: Ladies No Limit Hold'em
$230 buy-in

Monday, February 1st at 12:00pm
Event #13: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Tuesday, February 2nd at 12:00pm
Event #14: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Wednesday, February 3rd at 12:00pm
Event #15: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Thursday, February 4th at 12:00pm
Event #16: No Limit Hold'em
$440 buy-in

Friday, February 5th at 12:00pm
Event #17: No Limit Hold'em
$550 buy-in

Saturday, February 6th at 12:00pm
Event #18: No Limit Hold'em
$1,080 buy-in

Monday, February 8th at 12:00pm
Event #19: Championship Event
$5,150 buy-in

In last year’s Tunica Circuit Event Championship, Kai Landry defeated David Dao heads-up to earn $183,000. The tournament generated a field of 154 players and a final table that also featured online poker pros Matt “All In At 420” Stout and Mike “goleafsgoeh” Leah. Top tournament pros Kathy Liebert and Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith finished in the money.

T. J. Cloutier’s Championship Bracelets Up For Sale On eBay

Awards in the poker world can range from plaques to large trophies to even the head of an alligator (the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit’s Bayou Poker Classic trophy is the stuffed head of such an animal). One of the most cherished mementos of victory in poker is, of course, the WSOP bracelet that is awarded to each winner of an event in Las Vegas. For one of the most prized trophies in poker to appear for sale is almost unheard of.

This apparently is occurring at this moment and the former owner of the bracelet is none other than longtime poker veteran T.J. Cloutier. For sale on eBay, the popular online auction site, is a WSOP Bracelet won by Cloutier. The information on the site states that the bracelet is the last one that was won by the Texas road gambler in 2005. Information from the WSOP site shows that Cloutier won the last of his six bracelets in 2005 in the $5000 No Limit Hold’em event, where he defeated a final table that included Todd Brunson, John “World” Hennigan and the late John Bonetti to capture the championship.

On sale by the Plano Pawn Shop (which is approximately ten miles from T.J.’s hometown of Richardson, Texas), the auction on eBay has about two days left in the bidding. Asking for a minimum bid of $2999, the 2005 WSOP bracelet has yet to garner any interest from potential buyers. Perhaps anyone interested in the bracelet is wary of its authenticity (the Plano Pawn Shop has stated that the bracelet will come with a certificate of authenticity to prove it is real), but eBay sales are also notorious for not getting any action until the sale is almost over.

According to other details included in the sale information for the WSOP bracelet, the Plano Pawn Shop also has another championship bracelet from Cloutier. This has been confirmed by Poker News Daily as the bracelet from Cloutier’s last major poker championship, the 2007 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV, and the Plano Pawn Shop’s minimum bid for that bracelet is $2,499. Both of the items are not only for sale on eBay but are also being offered in the Plano Pawn Shop and can be viewed by appointment only.

The actual cash value of a WSOP bracelet is surprisingly easy to determine. From information provided by the Plano Pawn Shop about the Cloutier bracelet, Poker News Daily has determined an approximate value for such an item. With its 96 grams (3.38 ounces) of 14 karat gold (which is 58% gold, with 24K being solid gold) and 0.25 carats in diamonds, the cash value of the 2005 bracelet is roughly $2,350. The inherent value in a WSOP bracelet, of which only about 500 have been awarded, is priceless.

As far as what Cloutier may have received for the WSOP bracelet, an examination of the pawnshop industry would be necessary. When a pawnshop buys a piece of merchandise, it usually will pay anywhere from 30% to 50% of the actual value of an item to ensure that they get a significant return on their investment. With the Plano Pawn Shop putting a price tag of $2,999 on Cloutier’s 2005 WSOP bracelet, it can be logically assumed that the poker pro sold the bracelet for somewhere between $1,000 and $1,500.

The sale of the bracelet has the forums burning with questions about the bracelet and Cloutier’s current financial status. On TwoPlusTwo, players are assuming that Cloutier has gone broke and needs the finances to continue playing poker (at this time, Cloutier has no sponsorship deal) or, some posters imply, to take to the craps tables. Many, however, are lamenting that Cloutier would part with one of his six WSOP bracelets. Poster “Dan_Vincent” writes in his post, “That's sad. You know he didn't get anything close to $2K for this.”

Others, perhaps cruelly, are making jokes about the issue. Citing one of the currently popular reality television shows, poster “Tom Bayes” says, “TJ should have gone on 'Pawn Stars.' Then Corey and Chumlee could have drooled on the bracelet, Rick could call up one of his numerous 'buddies' to give an 'expert' appraisal and then lowball the hell out of TJ, and then the 'Old Man' could tell us how 'real' poker was played 'back in the day.'”

For whatever reason, Cloutier felt as though these two bracelets were items that he could live without. With slightly more than 48 hours left in the two auctions, it remains to be seen how many bids Cloutier’s bracelets will get or if they will even be sold through the eBay auctions at all.

No Decision Handed Down in Kentucky Internet Gambling Case

The Kentucky Supreme Court failed to hand down a decision on Thursday in the case involving the seizure and potential forfeiture of 141 internet gambling domain names.

The list of sites that could be affected includes PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Officials from the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) and others involved in the case had anticipated a Thursday release of the Kentucky Supreme Court's decision. However, none was passed down as the day came and went.

A press release distributed by iMEGA on Thursday added that the next time the case could be addressed is late March. iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan told Poker News Daily what his reaction was to no decision being rendered by the Commonwealth's highest court: “Everyone was surprised in Kentucky. The rumor mill thought the decision was going to be rendered. That could have been why their attorneys acted so quickly at the end of December, so if they got an adverse decision, they could keep it alive.”

No dates for releases of court opinions are listed in February. The next date shown for verdicts to be handed down on the Kentucky Supreme Court's calendar is March 18th. Others include April 22nd, May 20th, June 17th, August 26th, September 23rd, October 21st, November 18th, and December 16th. Twenty pages' worth of decisions were handed down on Thursday in the Frankfort court.

Back in October, oral arguments were heard by the six of the seven justices that comprise the Kentucky Supreme Court. In December, two months after the proceedings occurred, attorneys for the Commonwealth filed a motion to add names to its original complaint. Its counsel explained the reasoning behind identifying more defendants two months after oral arguments transpired: “In the course of the litigation and the Commonwealth’s continuing investigation, the Commonwealth has learned the identity of certain entities and individuals involved in internet gambling operations, some of whom are U.S. citizens.”

The motion called for a hearing in front of Judge Thomas Wingate on January 20th. However, because the motion was never acted on by the Kentucky Supreme Court, no such hearing took place. Wingate upheld the initial seizure order as part of a decision rendered in October 2008. The last-second move by Commonwealth attorneys to add names to the record, to some in the industry, indicated that the Kentucky Supreme Court was readying to hand down a verdict. However, those inclinations ultimately proved to be false.

The case centers on whether domain names, which are housed in the depths of cyberspace, constitute “gambling devices” under Kentucky state law. The two-word phrase traditionally refers to physical objects like roulette wheels and slot machines that you'd find in an underground casino. The domains were allegedly seized without due process back in September 2008. Wingate mandated that the affected sites cease taking customers from Kentucky immediately, else risk losing access to their domain name worldwide.

For now, it appears that the future of domain names like FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com will remain up in the air in the Bluegrass State. Also involved in the case is the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry's 1.2-million member strong lobbying force. The PPA filed an amicus brief to the Kentucky Supreme Court charging that poker is a game of skill and therefore not gambling under state law.

Original estimates pinned a decision in the Kentucky Supreme Court between three and six months after oral arguments took place, or sometime between January and April. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on the case.

Liv Boeree Appears in Maxim UK

Maxim UK describes this poker player as a “very sexy guitar-wielding, card-playing, telly-hosting farm girl.” Who is she, you ask? UB.com’s Liv Boeree, of course. Boeree appeared in a recent edition of the scandalous magazine.

The photographer in the Maxim UK shoot, Alan Barry, allegedly asked Boeree to pose on a toilet and the Brit obliged. She told Maxim UK, who inquired about the unique shot, “It seemed a shame to let such a lovely chrome toilet not be included in the shoot. It wasn't me that made the toilet sexy, it was the toilet that did all the work. It really was such a pretty thing.” Boeree appears in two colored dresses on Maxim UK’s website: red and black. In the now-infamous toilet shot, she is hunched over while wearing a skimpy black dress.

Boeree grew up on a farm, leading to a flurry of questions concerning her background. Maxim asked whether she enjoyed rolling around in hay. Boeree responded, “Hay is preferable to straw for sure, it's way less scratchy.” She revealed that her favorite farm animal is a pig, leading to a highly insightful question from Maxim: “Have you ever masturbated one, like Rebecca Loos? If you haven't but had to, would you?” Boeree bluntly responded, “No. And no. What is wrong with you people?”

Boeree also noted that she is a fan of strumming the guitar and her favorite riff is from “Cowboys from Hell” by the band Pantera. Maxim UK inquired as to whether she could play the guitar solo from the Guns N' Roses hit “Sweet Child of Mine.” The UB.com poker icon admitted, “I can't - it's never one I've really tried to learn. Give me a month and I'll play it for ya though.” Her ultimate rock superstar group would include James Hetfield of Metallica, Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom, Adam Duce from Machine Head, and Vinnie Paul from Pantera.

Maxim UK finally got around to asking about poker, Boeree’s profession. She revealed that the most she’s ever won in a day is $42,000 and recapped an interesting run-in with porn star Ron Jeremy: “He mentions how he's just learned to play poker so I ask him a particular hand related question: Which would you prefer... 6-9 or Jack King Off. Say those fast and what do you get? Well Mr. Jeremy didn't get the innuendo in the names and proudly stated that he'd always choose Jack King off over 6-9.”

On the online poker forum TwoPlusTwo, posters were buzzing over the shoot and its corresponding in-depth interview, a link to which was posted three days ago. TwoPlusTwo member “hdbets” critiqued the quality of the photo shoot: “pretty bad photos, they lack a decent production, lighting and wardrobe... even Liv being a very beautiful woman doesnt look that great.” Others were seeking out more skin: “Thats got to be the lamest Maxim spread i've ever seen, she's like fully clothed.”

Boeree has established herself as one of the top poker commentators in the business. She’s reported for outlets like WorldSeriesOfPoker.com, Gutshot TV, and Challenge TV. Her aforementioned $42,000 cash came in May 2008, when Boeree won the $2,000 buy-in Ladbrokes Poker European Ladies Championship, defeating American Lenna Martyak heads-up.

Besides Boeree, other members of Team UB include Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok, and Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, who is the reigning CardPlayer Player of the Year. UB.com and its sister site, Absolute Poker, comprise the CEREUS Network and happily accept players from the United States.

Basic Rush Poker Strategy: A First Look

Full Tilt Poker turned the online poker world on its head this week when it introduced a new poker variety called Rush Poker.  Many of you have probably already tried it out, but for those of you who have not, I'll give you the quick rundown.

In Rush Poker, the game is exactly the same as regular poker (Full Tilt only has No-Limit Hold'em Rush tables going right now) except that when you fold or the hand ends, whichever comes first, you are immediately whisked off to a new table where a new hand is dealt instantly.  Because of this constant table shuffling, you do not select your table to start.  You simply enter a lobby with everyone else at the same game and stakes and the system seats you automatically.  You will play against different opponents every hand, although you will encounter opponents you have seen on previous hands if you play enough.  After all, there is a limited number of players sitting at the tables.

I have tried a few sessions of Rush Poker and while I am certain the dynamic of the game will change over time, I have a come up with a few basic strategy points that should help get you going while the game is in its infancy.  And by all means, feel free to leave comments with your own thoughts, or tweet us @Pokernewsdaily.  These are just my initial observations.

The Grass is Always Greener…

Recreational poker players don't typically play to make money.  Sure, they want to pull a profit, but they primarily play to have fun.  They want action.  To the recreational player, regular poker games can easily get boring, what with all the folding and waiting and waiting and folding.  But in Rush Poker, recreational players are rewarded for folding – they are dealt two new cards immediately.  Because of this, recreational players (some of you may like to call them "fish," but I'll stick with my terminology) are "rushing" to Rush Poker.

What's interesting is that normally, recreational players tend to play looser pre-flop because they want to play hands rather than fold.  Folding is no fun.  But in Rush Poker, players so far tend to be tighter pre-flop than in standard No-Limit Hold'em games.  Why?  Because they don't have to force themselves to play weak hands just to get involved.  They can just get new cards every few seconds.

Therefore, I have been more aggressive than normal when the action folds to me pre-flop.  I will pretty much raise with any two cards on the button or in the cutoff and will look to raise with weaker than normal holdings from the hijack or earlier.  Basically, my raising range is wider than in a regular game if I have the opportunity to open the betting because there is a higher likelihood that the players after me are only going to play with premium hole cards.  And the "Quick Fold" button makes this even easier because players who hit that button are taken to the next table before their hands are officially folded, making it even more appealing for recreational players to fold.  If someone challenges me, then more often than not I will know they have something and I can adjust my play from there.

And Now, the Rest of the Story

Because such a high percentage of Rush players are recreational players, you are likely going to see some awful post-flop play.  Just like pre-flop, post-flop play tends to be pretty tight, so putting pressure on your opponents, even if you don't have much, will often allow you to take down the pot prior to showdown.

That's not to say that you should just be throwing chips around like crazy and trying to bluff everyone out of their seats.  In fact, because players will be more willing to fold post-flop so they can get on with the next hand, you don't have to bet as much as you might in a regular game to force a fold.  When deciding between, say, betting half the pot and betting the pot as a continuation bet, half the pot should typically be just as effective in getting players who whiff on the flop to fold as a larger bet would.

At the same time, however, those same opponents will not want to let go of their cards if they make a solid hand, which is why you still want to take it easy with your continuation bets.  The guy with air is going to already be at another table no matter what, but the guy with top pair, top kicker, is going to make your life miserable if you didn't hit the flop.  Hence, the benefit of betting a smaller amount than you might in a regular game – it puts you at less risk.  Fortunately, these players can also be relieved of their chips fairly easily if you flop a monster, as they will stay married to that same top pair, top kicker.

Learn Shorthand

It may seem like it is useless to try to remember opponents' tendencies and get reads on them because of the speed of Rush Poker and the constant re-shuffling of the tables, but this not true.  In fact, it can be very helpful.  The first thing I notice is who appears to be auto-folding by either hitting the "Fold" advance action check box or clicking the "Quick Fold" button.  They are easy to spot – their hole cards are folded the split-second the action gets to them.  When three or four players auto-fold, they all appear to be folding at virtually the same time.  I tag them with a note (Ctrl-V is my best friend) and if I see them to my left later, I know that raising is going to be successful more often against them.  And heck, if they don't fold to my raise, I know they have a hand worth playing.

I also keep an eye on players who raise from late position or three-bet from the big blind.  Often (not all the time, of course, but often) these are more skilled players who are thinking the same way I am, trying to steal with a wider range late and trying to re-steal from button raisers.  I know it sounds funny, me comparing myself to a skilled player, but humor me on this one.

Just as you should take notes on your opponents, remember that they can take notes on you.  As such, try not to be too noticeable.  Make your bets standard and consistent.  Don't give them anything to note about you.  And don't be a habitual auto-folder, especially on the button or in the blinds, as you don't want to miss stealing opportunities.  Just because you can "Quick Fold" and move on to the next hand doesn't necessarily mean you should.

I fully expect the game to change over time as people figure out how best to play Rush Poker, but for now, what I laid out here should give you a base from which to start.

Ty Reiman Wins UBOC 4 Kickoff Tournament

The kickoff event of the fourth Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) saw recent PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) runner-up Ty “KEEFKING420” Reiman take down the $320 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Sniper contest for $65,000.

Reiman has been on a tear in recent months. His second place showing in the 2010 PCA Main Event 10 days ago was worth a colossal $1.75 million and Reiman outlasted all but Harrison Gimbel in the record-setting field of 1,529 players. In December, the Illinois native tasted victory in both the $150,000 Guaranteed on UB.com and the Full Tilt Poker $30K Super Turbo Knockout for a combined $50,000. Reiman’s breakthrough happened last July, when he won the $1K Monday on Full Tilt for $100,000.

Reiman told UB.com officials following the $320 buy-in kickoff event, “It was a great structured tournament and I really enjoyed playing it. I started off going into the final table in second and, with how deep we were, it allowed us a lot of play. I picked up a few hands and we got down to short-handed pretty quickly. Then, it took quite some time before it was over.” Heads-up, Reiman defeated PEENAR7, who banked $38,000.

On the battle against PEENAR7 for the title of UBOC Event #1 Champion, Reiman recalled, “The heads-up was back at forth, but by the end, luck must have been on my side. I really enjoyed UBOC and can't wait to play the rest of the events. I think they have a great structure and are a great series of tournaments.” Reiman and company will have 18 total UBOC events to compete in along with a MiniUBOC tournament series, which offers buy-ins that are one-tenth as large.

Also at the final table of UBOC Event #1 was Scott “stsitron” Siton, who earned $16,000 for his fifth place showing. Sitron has excelled in the live poker world, turning in a 32nd place showing in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $253,000 in a tournament ultimately won by Team PokerStars Pro member Joe Cada. In 2008, he finished in second in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP for $385,000. Sitron has nearly $700,000 in career WSOP and Circuit Event cashes to his name.

So who else made the final table of the UBOC 4 kickoff event? Here were the results; 108 players finished in the money:

1. KEEFKING420 - $65,488
2. PEENAR7 - $38,626
3. SCHUEY995 - $26,654
4. AUTOBOT7 - $19,209
5. SCOTTYTHEFISH - $15,933
6. DOUBLEDAVE22 - $12,955
7. ANTONFS - $9,977
8. COOKIELULU2 - $7,147
9. DEGORD2 - $5,063

Event #2 of UBOC 4, a $162 buy-in Eight Game Mixed tournament, drew a crowd of 386 players. The event surpassed its $50,000 guarantee, with CYBERCOW defeating Justin Scott heads-up to earn $15,000. A total of 40 players walked away with cash, with notable online poker pros Dan “djk123” Kelly and James “croll103” Carroll reaching the talented final table. Both sit in the top 25 of the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings and are among the game’s elite. Here’s how the final table shook out:

1. CYBERCOW - $15,633
2. JUSTIN SCOTT - $9,814
3. CHETSTEADMAN - $6,369
4. WORTHLESNUTS - $4,632
5. JEFFGRESSARD - $3,474
6. CROLL103 - $2,461
7. TWOLIP69 - $1,882
8. ZESTFULYCLEAN - $1,303

The Main Event of UBOC 4 kicks off on Sunday, January 31st and is a $1,050 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Two-Day contest. At least $1 million will be on the line. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest UBOC 4 coverage.

Andrew Wiggins on How to Play Rush Poker

Recently, the USA-friendly Full Tilt Poker introduced Rush Poker, which allows players to move tables quickly after their action in a hand has ended. Poker News Daily sat down with CardRunners instructor and Full Tilt Poker pro Andrew “muddywater” Wiggins to discuss the brand new addition.

Poker News Daily: Give us your first impressions of Rush Poker. Was it a hit with you?

Andrew Wiggins: I love the idea. I'm an action junkie, so it's perfect for me. The more hands I can play in an hour, the happier I am.

PND: Do you have any tips for gaining an edge in the face-paced game that you can share with our readers?

Andrew Wiggins: It's early and I'm sure the play will change as people get used to the new game play. However, I've done well playing tight early and attacking in position. Players are playing extra tight because it seems worthwhile to wait for a good hand. That's something you can exploit. You also have the added advantage of players at your table not knowing that you are playing very loose in position.

PND: Does taking notes on players become a necessity or does the action go way too quickly?

Andrew Wiggins: I think the action is way too quick to take notes. I've never been a good note-taker though, so take that with a grain of salt.

PND: A lot of players have experienced issues with their Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) not working properly. What’s your take?

Andrew Wiggins: It seems that the action is too quick for the HUDs to keep up. I love that. I've never been one to rely heavily on my HUD and I know that puts me at a disadvantage against those who know how to use it well. By essentially eliminating the possibility of using a HUD, I think the games have more uncertainty and therefore more gambling.

PND: Is ABC poker the most common strategy in Rush Poker games or what's an overarching style that you think players will use?

Andrew Wiggins: ABC poker seems to be the common style at the moment, but the games have only been out for a few days. These games will, without question, evolve. The key is to adjust your game properly. For now, I like playing loosely to exploit the excess usage of ABC poker.

PND: Do you think that Rush Poker will be here to stay or is it a fad?

Andrew Wiggins: I think Rush Poker is an evolution of the game of poker that is here to stay. It's a brilliant move by Full Tilt Poker and I applaud them for being innovative. I hadn't played a hand of No Limit Hold’em cash in over six months because I was just too bored of the game. I can't get enough of rush. If the poker sites can do anything to get people enthusiastic about playing, then they are doing something right. That's what gets fish to the games.

PND: How have you fared so far? What stakes have you test driven?

Andrew Wiggins: I have done quite well so far, but I have a small sample size. I've played 100nl for the vast majority of my play. I've seen some really poor play and I'm hoping that becomes a trend.

PND: Explain who Rush Poker is best suited for.

Andrew Wiggins: Rush Poker is best for the action junkie who gets bored at a regular poker table, but I think anyone would enjoy it. You don't have to pay attention to HUD stats or table dynamics and you get to play a ton of hands. Who wouldn't like that?

Poker in Twitter: Biloxi, Aussie Millions and the MA Senate Race

Now that the poker community has returned from the Bahamas and are no longer racking up expensive roaming charges on their cell phones, they have been posting on the social networking website Twitter with a newfound dedication.  In the past couple of days, players have been dropping Tweets about the Massachusetts Senate race, Biloxi and Australia prelims, their latest big scores and, of course, current events ranging from politics to television.  With so many Tweets and so little time, we know you might be feeling a little twitterpated, so Poker News Daily has taken the time to cull the best Tweets from the past few days for your reading pleasure:

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) may be over and done with, but the poker community never rests.  Players have already arrived at both the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi and the Crown Casino in Melbourne Australia for the Southern Poker Championship and Aussie Millions, respectively.  Some of the players who headed South for the winter and some action at the tables are Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier, Brent “Astrolux85” Roberts, Full Tilt’s Gavin Smith and Allen “The Chainsaw” Kessler.

According to Mercier’s Twitter feed (@JasonMercier), his hot streak has continued into 2010, as he already made not one, but two final tables so far in Biloxi.  Mercier filled in his followers on his progress on the 19th, writing, “Beau Rivage event 24 final table 5th place finish.” He followed up his impressive showing in the $500 Pot Limit Omaha with rebuys event with another final table run in the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event.  When Mercier last posted late Wednesday afternoon, he was poised to book his first win of 2010: “Goin to heads up. I have 1.3 vs guys 900k 68k for first!!!”

Another player who notched their first victory of the year is Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad. The Norwegian online poker sensation headed down under following the PCA and was rewarded with a win in the Aussie Millions Pot Limit Omaha event.  Obrestad posted her tournament progress throughout the event on her Twitter feed (@Annette_15) and let everyone know the event was over with a simple, “yayyyyy i won!!!!” Jon "pokertrip" Friedberg had an idea about one way Obrestad could spend her tournament winnings: “are u playing in the 100k...assuming they r running if this yr? Glgl.” Friedberg is referring to the High Rollers event at the Aussie Millions, which boasts an entry fee of AUD $100,000.

While many players had poker on the brain, a number of pros had their attention fixed on the Massachusetts Senate race.  The election determined which Senator would fill the seat previously occupied by the late Ted Kennedy and many poker players expressed frustration and disappointment over the contest’s results.  The always outspoken Alex Outhred (@alexpokerguy) was quick to post his thoughts on Republican Senator Scott Brown’s victory: “Congrats to Dems for putting in a complete scrub. Well done. Idiots. Congrats to Repub's for beating a complete scrub. Well done. Idiots.”

Annie Duke (@RealAnnieDuke), on the other hand, took the win with a grain of salt and could not resist injecting some humor into her Twitter post reacting to the news: “Upon learning that Mass elected a republican senator I glanced out my window and saw 4 scary looking characters riding in on 4 horses.”

A number of members of the poker community seemed more concerned with another battle taking place, namely for control of “The Tonight Show.” Poker Twitterers seem to be loyal members of Team Conan and several of them have Tweeted about how much they enjoy the redheaded funnyman’s treatment of what is a very awkward, uncomfortable and sensitive situation.  World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Live Updates Hostess Amanda Leatherman made it very clear whose side she is on in a post on her @mandaLeatherman Twitter account Wednesday evening: “Conan is f***king amazing. #teamconan.”

Finally, we will leave you on a positive note with a Tweet that just might be the most random thing we’ve seen the past few days.  Online poker player Shannon Shorr previously tweeted that he was skipping out on the PCA in order to support his alma mater, the University of Alabama, and its football team.  Shorr was one of the thousands of people in attendance at the BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl during which the Alabama Crimson Tide bested the University of Texas Longhorns to win the title.  While that may give you some inkling as to how loyal a fan Shorr may be, his most recent Tweet on his @shannonshorr feed revealed his dedication as a fan is on a whole different level: “Impulse bought an Alabama Snuggie from CVS Pharmacy.”

If you are as addicted to Twitter as we are, be sure to follow us @PokerNewsDaily so you can stay up to date on all the breaking news in the poker world and be a part of some PND Twitter exclusives in the coming weeks.

Eric Baldwin (basebaldy) Donates $200,000 to UW-Whitewater Baseball

UB.com sponsored pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin has made a generous $200,000 donation to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s baseball team. Baldwin helped guide the squad to a national championship in 2005.

The six-figure donation, equal to the amount of money Baldwin won by taking down a $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event during April’s Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza, will be used to add lights to Prucha Field. In turn, the university will be able to host the Midwest Regional portion of the 2010 NCAA Division III baseball playoffs. The last time that the school hosted the post-season competition was in 2005, when Baldwin started in right field.

On his donation, Baldwin told Wisconsin-Whitewater officials, "It feels awesome to be in a position to help UW-Whitewater host the regional again. UW-Whitewater has an amazing baseball program and hopefully the team will be playing in this year's regional in front of its hometown crowd." Baldwin graduated from Whitewater in 2006. The Warhawks, as the school’s mascot is known, finished third in the Division III baseball playoffs in 2004 before winning it all one year later.

Baldwin was a team captain in his final year at the school and explained that how hard work in anything from baseball to poker will ultimately pay off: "I learned that if you put a lot of hard work into something and fight through the hard times, things will work out. Preparation leads to success." Baldwin was the CardPlayer Player of the Year in 2009. The stanza saw him win the aforementioned Venetian tournament for $198,000 and then claim his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event for $521,000. One week later, he finished third in the $10,000 World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em for another $259,000.

In October, Baldwin was up to his winning ways again, this time making the final table of the UB.com Aruba Poker Classic for $126,000. The fourth place finish most likely pushed talks about joining UB.com along and Baldwin signed with the site just before Christmas. Back on the tournament trail, he won a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event during the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $256,000. Online, he was the runner-up in both the PokerStars Sunday Second Chance and Nightly Hundred Grand for a combined take of $57,000. He banked $1.5 million in tournaments in 2009.

Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletic Director Paul Plinske spoke volumes about Baldwin’s contribution to his alma mater: "Eric was instrumental in leading UW-Whitewater to its first national title in baseball. His recent gift will ensure that more great things are on the horizon for the Warhawks. He has definitely left his mark on our campus and we are very grateful to him for leaving us his legacy." The Midwest Regional will take place from May 19th to 23rd at Jim Miller Stadium at Prucha Field. Last year, the team was 30-19 and sported a 12-6 home record. In the Warhawks’ final game of the season, the team was upended by Carthage, who won by a score of 8-3 in Regional play.

The university’s press release revealed that Baldwin would be one of the competitors on the upcoming National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which will purportedly film in March and be shown on NBC in April. In 2009, the Heads-Up event began airing in mid-April and played out over the course of six straight Sundays. A total purse of $1.5 million was up for grabs in the invitation-only event. Automatic bids to the field of 64 players are include the reigning CardPlayer Player of the Year. The automatic invites were created in 2008.

Check out the official Wisconsin-Whitewater press release outlining Baldwin’s donation to the school.

Poker2Nite Previews WPT Season 8 on Fox Sports Net

On Wednesday’s installment of the Fox Sports Net poker news show “Poker2Nite,” Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka and Justin “Boosted J” Smith recapped a hand from the Bellagio Cup V. The tournament will kick off the eighth season of the World Poker Tour (WPT) on Fox Sports Net.

The WPT premieres on Sunday night at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net, with Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and former actor Vince Van Patten once again having the call from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Jaka and Smith finished second and third, respectively, in the event and tangled in a hand where Jaka held A-J and Smith had pocket deuces.

The duo broke down the hand over the course of a five-minute segment, with Jaka noting, “There’s so much information out there. People can figure it out just by studying it, but when you do something new that hasn’t been talked about over and over again, they don’t know what to do.” For example, Jaka led out with the best hand on the flop, electing not to check despite flopping a monster. Team PokerStars Pro member Alexandre Gomes ultimately took down the Bellagio Cup V Main Event to the tune of $1.2 million.

A new segment called “This Week in Side Action” recapped cross-booking between 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Phil Ivey and Team Full Tilt’s Tom “durrrr” Dwan. The “Poker2Nite Dictionary” defined cross-booking as, “When two players bet against each other by offering a percentage of any winnings.” Essentially, one player would have to pay the other half of what they cashed for. In this case, Dwan came up empty-handed after busting on Day 2 of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, while Ivey cashed for $23,500. Consequently, Dwan paid “The Tiger Woods of Poker” $11,750. “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok added that the $23,500 payday did not cover Ivey’s 10-day stay in a suite at Atlantis.

“Poker2Nite” roving reporter and Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones scoped out the brand new 18-table poker room at Aria, which is part of Las Vegas’ CityCenter. Aria Poker Room Manager Adam Altweis, who previously sat down with Poker News Daily in an exclusive interview, told Jones, “Our high-level executives really put forth a big effort. The room was made for the player.” The Aria poker room features direct access to the poker cage and may soon sport Ivey’s Room, a nosebleed-stakes table surrounded by glass similar to Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.

Sebok had already had a chance to check out the brand new digs at Aria and told his “Poker2Nite” co-host Scott Huff, “I was there on opening night and it’s spectacular.” On the prospect of Ivey’s Room coming to fruition, Sebok speculated, “I don’t even think those talks happened.” Only time will tell. Following the Aria segment was Isaac Haxton discussing a hand against Ryan Daut during the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Daut won $1.5 million for taking down the WPT tournament.

Dana Workman dished out the “Weekly Misdeal” sponsored by Bluff Magazine, which offers a satirical look at the week’s poker headlines. This week, Workman poked fun at the proposed New Jersey intrastate internet gambling bill, the 2010 WSOP rules governing Twitter use and player hygiene, and 2009 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Cada playing in the same celebrity basketball game as “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen.

Finally, “Poker2Nite” previewed the finale of the Absolute Poker College Challenge, which will see players vie for $10,000 in college tuition. The final table will be streamed live online. Highlights will be shown next Wednesday at 11:00pm ET, when the next new episode of UB.com’s “Poker2Nite” will air on Fox Sports Net.

Poker2Nite Previews WPT Season 8 on Fox Sports Net

On Wednesday’s installment of the Fox Sports Net poker news show “Poker2Nite,” Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka and Justin “Boosted J” Smith recapped a hand from the Bellagio Cup V. The tournament will kick off the eighth season of the World Poker Tour (WPT) on Fox Sports Net.

The WPT premieres on Sunday night at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net, with Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and former actor Vince Van Patten once again having the call from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Jaka and Smith finished second and third, respectively, in the event and tangled in a hand where Jaka held A-J and Smith had pocket deuces.

The duo broke down the hand over the course of a five-minute segment, with Jaka noting, “There’s so much information out there. People can figure it out just by studying it, but when you do something new that hasn’t been talked about over and over again, they don’t know what to do.” For example, Jaka led out with the best hand on the flop, electing not to check despite flopping a monster. Team PokerStars Pro member Alexandre Gomes ultimately took down the Bellagio Cup V Main Event to the tune of $1.2 million.

A new segment called “This Week in Side Action” recapped cross-booking between 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Phil Ivey and Team Full Tilt’s Tom “durrrr” Dwan. The “Poker2Nite Dictionary” defined cross-booking as, “When two players bet against each other by offering a percentage of any winnings.” Essentially, one player would have to pay the other half of what they cashed for. In this case, Dwan came up empty-handed after busting on Day 2 of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, while Ivey cashed for $23,500. Consequently, Dwan paid “The Tiger Woods of Poker” $11,750. “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok added that the $23,500 payday did not cover Ivey’s 10-day stay in a suite at Atlantis.

“Poker2Nite” roving reporter and Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones scoped out the brand new 18-table poker room at Aria, which is part of Las Vegas’ CityCenter. Aria Poker Room Manager Adam Altweis, who previously sat down with Poker News Daily in an exclusive interview, told Jones, “Our high-level executives really put forth a big effort. The room was made for the player.” The Aria poker room features direct access to the poker cage and may soon sport Ivey’s Room, a nosebleed-stakes table surrounded by glass similar to Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.

Sebok had already had a chance to check out the brand new digs at Aria and told his “Poker2Nite” co-host Scott Huff, “I was there on opening night and it’s spectacular.” On the prospect of Ivey’s Room coming to fruition, Sebok speculated, “I don’t even think those talks happened.” Only time will tell. Following the Aria segment was Isaac Haxton discussing a hand against Ryan Daut during the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Daut won $1.5 million for taking down the WPT tournament.

Dana Workman dished out the “Weekly Misdeal” sponsored by Bluff Magazine, which offers a satirical look at the week’s poker headlines. This week, Workman poked fun at the proposed New Jersey intrastate internet gambling bill, the 2010 WSOP rules governing Twitter use and player hygiene, and 2009 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Cada playing in the same celebrity basketball game as “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen.

Finally, “Poker2Nite” previewed the finale of the Absolute Poker College Challenge, which will see players vie for $10,000 in college tuition. The final table will be streamed live online. Highlights will be shown next Wednesday at 11:00pm ET, when the next new episode of UB.com’s “Poker2Nite” will air on Fox Sports Net.

Poker2Nite Previews WPT Season 8 on Fox Sports Net

On Wednesday’s installment of the Fox Sports Net poker news show “Poker2Nite,” Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka and Justin “Boosted J” Smith recapped a hand from the Bellagio Cup V. The tournament will kick off the eighth season of the World Poker Tour (WPT) on Fox Sports Net.

The WPT premieres on Sunday night at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net, with Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and former actor Vince Van Patten once again having the call from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Jaka and Smith finished second and third, respectively, in the event and tangled in a hand where Jaka held A-J and Smith had pocket deuces.

The duo broke down the hand over the course of a five-minute segment, with Jaka noting, “There’s so much information out there. People can figure it out just by studying it, but when you do something new that hasn’t been talked about over and over again, they don’t know what to do.” For example, Jaka led out with the best hand on the flop, electing not to check despite flopping a monster. Team PokerStars Pro member Alexandre Gomes ultimately took down the Bellagio Cup V Main Event to the tune of $1.2 million.

A new segment called “This Week in Side Action” recapped cross-booking between 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Phil Ivey and Team Full Tilt’s Tom “durrrr” Dwan. The “Poker2Nite Dictionary” defined cross-booking as, “When two players bet against each other by offering a percentage of any winnings.” Essentially, one player would have to pay the other half of what they cashed for. In this case, Dwan came up empty-handed after busting on Day 2 of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, while Ivey cashed for $23,500. Consequently, Dwan paid “The Tiger Woods of Poker” $11,750. “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok added that the $23,500 payday did not cover Ivey’s 10-day stay in a suite at Atlantis.

“Poker2Nite” roving reporter and Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones scoped out the brand new 18-table poker room at Aria, which is part of Las Vegas’ CityCenter. Aria Poker Room Manager Adam Altweis, who previously sat down with Poker News Daily in an exclusive interview, told Jones, “Our high-level executives really put forth a big effort. The room was made for the player.” The Aria poker room features direct access to the poker cage and may soon sport Ivey’s Room, a nosebleed-stakes table surrounded by glass similar to Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.

Sebok had already had a chance to check out the brand new digs at Aria and told his “Poker2Nite” co-host Scott Huff, “I was there on opening night and it’s spectacular.” On the prospect of Ivey’s Room coming to fruition, Sebok speculated, “I don’t even think those talks happened.” Only time will tell. Following the Aria segment was Isaac Haxton discussing a hand against Ryan Daut during the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Daut won $1.5 million for taking down the WPT tournament.

Dana Workman dished out the “Weekly Misdeal” sponsored by Bluff Magazine, which offers a satirical look at the week’s poker headlines. This week, Workman poked fun at the proposed New Jersey intrastate internet gambling bill, the 2010 WSOP rules governing Twitter use and player hygiene, and 2009 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Cada playing in the same celebrity basketball game as “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen.

Finally, “Poker2Nite” previewed the finale of the Absolute Poker College Challenge, which will see players vie for $10,000 in college tuition. The final table will be streamed live online. Highlights will be shown next Wednesday at 11:00pm ET, when the next new episode of UB.com’s “Poker2Nite” will air on Fox Sports Net.

Poker2Nite Previews WPT Season 8 on Fox Sports Net

On Wednesday’s installment of the Fox Sports Net poker news show “Poker2Nite,” Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka and Justin “Boosted J” Smith recapped a hand from the Bellagio Cup V. The tournament will kick off the eighth season of the World Poker Tour (WPT) on Fox Sports Net.

The WPT premieres on Sunday night at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net, with Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and former actor Vince Van Patten once again having the call from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Jaka and Smith finished second and third, respectively, in the event and tangled in a hand where Jaka held A-J and Smith had pocket deuces.

The duo broke down the hand over the course of a five-minute segment, with Jaka noting, “There’s so much information out there. People can figure it out just by studying it, but when you do something new that hasn’t been talked about over and over again, they don’t know what to do.” For example, Jaka led out with the best hand on the flop, electing not to check despite flopping a monster. Team PokerStars Pro member Alexandre Gomes ultimately took down the Bellagio Cup V Main Event to the tune of $1.2 million.

A new segment called “This Week in Side Action” recapped cross-booking between 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Phil Ivey and Team Full Tilt’s Tom “durrrr” Dwan. The “Poker2Nite Dictionary” defined cross-booking as, “When two players bet against each other by offering a percentage of any winnings.” Essentially, one player would have to pay the other half of what they cashed for. In this case, Dwan came up empty-handed after busting on Day 2 of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, while Ivey cashed for $23,500. Consequently, Dwan paid “The Tiger Woods of Poker” $11,750. “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok added that the $23,500 payday did not cover Ivey’s 10-day stay in a suite at Atlantis.

“Poker2Nite” roving reporter and Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones scoped out the brand new 18-table poker room at Aria, which is part of Las Vegas’ CityCenter. Aria Poker Room Manager Adam Altweis, who previously sat down with Poker News Daily in an exclusive interview, told Jones, “Our high-level executives really put forth a big effort. The room was made for the player.” The Aria poker room features direct access to the poker cage and may soon sport Ivey’s Room, a nosebleed-stakes table surrounded by glass similar to Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.

Sebok had already had a chance to check out the brand new digs at Aria and told his “Poker2Nite” co-host Scott Huff, “I was there on opening night and it’s spectacular.” On the prospect of Ivey’s Room coming to fruition, Sebok speculated, “I don’t even think those talks happened.” Only time will tell. Following the Aria segment was Isaac Haxton discussing a hand against Ryan Daut during the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Daut won $1.5 million for taking down the WPT tournament.

Dana Workman dished out the “Weekly Misdeal” sponsored by Bluff Magazine, which offers a satirical look at the week’s poker headlines. This week, Workman poked fun at the proposed New Jersey intrastate internet gambling bill, the 2010 WSOP rules governing Twitter use and player hygiene, and 2009 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Cada playing in the same celebrity basketball game as “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen.

Finally, “Poker2Nite” previewed the finale of the Absolute Poker College Challenge, which will see players vie for $10,000 in college tuition. The final table will be streamed live online. Highlights will be shown next Wednesday at 11:00pm ET, when the next new episode of UB.com’s “Poker2Nite” will air on Fox Sports Net.

PartyPoker Adds Tony G

Famed loudmouth Tony G will bring his abrasive style of poker to a team that already includes Mike Sexton, Ian Frazer, Bodo Sbrzesny, Remy Biechel, Stewart Scott, Felipe “Mojave” Ramos and the recently signed Kara Scott.

Tony G will make his PartyPoker debut at the upcoming 2010 Aussie Millions.

“I cannot wait to start playing for Team Party on the circuit,” said Tony G. “I’ve always loved Party and what better way to kick off than at the Aussie Millions. I am also really excited about the Premier League in February - it is the best event in poker in my eyes.”

Tony G has been one of the hottest players in the Premier League’s recent events with a second and third place finish.

As part of the deal with PartyPoker, Tony G’s signature poker site TonyGPoker.com, will be moved to the PartyPoker-owned Noble Poker. The transfer should be relatively painless as both sites are on the iPoker network.

“We are delighted to welcome Tony to Team Party,” said a PartyGaming spokesman. “Tony is undoubtedly one of poker’s biggest characters in the game – a personal deal for him made huge sense. We are also happy to have acquired the assets of TonyGPoker.com and look forward to welcoming his players aboard."

Born as Antanas Guoga in Lithania, Tony G moved to Melbourne, Australia, when he was 11 and began playing poker at the age of 18.

Tony G quickly built a reputation for aggressive play and trash talk at the tables. In 2003, Tony G made the final table of the WPT Euro Finals of Poker in Paris, which established him as an upcoming player to watch.

Since then Tony G has accumulated nearly $4 million in tournament earnings with large scores at the Asian Poker Tour, WPT, WSOP and PartyPoker World Open.

In 2007 Tony G won the Moscow Million for $205,000 and donated the entire first place prize to Russian orphanages.

Inside Gaming: T.J. Cloutier’s WSOP Bracelet for Sale and a Political Battle in Alabama Heats Up

Andy Bloch Discusses Rush Poker Strategy

Recently, Rush Poker made its debut on Full Tilt Poker. The fast-paced style of cash game allows players to move from one table to another as soon as their action in a hand is finished. As such, players have been able to see upwards of 300 hands per hour. Poker News Daily sat down with Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch to get his take on the new addition to the site’s already impressive lineup, his goals for 2010, and his thoughts on the online poker phenomenon known as Isildur1.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. What were your first impressions of Rush Poker?

Andy Bloch: I think it’s great and it’s had a great reception so far. Sure, there were people who found fault with it at first, but once you get used to it, it’s great. I tried it out a couple of months ago and thought it was amazing. Back when I first started playing, I remember training software that was like this. When you folded, a new hand started right away, so you’re always making decisions. This is how poker really should be.

PND: Some players we’ve talked to critiqued that Rush Poker creates ABC poker players. Is there a different overarching strategy to it?

Andy Bloch: To some degree, it’ll train people more to play ABC poker. You’ll have less of a reason to play speculative hands because you can fold and get a new hand right away, but that creates more opportunities. There will be a lot of people taking advantage of the tight play and playing a lot more hands pre-flop. There’s no need to worry about getting a reckless image.

You can raise every hand on the button, for example, whereas at a regular cash game table, you wouldn’t do that because people would pick up on it. You could also just raise pre-flop in Rush Poker every time the action folds to you. In Rush Poker, therefore, taking notes becomes really important. If you see any unusual play, you’ll want to make a note and tag a player. It might come in handy later on.

PND: How have you fared so far and what stakes did you play?

Andy Bloch: It seems like my opponents have been hitting sets on me after we get the money in, but I don’t know if I’m up or down. I’ve played all of the stakes they offer, including play money. It seems like people play better at the Rush Poker play money tables than at the normal play money tables. They are less likely to play every hand because they know they can just fold, so they’re marginally more selective.

PND: Would you like to see Rush Poker added for MTTs and sit and gos?

Andy Bloch: I’d love to see Rush Poker added for heads-up play, tournaments, sit and gos, and different forms of poker like Stud. You have to pay attention to the up-cards in Stud, so it’s hard to multi-table.

PND: What poker goals do you have for 2010?

Andy Bloch: I’m going to the L.A. Poker Classic and hopefully playing some of the earlier events. They have a HORSE tournament and a Chinese Poker tournament. They also have a heads-up event and an Ironman no-break tournament.  I’ll probably play about the same number of tournaments as last year, but I want to play more online. I had a bad year last year. Whenever I have a bad year, I just try to work on my game and go over my strategy. My goal is to win a bracelet on June 1st. That is the end of the $50,000 Player’s Championship and the final day of the first three open events at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

PND: Are you still planning to be involved with organizations like the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) this year?

Andy Bloch: Absolutely. This year coming up is an important year. It looks like we can finally get a law passed, get rid of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), and get online poker regulated. If we can get that done, it’d be great for everyone in the poker world, from the grinder to the recreational player to someone who has dreams of being sponsored by a site.

PND: Talk about the rise and fall of Isildur1 on Full Tilt’s nosebleed cash game tables.

Andy Bloch: That story is crazy in a lot of ways. It happens from time to time in poker and in other games too. Unless Isildur1 follows it up with another run, you can chalk it up to luck. He’s a good player, but he jumped into the high-stakes games too quickly, not realizing the type of talent that’s out there. He made himself a target and wasn’t willing to back down. It’s a great story and I hope he comes back and shows people that it wasn’t a fluke.

PND: Was there any possibility of Andy Bloch facing off against Isildur1?

Andy Bloch: I don’t have much experience in Pot Limit Omaha. I need to work on that too and that’s another one of my goals for 2010. I need to get into a position where I can feel comfortable sitting down in any limit game.

Baldwin Lights Up University with Donation

Baldwin, who graduated in 2006 from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, is donating $200,000 to the school to outfit Prucha Field with new lights.

The upgrade will allow UW-Whitewater to host the upcoming 2010 Midwest regional competition of the Division III baseball national championship tournament.

The donation is particularly fitting considering the last time UW-Whitewater hosted the Division III baseball national championship Baldwin was the school’s starting right-fielder and team captain.

“It feels awesome to be in a position to help UW-Whitewater host the regional again,” Baldwin said.

“UW-Whitewater has an amazing baseball program and hopefully the team will be playing in this year’s regional in front of a hometown crowd.”

After graduating from UW-Whitewater, Baldwin relocated to Las Vegas in 2008 and quickly established himself as one of the poker world’s up and coming stars.

In 2009 Baldwin won his first WSOP bracelet in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event for $521,991 and then placed third in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em event for $259,534.

In total Baldwin won more than $1.5 million for the year including online events, which was enough to secure him Card Player Magazine’s Player of the Year honors.

At the end of the year Baldwin also scored a sponsorship deal with online poker room UB.com.

UW-Whitewater Athletics Director Paul Plinske was proud of Baldwin’s success over the years.

“Eric was instrumental in leading UW-Whitewater to its first national title in baseball,” he said. “His recent gift will ensure more great things on the horizon for the Warhawks. He has definitely left his mark on our campus and we are very grateful to him for leaving us his legacy.”

Calvin Ayre Aims to Raise $1 Million for Haiti

Over the past week, a number of poker pros and rooms have reached out to the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.  Poker rooms like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker promised to match donations from patrons, pros pledged a percentage of their winnings to the cause, and there was an outpouring of generosity and concern towards the millions affected by the natural disaster.

Bodog founder Calvin Ayre is upping the stakes when it comes to raising money for those in Haiti by promising to match the earnings of the online gaming industry up to $1 million and donate it to the charitable group Oxfam International, a collection of 14 service and charitable organizations dedicated to fighting poverty and injustice around the world.

Ayre originally made the pledge to match donations on his personal website shortly after the quake hit.  He made an initial donation of £10,000 to the U.K. branch of Oxfam, but also encouraged others in the gaming community to reach out and help.  He offered to match any Oxfam donations by online gaming groups and later agreed to open up his charitable efforts to other organizations.  He explained why he wanted to center his efforts on Oxfam in the comments section of his blog post: “We would consider matching confirmed funds to qualified organizations other than Oxfam. We chose Oxfam because it is a well known reputable organization and I like focusing as much money as I can through one organization as this maximizes impact on the ground.”

Ayre is making the contribution via the foundation bearing his name.  The charitable organization has previously undertaken projects like giving underprivileged teens opportunities to attend college in Canada and the Philippines. The publication iGaming Business is helping to spread the word about Ayre’s pledge.  Bodog Poker pros Evelyn Ng and David Williams also got the word out via their respective Twitter accounts.  There is a special page on Oxfam’s website set up to track donations that will be matched by Ayre.  Interested parties can also make donations in person at the upcoming London Affiliate Conference (LAC), which is sponsored by iGaming Review.

The total amount of money donated to Oxfam on behalf of the online gaming industry will be announced at the LAC awards dinner in London on January 28th.  Over 500 members of the online gaming community are expected to be in attendance.  In addition to announcing the total amount of money raised for Oxfam, the dinner will also serve as a chance to honor the winners in categories like Best Affiliate, Best iGaming Software, and Best Affiliate Manager.  The dinner will take place at The Grange St Paul’s Hotel.

The people at Oxfam have been most impressed with Ayre’s generosity and the outpouring from the gaming community in the wake of the disaster.  “We are truly impressed by the iGaming communities’ effort and drive for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake,” said Chris Ashworth, Oxfam’s Corporate Partnership Manager.  “Access to safe water is one of the most immediate problems to resolve now and with this phenomenal support, we will be able to save lives immediately, by providing clean water and sanitation, as well as shelter for the people who have lost their homes and family…We cannot thank the gaming community enough for this act of generosity at a time of such enormous need.”

Those interested in making a donation to Oxfam that will be matched by Ayre’s foundation can do so by visiting the following web page: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/haiti-earthquake/calvin-ayre.

Calvin Ayre Aims to Raise $1 Million for Haiti

Over the past week, a number of poker pros and rooms have reached out to the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.  Poker rooms like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker promised to match donations from patrons, pros pledged a percentage of their winnings to the cause, and there was an outpouring of generosity and concern towards the millions affected by the natural disaster.

Bodog founder Calvin Ayre is upping the stakes when it comes to raising money for those in Haiti by promising to match the earnings of the online gaming industry up to $1 million and donate it to the charitable group Oxfam International, a collection of 14 service and charitable organizations dedicated to fighting poverty and injustice around the world.

Ayre originally made the pledge to match donations on his personal website shortly after the quake hit.  He made an initial donation of £10,000 to the U.K. branch of Oxfam, but also encouraged others in the gaming community to reach out and help.  He offered to match any Oxfam donations by online gaming groups and later agreed to open up his charitable efforts to other organizations.  He explained why he wanted to center his efforts on Oxfam in the comments section of his blog post: “We would consider matching confirmed funds to qualified organizations other than Oxfam. We chose Oxfam because it is a well known reputable organization and I like focusing as much money as I can through one organization as this maximizes impact on the ground.”

Ayre is making the contribution via the foundation bearing his name.  The charitable organization has previously undertaken projects like giving underprivileged teens opportunities to attend college in Canada and the Philippines. The publication iGaming Business is helping to spread the word about Ayre’s pledge.  Bodog Poker pros Evelyn Ng and David Williams also got the word out via their respective Twitter accounts.  There is a special page on Oxfam’s website set up to track donations that will be matched by Ayre.  Interested parties can also make donations in person at the upcoming London Affiliate Conference (LAC), which is sponsored by iGaming Review.

The total amount of money donated to Oxfam on behalf of the online gaming industry will be announced at the LAC awards dinner in London on January 28th.  Over 500 members of the online gaming community are expected to be in attendance.  In addition to announcing the total amount of money raised for Oxfam, the dinner will also serve as a chance to honor the winners in categories like Best Affiliate, Best iGaming Software, and Best Affiliate Manager.  The dinner will take place at The Grange St Paul’s Hotel.

The people at Oxfam have been most impressed with Ayre’s generosity and the outpouring from the gaming community in the wake of the disaster.  “We are truly impressed by the iGaming communities’ effort and drive for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake,” said Chris Ashworth, Oxfam’s Corporate Partnership Manager.  “Access to safe water is one of the most immediate problems to resolve now and with this phenomenal support, we will be able to save lives immediately, by providing clean water and sanitation, as well as shelter for the people who have lost their homes and family…We cannot thank the gaming community enough for this act of generosity at a time of such enormous need.”

Those interested in making a donation to Oxfam that will be matched by Ayre’s foundation can do so by visiting the following web page: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/haiti-earthquake/calvin-ayre.

Additional Haiti Earthquake Relief Online Poker Tournaments Announced

This week, members of the online poker community wishing to donate to victims of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti last week can take advantage of several tournaments being held across cyberspace.

Today, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook Haiti, the strongest aftershock to date according to the Associated Press. Roughly 200,000 people may have died due to the original quake last week and 1.5 million people, or nearly 20% of the country’s population, are now homeless. The Associated Press reported that 40 aftershocks have rumbled through the island nation. On the magnitude 6.1 tremor that hit on Wednesday, a geophysicist told the American news service, "Aftershocks sometimes die out very quickly. In other cases they can go on for weeks, or if we're really unlucky it could go on for months."

On Wednesday, UB.com, which makes its home on the CEREUS Network, will host a $5 rebuy online poker tournament to raise funds for the victims. The event gets underway at 20:30 ET and the field is capped at 750 players. In a generous gesture, UB.com officials will match the entirety of the prize pool and then donate the sum to the Red Cross Haiti Disaster Relief Fund. In addition, $10,000 in prizes will be on the line, consisting of entries to Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) tournaments and satellites. The charity poker tournament is dubbed “Play for Haiti” and can be found in the UB.com lobby. The site happily accepts players from the United States.

Also hosting a charity event on Wednesday night is DoylesRoom, which resides on the USA-facing Cake Poker Network. DoylesRoom is running the “Haiti Relief Celebrity Bounty,” taking the place of its regularly scheduled Bounty tournament. Those in the field will include site namesake Doyle Brunson, “The Wrestler” actor Mickey Rourke, Brunson 10 member Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, and “The Mad Genius of Poker” Mike Caro. The tournament kicks off at 9:30pm ET and DoylesRoom is matching all bounty money won and donating the total to relief efforts. In addition, DoylesRoom will ship any first-time player’s $27.50 buy-in to charity.

Ongame Network site Betsafe is offering a $5 tournament called “Help Haiti” on Wednesday at 20:45 CET. Unlimited rebuys will be permitted during the first hour and Betsafe will donate the funds to charity. A press release distributed by the site explains, “Betsafe will match the fee generated and we guarantee to give a minimum of $1,000. There is no maximum of the amount that we will match, so make sure to register for the tournament and help the victims of Haiti!” To sweeten the pot, Betsafe officials have added three $200 Grand Series of Poker (GSOP) event tickets to the prize pool, or $600 total. Other online poker rooms on the mammoth Ongame Network include Hollywood Poker, PokerLoco, and RedKings.

Finally, the Microgaming Network, which has recently tried to curb datamining by not allowing observed hand histories to be stored on a player’s computer, is holding a €10 + €10 buy-in tournament on Friday, January 22nd. The €10 juice will be donated to the Haitian Health Foundation and players can sign up for the event by visiting any Microgaming Network site like Betway, GNUF, Ladbrokes, Nordic Bet, PokerTime, and Unibet. The event issues its virtual “Shuffle up and deal” command at 6:30pm GMT. A press release distributed by Microgaming notes, “Over 92 percent of funds collected by Haitian Health Foundation go directly towards services for the poor, so players can be assured that donations generated from the tournament will be used to maximum benefit.” Neither the Microgaming nor Ongame Networks accept players from the United States.

These tournaments have complimented efforts at other major online poker sites like Full Tilt, PokerStars, and Cake Poker, each of which has reached into its database of players to give to the cause. Play in the Haiti relief tournaments taking place this week across some of the world’s largest sites.

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Full Tilt Poker Introduces Rush Poker

At most online sites, the hands in a ring game are dealt at nearly twice the speed of what would occur during a live session. This isn’t quick enough for some players, who prefer playing at multiple tables to earn more money for their bankroll and satisfy their desire for action. A new innovation at Full Tilt Poker has responded to the call for faster play on the virtual felt.

Called Rush Poker, Full Tilt Poker has come up with a game that could draw a great deal of attention from those with the need for speed. If a player at a table is dealt a hand – for example, J-2 offsuit – and doesn’t want to play the hand, the player can click the "Fold" button (once in action, there is a “Quick Fold” button that can be used at any time instead of waiting for your turn). Instead of sticking around to watch the remaining players at the table battle it out, the player is immediately jetted off to another table, with a completely new batch of players, and a new hand is dealt. The only time a player stays at the table is when they are actually in action with a hand; once a player folds, the player is gone to another table with a new group of players. This leads to a monumental number of hands during any given session.

Team Full Tilt is firmly behind the Rush Poker variation and they will step in to the fray along with their regular players. Howard Lederer commented on his Twitter account, “Had fun giving Rush poker a try on FTP. 300 hands per hour at one table. Cool.” Fellow Team Full Tilt member Andy Bloch was equally impressed when he stated on Twitter, “Playing new Rush Poker on Full Tilt Poker. Online poker may never be the same!”

Be prepared for a tremendous amount of action if you approach the Rush Poker tables, however. Poker News Daily examined the lobby at the Rush Poker tables for this article and, at the time, only No Limit Hold’em had action, with three Six-Handed tables ($0.25/$0.50, $0.10/$0.25 and $0.05/$0.10) and three nine-handed ring games (same levels). Among the six groups that were in action, the low count for players was around 420 players and the high was approximately 1,550 players.

The average number of hands dealt during an hour of play fluctuated between 277 to 318, negating the need for multi-tabling. Average pot sizes were quite similar to what happens at the regular speed tables. It did seem, however, that players played a bit tighter on the Rush Poker tables, with the “players seeing the flop” percentages ranging from 19% to 25%.

At the tables, the action runs very smoothly. Whether you wait until your action to fold or use the “Quick Fold” option, as soon as you make your decision, an entirely different table of players loads up for action. When you move, you can land in any position at the table. In the span of less than ten minutes, this author played 50 hands, making for a rough average of 300 hands per hour.

There is a downside to the quick action, however. Players who prefer to learn their opponents’ tendencies will not have that luxury, as each different hand is played with a different group of opponents. Checking the previous hand history is useless as you are no longer playing the same opponents with the table change. Using any type of poker software is nearly impossible; with the quick table changes, the software cannot keep up. If a player receives a few bad beats, the quick action can also rapidly burn through the stakes a player brings to the table.

Whether Full Tilt Poker’s new Rush Poker will catch on is up to the players to decide. At the time of writing, the Rush Poker tables accounted for only about 10% of the total action on the site. Full Tilt Poker has also applied for a patent on this variation of online poker, making it highly unlikely that other sites will pick up on this new phenomenon.

Poker Players Alliance Pushing for February Markup of HR 2267

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry’s one-million member strong lobbying organization, is ramping up for what could be a monumental 2010 legislative year. At stake is the future of online poker in the United States.

As the industry treks into the new decade, Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, is up to 65 co-sponsors. In the first two weeks of January, the measure saw two new lawmakers lend their names in support, Congressmen Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Charlie Melancon (D-LA). HR 2267 was introduced in May and, in the beginning of December, was discussed in the House Financial Services Committee.

No markup of HR 2267 occurred during the December 3rd hearing, which took place one week following officials from the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve delaying mandatory compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by six months to June 1st, 2010. However, according to PPA Executive Director John Pappas, a markup may be in the offing: “The big next step for us is the markup. We’ve built out who our targets are for that committee and are pursuing them. We think it might happen in February, but there are no guarantees.”

According to Pappas, Frank expressed his desire to hold a markup hearing next month, which could lead to discussion of HR 2267 on the floor of the House of Representatives later this year. From there, Frank and the PPA could elect to attach the measure to another piece of legislation, similar to how the UIGEA became a part of an unrelated port security bill in 2006. Pappas noted, “One of our biggest challenges will be to make the vote in the committee bipartisan. That’s going to be our challenge and I think we can do it. Winning big in the Financial Services Committee will help us advance the bill in any other capacity.”

In the next month, the PPA also expects information to be released concerning the amount of money that could be raised should Senator Robert Menendez’s (D-NJ) S 1597 be approved. The bill, dubbed the Internet Poker and Game of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, regulates online skill games. S 1597 was introduced in August, but has yet to garner any co-sponsors.

On the difficult road that lies ahead in the U.S. Senate, Pappas commented, “The Senate has been a tougher ground for us to plow so far, so we’re trying to do what we can there. It’s not because the topic isn’t of interest or important, but rather because they operate differently. The House operates quickly, whereas the Senate is more deliberate.”

The UIGEA was not discussed in the Senate four years ago; instead, it was approved by unanimous consent. Then, the PPA was in its infancy, boasting around 50,000 members during the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Now, it has grown into the seven-figures and seen players like UB.com pro Annie Duke and 2004 WSOP Main Event winner Greg Raymer champion its cause. In 2010, the PPA expects to work with a variety of organizations in the industry for membership drives, following the blueprint of its recent promotion with Card Player Cruises that awarded one player a trip for two to the Caribbean.

Finally, Pappas gave his take on the proposed intrastate internet gambling bill introduced in New Jersey by State Senator Raymond Lesniak. On the model for other states to follow to legalize online wagering, Pappas told Poker News Daily, “For poker players in New Jersey, it presents an interesting opportunity to play on a licensed site. The issue is what sites they’ll be able to play on. Will it be on the brands they know? Having Atlantic City casinos undertake building their own software and player bases will take quite a long time.” According to PokerScout.com, PokerStars, the largest online poker site in the industry, boasts a seven-day running average of 33,200 real money ring game players.

Stay tuned for the latest news from the PPA right here on Poker News Daily.

PocketFives Members Win for Haiti

Last Thursday, David "Doc Sands" Sands, currently the number one ranked player on the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings, put a call out to his fellow tournament players on the PocketFives forum to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake.  He encouraged everybody to donate a percentage of their Sunday winnings to relief efforts in the impoverished nation.  Leading the charge, Sands pledged 10% of his profits up to $10,000, with a minimum of $250.

Approximately 80 PocketFivers posted their pledges on the message board, with the total minimum donations adding up to more than $8,000.  Once the results of Sunday’s big tourneys were in, forum members returned to announce their results.

The biggest donator was "JLizard," who placed second in the $1,000 Heartland Poker Tour event at the Red Rock in Las Vegas.  Winning $62,000 and having pledged 10 percent of his profits, he gave $6,100 to the cause, splitting his donations evenly between PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Both sites, in turn, matched JLizard's donation.

Kevin "kice32" Iacofano, promised to give 5% of his profits to Haitian relief efforts. After winning $54,000 in the Full Tilt Poker $1 Million Guaranteed tournament, his donation amounted to $2,650.  Mike "SowersUNCC" Sowers pledged 10% of his profits and ended up donating $2,300.  Steve "gboro780" Gross, who is fourth in the PocketFives.com Rankings, profited enough to donate $800.

Ironically, Sands, the organizer of the movement and the top man in the rankings, failed to profit on Sunday.  He did, however, increase his minimum pledge to $500.

All told, only counting the donations made by those who reported back to the message board, members of PocketFives.com donated just over $13,000 of their Sunday profits to Haitian aid charities.  With about another $8,000 pledged from players even if they did not make any money, that brings the total to $21,000.  But it doesn't stop there.  Factoring in that most of the donations were likely made through Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, or Cake Poker, all of which matched all donations, players on PocketFives.com accounted for approximately $40,000 in contributions to Haitian relief, and that's just what players reported publicly.

For those who would still like to help, several online poker rooms are still providing vehicles for donations.  Cake Poker has five "holding tank" tournaments for which players can register.  No tournaments will actually take place, but Cake will match every donation dollar for dollar and will accept funds through the end of the month.  Full Tilt players can still transfer funds to the account "Aid for Haiti," and PokerStars players can transfer to "Haiti Fund."  PokerStars has "holding tank" tournaments set up as well.  UB.com and Absolute Poker, both members of the CEREUS Network, will host a $10 re-buy tournament on January 20th in which the poker rooms will match 100% of the prize pool and donate that matching portion to charity.

Of course, those who wish to donate can also make contributions to charities directly.

Cornell University Study Shows Playing More Poker Hands Means Less Profit

The old poker adage “tight is right” may seemingly have gone the way of the Dodo, especially in the current online poker age of constant aggression. A recent study by a sociology student at Cornell University suggest that the adage, however quaint, may actually be correct.

A recent article published on the website Science Daily, and the actual study – published by the Journal of Gambling Studies, – state that players who enter into more hands often lose more money overall than their more conservative fellows. Cornell sociology doctoral student Kyle Siler, a longtime online poker player who performed the experiment, came to the conclusion that when players win more hands, they often end up on the losing side of the balance sheet. Siler determined that when players won, they often made small profits on their hands. When these same players lost, however, the amounts were greater and put them into the red as to their overall earnings.

Siler used PokerTracker to compile 27 million hands, broken down between small, medium, and high-stakes players, and analyzed the entirety of the results. Siler suggests in his study that players overvalue the number of wins versus what the players should actually be looking at, the overall cash won or lost. Siler is quoted in the article saying that his results “coincide with observations in behavioral economics.”

Of particular interest to poker players, and especially those who play at smaller stakes or are inexperienced at the game, could be Siler’s assertion as to the value of particular pocket pairs for hole cards. In his study, Siler found that smaller pairs – deuces through sevens – were actually more valuable than what he called the middle pairs, eights through jacks: “This is because small pairs have a less ambiguous value, and medium pairs are better hands but have more ambiguous values that small-stakes players apparently have trouble understanding.”

The article goes on to break down how the different playing levels (small, medium, and high-stakes) articulate the behaviors of human beings. Poker “speaks to how humans handle risk and uncertainty,” Science Daily quotes Siler. “Riskiness may be profitable, especially in higher-stakes games, but it also increases the variance and uncertainty in payoffs. Living one’s life, calibrating multiple strategies and managing a bankroll, is particularly challenging when enduring wild and erratic swings in short-term luck and results.”

For many who play poker, either recreationally or for a living, the findings of Siler’s study are well known. Many poker books, including Phil Hellmuth’s Play Poker Like A Pro and the seminal offering from Doyle Brunson, Super/System, have espoused the theory of playing only strong starting hands such as high pocket pairs or strong aces. With the advent of online poker and the offbeat playing styles of celebrities such as Gus Hansen, Daniel Negreanu, and Dario Minieri, the play of less than quality starting hands has proliferated. Siler’s study contends that, while it may be a more exciting way to play poker, it is not the most profitable method.

New Jersey Gaming Revenues Fall 13.2% in 2009

According to figures released by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, gaming revenues in Atlantic City dipped 13.2% during the 2009 calendar year compared to 2008. All told, area casinos raked in $3.9 billion.

Revenue derived from slot machines and table games were both hit hard. Funds pulled from the one-armed bandits dropped 13.1% in 2009 to $2.72 billion, while table game revenue fell 13.5% to $1.22 billion. Casino Control Commission Chair Linda Kassekert commented in a press release, “Casinos continued to suffer in 2009. The weak national economy, growing competition across our borders, and the partial ban on smoking in casinos combined to depress gaming revenues.” Officials in New Jersey are eyeing gambling expansion in Pennsylvania and Delaware as additional competitive pressures. In response, New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak recently introduced a bill to allow intrastate internet gambling.

Despite the rapidly increasing competition and shrinking sources of revenue, Kassekert remained optimistic that Atlantic City’s uniqueness would continue to attract visitors to its casinos: “Atlantic City has a lot to offer visitors in addition to gambling. When the economy improves and people have more money to spend on entertainment, Atlantic City will draw more and more people interested in visiting our shops, enjoying a concert, dining in our fine restaurants, and relaxing on our beach.”

During the 2009-2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit schedule, Atlantic City plays host to a pair of events. In December, Harrah’s Atlantic City held a slate of 17 poker tournaments. Its $5,150 buy-in Main Event saw Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki best a field of 195 players to earn $215,000. Heads-up, Klodnicki defeated fellow online poker player Kyle kwob20 Bowker, who pocketed $128,000. The WSOP Circuit returns to the New Jersey city in March for the Caesars Atlantic City festivities. The casino is fresh off awarding a record-setting $553,000 Bad Beat Jackpot to Delaware native Steven Gedney.

New Jersey casinos’ taxable gross revenue in 2009 was $3.7 billion, which meant that gaming establishments paid $295.3 million to the State. The funds, which represent 8% of taxable gross revenue, go directly to the Casino Revenue Fund, which benefits senior citizens and New Jersey residents with disabilities. Casinos also coughed up $49.3 million in reinvestment costs. On that cash outlay, the Commission explained, “They are required to reinvest 1.25 percent of taxable gross revenues in projects approved by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.”

In December, casino revenue slid 9.8% year over year to $272.1 million. Hit hardest during the final month of the decade was Trump Marina, whose revenues plummeted by 25.2% to $10.1 million. The second largest decline was seen at Trump Plaza, where revenues skidded 18.9% year over year to $13.0 million. At the Atlantic City Hilton, the news on casino “win” was equally poor, as revenues dipped 17.3% in December 2009 compared to December 2008 to $11.7 million. Caesars Atlantic City, contrastingly, saw a 4.4% rise in revenue in December.

For the 2009 calendar year, every single casino in Atlantic City posted lower revenue than in 2008. Three locales – Atlantic City Hilton, Trump Marina, and Trump Plaza – saw win dive by 20% or more year over year. Virtually untouched amid the sagging economy was the Borgata, whose revenues of $695.3 million in 2009 trailed its 2008 figures by just 5.9%. Only one other casino’s revenue fell by single-digits year over year, the Trump Taj Mahal. Beginning on Wednesday at the Borgata is its annual Winter Poker Open, which runs through February 5th. The Main Event, which has a $2 million guaranteed prize pool, begins on January 31st.

In Las Vegas, casino gambling revenue rose in November year over year, posting the first monthly gain in nearly two years. In Atlantic City during the same month, revenues slid 13.4% compared to November 2008.

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Poker in Twitter: PCA Bahamas, Haiti Relief, and the Brunson NFL Jinx

Twitter has revolutionized social networking, and the poker world was not immune to its 140-character charms. Poker News Daily has been following poker’s hot young stars such as Maria Ho and Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh along with more established players including Annie Duke and Andy Bloch, and even some of poker’s greatest legends – septuagenarian Doyle Brunson tweets on a daily basis,– to offer our readership an overview of what the most popular poker players are up to on Twitter.

These have been the most interesting Tweets since last Friday, encompassing players’ parting impressions from the Bahamas, their last goodbyes to the late Amir Vahedi, the drives to raise funds for Haiti relief and some NFL quandaries.

The end of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) involved many players complaining about the Bahamas prices, while others complained about the weather and a few even complained about customs on the way out. Vicky Coren had a late departure, and she tried to make the most of it: “Mmm, sunshine and cocktails. And who needs a book when you can listen to the on-hold music at Nassau Airport for only $200 a minute?" Fellow Brit Liv Boeree shared a sunny beach picture: “http://twitpic.com/yk7dh - photo from Bahamas... on the one good day of the whole trip.”

Vahedi was present in many poker player’s minds and Twitters as his funeral took place last Friday. Tournament director supreme Matt Savage summed everyone’s feelings in a poignant Tweet: “Spent the short fight to Burbank thinking about Amir and how his BIG personality will be missed! Hoping to say a few words today.”

The NFL kept a number of players glued to the television, especially those who had money on the line like Phil Hellmuth: “I liked Colts & Saints, but didn't bet, then Vikings (what poker player gets up that early?), finally bet $500 on Jets money line 3.15 to 1”. DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit "amak316" Makhija had a hard time choosing his allegiances: “Done working out, goin to grind Sundays and watch football! Do I root for the jets (love underdogs) or chargers (love awesomeness)?” Alex Outhred enjoyed a last laugh: “#fondmemories of the Cowboy fan last night who scoffed at my purpotion that the Vikes had 'a chance' today”.  And Brunson bemoaned his wife jinxing his favorite team: “it happened again. my wife walks in the room....BOOM, touchdown for the team i'm betting aganist... geeeez”

The humanitarian disaster in Haiti brought up many initiatives to raise awareness and funds. Shannon Elizabeth made a heartfelt appeal to remind all of the tragedy: “Good morning guys-we made it to the end of the week, but not everyone was so lucky-take a moment 2 remember those who didn't....” Adam “Roothlus” Levy voiced a more ambiguous opinion: “It's remarkable how the average American is facing financial hard times but yet, there's an outpouring of donations to #Haiti. Just awesome!” Andy Bloch donated time and money and played a lot of poker to aid the cause: “Just registered for the last 11 Aid for Haiti tournaments on FTP... may need a lot of caffeine. Sending autographed DVDs as extra bounty.”

Some players used Twitter for its original purpose of keeping friends and family informed of what they were up to. Beth Shak commented on her recent move: “Haha my decorator said no large men in my bedroom in NY..I wntd a king bed!!thnk gd my bf is small”, while Ho complained of health issues: “Dear Immune System, Why do you insist on taking days off without notifying me first? Please come back soon. *cough* Thanks.” Justin “BoostedJ” Smith revisited an old hobby: “Going to the gun range..something I haven't done in a long time and is so much fun,” and Leigh introduced her new love: “I'm SO in love.... Here's her picture! http://tinyurl.com/ygk7jpm =)” Liz Lieu enjoyed stirring up some suspense with the cryptic remark “I've just said "I WILL" ”

Some Tweets remain unclassifiable and they are arguably the most fun of all. Anthrax's Scott Ian talked about music: “Song of the day: Pussy don't fail me now. Any one know who that is?” Kevin Smith talked about religion (and several other unpublishable topics): “I never cram my religion down anybody's throat, so I ask you don't cram atheism down mine. My life's so blessed I GOTTA believe in God.” Meanwhile, Duke's boyfriend, Joe Reitman, complained about his phone service: “Dear AT&T...if u are going to have huge billboards in a stadium my iPhone should get a signal in said stadium” "Poker2Nite" host Scott Huff takes the prize for the most random Tweet of this edition, with: “This morning NASA found cocaine near the space shuttle Discovery. Come on, guys, space isn't high enough?”

Visit Poker News Daily every Monday and Thursday for an overview of the best Tweets in the poker world.

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