Poker News

End the WSOP Arms Race

Well, we’ve winnowed the WSOP Big Dance field down to nine survivors who will compete for The Bracelet in November. But one race that started earlier in the event is still going on, and presumably will continue right up until November.

I’m talking, of course, about the arms race among the various online poker sites to get their brand on the shirt and/or hat of as many of the final table participants as they can.

As you may be aware, as the field narrows in the WSOP main event, some online poker sites approach the remaining players with offers of money (cash, tournament buy-ins, etc) in exchange for advertising on the player’s shirt. Depending on the site involved and the point in the tournament, the deal may be for a single day, the remainder of the tournament, or as much as a year.

It is a bizarre bazaar, with the sites proffering their offers, the players shopping those offers to competitors, and so on. It is expensive and time-consuming for the online sites, and I’m sure they’d rather not be doing it, but they’re all but forced into the situation.

This is just craziness; no other sporting event does this. Can you imagine Nike and Calloway running around toward the end of a PGA event trying to get the board leaders to wear their hats and shirts? A giant pause in a NASCAR race while the guys winning by a bunch of laps change the patches on their firesuits?

I worked on the European Poker Tour for a year and we never had that problem. If a player came into the tournament with a sponsor, then he “danced with the girl what brung ‘im.” If he entered the tournament without a sponsor, then he didn’t have a sponsor at the final table.

Instead, at the WSOP, we have online sites competing for the attention of players who are already guaranteed six-figure paydays, and harboring legitimate dreams of much more. That means that it costs big bucks to get any traction in this marketplace. And the way in which it’s done means that the players can play the bidders against each other to get the best deal.

The current system favors exactly one tiny population: the talented and lucky few who have made it down to the final handful of tables. It certainly doesn’t favor the online sites, which are in a very costly financial arms race to sponsor these players. Nor does it favor the thousands of players who didn’t get that far in the event.

Finally, it breeds a mercenary and cynical relationship between the online sites who have sent their satellite qualifiers to the event and the players. Players blithely ignore the online sites’ terms and conditions regarding wearing the sites’ logo-wear, hoping to get a better deal in the Day 5 scrum. The online site responds by virtually ignoring its qualifiers, knowing that it will have to offer a great deal more later on if it hopes to keep deep-going qualifiers in its stable.

What’s particularly sad is that this is all completely avoidable. The WSOP could simply institute (and enforce) an EPT-like rule: every player must declare his or her allegiance (if any) at the beginning of the tournament. No changing horses in mid-stream. In fact, such a rule existed some years ago, if my memory serves. It’s high time that rule came back.

This would force the sites to compete for the players before the event began. Perhaps they’d choose to offer deals to any player who decides to play in the event, effectively providing a small rebate on the buy-in. It might well lead to more attractive WSOP packages offered by the online sites, since they’d be assured of carrying any of their qualifiers to the final table, should those qualifiers be so lucky.

Furthermore, the status quo is certainly a mess for the ESPN people. What does the TV audience think when they see Bob Smith sporting a SuperPoker shirt on Day 3, but then TopNotchPoker gear on Day 5? It makes it harder for a casual poker fan to know who’s who, and if he’s paying attention to these things, probably confuses him some. “Wasn’t that guy wearing a SuperPoker shirt in the last show?”

Here’s the thing: I know every person who sits down with his 30,000 in chips at the WSOP is thinking about reaching that final table and everything that goes with it. But the truth is that from an EV standpoint (and that’s what we poker players should think about), virtually every one of us would be better off getting a little something up front, rather than what we might get should we survive to the last three tables.

Now, having said all that, I must issue a couple of important disclaimers:

1. I am the cardroom manager at Cake Poker. We had qualifiers in the WSOP main event, though regrettably, none of them made the final nine (or anywhere near it, truth be told).

2.  The suggestions I’ve made would probably create a more opportunity for smaller sites (such as Cake Poker) compared to the 900-pound and 800-pound gorillas in the room, to wit, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. But I claim that my proposal is good for both a large majority of the players and the poker sites. I hope that argument resonates.

One final note: I’m tickled that we knew, from the start, what logo one of the final nine would be wearing. Call me old-fashioned, but there was Phil Ivey, wearing his company’s logo on Day 1. And on Day 5. And he’ll be wearing it at the final table. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could say that about all nine?

Lee Jones is the Card Room Manager of Cake Poker. He has worked in the poker industry for over six years and been associated with professional poker for almost 20 years. He is the author of “Winning Low Limit Hold’em,” which has been in print for almost 15 years.

PlayersOnly Opens its Doors to the World

At a time in the online gaming industry when internet casinos and online poker rooms are shutting their doors to American players, one site has gone the opposite route and started to accept players from around the world.

It was announced recently that PlayersOnly, which in the past had only offered its wares to online poker players in the United States and Canada, would start to accept customers from the remainder of the world. PlayersOnly, part of the Cake Poker Network, apparently found that limiting itself to just the action from North America kept the site from achieving its full potential. With the change to accepting players from the rest of the world, PlayersOnly should be able to improve its market share.

PlayersOnly has been in existence since 2006, or just about the time that the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in the United States. Its move at the time to accept only USA players probably enabled it to garner a great deal of traffic, as players, unable to access sites such as PartyPoker or 888, looked for new places to deposit. It was also a pleasant surprise for many that PlayersOnly accepted credit card transfers, which were virtually shut down after the UIGEA’s signing.

As part of the Cake Poker Network, PlayersOnly offers several of the standard games that you will find online. For No Limit cash games, Texas Hold’em and Omaha High-Low are the two disciplines that can be played. For those who have a penchant for taking to Limit tables, a full slate is featured with Texas Hold’em, Omaha (both High and High-Low), and Seven Card (both Stud and High-Low). When it comes to Pot Limit games, Texas Hold’em and Omaha (both High and High-Low) once again step to the forefront.

Tournaments are plentiful on PlayersOnly.com as, with its association with the Cake Poker Network, there are sizeable paydays at stake. In a previous article on Poker News Daily, changes that multi-table tournaments on the Network will undergo over the next six months were laid out. These changes, according to Poker News Daily Guest Columnist and Cake Poker Room Manager Lee Jones, will encompass more freezeout tournaments and fewer rebuys and also feature better scheduling. Check out the recap of Cake Poker Network tournament changes.

Of the top ten online poker sites or networks in the industry, there are only four that accept action from the United States. The two at the top, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, have long been among the leaders in the industry and those that are arranged behind them will have sizeable problems trying to knock them from that perch. The third place slot belongs to the iPoker Network, which features Titan Poker, Chili Poker, and Mansion Poker, among others. The fourth place site or network worldwide is the former industry leader, PartyPoker.  Both do not accept American players.

The CEREUS Network, the third network that accepts all players, encompasses Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker and has been battling to regain its past momentum after the Russ Hamilton-led scandal and ownership change. The CEREUS Network, according to PokerScout.com, is the ranked sixth in the industry in terms of the number of real money ring game players. The Cake Poker Network, with over 40 rooms, currently sits in tenth place with a 24-hour peak of around 2,700 cash players (versus the 45,173 players in the same 24-hour period for PokerStars).

F1 Driver Giancarlo Fisichella New PartyPoker.it Spokesman

The latest sports star to take an interest in the game of poker is Formula One driver Giancarlo Fisichella.  The Italian speedster recently signed on to a sponsorship deal with PartyPoker.it, PartyPoker’s Italian site.

Fisichella, known to his fans as Fisi, gained notoriety in the poker world during the PartyPoker-sponsored Sports Challenge IV earlier this year.  The tournament combined online qualifiers from PartyPoker with celebrities from the world of sports and put them in themed heats.  Fisichella played in the “Racing” heat and impressed commentators and observers alike with his understanding of position and use of aggression.  He ultimately lost to online qualifier and PartyPoker VIP player Scott O’Reilly, but his display of skill impressed PartyPoker enough to keep him in mind for a future sponsorship deal.

Apparently, Fisi has had a hard time getting poker off of his mind.  As he explained in a statement to PartyPoker, he often turns to poker to pass the time while on the racing circuit: “Poker has become a very popular pastime in the paddock in recent months with many of the drivers.  I have joined two new teams recently and am delighted to be in pole position as a new ambassador for PartyPoker.it!”

The other team Fisichella is referring to is Ferrari, which he signed a deal to race for in September of this year.  The longtime driver has been affiliated with several other teams during his storied career, including Jordan, Minardi, Renault, Force India, and Benetton.  The Roman got his start racing go-karts back in the mid-1980s, made a name for himself on several tours, and transitioned to the F1 circuit in 1996.  He won his first F1 race when he took down the Brazil stop in 2003 and also has a 2005 victory in Australia to his credit.

Fisichella will now have to find time to fit poker into his busy schedule, serving as a spokesman for PartyPoker.it both online and at major live poker tournaments.  The site is looking forward to having the driver onboard and a company spokesman commented on Fisi’s potential in the poker world: “Giancarlo is the fantastic new ambassador for PartyPoker.it.  Many commentators have already said that they believe that he is on track to be one the best ‘celebrity’ players on the poker circuit.”

In celebration of Fisi joining the PartyPoker team, PartyPoker.it is hosting a series of freerolls with Fisichella-themed prizes.  The daily freerolls will give out €500 in cash prizes as well as a specially designed F1 shirt autographed by Fisi.  The free tournaments will run daily through the end of the month.

The promotion is exclusive to PartyPoker.it and cannot be accessed by PartyPoker.com customers.  PartyPoker’s Italian-only poker site launched earlier this year and has already established itself as one of the most popular online poker sites in Italy.  The country has gone back and forth on the issue of online gambling and, at one point, even outlawed online poker entirely.  Italy passed new laws regulating and licensing online poker in 2008 and, ever since then, sites have had to create online poker rooms specific to Italy and only open to Italian customers.

Fisichella is the first sponsored player for the Italian site, but PartyPoker has been picking up new players from all over the world to be a part of its grassroots-based Team PartyPoker.  Felipe “Mojave” Ramos, Remy Biechel, Ian Frazer, and Bodo Sbrzesny all joined the team this year and the site recently added 2009 Aussie Millions winner Stewart Scott to its list of sponsored pros.

Cake Poker Announces New Tournament Schedule, Mobile Option Improvements

One of the top online poker sites in the industry, Cake Poker, has announced that it is making changes in two critical areas of its product.

On Monday, Cake Poker announced the start of a new multi-table tournament schedule. These changes, which will be implemented incrementally, were a direct result of analysis of some of Cake’s competitors’ tournament lineups as well as consultation by Lee Jones (the Card Room Manager of Cake Poker) and noted online players Serge “adanthar” Ravitch and Eric “rizen” Lynch.

“We found the most popular $50 tournament on the Internet and parked our $50 tournament right behind it,” noted Jones, who also is a Guest Columnist for Poker News Daily and detailed some of the changes in a recent article. “Now, our players can play at Cake along with our competitor’s event.” The changes to the multi-table tournaments will be rolled out through the early parts of 2010 and will eventually include a longer late registration period and reduction in the number of rebuy and add-on tournaments. “We are putting much more emphasis on freezeout tournaments rather than on rebuys and add-ons. We believe this is better for most players and they seem to prefer it,” said Jones.

In addition to the ongoing changes in the Cake multi-table tournament lineup, the site is also looking to make changes to its mobile offering. As one of the few online poker rooms that offer the ability to play on your cell phone, Cake Poker is constantly trying to improve the performance of its mobile offering. The changes that have been made make the Cake Poker Mobile a viable option for online poker players who don’t have the ability to get to their computers.

Some of the new features that the Cake Poker Mobile option offers are in the lobby, where the percentage of players seeing the flop has been added. As to the play at the tables, users now have the ability to play with a four-color deck and take advantage of an in-game rebuy option. Future changes to the Cake Poker Mobile option will include Blackberry and Symbian compatibility, a top-down view of the table, and tournament options.

The recent changes have also cured some of the problems that the Cake Poker Mobile option had. Disconnections from the site have been reduced and are handled better than in the past and, if a player is sitting out, the ability to observe the play at the table has been enabled. With these improvements on not only the mobile option, but also on the web site, Cake Poker is looking to offer something for everyone.

Pitbull Poker Posts Cashout Instructions, Affiliate Links for PokerStars, Cake Poker

In a curious twist, players logging into the Pitbull Poker client on Wednesday were met with news that the site was officially closed. However, five affiliate banners for other online poker sites also appeared.

On Tuesday, players were able to log into the PitBull Poker software. However, no games were available, nor were any messages announcing that the Flash Poker Network site had officially closed. That all changed on Wednesday, when players who made their way to Pitbull Poker were met with the following announcement: “It is with great sadness that we have closed Pitbull Poker.” The terse statement then addressed the concerns of players questioning the future of their funds held on the small online poker site: “To cash out your balance, please e-mail support@pitbullpoker.com.”

The two-sentence text appears in white on a black background at the top of the screen. Below that are five banners for other online poker rooms. The text above the graphics, written in red, reads, “Pitbull Poker Recommends the following Gaming Websites.” Each banner ad contains an affiliate code, presumably for Pitbull Poker. At the top of the page at the time of writing was an ad for Cake Poker, a USA friendly site and flagship room of its own network. Below Cake Poker was Rushmore Casino, whose banner proudly notes, “All USA Players are Welcome” in capital letters. Rushmore Casino’s banner also touts an $888 bonus.

The third banner given belongs to PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. PokerStars boasts former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champions Peter Eastgate, Joe Hachem, and Chris Moneymaker among its elite team of pros. Pitbull Poker is also hawking Bookmaker and Aladdin’s Gold to internet gamblers looking for a new home. The Bookmaker ad contains an image of a football.

Affiliate banners, when clicked, tie a player to a referral source. If a person signs up and makes a deposit, the source, in many cases, reaps a one-time finder’s fee or receives a percentage of their action in the future. For Pitbull Poker, which will now receive a tidal wave of player cashout requests, being an affiliate of Cake Poker, Rushmore Casino, PokerStars, Bookmaker, and Aladdin’s Gold can mean an influx of much-needed revenue.

Michael Scott, Operations Manager of PokerSource.com, one of the largest online poker affiliate sites in the industry, told Poker News Daily, “Becoming an affiliate of a poker room is not a difficult thing to do; however, I believe it is the affiliate’s responsibility to disclose to the customer that they are in fact operating as an affiliate. If Pitbull is doing this to try to raise revenue so they can pay out their customers, then that is a win-win situation for the customer, but if they are doing this to line their own pockets even more, that is inexcusable. I would hope that it is the former and not the latter. I guess time will tell as to what they are really trying to do.”

In other Pitbull Poker news, PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on traffic across the major online poker sites, noted that the room’s departure from the Flash Poker Network left the USA-friendly family of sites in shambles. An article posted by PokerScout.com on Sunday read in part, “The move left the Flash Poker Network practically deserted. The network also stopped providing accurate traffic data to PokerScout and was therefore removed from the Online Poker Traffic Report.” PokerScout.com listed the network’s headquarters as being in Costa Rica, with its servers housed in Panama City, Panama.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on the Pitbull Poker closure.

Behind the New Cake Poker Tournament Schedule with Lee Jones

Very shortly, you’ll be seeing the first phase of a new tournament schedule at Cake Poker. We’re very excited about it and we think that once you see it, you will be too.

Online poker sites are coming out with new tournament schedules on a regular basis and it’s reasonable for you to ask, “So, what’s the big deal?” Furthermore, this Guest Column I’m writing is supposed to be editorial space, not marketing information. So, I need to go a bit beyond “Hey, our new tournament schedule is coming out.”

I thought it would be interesting to give you some of our rationale behind the new schedule. This is the first major overhaul of Cake’s tournament offering since the site was formed and we wanted to make major improvements. One of the best things we did was bring in two ultra-bright tournament players to add their input to the process. Specifically, Serge “adanthar” Ravitch and Eric “rizen” Lynch sat with us and gave their perspectives as multi-table tournament (MTT) professionals. Here are some of the cornerstones of the plan that came out of those meetings:

1. Longer late-registration is good. There are lots of reasons for this, but the bottom line is that more people entering a tournament is almost always a good thing. As long as you don’t interfere with the integrity of the tournament, then just about everybody benefits. Moreover, we are careful to make sure that nobody can register for the tournament at a point where they’d have a noticeable edge by coming in late. There’s another reason for late registration: a lot of mid-limit tournament grinders are famously forgetful (at this point, adanthar sheepishly raised his hand). This helps those of you who occasionally forget to register for a tournament that you’d been for waiting all day.

2. Freezeouts are generally better than rebuys. Up until now, much of the Cake Poker tournament schedule has been built around rebuy and add-on (R&A) tournaments. This was based on informal input from many of our network partners. But, when all of us sat down and looked critically at the subject, we were quickly persuaded that freezeouts should represent a majority of our tournaments.

a. Players generally prefer rebuys. When you sit down in a freezeout tournament, you know exactly what your investment is going to be – you’re not trying to out-buy deep-pocketed opponents.

b. R&A tournaments are actually worse for weaker players. This isn’t necessarily intuitive, because many players say, “I’m just going to buy in once and not rebuy. That way, I’m benefitting from all of the rebuys and getting an overlay.” Well, the math simply doesn’t support this argument. Let’s take two players: BassyBob and TiburonTwo. Bob chooses to buy in once and won’t rebuy. Tiburon is prepared to rebuy whenever necessary.

There’s a catch: Bob is not as strong a player as Tiburon. On average, when they get all of the money in against each other, Tiburon is a 55:45 favorite. So, they get all-in once, and 55% of the time, BassyBob is gone from the tournament. Suppose his 45% bet comes in and he doubles up. Well, Tiburon rebuys and waits for another shot at Bob. When they mix it up again, Bob is still a 45:55 underdog. In short, BassyBob must continually parlay his come-from-behind wins to stay in, while Tiburon has the advantage of playing better and the ability to come back, phoenix-like, after BassyBob “busts” him.

The results speak for themselves. When we analyzed R&A tournaments on Cake, the players who didn’t rebuy had virtually no chance to cash. Their original buy-ins are pretty much a gift to the prize pool. This is obviously bad for weaker players and the site in general.

In short, we felt that freezeouts were clearly preferable to R&A MTTs. Our new schedule will reflect this as we roll it out over the coming months.

3. Drafting is good for everybody. The term “drafting” comes from bicycle racing (and now NASCAR). It’s the practice of one racer tucking himself in directly behind an opponent and letting the opponent use extra energy (muscles, gas, etc.) to push the wind aside for both. Suppose you like playing $50 MTTs and Cake Poker has a 7:00pm $50 tournament, but two of our competitors have theirs at 8:30pm and 10:00pm, respectively. That’s kind of a hassle if you want to play all three. After all, you might want to eat dinner, hang out with your girlfriend, or go to the gym somewhere in there. So we said, “Let’s find the most popular $50 tournament on the internet and park our $50 event right behind it.” Now, you can play our tournament along with our competitor’s event and still have time to do your reps on the elliptical machine.

Rather than just vague promises, here are a couple of specifics:
· A nightly $50+5 turbo freezeout at 8:00pm ET with a $6,000 guarantee
· A nightly $150+12 freezeout at 9:00pm ET with a $20,000 guarantee

There’s much more, but you’ll have to wait a few days to see it. And we definitely have more ideas up our sleeves; you’ll be seeing the fruits of those over the coming months. But here’s the bottom line: we now have a bunch of poker geeks planning the tournaments – we want the same things in MTTs that you do. Keep your eyes open – the next weeks and months are going to be very exciting for tournament players at Cake Poker.

Lee Jones is the Card Room Manager of Cake Poker. He has worked in the poker industry for over six years and been associated with professional poker for almost 20 years. He is the author of “Winning Low Limit Hold’em,” which has been in print for almost 15 years.

The Sunday Briefing: PokerStars Sunday Million Sees Three Six-Figure Winners

Another Sunday on the virtual felt is in the books as the major online poker sites ran their standard Sunday tournaments. Despite a smaller field than usual in the PokerStars Sunday Million, three players emerged with six-figure pay days. The...

The Sunday Briefing: Final Table Deal Sees Four Six-Figure Winners in The Sunday Million

Although the World Championship of Online Poker is over, this doesn't mean you can't make big money online. In all, six six-figure paydays took place across the spectrum of online poker sites. Walking away the big winner in the PokerStars Sunday...

Federal Officials Seize Additional Internet Gambling Funds

Recent seizures of internet gambling funds related to the payment processor Account Services do not appear to be the end of the U.S. Government’s war against the industry. This week, it was revealed that funds in six more accounts had been seized.

The six accounts, according to the Baltimore City Paper, are held by Wachovia and appear under the name Forshay Enterprises. In July and August, other funds were seized in branches of Interstate Net Bank, Bank of America, and First Premier Bank belonging to Electracash and HMD. Regina Mignogna, a Maryland State Trooper, signed the warrant affidavits for the HMD accounts, which were obtained by Poker News Daily. Each of the warrant applications was ordered seized “until further order of this court or until January 20, 2010, whichever is earlier.” The documents were filed in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

Richard Gunn, an Anne Arundel County Police Detective, signed the warrant applications for the Wachovia accounts, which were numbered 2000042478410, 2000042478070, 2000042478452, 2000042478300, 2000042089414, and 2000042089427. The City Paper linked Forshay Enterprises to TransactSvc.com. Meanwhile, Electracash was tied to Edward Courdy, who many might remember as one of the defendants in Maryland’s Bodog case in 2008. That news broke last July, when $24 million was seized from the popular online poker site. Funds were taken from four publicly traded U.S. banks, including Wachovia, Bank of America, SunTrust, and Regions.

Account Services, which processed payments for PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker in 2008 and 2009, filed a motion in July for return of property, namely $14 million seized by the U.S. Government. The money was held in Union Bank and Wells Fargo branches in California. In retaliation, the Government indicted Account Services’ Douglas Rennick, a Canadian, on charges of bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling. He faces up to 55 years behind bars and $1.75 million in fines for his actions. As of the time of writing, he has not settled with U.S. authorities.

In August, Judge Jeffrey Miller denied Account Services’ motion for return of property, instead electing to wait for the criminal case against Rennick to pan out. The seizure was part of a larger effort by the Southern District of New York in June during which over $30 million was frozen. The funds in question were allegedly destined for more than 24,000 online poker players and not connected to online wagering on sports. Bodog operates a full online sports book, an option that does not exist on PokerStars or Full Tilt. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) filed an amicus brief on behalf of Account Services, a decision the organization stuck by despite Rennick’s criminal indictment.

Many in the online poker community assumed that the election of U.S. President Barack Obama, a poker player, would ease the attack on the industry. However, the opposite has been true so far, with federal agencies going on the offensive. For example, FBI Special Agent Dana Conte swore to the affidavits relating to Account Services.

In the closing months of the Bush Administration’s stay in Washington, D.C., the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) were ushered into effect as “midnight rules.” Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) was instrumental in attaching the UIGEA to an unrelated port security measure in 2006. The SAFE Port Act passed through the House with ease and was approved in the Senate by unanimous consent. Speaking out during the debate in the House was Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV), who questioned why internet gambling appeared in the bill.

As a result of the June seizure, which coincided with the running of the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, paper checks and e-checks temporarily bounced, leading to reimbursements and cash bonuses from some of the world’s largest online poker sites. What effect the latest round of seizures will have on the industry is anyone’s guess.

Chris Moorman Signs with DoylesRoom

With the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event on the horizon,  DoylesRoom has made a splash, signing Chris “Moorman1” Moorman to its prestigious Brunson 10.

Moorman is 24 years-old and recently ascended to the top of the Online Poker Rankings on PocketFives.com, jumping over previously number one ranked player Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb. Moorman owns the second best PLB Score and Pro Poll Ranking on PocketFives.com and has claimed a record-setting eight Triple Crowns. The accolade is given to players who take down three $10,000 prize pool non-satellite tournaments across three online poker sites within a seven-day period.

Moorman boasts career earnings of more than $1.6 million. The Brit is currently on his home turf at the WSOP Europe festivities in London, with the Main Event of the prestigious series kicking off on Saturday. On his play at the tables, PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Jessica Welman told Poker News Daily, “Chris has an unpredictable style of play that always keeps his opponents guessing and serves him well at the tables. I think you only need to look at how long he’s been ranked in the Top 10 on PocketFives.com to see how much his peers respect his game.”

Welman noted that, despite his age, Moorman’s maturity at the tables separates him from the pack: “During the Main Event of the WSOP, I watched a pivotal hand in which Chris was able to lay down bottom set in a huge hand. As I watched him play back the hand in his head, I was really impressed that he was not only able to make a really good laydown, but he also managed to control his emotions in a situation that many others would find frustrating and potentially tilt-inducing.”

The Brunson 10 sported three members prior to Moorman’s addition this week. Alec “traheho” Torelli, who finished fourth in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Bellagio Cup V and Slovakia stops, also sits on the team. Torelli’s major claim to fame occurred during the 2009 WSOP, when he finished sixth in the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP. He banked $326,000 in the event, nearly the same total as he raked in for finishing as the runner-up to Kenny Tran in the World Championship of Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em during the 2008 WSOP.

Also part of the Brunson 10 is Amit “amak316” Makhija, who finished as the runner-up to John “The Razor” Phan during the 2008 WPT Legends of Poker. Makhija scooped $563,000 for his efforts at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles and finished fifth in the World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em during the 2008 WSOP for another $198,000. That tournament aired on ESPN and marked the first bracelet win for Nenad Medic. Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark rounds out the Brunson 10. Clark joined Makhija at the Legends of Poker final table in 2008, finishing third for $281,000.

Doyle Brunson praised the arrival of Moorman to DoylesRoom, explaining in a press release, “Moorman reminds me a lot of me, except for the British accent. He’s a poker natural, a legend in the making, and that’s why I’ve handpicked him to be the next member of The Brunson 10, my new team of elite poker players who truly are young legends of the game.”

DoylesRoom happily accepts players from the United States and makes its home on the popular Cake Network, which, in addition to its flagship site, also includes Lock Poker, Players Only, Poker Host, and Stryyke. According to the traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, the Cake Network is the 10th largest worldwide, sporting a seven-day running average of 1,680 real money ring game players. During its peak traffic hours, which occur during the evening in the United States, over 2,500 cash game players call the network home.

In addition to its Brunson 10, DoylesRoom also features “Texas Dolly” (Brunson), Hoyt Corkins, Todd Brunson, and “The Mad Genius of Poker” Mike Caro. In an interview with PocketFives.com, Moorman revealed that a recurring high-stakes cash game is in the works featuring the four poker veterans and members of the Brunson 10.

PokerStars and Full Tilt Update Clients, Affect Third Party Software

The top two online poker sites in the world, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, have recently released software updates.  In addition to performance updates, there are a few site upgrades that add to a player’s experience.  These additions have a ripple effect in the poker software industry, as every time there’s an update for a site, third party software developers must update their programs in order for them to continue to work.

On September 19th, Full Tilt Poker released a patch that fixed numerous problems for its PC and Mac clients.  The first major fixed involved a crashing issue for Mac users during the login process.  For PC users, there was a major lag issue when logging in that has now been fixed.  However, if players are using a proxy to connect to Full Tilt Poker, parts of the site will become inaccessible.  These sections include the FTP Store, the deposit screen, and the withdrawal screen.

Other issues cleared up by the recent Full Tilt Poker patch, which downloads automatically when players start up the site, include bug fixes for face down cards.  Some players have reported that they were dealt a card or two face down during a hand, while others had their software client become unresponsive while in a hand.   Finally, another glitch that was fixed featured tables not popping up to the front if they required an action, causing many to time out unknowingly.  A representative for Full Tilt Poker, FTPDoug, responded on the PocketFives.com forum saying, “We’ve made a couple of changes to the table coming to the front code.”

PokerStars has had a few minor updates since its major overhaul released in August.  The new update shored up some lag issues of its own and also introduced partial FPPs and synchronized breaks.  The new Mixed Hold’em/Omaha games continue to gain steam with players and extended registration times allow for larger tournament fields.

The updates, mainly on Full Tilt Poker, have sent some third party software developers scrambling to get up to speed.  Player tracking website PlayerGPS.com continues to say that reporting for Full Tilt Poker is not working and also has yet to release its Titan Poker update.  Representatives from PlayerGPS.com told Poker News Daily weeks ago that a Full Tilt update was coming, but that has failed to come to fruition.

Hand history tracking programs Hold’em Manager and PokerTracker 3 continue to roll out updates to their software.  In the last two weeks, Hold’em Manager has released three beta updates to its 1.09 edition.  Some of the updates include fixing importing issues for Full Tilt and PokerStars hyper-turbo payouts.  PokerTracker 3 released build 5.2 in August, which ensures the proper scanning and importing of hands from all the sites that it supports.

Shortcut programs continue to work on PokerStars, specifically Table Ninja.  Players who update to the most recent version of the program, 1.1.44.0, will see that there are important bug fixes and features implemented for PokerStars users.  Both TableNinjaFT (version 1.0.7.0) and Poker Shortcuts (4.0032) are reportedly operational with Full Tilt Poker and offer up plenty of shortcuts for players to use.  Other software, such as Hold’em Genius, released an update last week to version 1.5.40, which fixes an important issue and now works with all PokerStars tables.

Whenever a site issues a software update, it’s very important for players to download and install it.  These updates provide critical fixes to glitches in the program for a better poker experience in addition to dealing with potential lag issues.  Once a poker site has been updated, be on the lookout for updates to third party software programs that you use, which are usually just hours behind.  Staying up-to-date ensures a productive and more stable poker playing experience.

Canadian Entertainment Company to Start Poker Television Station

While there is poker on television and different outlets that offer podcasts, currently there isn’t a one that is dedicated to poker 24/7. A Canadian entertainment company is looking to change that with the rollout of an internet television station.

It was announced on Thursday that HeadsUp Entertainment, a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, will unveil sometime in the fourth quarter of 2009 CanadianPokerPlayer.tv for poker aficionados. The company, which also owns the Canadian Poker Tour and Canadian Poker Player Magazine, recently finished sponsorship negotiations for the station and will provide poker programming that should offer entertainment for all parts of the poker community, according to HeadsUp Entertainment president Kelly B. Kellner: “Players and fans will be given an innovative and effective means to pursue their interest in the sport and we couldn’t be more excited.”

In an exclusive interview with Poker News Daily, Kellner detailed out what CanadianPokerPlayer.tv will offer: “Some of the programming for the station will include over 20 hours of content produced in Canada over the past four years from the Canadian Open Poker Championships in 2006, 2008, and 2009 from Calgary,” Kellner commented. “We are currently working with several of the online poker sites to include programming from around the world that they have produced as well. Some original programming will commence immediately and we will be incorporating live feeds from events in Canada and around the world.”

“The programming wheel is currently being structured and plans also include movies and features relating to the poker and gaming industry,” Kellner continued. “We intend to offer viewers numerous watch and win promotions and incentives to tune in on a daily basis.”

In North America, something along these lines has yet to be unveiled. “We haven’t seen any real networks online that have incorporated the format that we are attempting with our station,” noted Kellner. “Those who have had an opportunity to see the Poker Channel in the United Kingdom will have a good example of what a mainstream media network would be doing.”

Canada has provided several of the top poker players in the game and several could be an active part of the network, according to Kellner. “We have tremendous relationships with many poker pros,” Kellner commented. “We are looking to build on that to incorporate innovative programming to follow their poker careers. I can tell everyone now that there are two original shows currently being negotiated, but we can‘t comment beyond that. More news on that to follow!”

Once the network hits the internet, North America will have a dedicated poker channel and HeadsUp Entertainment is promising that it will be a first class product. The launch is expected soon.

The Sunday Briefing: WCOOP High Roller Event Filled with Familiar Faces

A busy Sunday on the major online poker sites included the conclusion of two more events in the 2009 World Championship of Online Poker. One of the WCOOP offerings was the first "high roller" event of the series, a $10,300 event that produced a final...

PartyPoker Earnings Down 29%

The mid-year financial report is in at PartyGaming and while earnings are up for the company’s online casino, sports betting and bingo ventures its online poker room PartyPoker saw a 29% dip in earnings compared to this time last year. Overall, PartyGaming profits were down 6.5% from 2008, but in a recently issued earnings report the company remained positive about its future in the online gaming industry.

The report, released on August 28th, cited the overall economic downturn, currency movements and an increasingly competitive online poker market as the three major factors affecting their overall financial performance thus far in 2009. In the company’s year-end report for 2008 PartyGaming Chief Executive Officer Jim Ryan echoed similar sentiments about competing online poker sites, most notably those who continue to serve US customers in the years following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006. Since it pulled out of the US online poker market in 2006, PartyPoker has struggled to keep up with sites like Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, both of which still accept real money players from the States.

PartyPoker’s net revenue for the first half of 2009 dropped to $102.6 million from $153.9 for the same period in 2008.  The company’s online casino, bingo and sports book also saw drops in net revenue, but their dips were minimal in comparison to the drop for the online poker room.  In fact, the PartyGaming online casino outperformed PartyPoker earnings by more than $10 million.

It was not entirely bad news for PartyPoker as the report highlighted several areas in which the site was making strides. While the poker room did report 20% drops in active users and daily number of customers, it did experience gains in new real money account sign-ups with 250,300 new accounts so far in 2009 compared to 235,200 in 2008.  The report also gave credit to the newly revamped loyalty program for PartyPoker customers for helping to increase player retention rates from last year. However, despite the increased retention the site still saw a noticeable drop in unique users over the period, down to 532,000 players from 2008’s 698,300 players. According to the report, PartyPoker currently holds a 7% market share of the global online poker market, down slightly from 8% in 2008.

The report also lauded the fast success of their Italian online poker venture Intralot. The tournament-only site launched in May of this year and quickly established itself as one of the top Italian poker sites. PartyPoker also expects to be able to offer cash games on Intralot before the year is over, which should lead to an even stronger performance in the second half of 2009.

A statement from Ryan affirmed that PartyGaming would continue seeking out business to business deals like the Intralot deal. In 2009 the company also acquired the European bingo venture Cashcade, inked a deal to develop an online casino for the British television station Five and, most recently, acquired World Poker Tour Enterprises for $12.3 million last month. “Our B2B strategy has delivered four deals so far this year that will start to contribute during the final quarter of 2009”, said Ryan. “With more deals in the pipeline we remain confident that we can continue to grow this important new source of revenue.”

Since the report’s release PartyGaming’s stock, which is publically traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol “PRTY”, has dipped. After trading at a monthly high of 276 pence on August 25th, shares were trading as low as 235 pence on September 2nd.

Ultimate Bet Releases Mac Version

While millions of online poker players take part in the game throughout the world, there is a segment of the market that is frequently overlooked when it comes to online gaming. The portion of the populous that runs an Apple computer or prefers the Mac operating system (OS) is left out of many of the activities to be found online, especially poker. The online poker room Ultimate Bet is looking to change that.

It was announced yesterday that Ultimate Bet, the home of 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, top female poker player and Poker News Daily guest columnist Annie Duke, and online pro Adam “Roothlus” Levy (among others), would be offering a Mac version of its popular site beginning today. Called UB Mac, it is a completely compatible version of the full offerings of Ultimate Bet for the Mac OS, something that has been asked for repeatedly by many poker fans.

“Our company strives to make our poker room accessible to as many people as possible and we recognize that Apple computers have a growing market share in the personal computing industry. In response to this trend, we have developed an all-new download poker application specifically for the Mac Operating System,” said Tokwiro Chief Operating Officer Paul Leggett. “As a Mac user myself, the only real limitation I have found is that a lot of poker applications will not run on the Mac OS. With UB Mac, players will enjoy the same incredible user experience that PC users currently have, and we remain committed to ongoing development of our Mac online poker client to ensure it is the best in the business.”

Another member of Team UB and a Mac user, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, was also elated about the latest news from his site. “A few weeks back, I got the news I’ve been waiting for…UB for Mac is ready for beta testing,” Scott stated during the announcement. “I immediately downloaded the application and I was up and running in no time.”

The new software allows Mac players to have access to the most popular features and functionality that UB users playing on Windows-compatible computers have, including ring games, satellites, single and multi-table Hold’em tournaments, and single player blackjack. In addition to both Mac and Windows options, Ultimate Bet also has a no-download option for players who don’t want to bog down their systems with programs. Its sister site, Absolute Poker, also has Mac option.

Other Mac-compatible online poker sites include PokerStars and Full Tilt, both of which boast fully-functional clients for the Mac which can be downloaded and installed with ease. Bodog features a cash game table Instant Play option, which allows for a maximum of one table to be opened at a time. PartyPoker was one of the original innovators of the Instant Play concept. Unlike Bodog, PokerStars, Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet, and Absolute Poker, however, PartyPoker does not accept customers from the United States.

Online Poker Funds Remain Seized in Account Services Case

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, online poker funds seized by the Southern District of New York belonging to Account Services will remain under guard for what the newspaper claimed “could be years.”

On August 21st, a hearing was originally scheduled featuring lawyers for the online poker payment processor Account Services arguing why $14 million should be returned to the company. The funds were seized as part of a June raid by the Southern District of New York and were contained in Wells Fargo and Union Bank accounts in California. Account Services filed a motion for return of property in the Southern District of California and the case was assigned to Judge Jeffrey Miller. However, the hearing was later cancelled indefinitely.

On Saturday, the Union-Tribune published a story claiming that Miller “denied a bid Thursday by lawyers for the company, Account Services Inc., and the Poker Players Alliance to return the money. The players group is an advocacy organization that represents some 1 million online poker players.” It added, “Now, after Miller ruled against them, it could be years before they see any of the money.” The Southern District of New York seized well over $30 million in total, affecting more than 24,000 online poker players.

Paper checks and e-checks began bouncing in June, leading to concern on popular online poker forums about the security of player deposits. In many cases, the online poker sites, including PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, compensated players fully and oftentimes awarded a cash bonus for any inconvenience. The warrant to seize funds from the Union Bank accounts identified Full Tilt and PokerStars by name as clients of Account Services. The document read, “Account Services has previously provided payment services for companies providing online gambling services, including PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, the largest internet poker businesses in operation.”

The Wells Fargo account was used to pay online poker players in 2008 and 2009. Still redacted (crossed out) in its warrant application is evidence that led the Southern District of New York to finger PokerStars and Full Tilt in the first place.

Account Services’ Douglas Rennick was indicted earlier this month on bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling charges. He faces up to 55 years in jail and up to a $1.75 million fine plus forfeiture of funds obtained. The San Diego news outlet explains, “Prosecutors then argued the indictment made the San Diego lawsuit irrelevant and that Miller should not hear it. The judge agreed, saying the players could try to recover the money after the criminal case is resolved.”

Rennick is a Canadian citizen and, as of yet, has not surrendered to U.S. authorities. The indictment issued by the Southern District of New York revealed that Rennick had been in the business of processing internet gambling payments since 2007. Over $350 million was transferred from a bank account in Cyprus for this purpose and “Rennick… provided false and misleading information to various United States banks about, among other things, the nature of the internet gambling-related payments being processed by the companies under Rennick’s control in order to induce banks to engage in financial transactions that they otherwise would not have facilitated.”

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) filed an amicus brief on behalf of Account Services despite Rennick’s indictment. The 1.2 million member strong organization argued that poker is a game of skill and therefore not illegal gambling. Account Services added that funds in the Union Bank accounts were seized without a warrant, which was issued about a dozen days after the asset freeze took place. FBI Special Agent Dana Conte swore to both warrant applications.

Poker News Daily is seeking comment from the PPA and Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA).

iPoker Network Launches Monthly Million Tournament

Starting in September, a $1 million guaranteed prize pool tournament dubbed the Monthly Million will take place monthly on the massive iPoker Network. The $535 buy-in gala will kick off on September 13th at 18:00 GMT.

Titan Poker is one of several iPoker Network sites gearing up for the first-ever running of the Monthly Million, the same term used by PartyPoker to describe its recurring high-stakes event. A bevy of roads to qualify are available, including $1.10 buy-in tournaments that take place Monday to Saturday at 17:15 GMT. In order to promote its new addition, Titan Poker announced that marketing materials were available to affiliates in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Swedish, Russian, Dutch, and Portuguese.

Daily except for Sunday, Titan Poker holds a $66 buy-in freezeout that awards three seats into the Monthly Million. Held the same days of the week at 14:30 GMT are $6.60 rebuys that award at least eight seats into the seven-figure prize pool tournament. On Sundays at 18:30 GMT, Titan Poker holds a $6.60 buy-in satellite that doles out at least 20 seats. In the week leading up to the first Monthly Million on September 13th, the qualifying schedule changes, so check out Titan Poker and other iPoker Network sites for more information.

The Monthly Million features 30-minute blind levels and players will start with a chip stack of 10,000. After playing out on September 13th, the Monthly Million will make its grand return on October 11th at 18:00 GMT. A press release distributed by Titan Poker noted that the contest will be a welcome change from the regular $250,000 Guaranteed weekend tournament: “Titan Poker stages a highly popular $250,000 Guaranteed Prize Tournament every Sunday night, however on September 13, the focus will turn instead to the $1,000,000 Guaranteed. Many players have already guaranteed their seats at the hugely anticipated million-dollar event.”

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, the iPoker Network is the third largest worldwide. It’s the largest that does not accept players from the United States and boasts a seven-day running average of 5,400 real money ring game players. Its 24-hour peak is roughly double that total and, at the time of writing, which is late afternoon across Europe, a total of 7,726 cash game players have descended on the iPoker Network’s virtual felts. A ticker found on Titan Poker notes that over 18,000 active players are battling on the iPoker Network across more than 3,000 tables. PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker are the two most populous online poker sites in the world, respectively; both accept customers from the United States with open arms.

Besides Titan Poker, other sites that call the iPoker Network home include BetFred, Boyle Poker, CD Poker, Chili Poker, Expekt, Mansion Poker, Noble Poker, Poker Plex, Sun Poker, and VC Poker. The iPoker Network is owned and operated by Playtech, a subsidiary of which unsuccessfully submitted a bid to purchase the World Poker Tour (WPT) earlier this month. Instead, the WPT, which is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in New York City under the symbol “WPTE,” was purchased by a subsidiary of Party Gaming called Peerless Media.

The PartyPoker Monthly Million takes place on the first Sunday of every month and boasts a $640 buy-in. The gala kicks off at 12:45 ET and a full qualifying structure is available with tournaments starting at $1. Like Titan Poker, PartyPoker does not accept players from the United States; it boasts WPT Host Mike Sexton as its ambassador. PartyPoker’s Cash Machine promotion, in which Party Points are matched dollar-for-dollar with site bonuses, kicks off on September 1st.

It’s an Online Poker Room, Not an Online Bank

I am going to admit up front that this column does not offer up anything in the way of poker “strategy.” Rather, I am going with a bit of advice this week. Advice that, thanks to one of the most out of touch, obtuse, stubborn, self-centered poker message board posters of all time giving me the perfect jumping off point, may help you avoid some potential headaches down the road.

This tough guy posted a rant about Full Tilt Poker temporarily freezing his account pending an explanation of a transfer he received from another player. His story was that he had been staking this person for some time when this stakee decided to play in games above his skill level or bankroll. Our genius requested that the stakee return part of the stake, which he did. Our friend then proceeded to cash out that money.

Full Tilt did not like this withdrawal request and wanted to know what his relationship was with the stakee. This infuriated our main character, who believes that since it is his money, he should be allowed to do what he wants with it. He contends that Full Tilt, because it is a company that holds people’s money and facilitates transfers, is essentially a bank.

And he is so completely wrong.

Online poker rooms are not banks. Player to player transfers are allowed at some of them in order to give people another option for funding their accounts. It is a convenience for the players and benefits the poker room by making it quicker and easier for players to get money, get to the tables, and generate rake. Transfers are not for the purpose of paying debts or conducting private funding transactions.

Financial transactions cost online poker rooms money, as they have to pay the online payment processors fees whenever a player puts money on or takes money off a site. If they were to allow players to cash out immediately upon receiving a transfer, they would lose money. They need players to generate some revenue at the poker tables before cashing out.

Online poker rooms are in the poker business, not the home banking business. Your funds are on the site to be used for playing poker.

When almost everybody pointed out to our hero that it is completely standard for a poker room to not allow an immediate cash out after a transfer, he became very argumentative. I had to shake my head when he released this gem, complete with unnecessary abbreviations:

“if u made a transfer to Chase Manhattan bank to pay your mortgage 6 times a month for a year, always for 10k$. And then one day ur bank told you that they were holding your funds, and wanted u to explain the reason u were transferring money to chase manhattan bank, and until u did they were freezing all ur assets, and the process would take 3-5 days. Keep in mind nothing has changed, there is no scandal going on with Chase Manhattan, they just suddenly felt like they should freeze your account for 5 days and ask why. That wouldn’t bother you? Would certainly bother me.”

Once again, my friend, Full Tilt Poker is not a bank. A bank is there for you to use to move money around and pay bills. Thus, they would almost certainly not question your own transfers into your own account and subsequent mortgage payments. This sort of activity is normal for a bank.  Transfers and insta-withdrawals at an online poker site are not normal.

Side note: six $10,000 transfers per month for a year to pay a mortgage? That is one expensive house!

On top of the business reasons for not allowing this sort of activity, online poker rooms will take action like Full Tilt did to prevent money laundering. I mean, think about it. If they just let transfers fly back and forth and cash outs to happen with no security checks in place, criminals would run wild. Credit card thieves could make a deposit, transfer the money to a friend, and have that friend cash out with nothing to stop them. These security policies are in place for the protection of both the poker room and the player.

Keep all of this in mind if you ever find the need to receive money from someone via inter-account transfer. I can absolutely understand why people would transfer money at an online poker room to settle a debt – I am not judging anyone who does. Just realize that this is not what the player to player transfer feature was intended for, and if you try to cash out right away, you risk having your account frozen. Make sure you play some poker before pulling the money out of your account. Heck, e-mail the poker room to ask them how much you need to play. Chances are, they would appreciate you wanting to abide by the rules.

Full Tilt does not have the greatest customer service reputation in the world, and I suppose that if the backer and his horse really did have tons of transactions over a long period of time, as the complainant said they did, Full Tilt could have noted that and let the cash out slide with a warning. But the site was still within its right to disallow it.  Online poker sites are for poker. They are not banks. If you need to send someone some money, it is best to just write a check.

Sunday Briefing: Six Players Earn Close to Six-Figures in the Sunday Million

It was business as usual on Sunday as the main online poker sites ran their standard Sunday majors. Collecting the heftiest payday was Jarod “shawry5” Shawcross at $146,483 for a third place finish in the PokerStars Sunday Million. A deal was...

Eurolinx and BetOnBet Liquidations: Industry Reaction

On Friday, online poker players around the world learned that Eurolinx and BetOnBet, both owned by Linx Media Group, would be liquidated. The industry has now had 24 hours to digest the news.

A simple message posted on Eurolinx’s website on Friday read, “The Linx Media Group has today announced that it is seeking to put its businesses into liquidation and will cease trading with immediate effect. As yet, the Linx Media Group does not know how long this process will take, but it will provide updates on the situation as and when information becomes available and when liquidators are appointed.” The Microgaming Network released a statement labeling the companies “insolvent” and revoked their licenses. Also affected was Linx Casino, which had been open for a scant four months.

Traffic on the Microgaming Network has trended downward in recent months. Dan Stewart of PokerScout.com told Poker News Daily, “Microgaming has seen its market share decline, but then again so have a lot of sites, which have been losing share to PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. The Microgaming Network still has a healthy amount of traffic and we don’t know how much business the individual licensees are doing.” The Microgaming Network is the eighth largest worldwide according to Stewart’s site, boasting a seven-day running average of 1,760 real money ring game players.

Stewart added that Microgaming Network traffic is down 25% over the last five months. Meanwhile, Full Tilt has doubled in size over the past year and PokerStars is up 54%. Some in the industry have forecasted consolidation in order for sites to continue to be financially viable. Stewart explained, “We’re definitely seeing consolidation, not in terms of acquisitions, but essentially PokerStars and Full Tilt collecting players. This may be a symptom of that.” Eurolinx and BetOnBet did not accept players from the United States. Other Microgaming Network sites include Betway, Gnuf, Intertops, PokerTime, and Unibet.

Former Vice President of Marketing for PokerStars, Dan Goldman, told Poker News Daily that online poker sites must change their views toward player deposits moving forward: “Online sites have the same responsibility to their players as banks have to their depositors. All too often, they treat player bankrolls like their own money.” Affected online poker players on the TwoPlusTwo forums lamented that as much as $140,000 was now frozen on Eurolinx as a result of the liquidation efforts. Players will likely file claims once the proceedings have begun, which first requires a liquidator to be named.

Goldman explains how the shift in focus could begin: “A good first step is the segregation of player funds into entirely separate, externally auditable accounts. This is a simple step that, in addition to bolstering confidence in the site, helps to avoid the temptation to use player funds for operations.” The parent companies of several online poker sites are publicly traded on major stock exchanges around the world. Party Gaming (the parent company of PartyPoker), 888 (the parent company of Pacific Poker), and Ladbrokes can all be found in London, while bwin is traded in Vienna.

Meanwhile, forums like TwoPlusTwo have seen a flurry of discussion about the liquidations. One poster, “DrGutshot,” reported that he requested a $7,700 cashout in April that never arrived. Expectedly, he was not pleased to hear about Friday’s news: “I despise these lowlifes. Count me in on any cooperative legal action if we can come up with anything.” Another TwoPlusTwo member, “jokotokolino,” spoke to Eurolinx’s Jo Remme and reported, “What was clear for me about his story was that they have been trading with our funds and that went extremely wrong. The word ‘trading’ he used himself.”

Eurolinx and BetOnBet no longer appear on the Microgaming Network’s list of clients. We’ll keep you posted on the latest right here on Poker News Daily.

PokerStars Teams With Fox Network Television For New Poker Show

PokerStars, who has been on the hunt for an outlet for some poker related television programming of its own in the United States to keep up with other online poker sites, has announced that they will team up with Fox Sports for a national network broadcast of a heads up poker program that is called the “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge.”

The program is set to premiere on October 11th either before or following – the tentative schedule states that the start time is 4PM, but could be adjusted depending upon the region of the country and any football conflicts – the regional broadcast of the National Football League. The “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge” will feature a challenge somewhat along the same lines as NBC’s “Face The Ace.”

Players will have to battle their way through several Heads Up No Limit Hold’em matches against some of the top poker professionals in the world (as with Full Tilt Poker’s sponsorship of “Face The Ace” and the resulting Full Tilt pros on the show, it is expected that the “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge” will prominently feature the PokerStars stable of poker players.) If they are able to make their way to the top of the mountain, they will take on PokerStars professional Daniel Negreanu – who will have also coached the players in their previous matches – for a $1 million prize.

Qualifying for the “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge” is quite unique in that players don’t have to pay a dime for the chance to be on television. There are daily freeroll qualifying tournaments at 8PM and 11PM (Eastern Time) that players start with and which will run until November 25th. In those tournaments, the player has to finish in the Top Ten to be eligible to continue on to attempt to qualify for the program. Rather than determining the players on the “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge” through poker ability, however, a different method will be employed to determine who will head for California.

If a player finishes in the Top Ten, the player then has to submit a two minute video to PokerStars as to why they should be considered as a player for the “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge.” These two minute videos will also have to feature two friends that will also come with the player to participate in the show. The friends will be an integral part of the show, as they will be able to offer advice to the player as they are competing on the program. Players who are chosen by the PokerStars Team will then be on their way with their buddies to the Fox Network television studios and could compete on the show.

The remaining episodes of the “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge” will extend through the remainder of 2009. Episodes will be broadcast on October 18th, November 22nd, December 13th, and four of the top winners will return for what is being called a “grand final” which will be shown on December 27th. Because of the Fox Network’s commitments to the NFL, the show is scheduled to be aired at 4PM but could be moved to a different time on Sunday afternoon, according to how the NFL schedule is laid out.

With the unveiling of the “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge,” poker is seeing a renaissance on television overall and exposure on the major networks in particular. With “Face The Ace” on NBC and the ongoing showings of “Poker After Dark,” the World Poker Tour and “High Stakes Poker” on GSN (among others), poker is almost as prevalent on television as it was five years ago. For more information on the rules of the competition or to take part in the freeroll tournaments, visit PokerStars to learn more.

PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker Named in Online Poker Warrant Applications

Last week, Judge Laura Swain of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) asked attorneys for the United States Government to explain how the indictment of Account Services’ Douglas Rennick affected information contained in the warrant applications used to seize over $30 million from more than 24,000 online poker players.

As a result of the document filed by the Government last Wednesday, new information was released on the background of Account Services, including the company’s association with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Half of the warrant applications used to seize funds from California branches of Wells Fargo and Union Bank were redacted (crossed out) when the documents were unsealed and released last week. However, Judge Swain commented, “The Court finds that certain other previously redacted portions of the materials should now be unsealed.”

In a section of the warrant application entitled, “Account Services’ History of Providing Payment Services for Online Gambling Companies,” the text reads, “Account Services has previously provided payment services for companies providing online gambling services, including Pokerstars and FullTilt Poker, the largest internet poker businesses in operation.” Dana Conte, the FBI Special Agent who swore to the affidavits, noted that the Wells Fargo account was likely used to transfer payments from PokerStars and Full Tilt, both of which accept players from the United States.

The document also profiles Rennick’s involvement with Account Services. The newly-released warrant application reveals, “There are multiple links between the Defendant Account and Douglas Rennick, a Canadian citizen who has previously processed winnings for the internet gambling industry. Rennick is one of the signers of the Defendant Account. Rennick is also associated with Alenis Limited.”

Rennick had indicated that the funds contained in the bank accounts would be used for activities like processing rebate checks and affiliate checks. J.P. Morgan closed the Wells Fargo and Union Bank accounts in December of 2008. Rennick had been associated with KJB Financial Corporation, Account Services, My ATM Online, Alenis Limited, and Check Payment Financial.

International money transfers from Cyprus were used to finance the Account Services operation. Conte noted, “I also learned that in April 2009, the individuals who applied to have the Defendant Accounts opened instructed Union Bank to list ‘Check Payment Financial Co.’ as the entity issuing checks… rather than ‘Account Services Corp.’” The Union Bank warrant application is dated June 24th, nearly two weeks after the seizure of funds took place.

Still redacted is the SDNY’s evidence for identifying PokerStars and Full Tilt. After fingering the two online poker behemoths, the warrant application notes, “There is probable cause to believe that the Wells Fargo Account Services Account was providing payment services for these online gambling companies in 2008 and 2009.” Then, a page of redacted text appears. In the Wells Fargo warrant application, sections entitled “The Defendant Account is Used to Transmit Gambling Payout Checks,” which continues for several pages, is fully redacted.

In July, Account Services filed a motion for return of property, namely $14 million in funds destined for online poker players. A hearing in the Southern District of California is scheduled for this Friday in the matter despite Rennick’s indictment on bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling charges. He faces up to 55 years behind bars and $1.75 million in fines. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has filed an amicus brief on behalf of Account Services asserting that poker is a game of skill and therefore not illegal gambling.

PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker are the two largest online poker sites in existence. According to PokerScout.com, which monitors online poker room traffic, PokerStars boasts a seven day running average of 25,000 real money ring game players, with a 24 hour peak of 35,239. Full Tilt owns a seven day running average of 15,400 cash game players, with a 24 hour peak of 22,259. Trailing the duo is the iPoker Network, a non-USA friendly family of sites operated by Playtech.

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The Sunday Briefing: “h2oace” Walks Away the Big Winner

It was an action-packed Sunday as hundreds of thousands of dollars were on the line in events all across the virtual felt. For most online poker sites, it was business as usual

The Sunday Briefing: “h2oace” Walks Away the Big Winner

It was an action-packed Sunday as hundreds of thousands of dollars were on the line in events all across the virtual felt. For most online poker sites, it was business as usual

The Sunday Briefing: “h2oace” Walks Away the Big Winner

It was an action-packed Sunday as hundreds of thousands of dollars were on the line in events all across the virtual felt. For most online poker sites, it was business as usual

Asian Poker Tour Invites U.S. Swimmer Michael Phelps to 2009 Event

For the second straight year, record-breaking U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has been invited to play in the Asian Poker Tour’s (APT) Macau event. The festivities run from August 12th to 23rd at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino.

Last year, a six-day event played out in the Asian metropolis. This time around, the poker festivities will occur over the course of 12 days. After recording eight gold medals during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, which included seven world records and one Olympic record, Phelps was invited to play in the APT event in nearby Macau. The worldwide race to lure Phelps to a major poker event began after he told his hometown newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, that he wanted to compete in the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). Phelps was escorted to poker events by the game’s legends like Doyle Brunson and news of the swimmer signing with various online poker sites abounded. However,  entry into a major event did not occur.

WSOP Europe sponsors Betfair invited Phelps to play in the 2008 tournament series. In addition, Phelps was set to become involved with the poker stage show The Real Deal at the Venetian. An open letter sent by APT officials to Phelps this week read, “We heard positive noises, but there was no sign of the human dolphin when they called ‘shuffle up and deal.’ We would like to extend this invite once again to you to come, all expenses paid, and take part in this showpiece poker event. The Main Event is in Macau between the 20th and 23rd of August, but the 12 day festival of poker starts on August 12th, so let us know!”

Phelps’ appearance in a tabloid newspaper holding a bong led to a three-month suspension from competitive swimming.  He also lost several endorsement deals as a result, but has recently appeared in Subway commercials opposite Jared Fogle. The bong in question allegedly belonged to 2008 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event Champion Carter “ckingusc” King, a South Carolina native.

The open letter alluded to Phelps’ recent public relations difficulties: “Some media reports even suggest that you may have got in with the wrong crowd in the last 12 months – we promise to keep you out of trouble. We’ll give you access to pools of sharks, fish, and those that you swim in! If you don’t want to bring your goggles, fair enough; bring a pair of sunglasses and your poker face! While you are at it, you could ask a certain poker playing President by the name of Barack Hussein Obama II if he fancies joining you!”

Last year’s APT Macau Main Event was won by Yevgeniy “atimos” Timoshenko, who also took down the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship in April, the culmination of the WPT’s seventh season. Timoshenko defeated Steve Yea heads-up in Macau, with 40 players finishing in the money. Day 1A of this year’s APT Macau Main Event kicks off on August 20th, with two starting days set to play out. Players will be given 10,000 starting chips, with blinds increasing every 60 minutes and starting at 25-50. Antes kick in at Level 4, when blinds are 100-200.

Among those slated to battle it out in this year’s APT Macau Main Event are 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Johnny Chan, J.C. Tran, Nam Le, Steve Sung, Quinn Do, 2008 WSOP November Nine member David “Chino” Rheem, and Kwang Soo Lee. Each will participate in filming of the new movie “Poker King,” which Chan stated may trump “Rounders.”

$90k up for grabs in upcoming freerolls

Unless otherwise noted, all PokerListings.com players, new and existing, can take part in any of the following freerolls. Just meet the qualification requirements.

If you're not a PokerListings registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up. Getting your free seat in the tournament can be just as simple as that.

This week:

Full Tilt

Full Tilt holds a weekly $3,000 freeroll for all PokerListings players. Qualify for each freeroll by earning 200 Frequent Player Points in the qualification period, then take your free seat in the event.

• Date: Aug 15, 13:00 EST
• Value: $3,000
• Qualify with: 200 points
• Qualify between: Aug 8 - Aug 14

Titan Poker

Titan Poker spreads a weekly freeroll for PokerListings players with a weekly prize pool of $1,000. It takes just one point to qualify for your seat.

• Date: Aug 15th, 18:00 GMT
• Value: $1,000
• Qualify with: 1 point

Upcoming

bwin Poker

For first-time depositors only. This exclusive freeroll requires only 50 points to qualify.

• Date: Aug 23, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $2,000
• Qualify with: 50 points
• Qualify between: May 14 - Aug 20

William Hill Poker

William Hill Poker spreads a monthly $2,500 freeroll for all PokerListings players. The fields are small, making it easy to get your piece of the prize. Qualify with just 100 points.

• Date: Sept 3, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $2,500
• Qualify with: 100 points

Titan Poker

Titan Poker spreads a monthly $5,000 freeroll for PokerListings players. It takes just 25 points to qualify for your seat.

• Date: Sept 6, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $5,000
• Qualify with: 25 points

Poker Stars

With the announcement of this $25,000 freeroll, PokerStars has clinched both the top spots in the largest upcoming freerolls. This freeroll is an exclusive $25,000 WCOOP satellite for PokerListings.com players.

• Date: Sep 5, 15:00 EST
• Value: $25,000
• Qualify with: 300 points
• Qualify between: Aug 1 - Aug 31

Ultimate Bet

Ultimate bet offers a $5,000 monthly freeroll to PokerListings players. Play just 100 raked hands in the month prior to the event for your seat.

• Date: Sept 13, 15:00 EST
• Value: $5,000
• Qualify with: 100 raked hands
• Qualify between: Aug 1 - Aug 31

Sportsbook Poker

For first-time depositors only. Sportsbook poker offers a monthly freeroll with $2,000 awarded to the winners in cash.

• Date: Sep 13, 19:00 EST
• Value: $2,000
• Qualify with: Deposit and play
• Qualify between: Aug 1 - Aug 31

Titan Poker

The largest of Titan's upcoming freerolls offers $15,000 in cash prizes to all PokerListings players who collect a minimum of 750 points

• Date: Sept 20, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $15,000
• Qualify with: 750 points

Have you Qualified?

Many online poker sites require players to qualify up to a full month in advance for a seat in their freeroll. If you've been playing on any of the following sites in July, you may have qualified for the following events without even knowing:

Party Poker

• Date: Aug 15, 20:00 GMT
• Value: $2,000
• Qualify with: 100 points
• Qualify between: Jul 1 - Jul 31

Poker Stars

• Date: Aug 30, 15:00 EST
• Value: $20,000
• Qualify with: 500 points
• Qualify between: Jul 1 - Jul 31

Ultimate Bet

• Date: Aug 16, 15:00 EST
• Value: $5,000
• Qualify with: 100 raked hands
• Qualify between: Jul 1 - Jul 31

Visit PokerListings.com

$70,000 in exclusive freerolls on the way

All PokerListings.com players, new and existing, can take part in any of the following freerolls. Meet the qualification requirements for your free seat now.

If you're not a PokerListings registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up.

This week:

Titan Poker

Titan Poker spreads a weekly freeroll for PokerListings players with a weekly prize pool of $1,000. It takes just one point to qualify for your seat.

• Date: Aug 1st, 18:00 GMT
• Value: $1,000
• Qualify with: 1 point

On top of the weekly, Titan Poker spreads a monthly $5,000 freeroll for PokerListings players. It takes just 25 points to qualify for your seat.

• Date: Aug 2, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $5,000
• Qualify with: 25 points

William Hill Poker

William Hill Poker spreads a monthly $2,500 freeroll for all PokerListings players. The fields are small, making it easy to get your piece of the prize. Qualify with just 100 points.

• Date: Aug 6, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $2,500
• Qualify with: 100 points

Upcoming:

Full Tilt

Full Tilt holds a weekly $3,000 freeroll for all PokerListings players. Qualify for each freeroll by earning 200 Frequent Player Points in the qualification period, then take your free seat in the event.

• Date: Aug 8, 13:00 EST
• Value: $3,000
• Qualify with: 200 points
• Qualify between: Aug 1 - Aug 7

bwin Poker

For first-time depositors only, this exclusive freeroll requires only 50 points to qualify.

• Date: Aug 23, 19:00 GMT
• Value: $2,000
• Qualify with: 50 points
• Qualify between: May 14 - Aug 20

Poker Stars

With the announcement of this $25,000 freeroll, Poker Stars has clinched both the top spots in the largest upcoming freerolls. This freeroll is an exclusive $25,000 WCOOP satellite for PokerListings players.

• Date: Sep 5, 15:00 EST
• Value: $25,000
• Qualify with: 300 points
• Qualify between: Aug 1 - Aug 31

Ultimate Bet

Ultimate bet offers a $5,000 monthly freeroll to PokerListings players. Play just 100 raked hands in the month prior to the event for your seat.

• Date: Sept 13, 15:00 EST
• Value: $5,000
• Qualify with: 100 raked hands
• Qualify between: Aug 1 - Aug 31

Have you Qualified?

Many online poker sites require players to qualify up to a full month in advance for a seat in their freeroll. If you've been playing on any of the following sites in July, you may have qualified for the following events without even knowing:

Party Poker

• Date: Aug 15, 20:00 GMT
• Value: $2,000
• Qualify with: 100 points
• Qualify between: Jul 1 - Jul 31

• Date: Aug 30, 15:00 EST
• Value: $20,000
• Qualify with: 500 points
• Qualify between: Jul 1 - Jul 31

Ultimate Bet

• Date: Aug 16, 15:00 EST
• Value: $5,000
• Qualify with: 100 raked hands
• Qualify between: Jul 1 - Jul 31

Visit PokerListings.com

I’m Going to Be a Lobbyist in My Next Lifetime

I recently returned from a trip to Washington, DC in which I was privileged to be part of the Poker Players Alliance’s (PPA) National Poker Week Fly-In. Part of this event included a gathering of 33 PPA State Directors, a handful of poker celebrities, and various lobbyists and media members. Our goal was to gain support for favorable online poker legislation and specifically for House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank’s HR 2267, which would establish federal licensing and regulation of online poker.

My first impression of Capitol Hill is that I have never seen so many men and women dressed in business attire, scurrying from one building to another, carrying files and folders, all with an agenda to fulfill. The experience of actually seeing our government at work and being part of the process was incredible.

The Fly-In started out with a working dinner at which the participants got a chance to network with each other and hear brief speeches from Alfonse D’Amato, Congressman Robert Wexler, and John Pappas, Executive Director of the PPA.  Afterwards, we were given our meeting schedules for the next two days. My list of appointments included Senators Charles Schumer and Dianne Feinstein, and Representatives Tim Bishop, Shelley Berkley, Dina Titus, and Lynn Westmoreland. I had been given a list of talking points and became comfortable with them through many role-playing scenarios with Jan Fisher and my brother Rich Plante, who accompanied me on the trip.

At each of our meetings, we were taken into an office or small boardroom and allowed to make a presentation about why we believe that online poker should be completely legal, licensed, and regulated in the United States. Most times, there was a lobbyist with us and two or more PPA representatives present. I actually preferred the meetings without a lobbyist, as this gave us more time to personalize our stories and yet were still able to present the persuasive positive points about our position.

Here are some of the facts we presented in our meetings to encourage support of HR 2267:
1. More than 10 million Americans play online poker.
2. If online poker sites were licensed, American citizens would be protected from scam artists who don’t operate their sites with integrity. In addition, we would have legal recourse in U.S. courts if problems occurred.
3. Studies show that approximately $3.3 billion in tax money would be raised annually if online poker were regulated.
4. HR 2267 would provide effective protection to keep underage children from gambling online.
5. HR 2267 provides help to compulsive gamblers.
6. 75% of Americans oppose a ban on internet poker.
7. Poker is a game of skill. State courts in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Colorado have recently come to this conclusion.
8. Licensing and regulating online sites would create jobs. I know many people who lost their jobs as marketing directors and party planners when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) passed.

We also made personal pleas to Senators, Congressmen, and staffers. For instance, I brought up how embarrassing it is that in the “Land of the Free,” we don’t have the same right to fund an online poker account and play in our own homes that citizens of most other countries in the world have. I also brought up the fact that my brother, who lives in Utah where there are no casinos, will eventually have to leave his home state if he wants to play poker unless we get the law changed. There are millions of physically-challenged and infirmed citizens who aren’t able to travel to a casino to play poker. Instead, playing online in their homes can bring them happiness in an otherwise depressing, painful life.

I believe that we helped sway opinions in a positive way through our Congressional meetings. Lots of questions were asked and answered that made it obvious that licensing and regulation is the best way to go regarding online poker. Since the Fly-In, three members of Congress (Representatives Linda Sanchez, John Conyers, and Mike Thompson) have signed on to co-sponsor HR 2267, bringing the total to 51. Many more will follow suit… it only makes sense!

The trip wasn’t all business, though; we had some time for fun in between our meetings. A special treat was lunch at the Pentagon in the Army Executive Dining Room hosted by a Brigadier General friend of mine. After lunch, we were given a tour of the 9/11 Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

I also got to play in a charity poker tournament along with 35 patients from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Celebrities in attendance included Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, Jan Fisher, Howard Lederer, Dennis Phillips, Montel Williams, and members of Congress and their staff. The PPA donated $25,000 to seed the effort and another $10,000 was raised through rebuys, bounties, and donations. My trip to Washington, DC was truly a top-ten event in my life.

***

Linda,
Nice job. Thank you so much for your efforts. You covered all the primary points that legislators need to be aware of.

There is one more factor that may sway some who are still “on the fence;” taking note of the stakes levels that are routinely played.

There may be a misperception about who is playing poker online and the stakes they are playing for. TV, our good friend in promoting poker, may be presenting a distorted picture of who is playing and what kinds of risks they are actually taking. You hear this when various anti-poker politicians talk about how they worry that people would routinely be putting their economic futures at risk if online play were legalized.

As it is, the overwhelming proportion of players only play at the microstakes levels. They enter games with less money than it takes to buy a hot dog at a baseball game. There is precious little financial risk in these games.

It is easy to see this. Just for fun, I scrolled over the NLH games in progress at Poker Stars. Here are the numbers of tables in action at each of the levels.

$25/$50(and higher)…. 2 tables
$10/$20….. 6 tables
$5/$10……28 tables
$3/$6…….26 tables
$2/$4…….72 tables
$1/$2…..201 tables
$.50/$1…..496 tables
$.25/$.50…..456 tables
$.10/$.25…..696 tables
$.05/$.10…..516 tables
$.02/$.05…..288 tables
$.01/$.02…..576 tables

The game is played, as you noted, mainly for recreation and amusement by people who prefer this kind of competitive interaction and find it to be more stimulating, intellectually challenging and engaging than watching reruns on cable TV.

Best,

Arthur