The inaugural North American Poker Tour (NAPT) event on U.S. soil will include a special $25,000 buy-in High Roller Bounty Shootout, according to the PokerStars Blog. The world’s largest online poker site serves as the sponsor of the NAPT series.
The name of the game in the High Roller Bounty Shootout will be No Limit Texas Hold’em. However, a variety of unique aspects to the tournament may make it one for the ages. First, a bevy of poker pros, whether associated with PokerStars or not, are expected to head to the Venetian for the NAPT event in Las Vegas. In the backyard of many of poker’s elite names, the NAPT Venetian Main Event serves as the finale of the casino’s Deep Stack Extravaganza and will take place from February 20th to 24th.
The High Roller tournament kicks off on February 23rd and will conclude two days later. Players must win their tables in order to move on to the next round, as is typical in the shootout format, and each contestant has a $5,000 bounty on their head. Text found on the PokerStars Blog adds another exciting feature: “Oh, and just to make things a little more interesting… PokerStars is adding $100,000 to pay off whoever scores the most bounties.”
On the new addition to the NAPT Venetian schedule, PokerStars Head of Global Events Jeffrey Haas commented, “We want to try new things, different formats, and unique events that make our players happy. This is sure to be a hit with both our players and the people who watch on television.” As of the end of last week, the only player confirmed for the Bounty Shootout was Daniel Negreanu, a card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro and main face of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Cash Game,” which aired on Fox during the 2009 NFL season. In addition to Negreanu, PokerStars is expecting “dozens of big-name players” to throw their hats into the ring.
Each player who reaches the final table of the NAPT Venetian Bounty Shootout will double their money and pocket $50,000. After the final table is paid off, the remaining prize pool, less the bounties, will be awarded entirely to the winner. Just like the NAPT Venetian Main Event, the Bounty Shootout will air on a yet-to-be-named network in the United States. It can also be seen online on PokerStars.tv.
The 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event marked the inaugural stop on the NAPT. Harrison Gimbel came out on top in the January poker tournament and earned $2.2 million. A total of 1,529 players turned out for the PCA Main Event, which was also a stop on the PokerStars-backed European Poker Tour (EPT) and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT).
Following the NAPT’s debut at the Venetian, the tournament series will travel east to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. NAPT Mohegan Sun takes place between April 7th and 11th and features a $5,000 buy-in, the same price tag as the Venetian Main Event. Other stops on the kickoff NAPT season will be announced in the future.
As of February 3rd, a total of 235 PokerStars players had qualified for the NAPT Venetian Main Event. The tournament area will likely be packed to the brim with poker players shuffling their chips, dishing out bad beats, and vying for a life-changing top prize. NAPT Hostess Joanna Krupa will be the face of the tour after making an appearance on the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” as a celebrity challenger.
PokerStars happily accepts players from the United States. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the live poker circuit.
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In newsstands now is the February issue of Bluff Magazine. The new cycle of the periodical features the Power 20, the most influential entities in the world of poker. Leading the list are two online poker sites, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.
Full Tilt recently debuted Rush Poker, which flipped the cash game world upside down. Allowing players to change tables immediately following their action in a hand ending, Rush Poker has seen its competitors logging between 200 and 300 hands per hour. Up to four Rush Poker tables can be opened at once and poker tracking software like Holdem Manager and PokerTracker allows players to see critical stats on opponents. Other innovations from Full Tilt have included Matrix Sit and Gos and the quarterly Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), whose 15th cycle kicks off on Wednesday.
PokerStars and Full Tilt sit at #1 and #2, respectively, on the Power 20 list. PokerStars is the world’s largest online poker site and features a stable of pros that includes recent World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champions Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Joe Cada (2009). Eastgate and Cada, in back-to-back years, became the youngest winners ever of the $10,000 buy-in tournament. PokerStars has a well-established media presence, sponsoring ESPN’s “Inside Deal” and purportedly the sixth season of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.”
Cada sits at #10 on the list and experienced a media circus following his Main Event win in November. Cada appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman” and ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” among other high-profile series, bringing the PokerStars brand name and youthful nature of the game to the mass media. He has been linked to everyone from Detroit disc jockeys to former Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole and brought much-needed enthusiasm to a downtrodden Michigan economy.
Two personalities fighting for the rights of online poker players in the United States on Capitol Hill also appear on the Power 20. Sitting at #7 is Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), online poker’s leading proponent on the legislative front. Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, HR 2267, is up to 65 co-sponsors on both sides of the political spectrum and may be marked up before the month of February comes to an end.
Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas owns the #12 spot. Pappas was instrumental in moving the PPA from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. and bringing former three-term Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY) into the PPA’s ranks. D’Amato did not make the top 20, but Poker News Daily has learned that he barely missed the cut.
Bluff asked a bevy of media outlets, including Poker News Daily, to contribute names to the Power 20 in December. Only PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker represent companies; the other 18 list members are individuals. The purveyor of the list, Bluff Magazine, has its own Lance Bradley at #16.
A handful of individuals nominated by Poker News Daily did not make the top 20, including the team at CardRunners, Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan, Party Gaming CEO Jim Ryan, UB.com’s Annie Duke, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, Eric “sheets” Haber, Raymer, Go Daddy Girl Vanessa Rousso, and European Poker Tour (EPT) founder John Duthie.
Here is a look at the Bluff Power 20, which you can read more about by heading to your local bookstore or newsstand:
1. PokerStars
2. Full Tilt Poker
3. Mitch Garber
4. Howard Lederer
5. Ty Stewart
6. Doyle Brunson
7. Barney Frank
8. Daniel Negreanu
9. Tony G
10. Joe Cada
11. Phil Ivey
12. John Pappas
13. Mike Sexton
14. Mori Eskandani
15. Brian Balsbaugh
16. Lance Bradley
17. Joe Sebok
18. Barry Shulman
19. Matt Savage
20. Per Hagen
We’d like to thank Bluff Magazine for letting us be a part of the voting process in 2010.
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The name Trash Talk Championship may lead you to believe that poker at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas was down and dirt Saturday afternoon, but in reality it was all smiles, fun, and money for a good cause as celebrities and poker pros alike took part in the charity poker event. The $1,000 + $70 event drew more than 60 participants and helped to raise money for the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
The tournament’s field included a host of celebrities like “Curb our Enthusiasm’s” Cheryl Hines, artist Michael Godard, “The Simpsons” voice Nancy Cartwright, Shaun Sipos of “Melrose Place”, Nicholas Gonzalez, director Joe Reitman, and Dennis Haskins, better known to most as Mr. Belding on “Saved By the Bell.”
Big poker names turned up as well, including Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Kathy Liebert, and the stable of Victory Poker sponsored pros. The latter group includes Antonio Esfandiari, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, Alec “traheho” Torelli, Lee Markholt, Paul Wasicka, Brian “tsarrast” Rast, and Dan “Blitz” Bilzerian, just to name a few. Victory served as one of the sponsors for the event, which included a red carpet walk, silent auction, cash games, and an after-party officially launching the site.
Half of the prize pool was set aside for Osbourne’s foundation and, although Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne were not in attendance, they sent a message to the field expressing their gratitude that people were spending time and money supporting the cause. All told, more than $11,000 was raised to benefit the foundation.
As the tournament got underway, most of the participants had as much fun as possible, ordering drinks, making prop bets, and filming numerous segments for the forthcoming online television network, Victory.tv. To sweeten the prize pool, bounties ranging from a bottle of Ketel One Vodka to a free pair of shoes were placed on players’ heads.
The theme of the day appeared to be girl power, as a large number of women took part in the event. By the time the final table was set, the field was split between guys and girls, including reality television star and Absolute Poker sponsored pro Trishelle Cannatella, Playboy Playmate of the Year and Victory Poker Team Pro Sara Underwood, and Markholt. Valerie Torelli, mother of Torelli, also made the final table and seemed to be the crowd favorite with nine to go. Railbirds kept cheering on “Mama Torelli,” but she couldn’t overcome her short stack and made an early exit from final table play.
The fun and games continued even after the final table was set as a crowd gathered to take in the action. Some of the pros took to playing “Johnny Lodden Thinks,” but, oddly enough, the game’s co-founder, Esfandiari, was not one of the people taking part. In between Lodden Thinks bets, Markholt was doing his best to get wagers going on who was going to win it all. Despite being the most experienced poker player at the final table, Markholt put his money on the fact that one of the remaining ladies in the field would take the tournament down.
Markholt’s prediction was correct and it was a woman who ended up being the last player standing. Cannatella jumped out to a huge chip lead during four-handed play when her A-K held up against Underwood’s K-J to eliminate Underwood in fourth place. Cannatella inherited Underwood’s sizeable chip stack and began putting the advantage to use by moving in on her remaining two opponents. After eliminating Markholt in third place, it only took 15 minutes before the tournament was over and Cannatella was crowned the champion.
Cannatella almost didn’t make it to the final table, though. Thinking she would just make a brief appearance at the tournament, she booked her flight back to Los Angeles for 8:00pm and found herself facing a tough decision with two tables remaining: stay and play or make her flight. “I was playing really well, but I kind of donked off half my stack because I thought I was going to be leaving,” Cannatella told Poker News Daily. She was able to grind her way back into contention though and it paid off with a high-profile victory for a good cause. In addition to the prize money, Cannatella also received a seat in the upcoming World Poker Tour (WPT) Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino and a 20-pound custom crystal trophy.
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The Borgata Winter Poker Open, a $3,500 buy-in tournament that was formerly a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT), began back on January 31st with 766 players. In the end, poker pro Jeff Madsen walked away with the title and $625,000 top prize on Friday.
The annual tournament in Atlantic City boasted a colossal $2 million guaranteed prize pool and, when the smoke cleared, Madsen outlasted Sirous Jamshidi heads-up. In the final hand, Jamshidi picked an inopportune time to commit his chips with Q-2, as Madsen held K-10. Madsen hit a king on the turn to stay in front for good in the hand and take down the 2010 running of the Borgata poker tournament. Madsen led the majority of the heads-up confrontation, according to CardPlayer, which explained how the youngster was able to close it out: “Madsen employed a small ball strategy to grind his opponent down and it eventually worked to give him the win.”
By taking down the prestigious East Coast event, Madsen added to an already sterling poker resume that includes two bracelets, both of which came during the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Madsen took down a $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $660,000 at the Rio in Las Vegas before emerging victorious from the pack in a $5,000 Short-Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament one week later for another $643,000. He instantly became one of the hottest players on the poker circuit.
Madsen made two final tables during last year’s L.A. Poker Classic for nearly $230,000 combined and recently finished third in a $1,500 event during the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $69,000. Last month, he placed 19th in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event for $87,000. At the Borgata, Madsen’s victory came in a tournament whose prize pool swelled to $2.5 million. The top 72 players finished in the money. The last time that the tournament was a part of the WPT circuit was 2008.
Joining Madsen at the 10-handed final table was poker pro Matt Matros, who exited in tenth place and picked up $32,000. Madsen was in a familiar spot of many poker players on his last hand of the Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event, racing with pocket sixes against Nick Kamen’s A-K. Matros stormed onto the tournament scene six years ago, when he made the final table of the WPT Championship at the Bellagio, finishing in third place for $707,000. He banked $250,000 from the 2008 WSOP and finished eighth in the WPT North American Poker Championship in late 2008 for nearly $100,000.
Here’s how the final table shook out, according to Borgata Winter Poker Open coverage found on the official website of CardPlayer:
1st Place: Jeff Madsen – $625,006
2nd Place: Sirous Jamshidi – $367,794
3rd Place: David Marchese – $190,027
4th Place: Barkley Hamilton – $165,508
5th Place: Nick Kamen – $140,988
6th Place: Al Grimes – $116,468
7th Place: David Fox – $91,949
8th Place: Ross Mallor – $67,429
9th Place: Chan Pelton – $49,039
10th Place: Matt Matros – $31,876
Other major tournaments held during the Winter Poker Open at the Borgata included a $100,000 prize pool up for grabs in Event #14, a $200 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry contest. The event garnered 1,100 entrants and saw Alex Lindh take home a $39,000 top prize. Other preliminary events saw poker superstars Chris Reslock and Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler come out on top. Kessler took down an Omaha/Seven Card Stud High-Low event for $15,000, while Reslock won a Pot Limit Omaha tournament for nearly $10,000.
Stay tuned for the latest live poker tournament results right here on Poker News Daily.
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Playing poker and sports betting have long gone hand in hand. In virtually every casino, the poker room is adjacent to the sports book, allowing players to sweat their bets and their cards at the same time. With that in mind, Poker News Daily thought it was fitting to seek out players’ opinions on who is going to win Super Bowl XLIV. Tomorrow’s bout pits the 14-2 Indianapolis Colts against the 13-3 New Orleans Saints. Like the rest of the world, the poker community is a sucker for a Cinderella story and is rooting for the Saints, but when pressed to name who will win, most everyone is betting on the Colts.
Poker pro and “Amazing Race” contestant Maria Ho is one of the players who hopes the Saints can bring home a feel-good victory for the people living in New Orleans. In her most recent blog post, Ho admitted she didn’t have a strong rooting interest in either team, but if she had to pick one, she is siding with the Saints. She elaborated on her pick: “So I will have to give it to the Saints, because after spending time in New Orleans for the first time a few months ago, I really fell in love with that city and the spirit of the people there. So WHO DAT? WHO DAT? WHO DAT SAY DEY GONNA BEAT THEM SAINTS? Haha.”
One player who really doesn’t care who dey are is Dan “Wretchy” Martin. The online poker pro is a devout Colts fan and was spotted trumpeting his love for Peyton Manning and crew in the Off Topic section of the PocketFives.com online poker forum. While he didn’t have much to say, his “Go Colts” indicates that the man means business.
Renowned sports bettor and ten-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Doyle Brunson decided to cover his bases when it came to betting on the Super Bowl. He stands to profit a tidy six-figure sum after placing a couple of high-stakes prop bets on both the Colts and Saints. He explained his situation in detail on his personal blog: “This will be an enjoyable event this year as I made a 100k bet on picking the winner of the championship game. I took the Colts and my opponent took the Patriots. I think I’ll bet 50k on the Saints +4 1/2 and lock up a nice win. If Indy wins by 4 or less, I’ll win 150K. Nice position to be in huh?”
While Brunson, Martin, and Ho are all geared up to watch the big game, one poker player was fairly disinterested in the whole endeavor. Poker News Daily spoke with online player Jon “IveGotToeJam” Wein about the Super Bowl and he had no input to offer on either team. “I could care less about professional football,” said Wein. “Talk to me in a month when March Madness for basketball begins.” So, while most players will be grinding on Sunday with at least one eye on the game, Wein will solely be focused on making yet another Sunday Million final table, adding to the two he’s already logged in the past three months.
Though he may be a Giants fan, Shaun Deeb also had some insight on the Super Bowl, siding with the Colts. When asked why he thinks the Colts will prevail, Deeb summed things up as such: “Peyton Manning is very, very good at football.” On an unrelated note, Poker News Daily tracked Deeb down in the most unlikely of places to get his Super Bowl pick, a poker tournament table. Despite announcing his retirement from tournament poker not three months ago, Deeb couldn’t help but take part in the $20,000 Guaranteed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Friday night.
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The world of internet gaming and online poker continues to become more convoluted, as it was announced earlier this week that the Canadian province of Quebec has entered into a deal to open a State-authorized online gaming operation.
It was announced on Wednesday that Loto-Quebec, who holds the monopoly on the online lottery in the Canadian province, was authorized by the provincial government to begin operating an internet gambling and online poker portal for its citizens. The new site would compete against other online casino and poker sites and would not, officials state, monopolize the industry in the province. Despite the fact that online gaming is legal in Canada, the move by the provincial government has been painted as a way to eliminate unregulated operations that currently are in existence and increase revenue for the province.
According to reports from CTV Montreal, Loto-Quebec, along with the operators the British Columbia and Atlantic Lottery Corporations, will set up a singular site in the second half of 2010 that will cater to citizens of Quebec. CTV Montreal reports that over $600 million in revenue is pulled in by over 2000 operations, many of them outside of the government’s jurisdiction or the “black market,” as the government believes. CTV Montreal quotes the Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand as saying, “Our citizens are not protected and the money goes to illegal channels.”
Loto-Quebec states that, beyond the money side of the equation, the company and the government are looking to expand protections for consumers. According to Loto-Quebec, the new site will feature several preventative measures that will help to thwart the occurrence of difficult issues such as age verification, deposit limits, and problem gambling. “(Other) online gambling sites obviously do not offer an assistance program for vulnerable players and it is left to the (government) to pick up the costs of problem gaming,” according to Loto-Quebec Chief Executive Officer Alain Cousineau as saying.
Loto-Quebec has said it is looking to a European nation that has nationalized its gaming, Sweden, as a template. The Swedish site Svenska Spel offers internet gaming and online poker and is the only legal outlet for Swedes to pursue such activities. Svenska Spel was founded in 1997 and opened its online poker operations in 2006; it is currently the 13th largest online poker site in the online poker industry, according to PokerScout.com.
This latest move by Quebec follows other efforts in the United States, where jurisdictions are looking to take the online gaming industry out of the hands of the federal government. Three states – California, Florida, and New Jersey – may open their own state-run sites.
A thread on the online forum TwoPlusTwo is debating the issue, with opinions landing on both sides. Poster “defactocrippler” states in a post, “I assume they did some investigating and it is pretty likely that some money is going to illegal channels… Citizens are in fact not protected because there is no regulation.” Others point out that the move by Quebec could be seen as an attack on the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Indians, who operate the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and are responsible for the licensing and operation of hundreds of online casino and poker sites.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on Quebec legalizing internet gambling.
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A recent article posted on Poker News Daily about PartyPoker capping play chip account balances for non-real money players has caused quite a stir. Poker News Daily sought the opinion of a longtime industry insider on the site’s decision.
Readers of Poker News Daily have been quite vocal about the shift in PartyPoker’s play money stance. The standard on the world’s third largest online poker site is now a maximum of 250,000 play money chips for customers without real money accounts and an unlimited number for those with cash balances. Our original article on the topic has garnered 70 comments from readers of our site and is one of the most talked-about topics of all-time. In fact, some of the comments have a higher word count than the articles themselves.
While a high percentage of the comments lambaste PartyPoker for its decision, our industry insider disagreed with the masses. Our source explained, “This is a business enterprise and they’re not paying customers. These guys are talking about class action lawsuits and boycotting the site. It’s a while different scenario if you’re a paying customer and the business changes its policy, but these are free accounts.”
Affected by PartyPoker’s decision, in part, is the large aftermarket that has popped up for the site’s play chips, with up to one billion chips being sold for as much as $400 on sites like Chip Empire. Why have a play money site in the first place, you ask? Part of the answer lies in the ability to advertise to certain markets. Our insider noted, “It gives you a way of advertising in the U.S. You can say that it’s not a gambling site and you hope that a decent percentage of those who sign up will decide to deposit real money.” However, the conversion rate is typically between 5% and 10%.
In addition, play money sites allow customers to whet their whistles and fine-tune their poker know-how before venturing onto real money games. Our source explained, “A lot of people try out play money tables to get their feet wet. Within a week or a month or however long it takes, they understand the concept of online poker and deposit.” However, operating a play money table, according to our expert, requires policing of avatars and chat, awareness of the aftermarket effects of chip sales, and customer inquiries. All of these efforts take away from the monetary focus of a multi-million dollar online poker room.
In our expert’s experience, when play money bidding popped up on sites like eBay, the room would ask the popular auction site to remove it. eBay typically obliged, but new opportunities to bid would continually crop up. Our expert noted, “When [PartyPoker had to contend with] chip dumping and sales going on, that becomes a time-spender that they have to manage. They don’t want to have to invest real money in customers who are in theory customers, but don’t provide you with revenue.”
As you can tell by milling through the comments on our previous PartyPoker play money articles, play chip fans are extremely passionate. Our interviewee reiterated this fact for us: “Some people are rabidly passionate about their play money games. Sometimes it was about selling the chips and sometimes it was about having a contest with their friends. For some people, it was a big deal and so they’re extremely vocal.”
In a poll posted on Thursday on Poker News Daily, we asked, “What do you think about PartyPoker’s new play chip policy capping non-real money players at 250,000 chips?” At the time of writing, an overwhelming 73% of respondents said, “Who cares? It’s just play money,” while only 24% disagreed with PartyPoker’s move.
Stay tuned for the latest reaction to the PartyPoker play money paradigm shift.
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The Quick Summary
Only Poker is a recent addition to the Cake Poker Network, which encompasses over 50 online poker rooms, including such industry stalwarts as DoylesRoom and PokerHost, and has been in business since 2004. The big drawing point for Only Poker is seen in its tagline, “No bullshit, only poker,” meaning you won’t find a sports book or online casino with the site. This is something that will definitely draw those who are interested in just playing poker and not in the other “bells and whistles” sites may offer.
Popularity: 6 of 10 – Good
With Only Poker being a part of the Cake Poker Network, you can anticipate finding a game at any time. The Cake Poker Network is one of the top ten online poker destinations for players in the game today. According to the online poker tracking site PokerScout.com, there is a seven-day average of 2,150 cash game players. The player counts have previously peaked at nearly 3,200 cash game players, which don’t include their tournament action.
One of the appealing aspects of Only Poker is that it is U.S. player friendly. This ensures that there will be action on the tables throughout the day, with peak traffic occurring in the early evenings in the United States. Only Poker has the community appeal of its smaller size, which some players may prefer to the larger online poker rooms in the industry.
Security: 9 of 10 – Excellent
Only Poker had to go through a tremendous effort to become a part of the Cake Poker Network, which is noted as one of the most secure in the industry. They are one of the few networks that disallow third party software such as PokerTracker and Holdem Manager, which some players believe give an unfair advantage. While this may be a drawback for some, others might find this refreshing.
In addition to preventing the use of third party software, Only Poker allows players to change their screen names as often as every seven days. On its website, Only Poker states that this “negates the effectiveness of shared or prolonged poker data tracking.” Only Poker also uses state of the art 256-bit TwoFish encryption for play and financial transactions and is vigilant against several other potential issues in online poker such as collusion and bot usage.
Player Competition: 5 of 10 – Fair
While there are currently no sponsored professionals for the site, Only Poker is making inroads to change that situation. It is rumored that five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman will soon sign with the room, giving it one of the most flamboyant personalities in the celebrity world today. If Only Poker continues to pursue top flight celebrities and poker players, they could become a major player.
Site Software: 9 of 10 – Excellent
Only Poker’s software offers two different views that a player can use for their experience. One is a near-3D viewpoint, with players at the tables being presented as avatars. The second is an overhead view that just gives the basic information that a player needs like the names of opponents and their chip counts. Either option is very fluid in play and glitches are rare.
The lobby is easy to navigate and particular games are quite simple to find. Only Poker uses an excellent filter that will only present games that meet your search criteria. This makes for a quick entrance into games that a player wishes to play.
Customer Support: 6 of 10 – Good
There are several different methods that Only Poker offers for players to contact the company. Help is available 24/7 through not only phone support, but also e-mail options. For those who look for a speedy response, players can either call a toll free number or fax Only Poker. For those with less immediate concerns, they can e-mail support and usually receive a response within 48 hours.
Company Ethics: 8 of 10 – Very Good
Only Poker, as previously stated, doesn’t allow third party software and also is continuously on the lookout for any possible shenanigans on the site. The option to change your player name on a weekly basis is meant to safeguard a player’s anonymity.
Site Promotions: 8 of 10 – Very Good
Only Poker offers many of the staples that are a part of the Cake Poker Network. Players earn Gold Cards and Gold Chips through their play, which can be used for entries into special tournaments. There is also the Gold Stacks program, where players can earn cash back for completion of certain Gold Stacks on the site.
Tournaments are a huge part of Only Poker’s offerings. There is a $125,000 Guaranteed tournament every Sunday, with the last Sunday of the month offering a $250,000 Guaranteed tournament. Players can earn entry into these through buying in, satellites, or even using their Gold Cards and Gold Chips. There are also special satellites for major live tournaments.
Initial player offerings at Only Poker are some of the best in the online industry. Players can earn a 110% first-time depositor bonus and there are excellent freerolls offered.
Overall Review: 7.28 of 10 – Good
Only Poker has many things that players will find appealing. If they build a solid base of either celebrity or professional poker player endorsers, it will only add to their appeal. Being a part of such a prominent network also makes Only Poker a solid addition to the online poker world.
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Ten-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Doyle Brunson will likely bow out of the star-studded PartyPoker Premier League IV, according to his blog. Brunson cites the fallout from dental surgery as the cause and may be sidelined until May.
On Sunday, the New Orleans Saints face the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. Football’s biggest game of the year will play out in Miami and be beamed into households around the globe. In a blog posted on the official website of his online poker room, DoylesRoom, Brunson revealed that he made a $100,000 bet on the outcome of the game. Brunson has the Colts, while a person described only as his “opponent” selected the Saints (although he identifies the other team as the New England Patriots in his blog).
With Las Vegas bookmakers laying down a 4.5 point line, Brunson added that he’d probably make a $50,000 bet on the Saints and the points. The face of DoylesRoom noted, “If Indy wins by 4 or less, I’ll win 150K. Nice position to be in huh?” Kickoff is scheduled for 6:25pm ET from Dolphin Stadium in Miami and the game can be seen on CBS.
On Monday, Brunson will undergo a 5.5 hour dental procedure on his teeth and gums. The procedure does not appear to be planned, as late last month he was announced as a participant in the high-stakes PartyPoker Premier League IV. Brunson revealed that the operation may affect his involvement: “I’m supposed to play in the Premier League tournament that is being filmed at the M Casino here in Vegas. It is the most widely watched TV show in Europe, with a $100,000 buy-in. That would be great exposure for DoylesRoom but there is no way I’ll be 100% recovered from all that dental surgery so I’ll have to cancel.” PartyPoker has made no announcement regarding Brunson’s attendance.
Also on the horizon is the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) annual L.A. Poker Classic from the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. Playing out just before that event at the same casino is the WPT Celebrity Invitational. On the L.A. Poker Classic, Brunson revealed, “That is one of my favorite tournaments because the side action is always good.” Shortly thereafter, “Texas Dolly” is slated to play in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian tournament and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. However, Brunson lamented, “I’ll have to bow out of all these tournaments because there is no use playing unless you are at your best. The competition has gotten so good you need to feel good physically as well as mentally to have a chance to win.”
Brunson concluded by saying that his “gut feeling” is to relax until the 2010 WSOP begins in May. If this proves to be true, then we may not see Brunson in action again until May 28th, when the $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship kicks off the open schedule of events at the WSOP. The Eight-Game mix is a new addition to the tournament series’ schedule this year and replaces the $50,000 HORSE event. The Player’s Championship will air as part of ESPN’s coverage of the 2010 WSOP and likely feature one of the toughest fields ever assembled.
Brunson holds 10 WSOP bracelets, good for a tie with Johnny Chan for the second most overall behind UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth’s 11. Brunson won the 1976 and 1977 WSOP Main Events and his first six in the money finishes were all for bracelets. His last piece of hardware came five years ago, when Brunson won a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Short-Handed event for $367,000, defeating Minh Ly heads-up in a final table that also included Scotty Nguyen and Layne Flack.
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Cable station GSN will air an eight-hour marathon of its hit cash game show “High Stakes Poker” leading up to the premiere of Season 6. The action begins at Noon ET on Sunday, February 14th.
If you don’t have a valentine in 2010, don’t sweat. You can curl up beside the fireplace with your remote control and watch eight hours’ worth of highlights from “High Stakes Poker” Seasons 1 to 5 as part of GSN’s I Love Poker Marathon. The highlights will ramp viewers up for the kickoff episode of Season 6, which will air at 8:00pm ET. If you’re at a pricey Italian restaurant with your valentine and miss the premiere, encore episodes can be seen at 11:00pm ET and 2:00am ET on Sunday nights. The eight episodes leading up to the Season 6 premiere are some of the most memorable in “High Stakes Poker” history.
When Season 6 debuts, viewers will only hear Gabe Kaplan calling the action on “High Stakes Poker.” His partner in crime for five seasons, A.J. Benza, will not return for the show’s sixth cycle after a messy divorce from GSN. Instead, seasoned tournament reporter Kara Scott will assume reporting duties from the floor of the “High Stakes Poker” suite. In 2009, Scott became only the second woman in history to cash in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in back-to-back years. She recently moved to California and is a sponsored pro of the popular online poker site PartyPoker.
An impressive lineup of talent will take to the “High Stakes Poker” felts this season. Those who can be seen when the sixth installment of the show unfolds on GSN include Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth, Andreas Hoivold, Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu, Dennis Phillips, and Lex Veldhuis.
Neither Hellmuth nor Ivey appeared on the fifth season of “High Stakes Poker” and will add a considerable level of interest to the show in 2010. Ivey only took to the felts as part of Season 3, while Hellmuth last appeared during Season 4. “High Stakes Poker” was filmed at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas in November for the second consecutive season. Just a few days prior, Ivey finished seventh in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, earning $1.4 million.
“High Stakes Poker” has a $200,000 minimum buy-in. Past installments have featured a bevy of heavy hitters including L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss, Johnny Chan, Sammy Farha, Joe Hachem, Howard Lederer, and Bodog pro David Williams. Last season featured the largest single pot awarded in “High Stakes Poker” history, with Dwan and Greenstein pushing their money into the center of the table after the flop came 2-4-Q with two spades. Greenstein held pocket aces for an overpair, while Dwan held K-Q of spades for top pair and a flush draw. The turn was another queen and the river blanked out for Greenstein, shipping the $919,000 pot to Dwan.
This time around, Dwan takes to the felts as a card-carrying member of Team Full Tilt. Dwan signed with the world’s second largest online poker site one week before filming began. The first season of “High Stakes Poker” aired in January 2006 and has become an industry staple. Among those who have made waves on it for charity is Greenstein, who is set to udder the three most feared words in all of poker during Season 6: “bing, blang blaow.” Previous catch phrases for Greenstein have included “Math is Idiotic” and “LOL donkaments.”
Catch the I Love Poker “High Stakes Poker” marathon beginning at Noon ET on Sunday, February 14th.
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