Online Poker Digest

On May 27th, 2012, the World Series of Poker will begin in Las Vegas with a $500 casino employee only No Limit Hold’em tournament. The first event that is open to the public is the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament on May 28th. This year will mark the 42nd anniversary of the World Series of Poker and record field is expected once again as the popularity of poker continues to thrive even after some setbacks to the online poker industry.

The very first World Series of Poker Main Event champ was Johnny Moss back in 1970. Moss actually won the event back to back in 1970 and 1971 earning roughly $30,000 for first place for each of his wins. Moss would go on to win a third time in 1974 and be regarded as one of the greatest poker players of all time.

Another famous past winner is Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson. Brunson won back to back titles in 1976 and 1977 earning a total of $560,000 for his efforts. Brunson would go on to have a long and illustrious poker career and be considered the grandfather of Texas Hold’em.

Once the field size of the Main Event grew, the number of repeat champions dropped considerably. The last time these World Series of Poker had a repeat champion was back in 1987 and 1988 when Johnny Chan won his two Main Event titles. While this is still an amazing accomplishment, Chan only had to beat 151 and 166 other poker players to win his two titles. Compared to today’s fields where there are thousands of players, this is a much easier feat and the main reason why we have not seen a repeat winner since Chan.

In the modern era of poker, Chris Moneymaker is still one of the most notable World Series of Poker winners. Moneymaker is best known for parlaying his $40 entry-fee at an online poker site into $2.5 million and a Main Event bracelet. After Moneymaker won his Main Event title, the field sizes at the Main Event exploded in the following years. There were 839 entrants in 2003 when Moneymaker took home the title and 2,576 the following year.

The 2006 World Series Main Event drew the largest number of entrants with 8,773 poker players putting up $10,000 each to compete in the tournament. This enormous field of players led Jamie Gold to become the single largest prize winner in World Series of Poker history. The last five years has seen the field sizes level out around 6,800 entrants, which is what the tournament is expected to draw again this year.

Deposits and Withdrawals
When choosing a payment method to use at an online casino, it is important to note if the method is available for withdrawals as well as deposits. Some payment options can only be used to make a deposit and you will need a second method for withdrawal. While this may suit some players, it may not be convenient for everyone. Make sure to check the deposit and withdrawal availability for the payment method you choose.

Deposit Withdrawal Times and Limits
When choosing a payment method, make sure to check the withdrawal times for that method. Some withdrawal methods, such as NETeller and Moneybookers will have a waiting time of as little as 1-2 business days before you can access the funds. Other payment methods, such as bank draft will have a wait of up to 21 business days before you can access the money. If time is important to you, you need to choose a method with a fast withdrawal time. In the same vein, different withdrawal methods offer different withdrawal limits which may range from a minimum of $10 to a minimum of $50. Similarly, deposit methods will have minimum and maximum deposits amounts that are available. Minimum deposits may range from $15 to $20 and maximum deposits may range from $750 for Ukash to as much as $50,000 for EntroPay.

Associated Bonuses
Many payment methods will have bonuses associated with them. These bonuses are referred to as alternative payment method bonuses and they will be offered for preferred payment methods at the casino. These bonuses are typically 10% to 15% of the deposit amount.

Customer Service
Choose a payment method that offers top quality customer service. If you encounter any problems when using the payment method it is important to be able to contact their customer service support as soon as possible to sort it out. Customer support that is available 24/7 via multiple convenient methods is the best option.

The Small Print
Always read the small print! Every payment method comes with small print and it is essential that you read it and you understand it before you use that method to make deposits or withdrawals. The small print will let you know important information such as deposit limits, withdrawal limits, withdrawal times and more. Without this information you will not be able to make a decision on which is the best payment method for you to use.

Poker’s biggest superstar, Phil Ivey will be missing out the World Series of Poker. The reason behind such a judgment was because of his sponsor, Full Tilt Poker, who Ivey claims has not paid back player deposits after withdrawal from the U.S. market. This has made Ivey humiliated and dissatisfied.

In a statement posted on Facebook page, Ivey has said that Full Tilt Poker is facing rigorous legal hitches and the supported players of the company have been treated poorly. In returning player deposits, Full Tilt’s alleged “painful” slowness is what Ivey is protesting about. Ivey also filed a lawsuit against Full Tilt, in addition to showing his resentment by missing out in the WSOP.

The owners of FullTilt Poker have stated that Phil Ivey’s lawsuit was a “sanctimonious” action against the online gaming company and they claim that the complete thing is intended to help just Ivey, himself.

For US players, Full Tilt Poker was one of the most popular internet poker rooms. In an April crackdown on online gambling, Full Tilt was one of the three online sites shut down by the FBI. PokerStars and Absolute Poker were the two other poker sites which were shut down. On charges of tricking banks into unlawful processing payments, 11 people were prosecuted.

Via Twitter, Tom “durrrr” Dwan did mention that he thought Ivey’s announcement was “awesome.”, even though majority of Full Tilt Pros have remained silent on the matter. However, he did state that he had no issues playing the WSOP.

The tenth edition of World Poker Tour, Spanish Championship is being held in Barcelona for a week, from May 23 to 29, at the Gran Casino.

The Main Event tournament will be played from 25 to 29 of the fifth month of this year, for this new poker event. With a stack of 30,000 chips and rounds of 60 minutes each, players at this event will have to start the game and the entry fee is set at € 3,200.

At 15.00 CET on Wednesday May 25, Day 1A of the €3,200 + €300 main event gets underway. On Thursday, May 26 Day 1B will follow at the same time. On Sunday, May 29, the final table takes place at 15.00 CET and will be live streamed with hole cards and commentary on the Party Poker blog.

WPT Spanish Championship last year created a total prize pool worth €1,043,200 and attracted a record 326 players. Although allegations circulated about Ali Tekintamgac cheating, he won the tournament and the top prize of $343,307. With prize money, the top 36 players walked away. Per Linde (28th place), Casey Kastle (22nd place), and Steven Van Zadelhoff (13th place) were the notable cashes.

The first international tournament the tour has hosted since WPT Bratislava in April as the WPT Spanish Championship is the first stop of Season 10 of the WPT. The WPT promises another exciting series of tournament with this new season. The winner will take home a $25,500 entry into the 2012 WPT World, in addition to the tournament title.

The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) which will be held in Cannes, France, in October, has announced the schedule for this year’s tournament series.

The 2011 World Series of Poker Europe will consist of seven bracelet events. From October 7th through the 20th, the events will be taking place at the Casino Barrière de Cannes Croisette and the Hotel Majestic Barrière. At a WSOP Europe that is the most bracelets ever offered.

On Oct. 15th the main event, a €10,400 buy-in, will begin. James Bord, Barry Shulman, John Juanda and Annette Obrestad are the past winners in the four year history of the WSOPE.

Starting on Oct. 12th, the most unique tournament will be a four-day split format. The final table will be heads-up as the first day will be nine-handed no-limit hold’em; day two is six-handed; day 3. The buy-in will be €10,400.

On Friday, October 7 at 5:00 PM, a Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em event will kick off the tournament, and feature a €2,500 + €180 buy-in and a 3-day structure.

Other events include No Limit Hold’em Shootout, a six-handed Pot Limit Omaha, a €10,000 + €400 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Main Event, Pot Limit Omaha and No Limit Hold’em.

A unique split format event is the most exciting new addition to the schedule. The final table will be contested heads up as this special four-day event will play Day 1 as 9-handed, Day 2 as six-handed, and Day 3 as Heads-Up. This will feature a €10,000 + €400 buy-in as it’s being dubbed as All-Around No Limit Hold’em Championship.

For the first time in the nine-season history of the tour, the World Poker Tour is scheduled to take place in Florida for a major televised tournament this week. On Wednesday, April 27, the $10,000 no-limit hold’em WPT main event commences at the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown and it will crown a champion on Monday, May 2 in Hollywood, Florida. At the Seminole Hard Rock, the WPT will also host a Regional Series event and it will run from Aug. 19-22.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 one can be a part of history as Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack will kick-off the first-ever World Series of Poker Circuit Events in the State of Pennsylvania. With buy-ins ranging from $50 for the Super Satellite event to $1,500 for the No-Limit Hold’em Championship, the World Series of Poker Circuit schedule for Harrah’s Chester will comprise of 38 tournament events. An automatic seat to the WSOP Circuit National Championship can be earned by the winner of the $1,500 buy-in, championship event. This is scheduled to be held on May 27-29 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

In another poker news, the honor to host a major event of the international poker circuit will be availed by the Aviation Club de France once again. For ten days, this new poker appointment in Paris will run and it will be held from September 1 to 11, 2011. Many tournaments will be played at the program of this event and during six days of September 5 to 10 with two Day 1, the most popular, the main event of € 7,500 buy-in that will take place.

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee in Florida USA dismissed efforts to bring online poker into the lawful and taxable world. For a long time, Florida has been endeavoring to make legal internet poker, recognizing the online gambling trend, which is undeniably growing at a gargantuan rate.

The bill initiated by Republican rep from Miami, Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla was tied vote of 2 against 2. Through an intranet system operated out of the pari-mutuel card rooms already existing, the bill would have regulated online poker games.

Thanks to a suggested 10 percent tax on gross receipts, the bill, sponsored by Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, would have brought in an estimated $10.5 million a year, with another 4 percent going to assist parimutel horse and dog tracks in the state.

SB812 was successfully killed by voting, which resulted in a 2-2 tie. Florida Sheriff’s Association and the Poker Players Alliance powerfully resisted the measure and the bill created an unfair domination that promoted only the state-run parimutel card rooms. Had the bill passed from existing offshore poker sites, it would have successfully barred outside competition.

Lobbyist for the internet poker operators, Gus Corbella said that to go up against the bill, 80,000 Floridians have called lawmakers since it is “severely limiting the access that Florida players currently have” and it is “monopolistic and unfair”. He said that the law is “unclear at best” for online poker, while the federal law makes sports betting illegal.

In the PokerStars Superstar Showdown, Daniel Negreanu commemorated his triumph over Isildur1 by leaping into the top ten at the World Series of Poker Circuit Regional Championship at Rincon outside of San Diego Monday.

Negreanu finds himself in eighth position with 18 players remaining and Kwinsee Tran leading the way. Dwyte Pilgrim, Scott Montgomery, Todd Terry, Ali Eslami and a red-hot Tim West are the other familiar names still in contention. Tim has won the 2011 Wynn Classic main event recently.

Creating a $950,600 prize pool, the $10k WSOPC Rincon Regional Championship drew just 98 players.

Pilgrim will start Day 3 second in chips with 236,500 and he is in a huge position to pick up yet another WSOP-C title. He pursues only chip leader Kwinsee Tran in the counts. For Pilgrim, a win here would mean a record-tying fourth ring. He certainly has history on his side, as two of his three rings came from this very casino.

While others saw their run end on Day 2, Pilgrim, Negreanu, and others flourished. Over the course of the day, Phil Hellmuth, LAPC Champ Gregory Brooks, Jonathan Little, Adam Levy, David Williams, Mike Baxter and Zachary Clark were just a few of the eliminations.

On Tuesday, play will resume at Noon local time and it will be brought to a close when the televised final table of nine is in place. The nine players who reach the final table will be rewarded a seat to the $1 million WSOP Circuit National Championship and the top 12 will also be paid. The $1 million WSOP Circuit National Championship will be played from May 27 to 29th at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

The two most prominent players at the final table endured to the heads-up final at the final day of the Big Event at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, California, which saw a dream set-up play out. For the title of The Big Event champion and the $500,000 first-place prize, battled team PokerStars pro members Joe Hachem and Victor Ramdin

Ramdin persists to be one of the most benevolent players on tour, in spite of a lack of a major triumph as of late, he regularly gave back to those in his home country of Guyana. For his career, his $500,000 payday gives him $3.3 million and his first six-figure score in five years. To Guyanese charities, Ramdin contributes at least 25% of his tournament winnings and often goes above and beyond this amount. For Ramdin, the triumph may also have come just at the right time, as the roster of PokerStars pros is dwindling. He will be under limelight with this win for just a little bit longer.

In career tournament earnings, Hachem now has over $11.3 million. Since his win in the 2006 WPT Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic, a conquest has marked Hachem’s first major tournament victory at The Big Event.

The tournament was a great sensation, in spite of the lack of NAPT branding. A unique view into the minds of some of game’s most familiar players was offered to the fans with the live coverage. PokerStars pro members Joe Hachem and Victor Ramdin headed their separate ways after the tournament ended. Ramdin was back in action less than 12 hours later in the $10,000 Bounty Shootout event, while Hachem left Los Angeles to fly back to Australia.

888 have launched a revolutionary “pokercam” option for 888 Poker. As one of the world’s most admired gaming entertainment companies, it has innovated again to grant players with something that they have not experienced before.

The poker cam tables will be offered from the main lobby and while playing a Texas Hold’em Cash game, it will permit players to see their rivals. The poker cam tables will be powered by a leading video communication service provider, ooVoo, which is admired for its best-in-class mobile video chat solution. A further dimension to 888′s social play has been added by the addition of the “Teams Tournament” feature. In a standard tournament layout, this inventive type of tournament gives players the alternative of joining a virtual team. However, a part of the prize is assigned to all of the players that belong to the winning team, in addition to the conventional prize-pool, players score points for their team.

Hili Shakked, Director of Poker Offering, 888Holdings said that he is delighted to offer this innovative and amusing attribute to the existing and new customers of 888poker. He is thrilled with the outcome and he guaranteed that by simply downloading the new software on a computer with a standard webcam, players could look forward to enjoying an absolutely new and dissimilar poker experience. He added that the bigger challenge will be when one gets pocket aces and one has to hide big grin.

According to the website, it provides an immersive social experience for players to work together with each other, such as the use of personalized avatar, thereby building on the sturdy social aspects of the 888 poker rooms.