Seizure Of US Residents Gambling Bank Accounts Grows
The Government of the United States of America has continued in it's policy of seizing the bank accounts of online poker players that have received payments from poker sites. In the most recent spate of cases, two bank accounts operated by the Atrium Financial Group containing an estimated $365,000 have been seized under warrant after accepting deposits from reputable online casino Golden Casino.
There are numerous seizures of similar bank accounts a year by various law enforcement authorities a year in America, however with the vast majority of them the legal papers are sealed. This was not the case in the latest seizure concerning the Atrium Financial Group bank accounts, as the affidavit was available for public reading.
The affidavit in question shows a deliberate intent by the United States government to disrupt and discourage the payment of debts to US residents by online gambling services. As a part of the investigation that lead to the seizure of Atrium Financial Group accounts, a state police officer from Louisiana was able to gain access to the site and subsequently requested payment.
Although gambling online is not strictly legal in some places of the United States, most of the services associated with it are. Because of this, US officials hope to use publicised seizures such as this to show people that they cannot win with online gambling as they will either loose their funds or have their winnings intercepted and confiscated.
Why Phil Ivey Needs To Win The WSOP
I find myself far more interested in this year’s WSOP main event final table than practically any other WSOP final table in history simply for one reason, Phil Ivey. His presence in the November Nine I believe represents the most important opportunity in poker since Chris Moneymaker won it all in 2003 and set the poker boom in motion. Would I feel the same way if it had been a poker pro of equal fame in this position instead of Phil Ivey? Nope.
The reason Ivey’s presence is so important is that I feel that poker, especially on the mainstream level, needs more pros taking down the big titles. Sure it was great to see guys like Moneymaker and Jamie Gold take home the main event bracelet, but after awhile you start to wonder just how unbalanced the luck to skill ratio in poker is when year after year we are seeing unknowns and amateurs winning the biggest tournaments.
With Moneymaker’s victory in 2003, the phrase “Anyone Can Win†was coined, and while that was the absolute best case scenario for driving hundreds of thousands of new players into the game, it is now time for the poker giants to take back what is theirs, as poker is now popular enough on a global level to appreciate just how amazing it would be to see a top tier pro win the most important poker event of the year.
To me, Phil Ivey winning the main event here in 2009 would help keep poker moving in the right direction for years to come. He’s widely considered to be the best in the game (a notion that is mentioned every five minutes on the ESPN during this year’s WSOP coverage), and if he wins it all in November, the marketing and exposure explosion to follow will be unlike anything we’ve seen before.
Ivey’s sponsors will back the money truck up to his house in an effort to help maximize the opportunity to use him as the greatest poker ambassador ever. The tour will be driven by a slogan something along the lines of “The greatest player wins the greatest eventâ€, and as a result, Phil Ivey will hands down become the most recognizable poker player in the world by the end of 2010. Put any other player in his spot for the November Nine, and the response if they won would not be half as powerful, even if it was someone like Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth or even Jennifer Harmon.
Poker NEEDS Phil Ivey to win the main event this year, and as much as I like Darvin Moon and the rest of the November Nine, I just don’t see another Cinderella story giving poker the much needed restoration it so desperately needs. Good luck Phil!
Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza IV Starts Friday
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Poker rules at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas
Deep Stack Extravaganza IV begins on Friday, October 30th, and runs through November 25th. These highly popular events will again have the Venetian's poker room filled with players from around the world vying for a piece of the prize money. Twenty-four events with buy-ins ranging from a low $340 up to $2,500 for the Championship event insures all players will find something that fits the budget.
Venetian's Deep Stack Extravaganza is the original, innovative tournament series that changed the face of competitive poker forever. Built around lower buy-ins the Deep Stack Extravaganza Series features longer blind levels -- 40 minutes to 90 minutes -- and more starting chips -- 10,000 to 15,000 -- giving entrants the same playing conditions as major tournaments with buy-ins costing thousands more. Another great feature centers around larger prize pools as a result of more players entering the popular events.
A promotional room rate is available for players and goes for $109 to $199 (based on availability) Check with the poker room or call The Venetian Room Reservations toll-free number at 877-444-3777 and reference group code #CP910L1.
Event registration begins at 9 PM the day before each tournament and all play begins at High Noon and continues until a final table or 2 AM, whichever is reached first. Final table play begins at 4 PM and continues until a winner is declared. Super Satellites for the Championship and daily single table are available. A Second Chance tournament runs nightly at 7 PM everyday. Check out the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza IV schedule/fact sheet or call the poker room direct at 702.414.7657.
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas features a luxurious eleven thousand square foot poker room
London EPT Officially Breaks Records
The London leg of the European Poker Tour has officially broken all of the record books after the main event of the poker festival became the most competed event in British poker history. During the main event of the EPT London event, 730 players tried both their skill and luck to crown the event the largest live game poker tournament even held in the Britain.
The record setting attendance flew in the face of many pessimistic poker world observers who felt that the event would fail to attract the normal high roller attendance that the EPT London event usually attracts due to the tough economic environment and general global financial downturn. In the end, the 2009 attendance beat out not only the previous year but also the record for a British poker tournament by more than 100 entrants.
This year's EPT London event was held for the first time at the Hilton Metropole rather than it's traditional home of The Vic casino, and attracted the very best of the world poker scene to take part. The field that took their seats included Phil 'The Poker Brat' Hellmuth, former World Series Of Poker Main Event champions Joe Hachem and Peter Eastgate, Greg Raymer and inspirational player Chris Moneymaker. Along with the usual selection of both local players and renowned professionals, the tournament also attracted a strong field of sponsored celebrity players including tennis legend Boris Becker and Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and England legend Teddy Sheringham.
2009 WSOP Tonight at 9 PM ET Meet November Nine Photos
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
All that's left of the 2009 greatest poker show on Earth - last day before the fall break of the 2009 WSOP Main Event
Tune in tonight to ESPN at 9 PM ET for the exciting conclusion of the race to the WSOP November Nine. The final table will be set at the end of tonight's two hours of top flight poker. Poker Pro Phil Ivey stands apart from the field with thousands of hours of major tournament play and 7 WSOP bracelets. Poker pro Jeff Shulman has no WSOP bracelets but he has twice as many chips as Ivey. Chip leader Darvin Moon enjoying his first ever visit to Las Vegas has three times as many chips as Shulman.
Given a few early breaks Phil Ivey might walk away with the big poker prize. Given the huge chip lead of Darvin Moon, he is favored to join the expanding ranks of unknowns scooping the poker's holy grail. Only a couple of weeks remain before we know the winner of the 2009 WSOP Main Event World Championship of Poker. Don't forget today's Noon ET installment of ESPN.com's Inside Deal featuring Kevin Schaffel.
A November Nine group photo and individual images of the field of nine after the jump. Click any photo for a gallery image. Use this link to the Photo Gallery.
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
ESPN feature table is the center of the poker universe
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Outer table plays before a crowd of fans
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2009 WSOP Main Event November Nine, millions in cash, and the braceletClick photo for gallery image
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Seat 1 - Darvin Moon - 58,930,000
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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Seat 2 - James Akenhead - 6,800,000
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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Seat 3 - Phil Ivey - 9,765,000
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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Seat 4 - Kevin Schaffel - 12,390,000
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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Seat 5 - Steve Begleiter - 29,885,000
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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Seat 6 - Joseph Cada - 13,215,000
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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Seat 7 -Eric Buchman - 34,800,000
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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Seat 8 - Antoine Saout - 9,500,000
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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Seat 9 - Jeff Shulman - 19,580,000
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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event final table Bubble Boy - Jordan Smith - $896,730
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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event final table Bubble Boy Runner up - Jamie Robbins - $896,730
Poker Strategy Tips On How To Win The Bodog Poker Open IV
photo courtesy bodog.com
The Bodog Poker Open IV is a once in a lifetime opportunity for poker players to win big and become the next online poker superstar. Success in this tournament will require both strategy and luck, but because you can't control your luck, here are some poker strategy tips to help you come out on top.
Regular poker tournament strategy is all about the size of your stack and the size of the blinds. Playing a deeper stacked event affords the player more time to be selective in the early stages of online poker tournaments. Starting chip stacks are generous enough that players can play a tight game, while waiting for premium hands or strong position plays with medium strength holdings.
Hands that are in the lead for value are your best bets and keep bluffs to a minimum. Avoid getting all your chips in without the absolute nuts and try to win medium-size pots that don't jeopardize your poker tournament life.
Decisions to change your level of aggression should be determined by the size of your chip stack compared to the size of the blinds. If your chip stack shrinks to an amount where the blinds are taking 10% or more of your stack, then you should start to increase your level of action to increase your chip stack by either stealing small pots or doubling up through an opponent.
If you find yourself deep into the late stages of the Bodog Poker Open IV, you will have outlasted some of the best online poker players in the world. You would have either beaten out Bodog pros like Justin Bonomo, David Williams, and Evelyn Ng, or you'll possibly be seated at the final table with some of them.
Final table strategy dictates that you play your favorable position hands with aggression and you get out of the way when other players are battling aggressively for a pot. Any player that goes out before you pays you tens of thousand of dollars.
You could be the next big thing in poker if you stick to this general formula and if luck hands you winning cards. Whatever you do, don't miss out on playing the Bodog Poker Open IV and this opportunity to win big! Download poker software for free at Bodog and check out the Poker Open IV schedule for information on all the events.
Weekly SNG Tip: Suited Connectors
Suited connectors are always relatively tough to play, especially if their low suited connectors like 5-6 of clubs. The reasons you shouldn’t play hands like this definitely outnumber the reasons of why you should try to play these types of hands, though there are definitely still situations where getting involved in a pot with suited connectors does make some sense. However, far too many players like to get overly invested in a hand when they hold suited connectors, so let’s take a look at the acceptable and unacceptable scenarios so that you can avoid the same mistakes.
Let’s start off with the times to not get involved with suited connectors. Any time you’re in early position, limping in with 6-5 suited or even 10-9 suited can be tough since there is plenty of opportunity for someone else at the table to raise, in which cash you’ll likely have to fold after you limped. Raising with these types of hands if rarely the right move, unless you’re trying to make a play at the table, however this is an advanced play that can still result in a massive loss if the hand doesn’t play out to near perfection.
Calling raises with small suited connectors is also not recommended except in the rare occasions where enough of the other players have called the raise to where you are getting the right price to call and hope that you flop big. Basically, you want to avoid all situations where you are facing any type of pressure with these types of hands while the action is still on pre-flop.
Ideally, you want to try and limp with suited connectors and see a cheap flop, as if you flop big your opponent likely won’t put you on a hand that would’ve flopped a monster, and you can extract a lot of chips from their stack as a result. The safest plays with hands like these is to limp from middle and late position, as you can minimize the risk of getting raised after you’ve limped, and then you can easily fold if you missed the flop and are facing many opponents.
Just remember, suited connectors are playable only because they can flop monsters, though the vast majority of the time you are going to miss the flop, hence why you need to make sure the conditions for getting involved with suited connectors makes sense in the first place.
November Niner Kevin Schaffel Meet Greet
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Kevin Schaffel playing the ESPN feature table
Kevin Schaffel will be featured on Tuesday's ESPN.com's 30 minute ESPN Inside Deal poker show at Noon ET. The Coral Springs, Florida poker pro will be interviewed by the Inside Deal crew about his preparations for the November final table and how he has made almost a half million since the summer WSOP Main Event's four month break. Fans can e-mail their questions for Kevin Schaffel to insidedeal@espn.com.
Sitting in the sixth spot on the leader board with 12,390,000 in play money, Kevin Schaffel will be in seat 4 to the left of Phil Ivey when the next WSOP "Shuffle Up and Deal" commands goes out. Bodog odds makers have him in the bottom three as a 12/1 shot to win the event. Fans can view previous episodes of ESPN Inside Deal with this link.
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Kevin Schaffel responds to a comment
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Kevin Schaffel offers his hand to Eric Buchman moments after making the final table
Reader Questions- Building a Bankroll Despite Inconsistent Play
Dear Jackie,
I am trying to build my bankroll but I am only able to play a few times a month because I am playing off of the extra money I get from my pay check. Since I don’t have a lot of extra money I can only play lower stakes. So far when I play it is really difficult to build any kind of bankroll even if I win. Do you have any suggestions for me to build a bankroll through 1/2 NL Hold’em cash games?
Thanks,
Mike
Dear Mike,
This is an excellent question, and even the best player in the world could have trouble building a bankroll if they don’t get to play consistently. The first thing you need to do figure out what you can comfortably afford to play with when you get your paycheck. Realistically, the amount you decide to invest in poker should be an amount that won’t stress you out should you lose.
Next you should have a place to put away money that will be used just for poker. Since you can’t play all the time it is easy to use your winnings for bills, food, or other necessities because it is in your pocket. This is probably why you aren’t building. When you do win, put the profit away and forget it is there. Then you can use your initial investment to continue playing. If you lose, don’t pull the profit out. Continue to only play when you receive your paycheck. This will ensure that you are saving your profit for a bankroll.
Keeping records is always important when building a bankroll. Even though you only get to play once in awhile, you still have to be diligent in keeping a bankroll so you’ll know if you are investing more than you are winning.
It sounds like you want to stick to live cash games to build your bankroll, but don’t rule out other options of building. Online play is a great way to build with small bankrolls. It allows you to play lower stakes which will enable your monthly investment to go towards more sessions.
Tournaments can also be a good bankroll builder, but remember it is high variance. If you decide to invest in a tournament or two, make sure they only take up a small percentage of your bankroll. For this reason, you might want to wait until you’ve built up your bankroll a bit before investing in them.
Building a bankroll doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient and have fun.
Deep Stack Extravaganza Schedule
The Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas has announced the schedule for their Deep Stack tournaments. Running from October 30th- November 25th, these tournaments are great for players of all bankrolls. Tournament buy-ins range from $340 to $2,500 for the main event. During the last Deep Stack tournaments, the Venetian saw a record breaking number of players. Some of the events had more than 900 players and huge payouts. Below is the schedule of events:
10/30/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
10/31/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/01/09 $550 No Limit Hold’em
11/02/09 $1,070 No Limit Hold’em
11/03/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/04/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/05/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/06/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/07/09 $550 No Limit Hold’em
11/08/09 $550 No Limit Hold’em
11/09/09 $1,070 No Limit Hold’em
11/10/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/11/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/12/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/13/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/14/09 $550 No Limit Hold’em
11/15/09 $550 No Limit Hold’em
11/16/09 $1,070 No Limit Hold’em
11/17/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/18/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/19/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/20/09 $340 No Limit Hold’em
11/21/09 $550 No Limit Hold’em
11/22/09 $275 Super Satellite
11/23/09 $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Day 1
11/24/09 No Limit Hold’em Day 2
11/25/09 No Limit Hold’em Day 3
For more information visit the Venetian website.
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WSOP Info is your source to online poker news and information regarding the WSOP 2008. The World Series Of Poker is the largest Poker event in the world.
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