Poker Blog and Poker Gossip

Betsoft Gaming, a reputed online game developer, recently announced that they had put up a 3D poker offering for online gamers. According to the company, the new site, Poker3.com will take players to a new level of gaming. So far, PKR holds the top spot for being the best 3D poker gaming site on the market, and only time will tell if Poker3.com will meet with any success.

Players who signup at Poker3.com will not have to download the software and install it on their computers; instead they will be able to use a sort of instant play facility that will allow players to access games like Texas Hold’em poker. Betsoft Gaming has also equipped the site with player avatar features and realistic animations with a cinematic feel.

According to David Morgan, a spokesperson for Poker3.com, the site is unique and is the future of poker. “We believe what Poker3 has achieved is unprecedented. We feel that this type of true to life 3D poker is the future of how the game will be played online. The user interface and game speed is carefully tailored to create a thrilling poker experience for professionals and new players alike,” he said.

The site has green poker rooms which are produced automatically by the gaming software which allows players to access betting limits and blind options based on their preferences. According to a press release, players can expect o find the playing cards and poker chips looking as realistic as possible. There will also be a varied choice of avatars which will keep increasing as the software is updated and Poker3.com will also offer a Point of View perspective to the players.

“Our exhaustive research and consultations with some of the world’s best poker players have provided a strong foundation for this visually stunning game,” Morgan claimed.

Holland may be the next country to go about legalizing online poker, following in the footsteps of France, Italy and the US. These plans were set in motion a year ago, when Holland had created the Jansen Committee, a group of legal experts, judges and political advisors, for the purpose of analyzing and reporting on the country’s existing gambling laws.

This report which was published recently recognized poker as a skill game and stated the Committee’s approval of the legalization of internet poker in the Netherlands. However, the report also clearly stated that any other forms of gambling such as online casino games like blackjack and roulette, bingo and sports betting should be left as they were and not legalized. The report also mentioned providing a limited number of permits to offshore internet gaming companies.

According to the report, “The Commission doubts that a single new entrant in the poker market will be able to capture a significant market share based on the illegal operators, and sees a monopoly and therefore an insufficient basis for a successful channeling. For this reason, the Commission recommends a new ‘Internet system’… explicitly designed to bring illegal poker operators under a legal regime…based on a limited number of permits given to a term.”

As per the existing laws the only form of sports betting permitted in Holland is via the De Lotto company. De Lotto currently enjoys a monopoly of sportsbetting and although its position and the Dutch government’s support of it was contested by Betfair and Ladbrokes, De Lotto still retains its stronghold in Holland’s betting market.

This announcement did not satisfy the Remote Gambling Association, a London trade organization that represents legal internet gaming companies in Europe and the UK. The RGA was not at all happy with Holland’s decision to hold back on legalizing online casinos and any other form of gambling. This decision will also allow De Lotto to retain its monopoly.

“This is clearly a missed opportunity to follow the same path as other jurisdictions, such as Denmark, which do not seek to discriminate against different forms of gambling and recognize that all are capable of being properly regulated,” stated Clive Hawkswood, RGA’s Chief Executive.

Sorel Mizzi, a well known poker professional, seems to have got his name tangled up in yet another alleged poker cheating scandal. The source of this alleged plot is an IM chat between Sorel Mizzi and Steve “thorladen” Weinstein posted on the TwoPlusTwo forum, where Mizzi (if the chat is indeed his) appears to be urging Weinstein to use a sort of business software tool to cheat at multi-table tournaments.

The TwoPlusTwo forum details this chat and gives several posts on the issue as well. The idea of the supposed Mizzi scam is to use software to link computers via [...] Continue Reading…

After Daniel Negreanu called Annie Duke a “F**king C**t” in an interview, there has been a lot of backlash for Negreanu and support for Ms. Duke. The incident has been discussed by several poker news websites, podcasts and poker shows like This Week in Poker, all of whom agree that Negreanu had indeed overstepped the line when he used the most derogatory term and sexual reference to refer Annie Duke, a poker professional.

PokerStars however, does not seem to be taking a stand against Negreanu’s usage of the C word and made this statement: “Although Daniel Negreanu is a Team [...] Continue Reading…

In a recent interview Bwin’s CEO, Norbert Teufelberger expressed his personal opinions and stated that both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker were “operating illegally” in the US. He also said that Bwin’s pulling out of the US in the year 2006 could turn out to be the “biggest mistake” both he and his co-CEO Manfred Bodner have made, if the US permitted PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to continue business in the country.

“We pulled out, they didn’t. But we’ll see who was right in the end. We still believe we were correct and it’s pretty clear cut,” Teufelberger stated.

After [...] Continue Reading…

Daniel Negreanu shocked the poker community with his comments about Annie Duke, when he called her a “F***ing C***” in a public interview. Although Duke has been known to have occasionally rubbed people the wrong way on account of her strong personality and has been the subject of criticism by many, Negreanu’s choice of words has left poker fans all across the world quite disappointed in him. Some have even called the player a misogynist.

Ms. Duke, a poker champion in her own right, has starred on the show Celebrity Apprentice and is known for her charity work in Darfour. [...] Continue Reading…