Poker Blog and Poker Gossip

I used to not think much of Vanessa Rousso, but I have to admit she is looking much better in her recent commercial for Pokerstars.  I may have to now consider adding her to the Poker Babes section of the site.  What do you think?

According to Turkish Newspaper “Zaman”, the government of Turkey is looking to fine online poker players not playing on the government run site.

According to the article, the government has a list of over 4000 players who have allegedly taken part in online gambling.

Those found guilty can expect some hefty fines.  The government has stated that anyone caught will pay 100 Turkey New Lira ($83.67 USD) for each game they played online. The number of combined games played is said to exceed 46,000 (roughly 12 games per player)!

On Feb. 28, 2007, Turkish authorities passed a law that banned online gambling operators that were foreign.

So if you are already playing poker full time, or plan to in the near future, don’t move to Turkey!

Earlier this year Russell Crowe and his partner stirred up international attention to the poker machines maintaining the Australian Rugby League Clubs. To that end, he and Peter Holmes a Court, his partner in the South League Ruby Club have made significant strides to ridding their club of the poker machines. These poker machines are currently generating the club 1,800,000 dollars annually, and it is their intended focus to generate higher club memberships to over come that deficit.

The South Ruby Club has plans to remove the poker machines and improve on the ammenties they currently offer. With a population surrounding them that ranges from 20-44 year old singles, the improved upon facility is anticipated to bring in a significant draw. During the renovation, the poker machines will be sold off, but the licenses to operate them will be held, until they know if they can function without the poker machines or not.

Only in time will we see if the Australian Rugby League South will expand to success. It will be worth watching to find out.

This is a cool video showing all the work that goes into setting up for a poker event.  This is an event for Full Tilt Poker that takes place in Munich, Germany:

Watch out Poker Sites, Unknown Poker is quickly becoming one of the greatest poker portals on the net! With tons of great content, and lots to offer this is a poker site that every poker player should bookmark.

Similar to Bankroll Boost, Unknown Poker is a portal with information that covers a variety of different poker subjects. From Sit and Go Strategy, to profiles on some of the biggest names in poker, Unknown Poker has a ton of great content.

When you first reach the homepage you will get a preview of information from the different sections of the site. Though I find the white color to be a little bland, if you can look beyond that you will find some great info to improve your poker knowlege and game.

The first part of the site is the reviews of all the different sites. They only review the best poker sites (such as Bodog Poker and Pokerstars) and conclude these reviews with an overall rank of the site. The reviews are broken into sections including Bonuses and Promotions, Tournaments, Player Numbers and Skill, and a brief summary (for those of you that just want to quickly get to the point).

The next section is their Poker Room Directory. This is where they categorize the different poker sites, depending on what exactly you are looking for. For example, some of their sections are Major Poker Rooms, Mid-Sized Rooms, Small Rooms, Poker Networks as well as a few others. But, if you aren’t quite ready to play online, and are looking for a land-based casino, they have information about all the greatest casinos in Las Vegas.

They have special sections dedicated to all the major tournaments, such as the WPT and WSOP. In these sections they have schedules, past results and a ton more other info.

The Poker Players section is one of the greatest sections of the site. They have information about some of the biggest names in poker today, as well as some of info on the original or “Old School” poker players (listed in their Hall of Fame section). It is really neat to learn about some of these players, such as Stu Ungar, Chip Reese and many others that had such an influence on the game as we know it today.

The last major area of the site is filled with poker articles. One of the coolest articles I came across was one about poker data mining, which is one thing that most players don’t take advantage of. This is basically researching a player’s history to know if you are going up against a shark or a fish before you start playing your opponent. This is just one of many articles though, so you will have to check out the site for yourself to see all the others.

To conclude, I think Unknown Poker is a great resource for those who love poker. The site is still new, but continues to add new information all the time. As the site continues to grow, Unknown Poker will definitely become one of the leading poker portals on the Internet!

A few of the threads have been very popular in Pocket5’s recently, but one that really caught my attention was titled ‘petition to FTP’. Many of the online poker rooms do not permit observers to participate in the conversation with the table players. Full Tilt Poker, however has an open forum around the virtual felt. At a live event, if I were to even say Hi to a friend from the rail - my friend would likely be called a cheat, or we’d be accused of code (thus cheating) - otherwise, not such a good idea.

Observation is however a brilliant idea on the part of the online poker rooms. Allowing those who are not as skilled to watch, absorb, and learn from those who have mastered the skills on levels far beyond that of the observer. Fantastic, an effective method of encouraging competitive play. What is the point of having railbirds that beg for money? That is the objection many have - quoted from the thread where one player was at the tables on Full Tilt Poker -

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forjo07 (Observer): Hey all, I wish you all a
Merry Christmas and I wish you all the best in
the New Year. May $5 of your generosity
bring you and your family a wonderful and
happy Christmas!!
Dealer: DirtyBum72 has 15 seconds left to
act

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The intrusive comment no doubt disrupted the train of thought of at least one player during the game or games this message was broadcast through. What a reason to tilt. As is often the case with many companies, when Full Tilt Poker hears enough vocal players, things will change.