Poker Blog and Poker Gossip

Canada’s largest poker forum is giving players a chance to win a Nintendo Wii in their recently launched online poker league. In an effort to draw in new members the site will be running a series of promotions at Chan Poker. The biggest promotion is the giveaway of a Nintendo Wii along with tons of other great prizes.  The league is currently underway and will run until the end of next month, but don’t worry there is still a good chance to make it to the final table.  Also, rumor has it that Johnny Chan himself will be making a guest appearance at one of their league games!

PokerForum.ca recently undertook new ownership which has shown some great improvements so far. These include a poker strategy section where players can post their hand histories and get analysis from other members on the site. This has been very successful and several well known players like Michael “SirWatts” Watson (who recently finished 10th at the WPT LA Poker Classic cashing in for $61,610) plus many more.

This is a results oriented poker site and in a recent poll, over 1/2 of the members have cashed in a tournament for over $1000!

The site has tons of other great sections and there are plenty of new posts every day to keep you busy.  So whether you are looking for a new set of poker chips (in their Buy and Sell section), or for some home games near to where you live, chances are you will find it on this site.

The site plans to add several more sections in upcoming months, but details still have not been released.

If you are a Canadian Poker Player, this is one site I recommend bookmarking.

Visit PokerForum.ca Now!

As always the debate rages on over the point that poker is a skill game rather than a game of chance. However, a study by Case Western Reserve University has given a new piece of ammunition to those arguing for the skill and strategy involved in being a successful poker player. The study is up for discussion at Pocket5’s and may prove helpful in the fight for players’ rights in the US.There were two separate parts to the study carried out. In the first study, two groups of players participated in a number of hands of poker. A portion of the group received instruction on basic poker strategy, while the control group received no instruction at all. The results of the study concluded that the group educated in the strategy basics of poker won significantly more hands than players who received no instruction.

In the second part of the study, the students were given various documents, with more intense strategy information. Players’ success increased after each bit of information was revealed, further supporting the idea that skill is involved in poker. According to the study, none of the players in either group showed any profit during their play, but the group receiving their instructions improved their losses and some got to a break-even point before the study was complete.

While the study was fairly small, the positive results in favor of the skill side of the argument may prove to have big effects. Having a published study proving the skill involved in the game can only further the cause for getting poker recognized and regulated in the US and other “banned” countries.

The Irish Poker Open wrapped up Monday night with British poker pro Neil Channing claiming the massive top prize of 801,400 Euros and receiving the prestigious Terry Rogers Trophy. Channing played his way through the field of 667 players to earn his seat at the final table and eventually take the win.The rest of the line-up at the final table at this huge, yearly event included Tim Blake, Edwin Tournier, Thomas Dunwoodie, Donal Norton, and Kai Danilo Paulsen. First to leave the table was Tournier, who was out by the third hand. Paulsen followed suit, shortly thereafter, with Blake walking away from the table with a fourth place finish. Dunwoodie hung in for a bit longer, however lost the lead on the river during an all-in with Channing.

The head-up game came down to Channing and Norton, with Norton more than 2 million down in the chip counts. Channing proved his poker playing skills to any doubters, sealing the deal by calling Norton’s all-in following the small blind on the final hand. Norton’s 5-5 couldn’t stand up to Channing’s K-9, after the Q-A-10 flop, K turn and A river.

Some of the biggest names in the tournament had somewhat poor showings, with Dario Minieri being eliminated on Friday, followed by Todd Brunson early Saturday. Poker legend Doyle Brunson hung in a bit longer on Saturday, going out in true Cowboy style after going all-in against Abel Meijberg, when the turn decided his fate. Even one of last year’s WSOP bracelet winners, Ciaran O’Leary, was dismissed fairly early in this massive event.

The news of scammers posing as online poker room security reps to phish for passwords to gain access to player’s accounts is nothing new, but a friendly reminder is always in order.

It looks as if they are at it again, as a poster at 2plus2 posted a warning that he had been hit recently, by a scammer claiming to represent Full Tilt Poker. The email stated that blacklisted IP addresses had tried to access his account and he needed to update his account security settings. This email followed an unrequested password change email that was the “set-up” for this phishing scam.

Unfortunately, he downloaded this “important update”, but his politeness in thanking the security team at Full Tilt may have saved him from financial harm. Full Tilt acted quickly in locking down his account to protect his funding and information and asked him to warn other players that the scam is back in town.

If you happen to receive an email from any poker site that you belong to, asking you to change a password or download an update that just doesn’t quite sit right with you, email support before acting on anything in the email. In most cases, software and security updates are done at site level and are automatic; players rarely have to do anything to update their own copies of the software. Remember this and take it as a red flag if you are asked by email to do so.

While finding the fish at the poker tables is always a good thing, being phished by a scammer can create havoc on your finances and credit, so be very aware.

In our celebrity-centered society, everything seems more appealing when there is a star, be it an actor, actress or professional player, attached. Poker is no different. If a site or organization wants to build popularity it needs one of the industry’s top players to stand with it. The National League of Poker (NLOP) knows this, and so they have found the best of the best and he has signed on willingly.

Mike Sexton, a world-famous player with more than 25 years at the table and $3,200,000 in tournament winnings in the bank, officially became the NLOP’s spokesman on March 20. He will now, on the NLOP’s Web site, play with other members, consult on tournaments and help bolster social networking. Offline, he will represent the organization as well, bringing it much positive attention and publicity. It is job that he takes on happily, stating that he was properly impressed by the site’s design, structure and capabilities.

His confidence in the site is well deserved, as the NLOP has just finished a redesign. The software has been updated for maximal functionality. The lobby and leader board have been reformatted, and several new events and contests have been added. Now the site is undoubtedly one of the best places for a poker player to test his skills in a no-loss yet profitable situation.

The NLOP is a site where U.S. players can legally play free online poker.

There is lots of chatter at 2+2 about the possibility of a head-to-head between Patrik Antonius and poker legend Doyle Brunson. There was a challenge issued to Brunson y Antonius during a magazine interview and it seems as if something might now be in the works.

The original article quoted Antonius as say he had heard rumors that Brunson would swim a river to play against him and more or less told Brunson to bring it on. Patrik said he would face him at any game and any stakes, any time he wanted.

Brunson responded by saying that he does not recall ever making the comment, particularly not in reference to Patrik Antonius by name. On his blog, Doyle goes on to say that if he wants to play in a heads-up cash game, he will accept the challenge, though ordinarily he shies away from one-on-one play.

The most recent blog post by Antonius shows him as being extremely excited by the prospect of playing heads up against Brunson and as ready and willing to iron out the details, as soon as possible. He even has his agent working to get the match televised, once the details are hammered out.

As Brunson is playing in the Irish Poker Open, slated for Easter weekend, it will likely be some time before we get more information on the when, where, and how of this clash of the poker Titans. But you can bet that the match-up will be big news whenever it goes down.