Poker Blog and Poker Gossip

Diamond Bet, a popular online gambling brand that has its own casino, poker portal and sportsbook and runs on the Microgaming software, recently announced a merger with Tell Gaming, another operator that runs on the Microgaming platform. Both the casinos have merged into one enterprise and will be operating under the more popular brand name of Diamond Bet.

Alexander Stevendahl, the Chief executive officer at Diamond Bet commented on the issue stating, “We will continue to run DiamondBet in the same spirit as Tell has been run. Our focus will not only be on continuing their appreciated and swift support, but also to make sure that players get the best value when it comes to promotions and campaigns…We will stay on the old Tell-path, where our goal is to create winners and create the best possible value for our players.”

Both companies catered to the Swedish gaming market. Punters using Tell Gaming will not be disappointed with the new enterprise of Diamond Bet, as the site will be incorporating the software’s Liga Football sports betting pools. These betting pools were very popular at Tell Gaming and will be offered at the new site in the form a separate portal. Liga Football betting pool allows punters to pick their own soccer team, by selecting players from the English Premier League. The betting costs only €11 and rewards players based on how many points their team scores.

Players and punters looking to go to the Tell Gaming site will find themselves redirected to the Diamond Bet website. The new site will be accessible from the DiamondBet.com site and is expected to draw in a lot of player traffic. As part of the merger campaign, the new Diamond Bet site will be launching interesting promotions and generous offers such as bigger jackpots, lucrative tournaments and new games. “Our focus will not only be on continuing its appreciated and swift support but also to make sure that players get the best value when it comes to promotions and campaigns,” added Stevendahl.

Lauren Kling is a beautiful and enterprising poker player who many players tend to underestimate as a result of her blond good looks. In an interview with CardPlayer, Kling talked about her love for poker and how she had been exposed to the game since her childhood. Kling is a good example of good looks and intelligence, which she uses to play poker.

She has been described as a poker machine looking to take money from unsuspecting players. Kling is currently 24 years old and has secured a poker bankroll of $500,000 that she has acquired by playing poker tournaments. Kling may have been exposed to poker when she was very little but has only started playing poker in a professional capacity for a few years now.

Lauren Kling was born in 1985 in the state of Washington D.C. but later moved to Florida when she was seven. Kling was first introduced to poker and blackjack by her father who was a high roller who played in Vegas. “My dad was kind of a high roller when I was younger. I remember plenty of trips to Las Vegas as a little girl and my dad was constantly being comped free rooms and meals because of how much blackjack he was playing,” she said.

Kling learned the tricks of blackjack and poker from her father, who was an MIT math expert. She was counting cards and winning at blackjack tables long before she was even 18 and had used her older sister’s ID to get into games. Kling also discussed a few tips and strategies during her interview; some of the tips that Kling gave out during her interview covered blackjack games. “When the count is good, you want to be betting big. When the count is bad, you want to be betting small,” she said.

It was only during her time at college that Kling was so focused on poker. She took courses on play the game until she eventually racked up enough confidence and good sized bankroll to turn pro.

Daniel Negreanu, one of the legendary poker players and popular PokerStars member, recently made a list of the top five poker players that he thinks will be making the news in the future. All five of these players are in their twenties and are very young by most industry standards; yet all five players have seen tremendous poker successes.

Unlike many other experienced poker players, Negreanu was unafraid to commend these young players on their skills and spoke in details about them in an article for CardPlayer. Negreanu considered the TV friendly personalities and skill levels of these players in his decision.

Viktor Blom was put in at number 3, Jason Mercier was scored at 2 and Tom Dwan came in at number 1 as was expected. Bill Reynolds scored 4 on the list for being only 21 and Negreanu recognized the player for being “the wittiest young player in the game” and for having the ability “to make poker entertaining.” Annette Oberstad was listed as number five on the list for being outspoken and for her success before she turned 21. Negreanu also mentioned that her online deal and gender got her a lot invites.

Negreanu listed these five poker players as some of the best rising stars in the poker industry. His list included Dwan and Oberstad, both of whom are already well known names in the poker community. In addition to rating the top five poker players, Negreanu also discussed the skills and abilities of other players like Shaun Deeb, whom he compared to Brett Favre. Negreanu claimed that Deeb was “outspoken, passionate about the game, and …willing to stick up for what he believes in.” He also mentioned Sorel Mizzi, but while approved of Sorel’s skill, he disapproved of the player’s being “involved in shady dealings on several occasions” and his defense of JJProdigy, who Negreanu claimed was “a known cheater who showed no remorse or interest in stopping.” Negreanu also mentioned Sam Trickett and Matt Marafioti.

The list of poker players for the Poker Hall of Fame is currently being reviewed, and although Daniel “jungleman12″ Cates is not on that list, he has somehow managed to become one of the most watched and popular poker players in the industry, this year.

Daniel “jungleman12″ Cates is a 20 year old poker player who shot to fame when he took down Tom Dwan for $800,000. Cates’ popularity has risen mainly because of the popularity of his opponent Dwan. When Dwan then issued him a Durrrr Challenge, which Cates later took up, the name “jungleman12″ and “Cates” began to circulate on the internet.

On receiving the challenge, Cates commented: “It was a little insulting. It suggested that my beating him was all variance…I thought maybe he was hustling me or something. I don’t think that’s the case now. It’s a pretty sick hustle if he is.”

Currently, Cates holds a very strong $692,000 lead against Dwan in the Durrrr Challenge and is fast gaining the attention of the poker community.

Daniel “jungleman12″ Cates began playing poker when he was still in school and then later took it online, where he schooled himself by playing low level games, and then middle level stakes and eventually high stakes games.

Justin Bonomo, a poker pro acknowledged Cates, when he said, “I have a lot of money on jungleman in this matchup. Tom is one of the best poker players in the world, but he’s playing against one of the best no-limit hold ‘em heads-up specialists in the world. Generally in poker, the specialist will beat the well-rounded player in the specialist’s best game…Jungleman is definitely a math guy, his fundamentals are very strong. If Durrrr is looking for a specific weakness in his game, he’s going to have trouble finding it.”

Isaac Haxton also commented on Cates, saying, “Not many people have played many hands with jungleman and come out ahead of him. I think jungleman has a more balanced and adaptive approach to the game.”

Deliverance Poker is not taking their breach of sponsorship case against Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi lightly and had requested that a Temporary Restraining Order be imposed on the player. However, recent news reports confirm that this motion was denied by the court authorities on insufficient grounds.

“After reviewing Plaintiff’s pleadings, the Court again finds that Plaintiff has failed to satisfy the four-part test for the entry of an ex parte Temporary Restraining Order,” stated the decision made by the United States District Judge James Nowlin.

Earlier, Deliverance Poker had requested a restraining order on Mizrachi on September 7th of 2010 but had the motion denied since the company had not included the initial contract signed by the poker player. When Deliverance submitted the contract along with a second request for a restraining order, the motion was denied again.

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi is in a lot of legal hot water after he apparently tried to play sponsor for two companies at the WSOP 2010 while under contract to one. And, while earlier reports had claimed that Mizrachi was being sued for breach of contract by Deliverance Poker, they had failed to mention that Full Tilt Poker had also got into the fray and was suing Mizrachi as well. So far, Full Tilt Poker has not gone public with this and has issued no comments on the matter, although a copy of the complaint is allegedly available.
According to the initial case put forward against Mizrachi by Deliverance Poker, the company claimed that the player had violated their contract to wear the Deliverance Poker logo at all time while he was playing at the WSOP 2010. Mizrachi broke this deal when he appeared at the WSOP Main Event 2010 sporting the Full Tilt Poker logo.
Public speculation revolved around whether the contract between Mizrachi and Deliverance Poker had reached its effective date and had expired.

This year, London seems to be the seat of power when it comes to poker tournaments and has hosted large events like the London Calling Poker tourney and a World Series of Poker Europe leg as well. The London Calling event was even won by a British player, a fitting end for the pioneer London poker tourney.

As a result, the 2010 British Poker Awards was much awaited by poker enthusiasts all over the United Kingdom. The British Poker Awards 2010 was held at the Kensington Close Hotel in London and was attended by several illustrious poker players from the region.

At the event, many of the UK poker players received awards and recognition, as the game of poker was celebrated in an entertaining evening. Michael Caselli, the Master of Ceremonies for the Awards commented on the event saying, “The event has been fantastic and I hope it’s the first of many to come. More than 3,000 people voted online for their favorite players, which is a fantastic response.”

Notable players who received awards that day include James Akenhead, winner of main events at two prestigious poker tourneys, namely the WSOP 2009 and the World Series of Poker Europe 2009. Akenhead took home a lot of money last year and boosted his poker bankroll to $2,123,399; this year, Akenhead took the title of “Best Tournament Player.”

Neil Channing was yet another poker player who stepped into the spotlight at the Awards, when he took the title for being the “UK’s Best Cash Player” after he recorded $2,508,856 in cash-ins.
Channing was pleased with his award and said, “I’ve been grinding in the Vic for years, along with my fellow nominees like Bambos Xanthos and Ben Roberts – they’re real cash grinders, and to be voted above those guys – it’s a real honour.”

Other winners include Chris Moorman for the “UK’s Best Online Player,” Phil Ivey who had “Best International Player,” and Sam Trickett as “Best newcomer.” The Nuts Poker League was awarded the Best Poker League title and Dusk till Dawn took the prize for Best UK Card Room.