Poker Blog and Poker Gossip

I recently saw an article that had a very interesting slant on the question: what would happen if UIGEA disapeared??

To Pre-amble this, it appears that Sega has opened up a real money poker room and casino, that is unavailable from the USA while the UIGEA is still crippling US poker rooms (somewhat).  And, Microsoft just released a Hoyle poker game that you are able to play online (against bots and humans) using your own avatar.  You can create custom games, and private games if you like.  But probably the best feature of this is that it provides Deep statistic tracking covering over 50 key stats categories found to be the most important to professional poker players.  Now this could just be “come play our downloadable game because professional poker players value the stats it tracks!” But it could also go a long way to training newer poker players on what is important to track on a day to day / session to session level. 

Now, I’m not saying that Microsoft is on the cusp of opening up their own casino, but with this latest release on X-Box live, and the current stay of execution that UIEGA is currently enjoying (until June) it’s a real possibility that we will be seeing a much more broad adaptation of online poker than was ever considered before. And Sega is the one leading the way.

How did he see the flop?!

Or, at least, a piece of his poker history. Thought not publicly explaining himself, TJ Cloutier sold his 2005 $5,000 No Limit Hold’em bracelet to a pawn shop. When he was unable to meet the terms of getting it back, the Pawn shop then placed the bracelet on E-bay. The bracelet was purchased by Cake Poker for $4006.00. Some news agencies have speculated that buying this piece of poker history was a ploy by Cake poker to add Cloutier to their roster of “Pros,” but this afternoon it was announced by Cake Poker that they were intending on returning it to the rightful owner. “We can’t, in good conscience, keep it from the man who rightfully won it; which is why we’ve decided to return it to T.J. Cloutier… just as soon as we’re done having some fun with it.” No specific plans for the bracelet were given, although Cake Poker officials mentioned “photo shoots” and “wearing it to a buddy’s home game” as several possibilities.

What Happened?? I Thought Cloutier was…good?

From Cloutier’s perspective Wicked Chops Poker stated: “We called T.J. He didn’t want to come on the air… but told our producer the following: ‘I don’t want to talk about it… yeah it’s mine… I was short… I pawned it… I tried to get it back with my ticket but I was too late.’”

While poker players make a lot of money in the very short term, living day to day risking money to earn money can wear on you. But, unfortunately in this day and age, winning a big title wont keep you in the money forever. Between paying back the people who staked you, paying off your living expenses, and making sure your bankroll is intact, there is very little room for mistakes. And when you live in Vegas (or Atlantic City) there is plenty of opportunity to misuse that bankroll. For a lot of poker players, Sport betting is their vice (Phil Ivey anyone?)…for TJ Cloutier, Craps was a contributing factor to his financial situation.

So, potential WSOP champions, take note: Winning a bracelet DOES NOT guarantee you anything. Mr. Cloutier won many bracelets over his career…and now Cake Poker has it.

This is not in the rumor category, but not in the “done deal” category either. Currently PartyGaming is in talks with Bwin about a merger that has potential to be worth more than £2bn and give PartyGaming some footing in internet sports betting. Merging with Bwin would give Partygaming a commanding position in sports betting. The Austrian company is not the only potential partner with which it is talking, although PartyGaming refused to name other potential partners. London-listed 888 Holdings and Sportingbet, and Sweden’s Unibet, are all understood to be looking at consolidation opportunities.

This isn’t a new trend for Partygaming, in fact they are positioning themselves to be leaders in all aspects of online games if their current trends of purchasing and takeovers of major European online gambling firms continues. Last july Partygaming announced the takeover of Cashcade (owners of popular UK Bingo site “Foxy Bingo”…their commercials are quite annoying), and in November picked up the assets of WT Enterprises (orginizers of the World Poker Tour). And, with the potential benefits and cost saving strategies of a merger (lower technology costs, combining central operations etc) it’s no wonder the bigger companies are talking to each other.

A combination of Party Gaming and Bwin would give them the top slots in online casinos and bingo, the best sporting bets book and enhanced liquidity in poker. Bwin’s chairman and largest shareholder was quoted recently as saying: “Talks are going on but we don’t know yet whether they will succeed.”

What could this mean for our Online Casino Fare?

Truth be told, this could mean a whole lot of not much. While people generally fall in love with one website, or a few websites to do their online gambling / poker, there is a lot of churn depending on who is offering the best package and rake-back that year/month/week. The real meat and potatoes of this is that Partygaming, who was largely pushed out of the American market due to the UIGEA passing in 2006, has gone away (to Europe) and learned a few things. And those lessons could be benefiting all of us.

What did they Learn?

1) Poker is NOT the only “skill” game out there (that people will load their online account for)

Okay, as far as gambling goes, Poker is not yet viewed by the law as a game of skill (despite what most poker players know). That being said, there are a lot of people out there who play other games much more religiously than poker, and will argue until they’re blue in the face that they are good at these games. The best example is this: In the UK, online bingo is HUGE. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s bigger than online poker, but it’s really big. And the kicker of this phenomenon? It doesn’t appeal at ALL to poker players. And this leads us to….

2) Diversity is King

The demographic is totally different; and so by offering these games that seem to be hugely different games they expand their client base. And who knows..when you get older, you might get excited by hearing “B – 3.” And so…

3) Offering the “Best” of a huge cross section in the same general niche is equal to cash in the bank

When you have a lot of players coming for one thing (80,000 a day for online poker alone at partygaming), and show them that you are the BEST at this other “skill” game, you have 80,000 potential customers. Having a bad night? Try some blackjack? no? Sick of cards you say? How about some nice, comfy bingo! it’s just a dollar a card!

So, we could be seeing some huge changes in Partygaming, or we could see them not take this opportunity and keep it at the status quo…but Either way, it looks like Party is roaring back to the American Market with bells on, and they just might give Full Tilt, and Poker Stars a run for their money (or not…)

Place this firmly in the rumor and gossip category, but apparently the fate of Poker After Dark is in question following the cancellation of the 10pm Jay Leno Show, and Jay’s return to his 11:35 time slot. 

Due to NBC publicly stating that they want to keep Jay, Conan and Jimmy Fallon, the very best scenario is that Poker After Dark would end up airing later than it does now.  This scenario doesn’t even take into account Carson Daily’s time slot

Poker After Dark airs six times a week at 2:05am ET Tuesday through Saturday, and at 1:00am on Sundays, and has been fairly strong in ratings in their time slot. I’m sure this will all be sorted out as soon as NBC is aware of weather or not Conanwants to go back to his old time slot, or leave the network entirely.

Will you keep watching Poker After Dark if it started airing at 3:05am instead of 2:05am??

As 2009 barrels to a close, all of the major online poker networks are gearing up for a BIG 2010, and the rumours are swirling!  The major thrust of the changes that will be announced in the coming weeks are changes to the VIP reward systems.  They are rated on a yearly measure (Supernova Elite program @ pokerstars) so it is expected that they would be first on the list of announcements.  But there are a lot more changes in store. Specifically for Full Tilt a brand new VIP system will be announced, and a new buy-in structure for cash games is in the works for early 2010. 

VIP Rewards

Currently Full Tilt is running the Iron Man Promotion.  The rumored change to their VIP program is not something that will eliminate the Iron Man, but instead be an additon to what’s already there.  There isn’t much to know yet, as it’s still in the planning stages, but it is expected that Full Tilt will let the other online poker networks announce their VIP system revamps and then top them.  This seems to be confirmed by the 45 day extension of Iron Man bonus clearing time. 

Buy In Structure
For most of 2009 Full Tilt has been dealing with an influx of “short stack” players (players who buy in for the minimum and have a “push or fold” mentality).  Due to these short stackers style of play, and their tendency to “Rathole” (immediately leave the table after doubling up) the other players, regular Full Tilt players have become frustrated.  To combat this problem Full Tilt spokesperson “FTPDoug” posted on twoplustwo that Full Tilt would be raising the minimum buy in on it’s standard tables.  “That’s not all we’re going to do, but that’s the biggest change.  And that’s all I can say about that until the update.” – FTPDoug

Despite not being able to say more, the thought going around is that instead of the 20 big blinds required as the minimum, they would now require 40 big blinds, and leaving the cap-game tables to buy in for 20 big blinds (cap-games have a limit to how much money you can lose in a hand. An example would be a $2/$4 table would have a cap at $120), thereby eliminating short stackers from the no limit tables and enabling a more pure game (with less wanting to throw your mouse at the keyboard because you can’t win back the money you lost).

So, if you’ve never given Full Tilt a try, Head on over and give it a try!

Alright, I’ll get to the 2 months 2 million update in a few min.  First, as i was reading the news of how much these guys are up, it got me thinking.  First i thought..what happens when these guys hit 2 million?  That’s quite the feat.  I mean, 2 million bucks.  They just cracked 198,600 in 2 weeks.  At this rate they will only have 800,000 at the end of an 8 week stretch, so they admittedly need to pick it up, but for the “”Average” player increasing your bankroll like that would be great.  But when they hit 2 million, would they cash out? would it stay in their online accounts?  Is there some agreement with G4? hmm…

Next i thought about goals.  Goals for your game play.  These 4 guys have one goal in mind.  They need to make 2000,000 in 2 months.  Does that affect their game play?  Do they fold that risky all-in in favor of the safer play, or do they push BECAUSE they are short on time?  Does the goal itself give you meaning, or is the time line the thing that drives you?  In my opinion most players, when starting out online or even veteran online players who do it as a hobby, generally don’t have a goal to reach for.  You fire up your account, and unless you’re playing with money that “matters” you’re not thinking to increase your bankroll.  If you lose a tourney, or drop 20 bucks at a cash table, it’s not a huge deal.  There is no game plan.  That can seriously adversely affect your bankroll over the long term. 

Anyway….back to the 2 months for 2 mil.  It seems that G4 is trying to show the glam and glitz of Las Vegas..and don’t get me wrong..i love Vegas…but when i watch a poker show..I’m watching for the poker.  Not for prop bets on a golf course.  I’m pretty sure i could watch Negreanu’s video blog for golf course prop bets.  I’m also not watching to see them hire a personal assistant.  I get that this is trying to show off the life…but focus on the POKER!

Last week the 4 guys ended up $35,700, but Stern was down 10,000 early in the second week.  2 Months for 2 Million introduced the tilt room.  Scary.  right. The tilt room (which looks like it was the garage) included items to kick, punch and throw (including watermelons, a garbage can and stuffed animals).  In response to being 10,000 in the red, Stern committed to a lock down day.  24 straight hours of online poker.  this seems like a great idea because, in his own words “In poker, the more you play, the better your chances of winning assuming you’re a winning player. When you play tens of thousands of hands, the luck factor slowly dissipates.”  As it turned out, 12 hours later, he was 30,000 in the red and decided that 12 hours was good enough and began drinking.  Then they hired a harpist.  I’m not really sure why that happened.  I’m sure it made for great TV (read: sarcasm).  Actually, as soon as they hired the Harpist, i turned it off because i was already tired of the hiring people antics, and hiring a harpist was totally the end of my patience. 

As the numbers stand at the end of week 2:  

Rosenkrantz was up $147,000,

Roberts was up $46,000,

Patel was down $11,500,

Stern was $18,600 in the red.

Collectively, the team was up $162,900 for the week and $198,600 overall.

Pick it up guys, and for gods sakes, focus on the poker and stop hiring harpists….