WSPL Goes to Vegas Episode 03/07

Ug.  That's about all I can say about tonight.  I was hoping to ride last week's performance into something better this week, but it was not to be.  It was one of those nights when pretty much nothing went right.

I'm going to make my cat take most of the blame for this.  He's an asshole.  When he's hungry or for whatever reason decides that he needs attention he becomes the most obnoxious furball in the history of pets.  He walks on your keyboard, knocks anything and everything he can find off your desk, tries to head butt you, and then starts biting.  He's a complete douchbag.  And I'm a cat guy.  I love cats.

Anyway, he's going through his routine as I'm trying to play.  I would put him out of the room but then he would start scratching at the door, or try to bust into my two year old daughter's room, who just went to bed. So there are a few borderline hands that I opt not to play because I'm know I'm distracted.  I tell myself I'm make smart conservative decisions.  Its just one of those days where every hand you fold would have hit the flop huge, and every hand you play misses completely.  I'm slightly tilty from that but I'm aware of it and I think I have it under control.

Three big hands are what untimately kill me.

1.  I have 64o in one of the blinds.  I've had terrible hands all night though so this is actually one of my better starting hands.  And the flop is four handed 537 with two spades.  I bet a smallish amount. I don't want to scare people away.  I know I should because the flush is there, but I don't.  Two fold one stays.  The turn is a flush.  I check he min bets and I call.  River is nothing.  Check Check he has a weak flush and I'm in trouble. I guess I should have tried to push him out on the flop, but if I can't get a big pot off of flopping a 7 high straight then I'm not going to far anyway.

2.  I have pocket sevens and call Mark's raise.  He flop is 833.  He bets I raise, he calls.  The pot is about the size of my stack, which he bets when an ace comes up on the turn.  I think about it for a long time, and eventually fold.  I figure he has an ace, or an overpair.  Anything other than an ace on the flop and I probably call, but I can't put him on anything that I can beat.   I fold and now I have to wait for a premium hand or I'm done.

3.  Does ATs count as a premium hand?  Three orbits later and its by far the best I've seen.    There are a couple limpers and I push all-in.   I get called by JT.  Of coarse he catches a Jack on the river and I'm busted in 9th place.  Yes that was a shitty bad beat story. I don't care.  This is probably the most frustrated I've ever been at poker.

ug.


Here is this week's results, and the overall standings.

1. Shane
2. Aaron
3. Mark
4. Archie
5. Jason M
6. Jason S
7. Jason K
8. Noah
9. Me
10. Greg

And the overall standings

1. Jason M (55)
2. Aaron (55)
3. Mark (49)
4. Shane (46)
5. Jason S (40)
6. Archie (38)
7. Greg (37)
8. Me (26)
9. Noah (20)
10. Jason K (19)

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Online Poker is Legal...

... In Nevada.

Just in case you haven't heard by now, Nevada has become the first US state to legalize online poker.  Once they saw that New Jersey was poised to legalize it Nevada fast tracked their bill so that they could be the first, lest someone confuse New Jersey with the gambling hub of America.  Personally I find it hilarious that these two states have some sort of feud going on.

I didn't think we'd see online gambling in the US for many years to come. With so many other pressing issues, I didn't thing politicians on the federal level would be interested in a potentially controversial law until it had overwhelming support. Honestly, It probably has overwhelming support now, but those against can be loud enough to scare away most politicians.


When the Poker Player's Alliance recently decided to abandon their efforts federally to focus on state by state, I didn't really pay much attention, but I think that's the way to go.  Follow the model Gay Marraige, and Marijuana legalization where you get a few states to legalize it, then let the public see that the end of the world doesn't occur, and then add more and more states, until the federal law is practically a moot point.

Now I just have to hope that Illinois gets in line soon. Or for Nevada to allow out of state participants.

Here's an article on the law.  I'm sure google has more, but I'm too lazy to look for them for you.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

FullTilt to Reopen and Finally refund players.

Good news maybe?  I received the following email today from FullTilt.  Still no real money for US players in the near future, but its a start.

 Dear ZeRat11,

As a player on Full Tilt Poker, you may be aware of the recent settlement reached with the U.S. Department of Justice (the "DOJ").

Full Tilt Poker will not offer real money online poker in the U.S. until it is permissible to do so under relevant law.

In relation to your account balance, you will have the opportunity to file petition with the DOJ through a remission process which will be administrated by the DOJ.

In light of the above, only play chip games will be available to Full Tilt Poker players in the U.S. following re-launch, in the first week of November, 2012. Your Full Tilt Points balance will remain intact in your account.

Please note that we are unable to answer queries in relation to your funds - all such questions should be directed to the DOJ in accordance with the procedure to be defined by them.

Please retain this email for your records.

Sincerely,

Full Tilt Poker

Also, Check out the FullTilt FAQ page for more details.  Here are some highlights:

• Gus Hansen will be the face of FullTilt
• PokerStars has obtained all of FullTilt's assets and will use them to relaunch the site.
• There will be a separate holding account set aside to cover the full amount of player balances.
• FullTilt is licensed by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission
• Going forward, player accounts will be segregated from other with more than enough to cover current player balances
• Players outside of the US should expect a full reimbursement by November 6th
• US Players will need to go through a remission process conducted by the US government
• FullTilt will not seek a license for France, Italy,Spain,Denmark, Belgium or Estonia.
• Players from those countries will need to set up a PokerStars account if they don't already have one to facilitate transfers of FullTilt Balances.
• Photo Identification will be required for balances > $3500
• Supposedly they will return any unsuccessful pending payouts back to your account.  I'm interested in this since I received a payout check from them the day before Black Friday that I was unable to cash.
• There's a bunch of other questions about things like bonuses, and rewards balances, but since I'm in the US and won't be able to play anyway I don't feel like summarizing them.  Check it out for yourself for more details.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

PokerStars Buys FullTilt

Looks like PokerStars has bought/merged with Fulltilt. They also plan to refund all of the FullTilt Player's money. I'm cautiously optimistic. Unfortunately for me, I was in the process of cashing out some of my FullTilt bankroll when D-day hit.  I have a feeling they are going to think that I'm owed less than I actually am, but something is better nothing.

 According to this article PokerStars did not have to admit to any wrong doing and is eligible to apply for a US license if/when online poker becomes legal here.

 Yay.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Sen Reid to Introduce Online Poker Legalization Bill?

There's a story on the Wall Street Journal about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) potentially introducing a bill that would legalize online poker. Read the story for more details.


Some notes and thoughts:

I don't foresee this passing anytime soon. They are currently in a lame duck session of congress, with republicans to control the house shortly and republicans in the senate digging in their heels in regards to passing any legislation, let alone something that they've been against for so long.

Its interesting that the Nevada casinos seem to be behind this. I was under the impression that they were against online gambling and felt it might dilute their brand. Why fly all the way to Vegas when you can gamble from the comfort of your living room? (Because Vegas is awesome, that's why.)

The article mentions that there may be a rider that only established casinos (B & M I assume) to operate online for the first two years. The cynic in me says this is because those casinos helped him survive a close election a month ago and this is payback. Although since these casinos don't already have poker software I would think they might struggle to compete with existing sites like FullTilt and PokerStars.

I wonder if Harrahs or some other casino would buy or partner with an existing site to get their player base? FullTilt poker brought to you by Harrahs, or MGM Online Poker powered by PokerStars? I wonder how much money it would take for the existing sites to make that deal. If the commissions I earn on the few referrals I've made are any indication, those site's aren't exactly in need of a lot of cash. Speaking of which, have you tried FullTilt or PokerStars recently? You should. You should also use bonus code POKERWORDS or click on the links above.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Kyl Still Wants the UIGEA enforced

There's an article over at salon.com about AZ senator Jon Kyl who is holding up confirmation of some treasury depart nominees because he's made the enforcement of the UIGEA has been delayed six months. According to the article that six month delay is intended to give Barney Frank time to come up with a bill legalizing online gambling.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

$10,000 Freeroll

In honor of the Poker Players Alliance's National Poker Week, FullTilt Poker is having a $10,000 freeroll on Sunday August 2nd. To qualify all you have to do is send a letter to your congressman using the PPA form, asking them to support legalizing online poker. Make sure you use the same email address as the one on your FullTilt Account.

1. Register for a FullTilt Account (and get up to a $600 bonus)
2. Send a letter to your representative
3. Wait for an email with instructions to register for the freeroll.

[***Update***]

PokerStars is also having a $10k freeroll. Their tourney is on August 1st, but registration is limited to the first 30,000 people.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Poker Legalization

Here's some potential good news. I saw this article today about a recent study that says the US government could net over $50 Billion in tax revenue over the next decade by legalizing online gambling.

There were couple other interesting items in the article. First of all the study found that online gambling had actually increased in the last three years despite the UIGEA. Also it says Barney Frank intends to introduce legislation this year to repeal that law. Now that Republicans are no longer in control it may actually have a chance of passing. Its funny that now that they aren't in control they are suddenly worried about fiscal responsibility. Perhaps a $50 billion revenue increase will make them feel better.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Poker on the Colbert Report

If you get a chance to see a rerun of the Colbert Report from tonight you should check it out. Charles Nesson was the guest and he had about a ten minute interview advocating the promotion and legalization of poker. He is a professor at Harvard and uses poker as a teaching tool for strategic thinking. So check it out.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

WSOP Omaha Event

I'm not even sure when ESPN is broadcasting the WSOP events, but they keep showing up at random times on my DVR so I'm not complaining. I just watched the $5000 Pot Limit Omaha event and I really enjoyed it. These days it seems that 99.9998% of the poker on TV is holdem, and it can get old for even the most enthusiastic poker fan. I'm not very experienced in playing any other game, so I always look forward to broadcasts of non-holdem events. I want think it helps to get a feel for the game to watch other people playing it.

I especially appreciated the fact that they split the final table into two episodes. This way we can actually see some hands develop and they can show interesting hands that don't necessarily result in the elimination of a player.

It would be cool if high stakes poker turned into a mixed game. Or maybe they could play Omaha-8 for a season. Something to mix it up and let people know that there are other games besides holdem.

Another interesting point that Norman Chad kept bringing up is the number of international players that won bracelets this year. I wonder how much of that is a result of the UIGEA and the fact that not as many US players are qualifying online. Or at least not as high of a percentage of players.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Cash Out Now

This morning I got the email from Neteller that I've been waiting for for over 6 months. They are finally releasing the funds they've had locked up since their founders got arrested those many months ago.

Check out their site for more details, but they are allowing a one time cash out of your entire remaining balance. I don't necessarily want to start a bank rush, but if I were you and I still had money in Neteller I'd cash out ASAP before they either run out of funds or some other government agency claims it.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Fantasy Sports Sit-N-Goes

One of the problems with Fantasy Sports, especially baseball is that through the course of a full season you tend to get bored with it. There's nothing worse than getting off to a horrible start in fantasy baseball and then having to watch your team flounder in last place for three or four months. You probably end up more or less abandoning your team which makes the league less fun and competitive for the remaining players. Even if you are doing well, don't you get tired of checking up on your team daily or weekly, month after month?

Enter Fantasy Sports Live. This brilliant idea, dreamed up by poker blogger Blinders is the short attention span version of traditional fantasy sports. Each contest lasts but one day, so there's none of the hassles of traditional leagues such as maintaining your roster, making sure your players aren't on the DL, checking the waiver wire etc. You just pick your team for the day and go.

Oh, and did I mention the best part? You get to bet on the outcomes. Bet may not be the correct term. You pay an entrance fee for the contest and can win cash prizes. Its very much like a fantasy sports SNG.


From what I understand, this is perfectly legal even in the face of the UIGEA, and they even take deposits from major credit cards and PayPal. Since anti gambling laws have carve outs for horse racing and fantasy sports, sites such as this could be the new craze for people wanting to gamble test their skill online.




Go check it out. Sign up now and get a $10 bonus on your first $100 deposit to try out the site. Use bonus code POKERWORDS and get $10 for a $50 deposit, $20 for $100 or $30 for $300.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Yahoo! Poker

This is somewhat old news, but that doesn't mean I can't still add my two cents.

Yahoo! has recently gotten into the online poker market. They've had a play site, along with tons of other games for years, but just recently started offering real money poker for European players.

While it might be interesting that a big US based media company is getting in the game I didn't think it was all that noteworthy until I read a post on Lou Krieger's blog.

Lou mentions that Y! may be the first ISP to get into the market, they may not be the last as AOL already offers a play money poker game, and Windows includes holdem with the new Vista operating system. Lou speculates that it the UIGEA where repealed those companies and maybe others would offer real money poker to the US market.

I think this bodes well overall for our anti UIGEA/legal online gambling stance. If companies such as Yahoo!, AOL and Microsoft want to get in on that action that has to be a good thing. They have money to throw around why wouldn't they be interested in spending a few million dollars here or there to get a slice of the billion dollar online gaming pie?

The more people, and companies, and most importantly companies with money that want gambling legalized, the better chance we have of making it so.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Hope?

Barney Frank has introduced a bill to repeal the AIGIA. His bill called the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007 (IGREA) will attempt to regulate and license online gaming. There are proposed restrictions based on state and indian tribal jurasdictions, as well as sports betting for sports that don't approve of it. There will also be the expected filter to prevent underage and compulsive gambling. Who know how much of an affect this will have, but it is start. We'll see how far the bill gets.

Further reading:

Lou Krieger

Poket Fives

PPA

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

The Tax Man Cometh

I finally finished my taxes tonight. After factoring in my gambling and gambling related affiliate earnings I think the amount of money I now owe Uncle Sam is what is generally referred to as a crapload. On the one hand that means I had quite a good year last year. On the other hand I don't like writing out checks with that many digits. It makes me rather sad in the pants.

This year, I'll be lucky to earn as much I just paid in taxes for last year which doesn't exactly make me happy. We always complain about how much money the government wastes, someone needs to add up all the potential lost tax revenue that the government will miss next year by clamping down on online poker. Bah.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Exemptions for Skill?

So, I saw this article on Google news and there's one thing in there that really confuses/bothers me.

In the second paragraph they mention how the Poker Player's Alliance thinks it might be able to get poker an exemption from the UIGEA since it is a game of skill. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that isn't what the debate is about. It's not whether its a game of chance or a game of skill, but whether or not you are wagering on it. I'm 99.9% sure that under strict interpretations of the UIGEA you can't wager on Chess or Backgammon either, and I'm fairly certain that most people will tell you there is more skill involved in those than poker. Or at least less luck.

So is it the wagering or the skill vs chance proportion that makes online gambling illegal? I think its the act of placing the bet, which no can deny is a significant aspect of the game of poker.

I don't see a poker exemption coming any time soon. I hope I'm wrong.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

The Sky is Falling (Again)

In case you haven't heard the founders of Neteller were arrested earlier this week on conspiracy to commit money laundering charges. Or something like that.

Here are a few interesting related links and a significant change from Neteller.

2+2 thread

TheAge.com.au


I'm sure you can find more if you half try.

the real important one is this:

Neteller Member News

Basically, Neteller is no longer accepting new accounts from US residents. They are also no longer accepting transfers to or from gambling related sites. You are still free to use your account for non-gambling related sites, and you should still be able to cash out.

So, this could very much kill the online poker/gambling industry. The US is a significant percentage of that market and the most popular methods for them to access it have now been eliminated. Bill Rini has a very good analysis of how this will affect the gaming market even for non-us players.

I wonder if its too late to deposit at Mansion Poker to take advantage of their 100K guaranteed? maybe its a good thing that I haven't deposited ther yet since it seems like cashing out isn't going to be all that easy if I do win.

I really want to go on a rant about how ridiculous our government can be, and how many better uses of our law enforcements time and money there are, but I'm pretty sure its all been said many times before. Maybe I'll have more comments tomorrow after I've had time to filter through all the news reports and other commentary.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Campaign Ads

I was pleasantly with the election results last night. It would have been nice if it had happened two years ago, but better late than never. The best thing about the elections being over is that I won’t have to see any more political ads for about a year.

I have an idea in regards to fixing political ads. Everyone hates them. 9/10 ads are viciously negative and misleading which turns everyone off of the whole political process. We always have to choose between the better of two evils because each candidate repeatedly tries one up the other in showing how evil their opponent is.

While I’d like to see negative prohibited, I don’t know how realistic that is. If your opponent really is a douchebag you should be able to point that out. You should also be able to talk about his record even though he may see that as a negative attack. You should not however be allowed distort things he may have said or done in an effort to make him look like more of a douchebag than he is.

I remember in the last presidential campaign they wanted to paint Kerry as a chronic tax increaser and said that he had voted to increase taxes some 280+ times (Yes I pulled that number out of my ass. I think it’s reasonably accurate but not worth the time to look up. First person to try to correct me and tell me they only said 267 times gets a kick in the balls). Where was I? Right 280 tax increases. That number was technically correct, but incredibly misleading. He had been in the Senate for 18 years and they counted every single line that related to an increase in taxes as voting to increase taxes. If there was a bill to legalize online poker and it among the many lines of pork that got attached to it was a line that instituted a $0.01 tax on all purchases of private jets, that was counted as a vote to increase taxes. It wasn’t. It was a vote to legalize online poker which happened to contain a tax related item. The point is he that while technically he may have voted to increase taxes that many times, he wasn’t specifically trying to raise taxes as the ad implied. I would bet that anyone else who had been in the senate as long as him would have a similarly high count. Both sides do it. I’m not trying to say that only Republican’s do, it’s just the first example I thought of.

My point is that kind of advertising should be stopped. Its destroying the country’s desire to participate in the democratic process.

Here’s my solution. Every ad has to be run by some auditing body such as factcheck.org. They would then rate the ad for accuracy and the ad would have to include a disclaimer. Similar to the “My name is John Doe politician and I approve this message” this would say: “The preceding ad has been rated as 34% accurate by FactCheck.org” or “The following ad has been given 4/10 stars for honesty by CrazyPoliticalClaimAuditors Inc”.

If they had to admit how full of crap their ads were, maybe they’d be less likely to sling mud and more likely to talk about themselves and their plans. If you talk about what you plan to do in the future, you can’t get bad honesty ratings because there’s no way to refute your claims. So not only do we get to stop listening to the vicious verbal assaults, but we might actually get to find out what candidates actually stand for. These rules would also apply to the various party commissions, and PACs that purchase ads on behalf of candidates.

So there’s my idea. Now someone else go do the work and get it implemented. Just make sure you call it the new law the “ZeRat11 guideline for accuracy incampaign advertising” Or something.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

Poker Players Against Kyl

I made a donation to Jim Pederson today, and I would encourage you to do the same. Pederson is running against Jon Kyl, who was a one of those pushing hard for the anti gambling ban. I didn't donate much and I don't think the small amount that I did give will make or break anyone's campaign, but that's not the point.

If there's two things that politicians understand, its money and votes. I'm hoping that those in power will see that voting to enforce their misguided morality on others and to take away our freedoms will inspire people not only to vote against them, but to actually give money to their opponents in a retaliatory attempt to oust them.

So donate through the Poker Players Against Kyl page, even if its only $10. Even if we don't manage to vote Kyl out, at least we can make him and others think twice before voting against the will of the people.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com

When They Came for the Poker Players

Saw this Article through Bill Rini's Poker Filter. Seems like a workthwhile cause given the current situation.

WHEN THEY CAME FOR THE POKER PLAYERS

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

"When they came for the online poker players I did nothing, because I wasn't an online poker player."

Some may take that attitude. We, at DownsizeDC.org, do not.

Congress harmed American businesses that run online gaming sites by outlawing money transfers to those sites. We stand with those harmed and against Congress.

Congress harmed American taxpayers who used to enjoy playing Texas Holdem on PartyPoker, and using Fireplay to enter the game and collect their winnings, but who can no longer do so because of Congress. We stand with those Americans and against Congress.

Some may take the attitude that this new law will help those with gambling problems, but a junkie can always find his fix. Perhaps now he will simply do so with a non-American online gaming site. Besides, Texas Holdem is more a game of skill than luck.

Some may like the "values" this new law symbolizes. They can sit and wait for William Bennett's next "virtue" book (though given recent news about Mr. Bennett, we now suspect will probably include a chapter titled, "The Virtue of Gambling"). But we prefer to act for the virtues of small government, self-determination, and free enterprise.

Some may prefer to buy a government sponsored lottery ticket, go play bingo at a church charity, or go to one of the Indian casinos from which Ralph Reed (of Christian Coalition fame) has earned so much money (via Jack Abramoff). We prefer to make Congress pay for its sins.

We must be prepared to defend others if we expect them to help us when we need defending. We want to make common cause with the online Texas Holdem players . . .

* We will ask Congress to repeal the anti-gaming law they passed before they adjourned. http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=57
* We want to ask online poker players to help us pass the "Read the Bills Act."

Here's what online gamers need to know: If the "Read the Bills Act" was already law, then Senator Frist couldn't have hidden the anti-gaming law in a Port Security Bill at the last minute. Please do the following . . .

* Send Congress a message asking them to repeal the online gaming law. Do so here. http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=57
* Forward this message to friend, and ask them to do the same
* Send a second note to Congress, and to your friends, about the "Read the Bills Act." Start here.
http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=27

But don't stop there:
* Help us grow by making a contribution here.
http://www.downsizedc.org/contribute.shtml
We only need another $1,996 to pay our October bills.

Thank you for being a DC Downsizer.

Jim Babka
President of the Downsize DC Foundation and DownsizeDC.org, Inc
Former President of RealCampaignReform.org, Inc.

2006-Oct-04
Save our ports from online poker sites!

Congress passed a bill prohibiting money transfers to online betting sites. This law hurts American businesses and American poker players.

This is a dishonest law passed in a dishonest way.

The Internet betting prohibition was added to a Port Security bill at the last minute, just before Congress adjourned. Putting this bill into the Port Security legislation guaranteed it would pass without examination or debate. This couldn't have happened if DownsizeDC.org's "Read the Bills Act" was the law of the land.

Senator Bill Frist is responsible for this travesty. He wants to be President. Passing this law helps him demonstrate to the GOP base that he's a "values candidate." Never mind that the benefit to him comes at the expense of others. So much for "values."

Congress must reconsider this bill, as a stand alone measure, and repeal it. If Congress wants to pass this law they should do so in the full light of day, without the cover of something like Port Security.

DownsizeDC.org was motivated to take up this cause for several reasons.

* We object to government sponsored restraint of trade.


* We think it highlights the need for the "Read the Bills Act."


* This law hurts honest Americans.

Please take action now by sending a message to your Representative and your Senators asking them to repeal this provision.

TALKING POINTS

* Congress shouldn't pretend they are our parents.


* Congress shouldn't be able to combine unrelated bills at the last minute.


* There should be a waiting period before a bill can be passed.


* Congress should have to read every word of every bill.


* And no bill passed in violation of these requirements should have the force of law.

Originally posted at blog.pokerwords.com