Archive for the ‘news’ Category

New Jersey Online Poker Room To Try New Poker Variant

Friday, February 7th, 2014

file4741238088930Online poker rooms tend to stick with the standard gaming options: Hold’em and Omaha. These gaming options can be found in different forms but tend to be the most popular forms of poker found in online game play. However, many sites will offer unusual forms of poker or odd variants so that players have the opportunity to try new games. Ultimate Poker, which is available in both New Jersey and Nevada, has now announced they are offering a new Hold’em variant called Two Street Hold’em.

The new game will go live on February 10th for a trial run. The game is based on Hold’em but players can only see two betting streets. One preflop betting round takes place and then five community cards are dealt. The river is the last betting round before the showdown. The games has less betting rounds and a larger ante which should see more action post flop.

The Product Manager of Ultimate Poker, Chris Danek, stated that he wanted to design a game that would give people the same joy and fun that hold’em provides without the needless folding. The first game will take place on the 10th in play money form. Ultimate Poker employees as well as pros representing the site will take part in game play.

The gaming option will be in test form but UP has researched the game to see if players would enjoy the option. by the 14th, the Nevada room will offer two real money options with $1/2 blinds and $1 ante. The games will be available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Valentine’s Day weekend.

The new option is one that will be followed closely in the industry. It is always interesting to see what types of games players enjoy and if the new option will become a popular new trend.

PokerTracker Service Now Available in New Jersey

Wednesday, February 5th, 2014

Poker players enjoy various features from top quality online poker providers from special tournaments, bonuses, promotions and more. certain features set poker rooms apart from the rest and one aspect that players take advantage of s a poker tracker. PokerTracker is an option that players have at many online poker sites that offers the option of tracking player results over hands played. The option has now been made available in the state of New Jersey for both PartyPoker and Borgata players.

According to a recent report by Pokerfuse, PokerTracker 4 has been added as a support option for PartyPoker New Jersey as well as Borgata Poker players. The hand tracking tool will offer members of these sites a database for tracking game play results. These results can be used as a learning tool for players to better their game.

Results with heads up displays can be viewed on the table while players enjoy Omaha and Hold’em with cash and tournament formats available. A press release was sent out to the media on the subject that stated the tool coincides with the regulatory framework already in place by the Department of Gaming Enforcement of New Jersey.

Before the tool was available, players had to change the settings at Party Poker to be able to save their hand history. With the new update, players will now be able to view the history without having to make any setting changes. This will be a nice addition to the software, especially players who take time to review their game play.

The Poker Tracker 4 update only helps to bring the online poker industry up the standards of offshore counterparts. The United States still has a long way to go but as more states show interest in entering the market, the option should expand over the next few years.

Caesars Entertainment Looking at Revel Casino

Wednesday, January 29th, 2014

The Atlantic Club in Atlantic City, New Jersey was not the only casino struggling to make ends meet. The Revel Casino has also been struggling since launching back in 2012. The property is heading toward the auction block and one company rumored to be interested in purchasing the property is Caesars Entertainment Corp.

This of course is not huge news as one would expect another casino group to want to purchase the property. However, the Caesars group just went in with the Tropicana Entertainment group to purchase the Atlantic Club for a hefty sum. Caesars would end up with the actual property while Tropicana would take the gaming equipment.

It has now been rumored that the Caesars group will be bidding on the property, one that took over $2.5 billion to create. The property has struggled since opening in 2012 and in 2013 had to file bankruptcy. Caesars already has four properties in the area and this would give them even more brick and mortar space. Over the next two weeks, final bids for the Revel property have to come in.

It was also reported some months ago that the Hard Rock International company may also be interested in the property. If this is the case, there may be a bidding war between the two companies as to who will be able to earn the property. The decision is also based on what the potential purchaser can do with the property (no bluffing in this situation folks).

Right now the online industry is flourishing while the brick and mortar is having a tough go. It will be interesting to see how the property will be used once it is purchased and if other casinos begin to see losses as well. For now, it seems as though the Atlantic Club and the Revel are the only two casinos that were in desperate need of saving.

US Poker Players to Receive FTP Funds – FINALLY!

Friday, January 24th, 2014

For years now, former Full Tilt Poker players in the US have been waiting to receive the cash that was frozen in their online poker accounts. The Poker Players Alliance is now reporting that 30,000 players will now receive payment after the DOJ approved the release of funds totaling $82 million.

The Garden City Group took the petitions of players and after the audit was completed, the Department of Justice was happy with the results and decided to release the funds for payment. The Executive Director of the PPA, John Pappas, released the information on popular poker forum TwoPlusTwo just a few days ago.

Pappas stated that this is good news and he was informed by the AFMLS/DoJ staff that 30,000 undisputed player claims would be paid for a total of $82 million in remissions. Garden City was expected to make a formal announcement as well. Players who have an undisputed claim should expect communication from Garden City Group via an email. The email will list instructions on how to receive payment.

The DOJ did not inform Pappas with a date for when the email would be sent as well as when payment would be processed. Pappas did state that it looks like this process will take place before the deadline set previously at March 31st.

The Executive Director did state that affiliates and pro repayments are still unresolved. Apparently the DOJ and Garden City Group are working on this and Pappas believes that news would be shared with this group soon. Reports state that a new filing window will be set for these players in this particular group.

Players are certainly ready for repayment and hopefully money will be back in the right hands before long. It will be interesting to see how the process for affiliates and pros will play out.  Hopefully players getting their long awaited funds will practice proper bankroll management going forward!

 

 

International Olympic Committee and Nevada Form Partnership

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014

The Olympics are back in action this year and are set to take place in Russia. As with every Olympic season, there is fear of cheating. Officials are afraid that participants or officials of the events will cheat for a financial gain. This is why committees are formed to combat this issue. This year, the Olympic Committee has requested the help of gaming regulators in the state of Nevada to help stop cheating during this year’s games.

Both groups will work together to provide information to stop any cheating from taking place. The partnership between the two groups will help to maintain the integrity of sports. The Olympic Committee wants to keep manipulation of the games at bay and stop any unfair winnings.

Sports books located in the state of Nevada will be able to provide wagering on the games this year and will work hard to provide information to the committee which can be used to stop manipulations. . Shawn Reid is a member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board and he stated that the board is honored to be working with the International Olympic Committee to combat irregular and illegal wagering on sports. Reid also stated that Nevada is held in high regard on a global scale of their gaming regulations.

The International Olympic Committee is also happy to be working with the state of Nevada. The information shared with the committee will be used to help create the Integrity Betting, Intelligence System. This system will be used for the first time this year and will collate alerts and information of manipulation of wagers on particular sports.

The IOC would like to see clean sports and protect the competitions, especially the events that pertain to wagering. The IOC ispleased to have come to agreements with Nevada and have the ability to build on what they started back in 2012 during the London Olympics.

New Jersey Online Poker Continues to Grow While Nevada/Delaware Stagnant

Thursday, January 16th, 2014

Online poker is readily available in three states in the US: Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey. Nevada was the first to launch followed by Delaware and then New Jersey. While many expected the state of Nevada to be the most successful, it was New Jersey that has been the most effective by offering online poker gaming. The state of New Jersey continues to grow steadily as Nevada and Delaware have gotten a little stagnant.

According to recent reports by Poker Scout, New Jersey has continued to see steady growth since first launching on November 21st. the state has seen very large spikes in member accounts and continue to see a nice growth in player accounts. At the same time, the state of Nevada and Delaware have seen a slowdown in member accounts. In January, Nevada saw a nice increase in player accounts but it is now back down in numbers.

Nevada is having trouble adding to their player numbers and after the WSOP.com launched, the member accounts seemed to slow down. The World Series of Poker will begin this May so it will be interesting to see if special promotions or satellites to events will see a large spike in player numbers.

Delaware has only seen just over 4,000 player accounts due to small population. Both Delaware and Nevada have discussed a partnership to see interstate game play but nothing has yet to come of these talks. If the two could work together, there would be larger player pools which would help both states generate more player traffic.

Online gambling is only a few months old so there is still time for Nevada and Delaware to catch up. Also, other states may come in the mix this year so it will be interesting to see if New Jersey will be able to keep the top spot.

Popular Poker Pro Looking for Investor

Thursday, January 16th, 2014

file4741238088930Many times, poker pros will offer an opportunity for investors to stake them during game play. This is a common occurrence, especially during popular tournament series such as the World Series of Poker. Greg Raymer is a poker pro who rose to fame back in 2004 when he won the WSOP Main Event. The pro found great success but now is asking for investors to help with the 2014 season.

According to a post at TwoPlusTwo, Raymer is accepting investments for his tournament game play. It is usually common for players to offer shares for one tournament or a schedule of tournaments but Raymer is looking for something a bit different. The poker pro wants to gain investors who will basically fund his bankroll. Investors will be providing cash for both cash games and tournaments during 2014.

Raymer has proposed a deal which would see investors purchasing a bankroll percentage. Shares are currently begin sold by Raymer at $1,000 and would like to raise $100,000. Raymer has listed a system that would give the pro 40% of the total profit above the $100,000 by the end of the year. Investors would then split the remaining 60% based on the number of shares purchased. Investors would also lose equally based on this number if Raymer has an unsuccessful season.

The pro is claiming that he has a winning track record for the past twenty one years in cash game and tournament play. However, he has not been sponsored by a poker site since 2011. The pro is hoping to make the investment deal work so he can get back in the game. He is also apparently being pressured by his wife, who is nervous about his continuing his poker career. It will be interesting to see how many investors Raymer is able to earn as well as if he has a successful season.

2014 PCA High Roller Event Win Goes to Fabian Quoss

Friday, January 10th, 2014

PokerstarsThe European Poker Tour was in the Caribbean earlier this week for the PokerStars Caribbean adventure and the $100,000 High Roller was a highly anticipated event. Top players from around the world attended the PCA and only the best of the best paid the $100,000 buy-in to compete in the high roller event.

When final table began, it was Dan Shak in the chip lead at 3.7 million while Vanessa Selbst was a close second with 3.6 million+. Antonio Esfandiari, Fabian Quoss, Matt Glantz, Tony Gregg and Ole Schemion would finish up the final table.

The first two to go would be Gregg and Schemion as they had the low chip stack. Both would be eliminated at the same time when they went all in and were called by Quoss. Pocket tens held up for Quoss and both players were eliminated from the competition.

Glantz was the next short stack so he was out next followed by Selbst would eliminate Esfandiari and then the tournament players got serious. It would be some time before Selbst would be eliminated in third place. The pro would move all in with K-9 preflop and Quoss would call holding A-4 suited. The board fell 6-2-3 with a 4 on the turn and 3 on the river, giving Quoss the pot and Selbst a 3rd place finish.

Quoss and Shak would return after a dinner break and Quoss had a nice lead with 9.2 million to 4.795 million in chips. Quoss continued to stay ahead and it would take close to one hour before the final hand would go down. Shak moved all in after the turn with T-7-Q-9 on the board and Quoss would call. An Ace on the river would not help Shak who held J-T against Quoss 8-6, a straight.

Final Results:

 

Fabian Quoss – $1,629,940
Dan Shak – $1,178,980
Vanessa Selbst – $760,640
Antonio Esfandiari – $575,920
Matt Glantz – $445,520
Tony Gregg – $347,720
Ole Schemion – $277,080

 

Adrenaline Rush Live at Full Tilt Poker

Wednesday, January 8th, 2014

Full Tilt PokerIn today’s society, we all want things now, fast, hurry up! We are all so fast paced that everything should be available as soon as we want it. This goes for poker as well. Players want to be able to play quickly, especially when time is lacking. Full Tilt Poker first created Rush Poker to do just that. To allow for cash game options that was quick and simple. The online poker room has now launched an even faster version of the option.

Adrenaline Rush is the latest addition to Full Tilt Poker which allows players to enjoy the game quicker than ever. Players will be able to play with a combination of Rush Poker at shorthanded tables with a shallow chip stack.

Ring games in Adrenaline Rush will offer betting that tops out at ten big blinds. The buy-ins are set at 5 to 10 big blinds. Players have to bet preflop and in most cases, players will only be able to raise or get out of the hand. With the new Adrenaline Rush software, players have the option of two special features as well which will help to move the games along at a faster rate.

Quick Fold will take players immediately to a new table while Raise Max will put a player all in with the full amount of cash possible once it is their turn. Sarne Lightman, is the Head of Marketing for Full Tilt Poker and he commented:

“Full Tilt Poker players love the thrill and excitement of fast-paced, quick fold action, and Adrenaline Rush pushes the envelope on speed and excitement.” Lightman went on to state that the game gives players quick excitement, gets the adrenaline pumping and ready for more! Players will now have the option of competing against more players with more pots and quicker game play!

 

Online Poker Players Earn Black Card Pro Status at Full Tilt Poker

Friday, January 3rd, 2014

Full Tilt PokerFull Tilt Poker has been back in action for some time now and the site recently announced the online poker players who have made the Black Card Pro Poker team. This is a new sponsorship program that provides players with incentives for reaching major milestones. Full Tilt announced that eleven online poker players qualified for the new program and one more should make the cut after the mini-FTOPS series completes later this month.

As part of the Black Card Pro status, players will earn the following incentives:

  • The choice of $20k FTOPS entries and mini FTOPS or a $20K clearable bonus
  • 100% Rakeback
  • Red Name Status (which makes the player identifiable at the poker table for six months)

Players were given the opportunity to earn Black Card status six months ago. The online poker room worked with players to determine what criteria they should use to choose who is able to gain this status. The site finally decided to choose a select combination of methods. This included using adjusted cash game winnings according to poker hand as well as winners of leaderboard tournaments.

The winners based on poker category at Full Tilt Poker are:

Competition Type                                          Player

SNG                                                                           XIAPJIAMOB

HU SNG                                                                    Jasonc6

Rush High                                                                PlayinWithDreams

Rush Low                                                                 Trickshot625

MTT                                                                          Silent_0ne69

FTOPS                                                                      betong

Mini-FTOPS                                                              TBA

NL/PL Hold’em High                                              Triviani20

PLO High                                                                 feliceko

PLO Low                                                                  MadSickoHead

HU Ring                                                                   moos29

Other                                                                       stronghawk

 

The online poker site is now working on the next group for status of Black Card Pro. This round will be completed in April of 2014. The competition will run three times a year and each go round, the new group of Black Card Pros will hold the status for four months. The competition allows players to focus their talents and set a goal to earn fantastic incentives as well as bragging rights!