Accessible Poker

MintedPoker has banned U.S. Players

2012-02-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

"No person who is resident in Malta, France and USA may open an account, play, or in any other way participate in the ELG offerings and/or services."

This has unfortunately now been included in the terms and conditions for all skinns on the Everleaf Gaming network...

Minted Poker is one of more than 100 skins on Everleaf and, they were the first to acknowledge that such a thing as accessibility issues mattered and, that adjustments should be made when possible to meet the needs of the blind and visually impaired....

Up until now Everleaf has been one of only a few networks providing real-money online poker to players within the U.S. after Black Friday.

It is therefore with great sadness that we have to notify everyone of the fact that the company has received a cease and desist order from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and, The Everleaf Gaming Network has been forced to prohibit all residents in the United States and France from using it's serveces.

the network faces legal action if it continues to facilitate its services in the U.S, but money held by all poker players, including those in the U.S, are said to be "secure and ring fenced."

U.S. poker-players can no longer log in to the Minted Poker client and, personally I think that they should have sent out a notification about this, but it may set your mind AT ease to know that cashouts are available from the Minted Poker Site.

It's hard to say where we will go from here, as the majority of users of Accessible Poker are residents of the U.S, there may no longer be a need for our serveces.

We have, for personal reasons, not been very active lately, but we have still been working on making the Merge Gaming Network accessible, but only time will tell whether Merge and others like: Bovada, and the Cake Poker Network will follow suit and, ban U.S-players now that the U.S. government has applied pressure to one of the few remaining offshore networks to allow Americans to do what they wish with their own hard earned money...

This is a sad weekend indeed.

The AccessiblePoker Team

Happy new year!

2012-01-01T03:21:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a bright 2012! May there be better hands dealt, fewer suckouts, and, tons of fish throwing money your way. Also, on a more serious note, lets hope for more accessible software on the market. Happy new year poker players!
#The AccessiblePoker Team

Regarding scripts for Minted Poker

2011-12-13T23:50:00.000-08:00

I have realised that my post Regarding VTPoker and XPTPoker could be mistaken for an announcement of the release of the scripts for Minted Poker's new software, as I've now gotten new requests from players who, like myself, have been waiting patiently for the update for a long time.

This is just a note to let you all know, that unfortunately the new software hasn't even been implimented yet.

I don't know what's taiking them so long. It should have been released 3 months ago, but I'm hoping that this delay means that there'll be less trouble when they finally do update, as they should have plenty of time to proof run the program.

Again, I have chosen not to give out new scripts while we're waiting for the update, since there's no garantee that the new software will still be accessible. The manager at Minted Poker has promised to work with us again, but since I don't know what kind of changes they're making, I can't say for sure if the potential for accessibility will still be there.

I realise that it's frustrating to wait, but it wouldn't be fair for you to make a deposit one day, only to realise that you're not even able to log in with out sighted help the next...

I would of course have given out scripts Had I known that it would take them this long, but the situation is still the same, they're not saying anything spasific and, they could implement the changes tomorrow, or it could take another 3 months. The release date was set for september 15th after all.

As of right now, all we can do is wait...

I apologize for the incomvenience and, I apriciate your patience.

Carbon Poker, back on the U.S market

2011-10-13T01:55:00.000-07:00

Carbon Poker, is a part of the Merge Gaming Network, where they blocked all U.S players shortly after black friday,
but as of today they are back on the global poker market and, U.S players are once again welcome to sign-up.

This means that they're now also a network that we would like to add to the Accessible Poker project
and, we hope that they'll be willing to work with us in the future.

Note: ChipSplit brands do not accept players from the following countries and states: Australia, France, New York, Kentucky, Washington DC, Maryland, Washington, Missouri and Louisiana.

Massive jump in player numbers at MintedPoker

2011-10-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

That’s right, there has been a huge jump in player numbers and you’ll now find many more tables of your favourite stakes running.

Do You like to play $25/$50 NL Heads Up? No problem…..

….Or is your comfort zone at .25/5 Euro NL? they have loads more tables, more action and its getting bigger every day.

Come see for yourself.

Some of the promotions they are running almost makes it possible to forgive them for having delayed the release of their new software...

$4,000 – 8 x $500 added tournaments
Every Tuesday @ 20:30 CET and every Saturday @ 20:30 EST they will be adding $500 to Their $0.55 cent tournament. Look for these in the regular lobby this month.

$10,000 – 2 raked hands races PLUS 2 points races
They have 2 raked hands races for those who put in the volume at lower stakes, plus 2 poker point races for those of you who play the higher games and generate more rake.

$2,000 - Multi Table tournaments Super League
Every day, there are a number of tournaments which count towards to league. Make it to the top and walk away with a $500 bonus.

$1,000 – Sit And Go promotion.
Can you get to the top of their STT leader board and claim all three 1st place prizes?
Why don't you prove it!

If you're in need of Scripts for Jaws, Don't sign-up for Minted Poker right now

2011-08-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I'll have to urge all Jaws users not to sign-up for Minted Poker right now, as they'll be implementing their new software shortly. I feel like I wouldn't be an honest person if I let you make a deposit now, when you might not be able to play for more than a few weeks. I am of course going to look at the new software as soon as it's released and, Minted Poker management has promised to work with me to make it accessible, but there's always a slight risk that it no longer will have any such potential. As of right now, all we can do is hope for the best.

A special thanks goes to everyone who is rooting for our cause.
We are ever so greatful for all donations:

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And we apriciate every single player who signs-up with us:
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but You don't need to spend any money to show that you support us. really all you need to do to let people know that you support what we're doing to improve the situation when it comes to accessibility and iquality in the poker-world is to like our facebook page.
Accessible Poker

Promote Your Page Too
We're looking forward to being able to welcome you as one of our members.

A black friday for poker and, grey days yet to come

2011-04-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

As I'm sure everyone has heard by now, the founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker were indicted on charges based on the Illegal Gambling Business Act of 1955 and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 this past friday. The charges include: bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling.
There were also restraining orders issued against over 75 bank accounts used by the online poker companies and their payment processors, as well as five Internet domain names.

During the course of the investigation, apparently using information gained from making a deal with Daniel Tzvetkoff, the former head of a payment processing company named Intabill that processed transactions for the online poker companies, the Department of justice gained evidence that it believes would prove that the poker sites conspired to defraud U.S. financial institutions by disguising transactions used for Internet gambling as something else to circumvent the UIGEA.

Because U.S. banks and credit card issuers were largely
unwilling to process payments for internet poker after the enforcement of UIGEA in June 2010, the DOJ believes that the Poker Companies used fraudulent methods to trick them into processing payments on their behalf.
For example, defendants ISAI SCHEINBERG and PAUL TATE of
PokerStars, RAYMOND BITAR and NELSON BURTNICK of Full Tilt Poker,
and SCOTT TOM and BRENT BECKLEY of Absolute Poker are accused of arranging for the money received from U.S. gamblers to be disguised as payments
to hundreds of non-existent online merchants.

According to the indictment, the Poker Companies also worked with an array of highly compensated "payment processors" including defendants RYAN LANG, IRA RUBIN, BRADLEY FRANZEN, and CHAD ELIE, who supposably obtained accounts at U. S. banks on the Poker Companies behalf and, then lied to banks about the nature of the financial transactions they were processing, as well as covered up those lies by,
among other things, creating phony corporations and websites.

after U.S. banks and financial
institutions detected and shut down multiple fraudulent bank
accounts used by the Poker Companies, SCHEINBERG and BITAR changed strategies. Instead of lying to the banks, PokerStars, FullTilt Poker, and their payment processors persuaded the principals of a few small, local banks
facing financial difficulties to process the payments in return for multi-million dollar investments in the banks.
Of the billions of
dollars in payment transactions that the Poker Companies tricked U.S. banks into processing, approximately one-third or more of
the funds went directly to the Poker Companies as revenue through
the "rake" charged to players at the poker tables.

The crimes carry heavy sentences, with bank fraud being the most serious one with a possible penalty of up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $1 million. I don't agree with what the poker companies have done. There should have been a way to do this without Breaking the law , but on the other hand There's no victim here. The poker sites have not stolen anything from anyone. If crimes have been committed, it was done with the good intentions of running legitimate business through unreasonable government interference.

The UIGEA is in my eyes totally rediculous. Poker is not a crime and, should not be treated as such. The poker companies do earn revenue in form of rake, but so do the land based casinos and, nobody's trying to ban them. How can you allow one and not the other? Besides, the U.S. government sanctions activities such as the lottery and stock market, which are much bigger gambles than poker, as they don't require the skill that poker does. Now don't think for one second that I'd imply that the UIGEA came in to play because it's easier for the government to get their cut of the revenue in form of taxes from the land based casinos.. Ahem....

The indictment is not only hurting the poker companies. It is also having a terible impact on all the players who are having trouble to withdraw their funds. Not to mention that U.S. Players will no longer be able to play on neither FullTilt nor PokerStars. There are still other companies where U.S. players are allowed, Such as

But Hundrads of thousands of players have already lost their only source of income. Others will only lose their recreational outlet, but that is taking away from a persons freedom as well.

One's gotta put blame where blame is do and, there's no doubt that the poker sites has a responsibility here, by making it possible for the government to shut down their U.S. activity, but this proves more than anything that the U.S. government needs to take action, not by hunting down the owners of the poker companies, but by regulating, regulating, regulating online poker!

It is the only way to protect the players and, that is after all the purpose of the UIGEA, right? Not to mention that there's no doubt that the U.S. economy would benefit immensely from these extra earnings. It has been on the verge of collapse for quite a while now...

Now is the Time for the Poker Community to Stand Strong and take action for Our Rights

Accessible Poker scripts for Windows 7 under development

2011-03-05T01:53:00.000-08:00

This is just to let you all know that we have not forgotten about those of you who want to use our Accessible Poker Scripts with Windows 7. I asure you that we're working on a solution and you'll be able to find a notice up here and on our facebook page,
as soon as the scripts for Jaws are available. Until then Windows XP and Windows Vista are the only alternatives.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
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Free entry for the visually impaired

2011-01-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

Well everybody, Minted Poker has done it again! This is truly an accessible network where they care about all of their players and, I'm profoundly greatful that we found them.

----- Original Message -----
From: Neil Butterfield-Mintedpoker.com
To: Reena - Mintedpoker.com
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 12:47 AM
Subject: Free Entry

Hi my name is Neil the card room manager at Mintedpoker,
I am writing to you because I wish to apologise to you all for an error on our part, which appears to be inconsiderate.

We have just completed our Secret Santa promotion where small images of Santa were placed on our website with hidden flash letters in the sack Santa was carrying.

Because the letters and the Santa's were made up from images, we have just realised that some of our players who maybe visually impaired, could have had difficulties in locating the Santa's, as readers such as JAWS would not have picked up any letters to spell out festive words.

Please believe me when I say that I am truly sorry for this oversight and to make amends, I would like to offer all those who are affected a free seat in the Secret Santa $1,000 free roll tournament.

Your player details have been forwarded to Reena and she will have you automatically registered for the tournament, the date it is to take place has not yet been fixed, however when the date is finalised it will be published on the Mintedpoker website on this page

It will also be announced
on our facebook page
Please again accept my apologies for this oversight and I hope that your chance to win a share of $1,000 will more than make up for any inconvenience caused.

Best Regards and Wishes for the Festive Season

Neil - Card room Manager

Bodog support is still ignoring us

2010-12-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

We've been trying to contact Bodog support for months now, since their poker client could easily be made accessible, but unfortunately they don't even want to write us back. I know, I know, we can just give up and realise that they're not interested, but we're gonna keep emailing them until they at least have the desency to reply to our emails.
Should you want to help, please send the message below to support@bodog.com
Don't forget to include your name.

Message:
to whom it may concern,
i am a member of Accessible Poker, who's aim is to make poker accessible to blind poker players. Your game client could be an option for the blind community, if only the wholecards were displayed as text in the chatbox, along with the other actions at the table, which are already displayed as text. That's really all we need to make our screenreader work with your program, a text option for the ´wholecards. We would of course also be able to bring in more players to your network. Is there any chance that you'd be interested in making this minor change to your software?
I would sincerely apriciate any help you could give us in this matter.
Your name:

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Wanna have a go at a $ 4000 Freeroll?

2010-11-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

Wanna have a go at a $ 4000 freeroll? It's easy! All you have to do is creat your
account here:

And then go here to:
like minted Poker on Facebook!
and help them to reach their target for the $ 4000 freeroll.
Don't miss out!

The Democrats Lost Control of The House; what happens to the prospect of poker legislation?

2010-11-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, voters in the United States went to the polls for midterm elections. The entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate were up
for grabs and, when the polls closed, it became evident that the Democrats would be losing control of the House.
According to Yahoo News, Republicans will have at least 240 seats in the House come January. What affects will this have for the prospect of poker legislation?
the Financial Services Committee has been largely responsible for bringing pro-internet gambling bills to life including Frank’s HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. The measure was marked up in the Committee in July, but has not yet been addressed on the House floor.
internet gambling champion Barney Frank (D-MA) was reelected by a 54% vote. However, Frank will likely lose his post as Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, now that the Democrats have lost control of The House. According to John Pappas, PPA Executive Director, the PPA has done a
good job of recruiting others on that committee however, so there's still hope. It’s unclear who its new Chairman will be, but it looks like it will be Spencer Bachus, and Even he and his staff would contend that there needs to be review of how the government addresses internet
gaming. Not even Bachus can say with a straight face that the
UIGEA has been a successful piece of legislation.
Find out why
Whether internet gambling and online poker will be addressed before 2010 is through
remains to be seen. Bachus ran unopposed in Alabama and currently serves as the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee. Now, Bachus and other sitting lawmakers
will likely return to Capitol Hill for a so-called “lame duck” session. The Executive Director of Poker Player Alliance, has said that the best opportunity to get something done in 2010 would be during the lame duck session, and they're still moving in that direction.
New blood in Congress is good for the chances of poker legislation. The PPA has had success before, when they've had the chance to educate members who recently have come into Congress, and january 2011 should be no different. the PPA will be able to get players and members in their districts out in front of them. Whether Republican or Democrat, when you spell out the issue and it’s backed up by calls, it becomes important.
Read more here
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Since the 23 of september 2010 it is a felony to play poker online in Washington state

2010-10-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

Since the 23/9 2010, it is a Class C Felony to play poker or gamble online in Washington state. I've included an article about it below. I can't stress enough how important it is to join the Poker Players Alliance if you want to defend your rights as a poker player. Just as important as it is to join Accessible Poker, if you thinkg that blind poker players have a right to accessible software. Be proud to play! Because Poker is not a crime!

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide and over 20,000 in Washington, expressed its disappointment with the Washington State Supreme Court’s decision upholding the state law that makes it a Class C Felony to play poker and gamble online.
“We are extremely disappointed in the State Supreme Court’s ruling given the clear evidence
that the state legislature never sought to regulate Internet poker as it does in-state bricks and
mortar card rooms and internet horse racing, but instead simply banned internet poker and, even
worse, criminalized the players. This law is still a mistake, and we will continue to fight to have
it overturned,” said former U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato, Chairman of the PPA.

In May, the PPA provided amicus testimony supporting Lee Rousso’s case before the Supreme Court. More than 100 poker enthusiasts gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court to add their support and decry the state law.
“Unfortunately, the court has upheld an unpopular prohibition. Poker players in this state need
to make their voices heard. Now more than ever we need to rally together to fight this outrageous
law. I hope the poker community will stand with me as I appeal this decision to the U.S.
Supreme Court,” said Lee Rousso.

“The one bright spot in the ruling is that the Court made it clear they weren’t endorsing the law,
but rather endorsing the right of the legislature to pass the law. That underscores what we’ve
heard time and again – that this law is ridiculous. In fact, earlier this year, a poll found that 80
percent of Washington voters oppose the law,” continued D’Amato.

“By no means is the fight over. The PPA will pursue other legal and legislative efforts to
overturn this law and will continue to work with lawmakers in Washington State and
Washington, D.C., to pass legislation to license and regulate online poker and protect the rights
of poker players to enjoy the game they love wherever they chose to play.

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US Law Against Online Gambling Makes It the Biggest Loser

2010-09-09T14:37:00.000-07:00

I don't usually like to copy other peoples work, but I think that the following article on online gambling in the US, written by Peter S. Vogel, provides answers to most questions on the subject. I've Therefore decided to post it here. .

Who is Peter S. Vogel?
E-Commerce Times columnist Peter S. Vogel is a trial partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell, where he is chair of the eDiscovery Team and Chair of the Technology Industry Team. Before practicing law, he was a systems programmer on mainframes, received a masters in computer science, and taught graduate courses in information systems and operations research.

US Law Against Online Gambling Makes It the Biggest Loser
With little fanfare or warning, in 2006, the U.S. enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). This legislation outlawed Internet gambling and restricted how financial institutions could pay monies to Internet gambling sites.
The UIGEA resulted from four major policy concerns of the federal government.
First, the Internet was too easy a venue for compulsive gamblers.
Second, the age of Internet gamblers could not easily be determined, and underage gambling could not be controlled as with a brick-and-mortar casino.
Third, a lack of regulation of Internet gambling made it easy to defraud gamblers and rig the odds.
Fourth, the anonymity of the Internet made online gambling a medium for potential money laundering.

How Internet Gambling Works
Users locate websites on which they want to gamble, for example

tThen they download software to their computers. Once the gambling software is downloaded to the gambler's computer system, a personal account is set up; it includes name, home address, valid email address, date of birth and other personal information. Because most employers have policies against using computer time, computer resources, and Internet access for such activities, most Internet gambling generally operates from home computers.
The UIGEA restricts credit card companies and banks from transferring monies for gambling. To get around the legal restriction, Internet gambling sites require gamblers to set up e-wallets -- online accounts in which monies may be deposited. E-wallets may be used generally for purchases on the Internet, including gambling.
The e-wallets draft monies from consumer bank accounts, credit cards and debit cards, and then route the monies to merchants or gambling sites. Generally, e-wallets are based and regulated outside of the U.S., which takes Internet gambling monies outside of the U.S. business flow and, accordingly, outside of the regulation of the U.S. and the states.

What Happens When Gamblers Win? Or Do You Understand Terms of Service?
Let's see a show of hands ... how many of you regularly read Terms of Service before clicking "I Accept"? My informal poll says about 1 percent. Website Terms of Service are generally enforced in courts around the world. However, if specific Terms of Service violate laws or public policies, then those specific terms may be unenforceable.
Generally, the Terms of Service for a gambling website include adherence to the laws of a country where gambling is legal, which makes perfect sense. However, if the casino website fails to pay a winner, that winner cannot go to courts in the U.S. to collect, since online gambling is illegal. The winner could go to the UK, Aruba or Bermuda, or to the locale stated in the terms of service. It may sound romantic, but it could cost more than it's worth to make the trip -- not to mention payment of litigation fees.

Gambling Is a Social Issue - Subject to Regulation
My view is that law is the glue that helps hold society together. What's acceptable in New York may not be acceptable in my home, Dallas, or in London, Moscow or Beijing -- and vice versa. Statutes established by governments legalizing or criminalizing in-person or Internet gambling are part of the social framework.
One only need look at the state gambling laws in Nevada and the adjacent state Utah. Nevada's regulation of casino gambling is a model of government regulation, while just across the border in Utah there is no gambling at all. Other states adjacent to Nevada, like California ,do not permit gambling except in an Indian casino, which of course must be on an Indian reservation and regulated by federal law.

Was the UIGEA Effective?
If people want to gamble, they will find a way. Note the proliferation of gambling on sporting events, horseracing, casino games or real-time poker. Without people's desire to gamble, cities like Las Vegas would not exist. Gambling on the Internet is merely another medium for this activity. So it should be no surprise that outlawing Internet gambling in the U.S. has not stemmed the tide of Internet gambling, but rather merely changed its venue.
While publicly traded Internet gambling companies were devastated, most Internet gambling sites simply moved out of the U.S. and provided links to new offshore sites where online gambling is not regulated.
Apparently, neither the UIGEA nor other federal laws explicitly prohibit Internet poker. Internet casinos promote poker as a game of skill rather than a game of chance. For example, games of chance include lotteries, while games of skill include chess and checkers. Unless outlawed specifically, government cannot stop these games. As a result, Internet poker has grown significantly -- much to the chagrin of anti-gambling forces.

Internet Gambling May Be a Great Source of Tax Revenue
Given the tough economic times in 2010, members of Congress are now rethinking the UIGEA so that Internet gambling would be regulated and become a source of tax revenue. A recent New York Times report indicates that over the next 10 years the U.S. federal government could yield as much as US$42 billion from Internet gambling taxes. Given the tough economic times, it is difficult to ignore such large tax revenues.
The last time the U.S. government studied Internet Gambling was in 2002, when the General Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report to Congress entitled "Internet Gambling - An Overview of the Issues." The GAO estimated more than $4 billion in gambling revenues in 2003 -- but of course, no one actually knows how much money is wagered on the Internet.

Conclusion: Take Control
The Internet, which started one of the greatest social changes in the history of humans -- a portal without boundaries of geography or time, has also made gambling easier than ever. However, due to its underground nature, Internet gambling probably causes more problems and costs more money than it is worth.
So it is time for the U.S. government to acknowledge that Internet gambling is here to stay, and regulate it in a way that gives it some degree of control.

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Commerce Casino sells all poker player's rights down the river

2010-08-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

Commerce Casino, Established in 1983, is a cardroom located in the Los Angeles suburb of Commerce. With over 240 tables on site, Commerce Casino is the largest cardroom in the world.
In addition to the main cardroom, the Commerce Casino complex includes a full service 200 room Crowne Plaza Hotel, which houses dining establishments, a day spa, beauty salon, pool and sundeck, banquet rooms, shops and entertainment. The Commerce is also home to several restaurants and host to live boxing and MMA events.

It is disheartening that one of our own in the poker community is opposing good public policy that will keep players safe and preserve our rights to play poker online. But by testifying before Congress in opposition to HR 2267 -- where Commerce Casino allied itself with those seeking to ban online poker across the nation -- their organization demonstrated complete disregard for every poker player who has ever patronized their establishment.

It is important to note that with the rise of online poker, many individuals hone their skills online before they enter establishments such as the Commerce Casino – increasing traffic to poker rooms nationwide.

HR 2267 will create a U.S. regulated online poker framework, requiring all online poker sites to measure up to strict safety and consumer protection standards – requirements that do not exist today. More importantly, this bill will create an open and competitive market, giving players a choice of many sites on which to play against others from across the country and the world. This bill also includes language allowing states to opt out of this legislation while providing appropriate safeguards to ensure Indian tribes retain their current rights regarding gaming.

,all dedicated poker players, both online and live, both professional and amateur, are extremely disappointed in the position Commerce Casino has taken in opposition to federal legislation to license and regulate online poker. their opposition puts their own narrow corporate interests ahead of the interests of America’s poker players.

Further more It's a rare case of hypocrisy. For while their testimony before the House Financial Services Committee criticized federal legislation and regulation of online poker, Commerce Casino is actively promoting legislation to create a segregated, California-only online poker network. That proposal would create a monopoly that would harm California’s poker players by severely limiting the pool of players against whom they could play as well as the options for sites on which they could play. It could also set the stage for other states to follow suit, possibly resulting in a balkanized online poker world, where players across the nation would be limited in their choices of where and against whom they could play.

Harrington on hold'em by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie

2010-08-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

Even if you've read all the books I've recommended thus far, you will still feel like three times the tournament player after you've finished Harringtons books on the subject: "Harrington on Hold'em vol 1 Strategic play", and "Harrington on hold'em vol 2, the endgame". The text makes complex ideas fairly straightforward, primarily by using many examples to show how to play. If you remember taking math in school, you usually had a couple of pages of text you were supposed to read, then a large bunch of problems to solve. Reading the text was helpful, but it was by solving the problems that you learned, and this is the basic idea behind Harringtons method for teaching you the game. This book, like so many others, is only semi accessible. There is suppose to be a third volume included, the workbook, but it's only available as a regular textbook. Still, if you can get someone to read the many examples out loud, this is definitely worth your while. I highly recommend it!

Diary Of A Mad Poker Player, by Richard Sparks

2010-08-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

Richard Sparks travels from the virtual tables at Party Poker all the way to the World Series Of Poker. This book comes highly recommended by such legends as Dan Harrington, Tom McEvoy, Mike Caro, and of course Poker Jesus.
The book is An entertaining account of a man's journey in the footsteps of Chris Moneymaker.

Caro's Book Of Poker Tells, by Mike Caro

2010-08-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best books written on poker tells. If you're planning a trip to Vegas anytime soon, then buy this book. It doesn't matter if you're a visually impaired poker player, this is still valueable knollege. Ask your reader to keep his/her eyes open for this or that, and be aware of what your opponents could read into your body language as well. Read it!

Moneymaker, by Chris Moneymaker

2010-08-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

Moneymaker, no doubt a suitable title for a poker book written by anyone who has managed to win the main event at the World Series Of Poker - undisputedly so, for a bookwritten by someone who won his seat into the main event of the 2003 World Series through a $39 sattelite tournament at the PokerStars online poker room, and then went on to win the whole thing. That Moneymaker happens to be the authors last name as well, is of course pure coincidence, but it couldn't be more fitting… The rest is history, and Christopher Bryan Moneymaker, the 27-year-old 2003 winner of the World Series Of Poker, quietly traded his job as an accountant comptroller, for the life of a traveling poker pro, while famous players such as Johnny Chann, Dan Harrington, and finally Sam Farha found themselves outplayed, and outdrawn by the new kid in town. The main event that year became the start of something that would change the dynamic of the World series forever, the “Moneymaker effect, which has seen player numbers rise from 839 participants in the 2003 main event, to 7319 players at the main event of 2010, in spite of the $10000 buyin. Chris Moneymaker’s autobiography, Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker was published in March 2005. This book isn't a strategy guide and it won't improve your play. I have included it here as more of a motivational tool. The reasons should be obvious to anyone: Chris Moneymaker went from never having played a "live" poker tournament, to knocking out the top pros at the 2003 World Series Of Poker. He did luck out quite a bit on his way to winning the title as World champion, but then again, it's impossible to win a poker tournament without a tremendous amount of luck to accompany one's skills. The important thing is that he did win, and although many previously unheard of online players have won the WSOP since, he was still the first person to show that anyone with a bit of skills, luck, and determination can do well even at such a prestigious tournament. It's possible that Chris Moneymaker doesn't come across to you as being a particularly skilled poker player, but read his book anyway. It is fascinating reading. You'll especially enjoy the play-by-play at the final table. I highly recommend it. Helene Jangenfält

Small Stakes Hold 'em, by Ed Miller, David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth

2010-07-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

on Malmuth is an American poker player and author of books on both poker and gambling. He is the owner of Two plus two publishing, which publishes books and runs an online gambling discussion forum. This book is authored by himself, Ed Miller, and David Sklansky.
Edward, Ed, Miller, is a professional poker player, and an author of books about poker. He is also part owner and produces educational poker videos for Stoxpoker, a subscription fee based poker coaching site. Miller also writes an online poker column and manages a poker discussion forum.
David Sklansky is generally considered the number one authority on gambling in the world today. Besides his ten books on the subject, Sklansky has also produced two videos and numerous writings for various gaming publications. His occasional poker seminars always receive an enthusiastic reception, including those given at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
"Small Stakes Hold 'em" is required reading for low limit players. My only criticism would be that their starting hand chart is a bit aggressive for online play at low limits, but otherwise this is a must read book. It has everything from how to calculate pot odds and count your outs, to how to correctly evaluate different types of flops. The large quiz section at the end of the book is especially helpful and will improve your play. Unfortunately the book is only semi accessible, which means that except for the regular copies, it's only available as PDF, or kindle, but it'll be computer-time well spent. Read it!

Hold'Em Poker for Advanced Players, by David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth

2010-07-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

Mason Malmuth is an American poker player and author of books on both poker and gambling. He is the owner of Two plus two publishing, which publishes books and runs an online gambling discussion forum. This book is authored by himself, and David Sklansky.
David Sklansky is generally considered the number one authority on gambling in the world today. Besides his ten books on the subject, Sklansky has also produced two videos and numerous writings for various gaming publications. His occasional poker seminars always receive an enthusiastic reception, including those given at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
This book is perfect if you play at some of the tighter mid/high limit games online or live. It won't help much if you play $.50/1.00 at Minted Poker, but this is a must read book if you play against fairly knowledgeable players.
Texas Hold ’em is not an easy game to play well. To become an expert you must balance many concepts, some of which occasionally contradict each other. Through this book, Many ideas, which were only known to a small, select group of players, were made available to anyone who was striving to become a better player. You'll get over 100 pages of new material, including extensive sections on "loose games," and "short-handed games." Anyone who studies this text, is well disciplined, and gets the proper experience should become a significant winner. Some of the other ideas discussed include play on the first two cards, semi-bluffing, the free card, inducing bluffs, staying with a draw, playing when a pair flops, playing trash hands, desperation bets, playing in wild games, reading hands, and psychology.It's written by Sklansky, which garantees good and acurat advice, as well as a drive to always take the state of the art yet another step forward.
"Hold'Em Poker for Advanced Players" is semi accessible, there's no audio version, but the book is available as Kindle, or PDF, and there are of course numerous regular copies. Which ever format you prefer, you need to own this book!

Winning Low-Limit Hold'em, by Lee Jones

2010-07-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

If you've never read a book on poker and are new to Texas Hold'em, then this is probably the first book you should read. It explains basic play very well and is simple to read and understand. This is a great book for poker newbs. If you're already a good poker player and want to get better, then I'd skip this one and Pick something more appropriate. I haven't been able to find an audio copy of this book. I read this book as a PDF-file, unfortunately I couldn't find that copy on Amazon.com, but you can buy the regular copy buy clicking the link above. The problem I have with the pdf-version is that it contains a lot of examples, which is great, but it often shows the cards as pictures, not text, which means that you'll need someone sighted around to be able to make sense of it. I'd still recommend you to read it though.

The Theory of Poker, by David Sklansky

2010-06-29T15:59:00.000-07:00

David Sklansky is considered the number one authority in the gambling world today. He has written several books on the subject, and attributes his standing in the gambling community
to three things:
1.The fact that he presents his ideas as simply as possible
(sometimes with Mason Malmuth and/or Ed Miller) even
though these ideas frequently involve concepts that are
deep, subtle, and not to be found elsewhere.
2.The fact that the things he says and writes can be counted
on to be accurate.
3.The fact that to this day a large portion of his income is
still derived from gambling (usually poker but
occasionally blackjack, sports betting, horses, video
games, casino promotions, or casino tournaments).
Thus, those who depend on his advice know that he
still depends on it himself.
This book is about the general theories and concepts of poker, which apply to almost every variation of the game. It's not a book which will provide basic rules, or a step-by-step guide to the different games. Rules of thumb that say to fold one hand, and raise with another, simply won't get a poker player beyond the beginning stages. "The theory of poker"won't teach you what to do in a particular situation, but rather what you should consider before determining what to do. By explaining the logic of poker, the book will show the reader what kinds of things to think about
in order to become a better player. Sklansky uses primarily five games — five-card draw, seven-card stud, hold 'em, draw
lowball, and razz or seven-card lowball, To illustrate the concepts presented. Unfortunately the book isn't available on audio, but the PDF-file doesn't present any other problems, than the usual ones. Meaning that you'll be stuck at the computer every time you want to read. Fear not dear reader, It'll be well worth your while. This book will revolutionize your game!

Accessibility issues with The Poker Players Alliance

2010-06-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

The Poker Players Alliance, PPA, the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, seeks to raise additional funds leading up to a crucial vote this summer on legislation to license and regulate online poker in the U.S. A money bomb is when an organization asks all of its members and supporters to make a financial donation – of any amount – to the group on one specific day. The PPA hopes to raise $50,000. Your donation of $5, $10, $20 or more will help the PPA reach out to more poker players who can demand that their Members of Congress protect their rights.

To me it's important to support them, since our work for accessibility when it comes to online poker becomes a lot easier if there aren't laws trying to prevent people from playing. To my dismay I just realised However, that they don't have an audio option for their security capcha, so blind poker players can't sign-up. I'm sure it's just an oversight on their part, and I have brought this to their attention, but your help would be much apriciated if you can find the time. Please write something in support of our cause on their facebook page.

Is Online Poker illegal in the U.S?

2010-06-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was made a law in 2006, and began being enforced on the first of June 2010.

The UIGEA basically states, that it is illegal to place a wager or bet, or recieve a wager or bet online , where it is unlawful under any law to do so.

This means that the US-players are not able to deposit via creditcard, due to the blocking of there transactions by banks or other financial institutions. There are however often options available for american players as well.

The poker sites atempted to combat this by creating .net sites that would offer just play money, but the players would still in turn be able to make a deposit through other methods.

Since the implimentation of the UIGEA we have not seen a huge drop in poker traffic acrossed the poker world, and there are many groups, such as the Poker Players Alliance, the ppa, that are atempting to get poker legalized and regulated in the US .

Part of the PPA's mission is to protect and to advocate for the right of poker players to play online. former U.S. Senator Sen. D'Amato's is a member, and his responsibilities include Congressional lobbying. In April 2008 the PPA claimed over 1,000,000 members.

Since the passage of UIGEA, several members of the United States Congress have introduced bills to overturn or revise it.
To sum all of this up, it is not, and has never been illegal to play online poker. The only thing that gives players trouble ,is depositing on a given site.