In addition to the added tables, games, and stakes, as well as the mobile version on Android, PokerStars also has plans for a full mobile version available for iPad and iPhone users sometime this summer.

The announcement will surely make many online poker grinders very happy, with one well-known member of Team PokerStars, Daniel Negreanu, among that crowd. Negreanu was quoted as saying: “Zoom Poker offers people a different way to play poker. Recreational players, who want more constant action, will be able to fold instantly and wait for better hands, while pro grinders will be able to get in hundreds of more hands an hour and win more. On top of all that, it’s just so much fun to play!”

PokerStars customers will now find ZOOM Poker available in the following poker formats, with stakes starting at the penny limits and going up to $2.50/$5:

• No Limit Holdem
• Limit Holdem
• Omaha 8 or better
• PLO
• Five Card Draw

ZOOM Poker is the PokerStars version of Full Tilt Poker’s innovative Rush Poker. ZOOM Poker operates in virtually the same way: Players choose the game and stakes they wish to play and join a pool of players instead of a specific table. From there the players are randomly sent to different tables whenever they are no longer involved in a hand, whether they win or lose at showdown or fold at any point in the hand, the software immediately sends them to a new table where they are dealt a new hand.

Playing ZOOM Poker allows players to participate in up to 3-4x as many hands as a standard online poker table (which is already that much faster than a live poker table), allowing a person 4-tabling ZOOM Poker to play in the ballpark of 1,000 hands in an hour –as someone who has done this let me tell you it is very fast, and mentally draining!

It will be interesting to see if the PokerStars deal to purchase Full Tilt poker goes through, and what effect that will have on wither ZOOM Poker or Rush Poker, or whether PokerStars will continue to tinker with both versions.

With the departure of their two very high-profile sponsored players, Sam Trickett and Marvin Rettenamier, one of the largest online poker rooms on the iPoker, Titan Poker, released a statement explaining their decision not to renew with Trickett and Rettenamaier, citing a shift in marketing focus.

The loss of Trickett and Rettenamaier at virtually the same time sent the rumor mill into full swing, with people wondering if it was a harbinger of things to come at the site, and whether or not Titan Poker was feeling the post-Black Friday pinch. On Friday Titan Poker decided to put an end to all of the rumors and speculation and released their first detailed explanation of why Trickett and Rettenamier are no longer a part of Team Titan Poker.

“Following a remarkable two year partnership with our Team Titan pros Sam Trickett and Marvin Rettenmaier, a mutual decision has been made to part ways.

“ From our side, we are pursuing a new branding strategy which moves away from focusing on a pro team and emphasizes our appeal to main stream and recreational poker players (see Titan Rewards and Titan Treasures).

“ Titan Poker wishes Sam Trickett and Marvin Rettenmaier continued success in their professional poker careers and would like to thank them both for a great run.”

The move follows the current industry trend that other sites like Bodog and PokerStars are also pursing; attracting more recreational players and moving the emphasis away from high-volume, high-stakes, players. It seems all three sites are going about this in different ways:

Bodog is content with signing attractive young female poker players to represent their brand, and has basically eliminated all data-mining at the site with the introduction of anonymous tables. Bodog is notoriously anti-grinders, and has never offered rakeback through mainstream sources. The site has been at the forefront of the charge to bring recreational players back to online poker for years.

PokerStars has been busy adding smaller stakes tournament series like the Micro Series of Online Poker Championships, as well as forcing all of the data-mining sites to “cease and desist” offering PokerStars statistics (Players must now “opt-in” to be tracked by these sites at PokerStars).

Titan appears to be attempting to achieve the same results, but through marketing and branding, instead of any particular innovation at their site. Although the site recently took part in the iPoker Network’s tournament series iPOPS, and has revamped their VIP Loyalty Program, giving players daily upgrades to their status, instead of waiting until the end of the month.

You can find out more regarding the new Titan Poker VIP Program by visiting the Titan Poker website

#5 — Scotty Nguyen

Scotty has given the poker world perhaps the greatest single statement in WSOP history with his, “you call and it’s gonna be all over baby!” But beyond that, Scotty’s trademark “Baby” is often imitated, and is as synonymous with the 1998 WSOP Champ as any of his career accomplishments.

#4 — Barry Greenstein

Barry is credited with the creation of the term “Donkament” which has become a critical piece of the poker vernacular since it was first uttered. Greenstein’s book, Ace on the River, has also brought the term into widespread use, as the utterance of “Ace on the River” is now associated with Greenstein.

#3 — Tony G

Where to start with Tony G! Whether it’s “Get on Your BIKE!” or “I’m qualified” Tony has added plenty of sayings into the world of poker. Tony’s “Heart and Commitment” to being quotable makes him an easy choice for the one of the Top 3 spots on the list.

#2 — Phil Laak

Laak is probably the only guy on the list who is unintentionally quotable, giving us such gems as “he was trained by Shaolin monks” and “It’s ok, I’ve done without a satchel before”. Laak’s stories and table talk are full of gems and only another Phil managed to keep Laak out of the #1 spot on the list.

#1 — Phil Hellmuth

Hellmuth is easily the most quotable poker player in the game. With such gems as “I can dodge bullets” and “Idiot from Northern Europe”, there is nobody in the poker world who can rival Phil when it comes to being mimicked and mocked over the things he says. As Phil would say, “If there weren’t luck involved I’d win every time” and he definitely wins the trophy for the most quotable poker player in the world!

With that I’ll leave you with a few of the better statements to escape from the mouth of Phil Hellmuth:

• “This guy probably can’t even spell poker.”
• “Honey, I was supposed to go broke on that hand. But they forgot one thing. I can dodge bullets baby!”
• “If there weren’t luck involved, I would win every time.”
• “It’s like I can look into their souls.”

***Honorable mention goes to Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten for their World Poker Tour commentary.***

PokerStars has always had a tumultuous relationship with third-party data-mining sites. The new crackdown is the first time an online poker site has really gone toe-to-toe with this offshoot industry and won; Bodog has been fighting this battle for years and made little progress, causing them to switch strategies and make all of their tables anonymous in order to prevent this third-party data-collection.

The news was released at Sharkscope and Official Poker Rankings, with Sharkscope stating, “Unfortunately now the time has come where they are requiring us to completely implement their opt in procedure on their .com network, even for subscribers.”

While PTR and Poker Edge were data-mining cash-games, Sharkscope and Official Poker Rankings were mining poker tournaments, but it seems the pressure from PokerStars made the distinction moot –many people considered mining cash-games unacceptable while tournament data-mining was a debatable issue.

As an opponent of data-mining (I feel all players should enter a poker game armed only with their own experiences with different players) this crackdown by PokerStars, and the precedence it sets for other rooms to follow, could be very good news as poker moves beyond Black Friday.

As the poker world attempts to reshape the way online poker is regulated, and ease the general public’s mind regarding the legitimacy of the industry, dissolving these data-mining companies is of the utmost importance. Casual players do not want to find out they have been taken advantage by a player who has the results of every hand they have ever played, and gloats about their paltry win-rate or the amount of money they have lost.

Not only do they feel exploited, but they also feel ignorant, given that they were unaware of this product; imagine being a basketball player that is somehow unaware of the three-point line, and at the end of a game someone telling you that shots past the half-circle line count as THREE points, and snickering while doing so. All players should be on equal footing as far as what is possible while playing online poker.

This also gives opponents of online poker legislation some ammunition in their debates, as they can point to the fact that poker is not only determined by skill, but also by a person’s willingness to spend money on data-collection (which is not skill by any stretch of the definition of the world) and use this information to decimate their opponents at the poker tables.

2012 WSOP* – Will a female win a WSOP ‘open’ event at the 2012 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?

• Yes +120
• No -160

2012 WSOP* – Will Phil Hellmuth win his 12th bracelet at the 2012 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?

• Yes +400
• No -700

2012 WSOP* – Will Phil Ivey win his 9th bracelet at the 2012 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?

• Yes +400
• No -700

2012 WSOP* – Will a female player win the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year Award?

• Yes +2500
• No -10000

2012 WSOP* – Will Johnny Chan or Doyle Brunson win an 11th WSOP Bracelet at the 2012 WSOP?

• Yes +500
• No -900

2012 WSOP* – Will any player win 2 or more bracelets in the 2012 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?

• Yes -350
• No +225

2012 WSOP* – Will any player win 3 or more bracelets in the 2012 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?

• Yes +500
• No -900

2012 WSOP* – Which player will win more cash at the 2012 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?

• Antonio Esfandiari -120
• Phil Laak -120

2012 WSOP* – Which of these new events will generate the biggest player prize pool at the 2012 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas?

• Event #28: No-Limit Hold’em / Four Handed – $2,500 buy-in +120
• Event #6: No-Limit Hold’em Mixed Max – $5,000 buy-in -160

2012 WSOP* – Who will win more money at the 2012 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?

• Howard Lederer -120
• Chris “Jesus” Ferguson -120

2012 WSOP* – Which of these top players on the Global Poker Index will win the most money at the 2012 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?

• Jason Mercier +175
• Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier +225
• David “Docs” Sands +250
• Shawn Buchanan +300

2012 WSOP* – Who will win the most money at the 2012 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas beginning May 27th?

• Tom “Durrr” Dwan +140
• Viktor “Isildur1” Blom +150
• Patrik Antonius +200

2012 WSOP* – How many players will register for the 2012 WSOP Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em Event (Event #12 – $10,000 Buy in)

• Over 256½
• (-130)o
• (-110)u

2012 WSOP* Main Event – How many players will play in the 2012 WSOP Main Event?

• Over 6,864.5 -120
• Under 6,864.5 -120

2012 WSOP* – Which $1,500 event will draw a bigger field at the 2012 WSOP occurring in Las Vegas?

• Event #49: Ante Only No-Limit Hold’em -120
• Event #27: H.O.R.S.E. -120

2012 WSOP* – Will a male player cash in the 2012 WSOP Ladies Event (Event #51)?

• Yes +300
• No -500

2012 WSOP* – During which level will Event #55: The Big One for One-Drop end?

• 23 or before +550
• 24 or 25 +400
• 26 or 27 +300
• 28 or 29 +225
• 30 or after +200

Of course, with the 2+2 poker forum having been down since April 26, the poker world has lost their #1 source of non-stop banter on every topic in the poker world. 2+2 may have plenty of mindless posts, but the site also offers some very insightful comments from some of the most well-connected people in poker. In addition to finding the diamonds in the rough scattered throughout the threads, 2+2 also managed to keep certain topics relevant and at the forefront of the community.

Since the initial few days of speculation, the potential deal between PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker has seen little in the way of progress, and the rumors have practically dried-up completely. There is likely a feeling of Déjà vu in the poker world as the same line was taken by Groupe Bernard Tapie during their months-long negotiation to purchase Full Tilt. Players would see a flurry of information, rumor, and even some press releases and official statements, followed by weeks of absolutely nothing: No statements, no gossip, no nothing.

The initial murmurs had PokerStars purchasing Full Tilt Poker and settling their indictments with the US Department of Justice at the same time. The deal would see PokerStars pony-up $750 million ($330 million off which would go to repay Full Tilt Poker players who have had their funds locked-up on the site since Black Friday) in order to take over Full Tilt Poker and all of their assets, as well as coming to a monetary settlement with the DOJ.

Poker players were hopeful that the deal would be announced within a week of the news breaking, but these hopes have fallen by the wayside, and now players have their fingers crossed that deal might be announced before the WSOP commences at the end of May –which would mean that player funds might be available for all or part of the six-week long tournament series.

Neither PokerStars, the US Department of Justice, or Full Tilt Poker have offered any form of statement since the initial rumors broke (with PokerStars posting an ambiguous statement on their statement neither confirming or denying the rumors), and the only new material that has come to light have been a couple of Groupe Bernard Tapie leaked correspondences, basically showing the particulars of the deal they were offering the DOJ, and their jaded feelings when the deal fell through.

In all likelihood Team Titan Poker will be looking for some new poker players to sponsor in the near future as both of the sites current sponsored players, Marvin Rettenmaier and Sam Trickett, have announced they are ending their relationship with the popular online poker site on the iPoker Network.

Trickett is considered one of the very best players in the world, with the UK poker pro having won some very prestigious titles in the past few years, including the Party Poker World Open VI title in 2010 and the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event in 2011. Trickett’s tournament accomplishments are only half of the story though, as Trickett is considered one of the best high-stakes cash-games players, regularly participating in the Ultra-High-Stakes cash-games in Macau.

Trickett has three career cashes of over $1 million (listed below) as well as reportedly winning over $1 million each of the past two years playing the big games in Macau. His tournament success in 2011 saw him flirt with the Player of the Year race, as well as overtaking David Ulliott as the all-time money-winner in UK poker history. Here is a look at Trickett’s million-dollar scores, all occurring in 2011:

• 1^st place in the $100k Super-High-Roller tournament at the 2011 Aussie Millions – $1.5 million
• 2^nd place in the $250k Super-High-Roller tournament at the 2011 Aussie Millions –1.4 million
• 1^st place in the 2011 Partouche Poker Tour Main Event — €1 million

Rettenmaier is a German poker pro who has an outstanding resume of his own (although nobody really wants to compare resumes with Trickett). Rettenmaier has won over $1.7 million in tournaments around the globe, including winning a France Poker Series Main Event, a Spanish Poker Tour main Event, and a recent win at the EPT Grand Final  where he won a $2,000 side event to collect the fourth six-figure cash of his short career.

Here is a look at the two Tweets fired off by the now-former Titan Poker Pros:

Marvin Rettenmaier: @titan_poker has decided to part ways with its Pro Team. I am very thankful for the opportunities and I had a great time representing them.

Sam Trickett: “Me an Titan have decided to part ways. I have enjoyed representing them and they was a absolute pleasure to work with.Thanks again Titan….”

Both men will be coveted free agents with the World Series of Poker right around the corner, and my guess is that they will be signed before the WSOP begins –although if they want to roll the dice, should they go into the WSOP and pull-off a big score their price could even be higher.

With a field of 8,240 players, Blom weaved his way to one of the top chip-counts at the end of Day 1 of the two-day tournament. On Day 2 of the tournament the man known for his cash game prowess started strong and kept the momentum throughout the final table, which he started as the chip-leader. By the time heads-up play started Blom held a 4-1 chip-lead and cruised to victory, pocketing $247,200 in the process, and picking up his first major online tournament title.

Here is a look at the final table payouts from the event courtesy of the www.pokerstarsblog.com:

• 1st place: Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom (United Kingdom) $247,200
• 2nd place: RaisingRay91 (Canada) $181,889.76
• 3rd place: szwindel (Malta) $131,840
• 4th place: Fred_Brink (Denmark) $87,344
• 5th place: vikAAAA (Russia) $67,568
• 6th place: rzr900rzr (Antigua and Barbuda) $51,088
• 7th place: cloaknet (Russia) $35,432
• 8th place: Gusparo (Hungary) $19,776
• 9th place: lubor74 (Czech Republic) $12,772

Blom is best known for his exploits on Full Tilt Poker in late 2009, where he first became an online poker presence and went on one of the most impressive heaters in poker history before crashing back down to earth and losing all of his winnings and then some back in the span of a couple months. The culmination of which was Blom’s run-in with Brian Hastings where he lost over $4 million in a single session, a single controversial session.

Since his coming out party on Full Tilt poker, Blom has joined PokerStars as a Team Pro, and is the sites signature player in their Superstar Showdown Challenge Matches, which pit Isildur1 against top professional players and the occasional online qualifier in Heads-Up No Limit Holdem matches.

Blom’s career has been filled with ups and downs, highs and lows, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that he is only 21 years-old at this point, having played for millions of dollars as a teenager against the likes of Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, and Tom Dwan.

Now that he is 21, Blom is ready to conquer the World Series of Poker which kicks-off in a few short weeks, and he should be riding high going into the series with a Super-High-Roller win and a SCOOP title under his belt.

I was able to get an independent confirmation that the sale would be taking place, but may not be 100% finalized at this point in time. According to my source the actual transfer date is roughly a month away, and while these rumors are accurate this is not a 100% done deal at this time.

Dan at PocketFives.com queried Lock Poker for a response, first to the rumor that Cake Poker was purchasing Lock Poker, and then in a follow-up he asked if Lock Poker would be purchasing Cake Poker: The responses are pretty telling:

“Cake is definitely not buying Lock. We currently represent 40% of the traffic on Merge, we are the largest room on Merge, and have been for the past five months.”

“I cannot comment right now, but I can say that we will be putting an official press release out this week.”

In the original article, Gambling911 reported that Lock Poker intends to rebrand the entire Cake Poker Network, “driving technology, marketing, player rewards, implementing a more aggressive tournament schedule, and incorporating a new company philosophy, essentially restructuring the entire Cake Poker Network.”

One interesting detail was that Intertops Poker, and potentially Cake Poker, would remain a separate entity, and not join the soon to be rebranded network.

My own source set the date at June 6^th, 2012, which means the US online poker market is about to undergo its most dramatic shift since Black Friday. Lock Poker is the largest skin on the Merge Gaming Network, and while there has been no public acknowledgement by either party the writing has been on the wall for some time now.

Lock Poker has stopped processing their transactions through the Merge Gaming Network, setting up their own cashier for deposits and withdrawals. There have also been several brush-ups where Lock Poker has implemented a policy only to see the Merge Gaming Network later withdraw its approval. The Casino Bonus implemented by Lock and later removed by Merge has been a huge black-eye for the site, and the more recent decision by the Merge Gaming Network to suddenly cancel the LockOps tournament series could very well have been the last straw.

Another consideration will be where Lock Players go, and whether or not other skins join the exodus, deciding to throw their lot in with Lock Poker instead of the Merge Gaming Network.

The success of the Partouche Poker Tour was likely a driving force for the WSOP Europe’s move to Cannes. With the Partouche Poker Tour, WSOP Europe, and the PokerStars European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo, the French Riviera has usurped London as the top poker destination in Europe.

According to the PPT website, the €8,500 Main Event will take place from September 3^rd to September 9^th, 2012, and will once again be located in Cannes, France, at the Palm Beach Casino. In addition to the Main Event, the tournament series will also feature a number of side events including a €25,000 High-Roller tournament.

The PPT Main Event will not use the WSOP Main Event format where players go on an extended break (which the PPT did in 2010) for the second straight year, but one major change to the Main Event will be a re-entry format on Day 1b for players who bust-out of the event on Day 1a. Re-entry events are currently en vogue, and it appears that the PPT would like to squeeze an extra hundred entries after a dramatic decrease in attendance last year, likely due to Black Friday.

The tournament series will get underway on September 2, 2012 with two separate satellite tournaments to the Main Event which begins on September 3.

Here is a look at all of the side events scheduled for the 2012 Partouche Poker Tour Grand Final:

September 3:

• €300 No Limit Holdem Turbo event

September 4:

• €1,000 8-Max PLO tournament
• €300 No Limit Holdem Turbo event

September 5:

• €500 No Limit Holdem
• €3,000 No Limit Holdem event
• €300 No Limit Holdem Turbo event

September 6:

• €500 Deepstacks No Limit Holdem event
• €300 No Limit Holdem Turbo event
• €5,000 Heads-Up No Limit Holdem event

September 7:

• €500 PLO tournament
• €25,000 High-Roller No Limit Holdem event
• €550 No Limit Holdem Ladies event
• €1,500 No Limit Holdem event

September 8:

• €500 No Limit Holdem event
• €2,000 Short-Handed No Limit Holdem event
• €300 No Limit Holdem Turbo event

Online qualifiers will begin on June 1^st, 2012 at PartouchePoker.fr.