POKER DONKEYS: ONLINE POKER BLOG!

Party At The DOJ!

2011-04-22T08:43:00.001-07:00

BLACK FRIDAY-A Study in hipocracy.

2011-04-20T19:21:00.001-07:00

It's the end of an era. The wild west of possibilites and dreams are over. So now what? As an american online poker player all I can do is shake my head at the hipocracy I've witness this week. I understand that playing online poker in the US has always been considered a "grey area" when it came to it's legality. I also understand that in order to produce payouts to US players some of these sites my have had to resort to "questionable transactions". But in a country whose capital city just past legislation to legalize local online poker my question is why now? Why now when at least 5 different states in this nation are trying to pass simular legislation to that of Washington DC. Remember the UIGEA does NOT make online poker illegal. It makes the transactions between US banks and online gaming sites illegal. The answer to "why now" in my opinon is because they are trying to legalize onine poker. This way they can use the revenue of online poker to help cover the mistakes of our politicians regarding our country's huge deficits. It's coming alright and the last thing they want is competition. So what better way to ensure you're the only game in town? That's right, get rid of the competition! It's "The Sopranos" way of running a country. So when you hear of the different reasons this happened keep this in mind. The hipocracy of this whole situation stinks worse than the act itself. Tune in this week for PokerDonkeys the Podcast! for and in depth (and funny) discussion about the end of an era.

durrrr Posts $365k Weekend

2010-09-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

durrrr Posts $365k Weekend

WPT Borgata Breaks Tour Record

2010-09-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

WPT Borgata Breaks Tour Record

WSOPE Update 9/19/10

2010-09-19T17:18:00.001-07:00

Finally! Legal Online Poker in the USA.

2010-09-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

The United States has its first legal online poker network following the signing of an agreement between Atlantis Internet Group and Cake Gaming.

The agreement, which was signed on September 7, means online poker will now be offered legally in more than 30 US states through Tribal Gaming Network.

It was made possible by a special exemption in the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which effectively banned online gambling in the US but allowed for "certain exceptions to Indian casinos, to interracial online gambling activities and to the states that allow online gambling activities under an intra-constitutional framework law."

Atlantic Group CEO Donald Bailey hailed the new agreement, calling it a solution to tribes and states facing economic problems at a national level.

Meanwhile, the battle to legalize online gaming in the US continues.

In California, an updated version of the intrastate e-gaming bill is expected to come up for a vote in the state legislature before the end of 2010.

And federally, Congressman Barney Frank's Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, better known as HR 2267, is awaiting its turn to be debated in Congress after passing through the House Financial Services Committee in August.

WSOPE Update 9/18/10

2010-09-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

Phil Laak finally wins a WSOP Bracelet!

2010-09-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

Phil Laak used a strong final day to propel him to the first World Series of Poker bracelet of his career at opening event of the 2010 WSOP Europe tournament. Laak overcame a field of 244 runners to take first place and £170,802 of a total prize pool of £610,000. Part of an illustrious field that included Phil Ivey, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Barry Greenstein, Mike Matusow, Liv Boeree, Praz Banzi and many more, Laak endured a back-and-forth heads-up with Andrew Pantling in the No Limit Hold’em 6-Max event to capture the win.

Sporting sun glasses that covered his surgically repaired right eye and a cast on his right arm that was adorned with the Union Jack, it was hard to distinguish that Laak was in a serious ATV accident only 6 weeks ago.

Anyone watching him play wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference either. Sitting in third place to start a final table that would last less than seven hours, Laak begin had an up and down start to the day. While Pantling marched over 1 million chips, Laak staved off several all-ins and began climbing, earning his way into the heads-up battle.

Although Pantling held an advantage of almost 2-to-1 over Laak going into heads-up, the momentum shifted to the “Unabomber” almost immediately. Within 90 minutes after starting, Laak pulled even with Pantling in their race to the finish. Mixing a masterful combination of bluffs and nice hands that kept Pantling guessing, Laak passed his opponent on the way to victory.

As the final hand paired up Laak’s 5 on the turn for the win, the crowd went wild. Laak announced the victory on his Twitter account, saying, “Maximum cheeze shippage. £170,802 ($267,010). Plus some gold! Holla!!” No longer lacking a WSOP bracelet, Phil Laak scored a big victory to start off the World Series of Poker Europe.

Online Poker is just a bill and only a bill...sitting here on capitol hill...

2010-09-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

Congress reconvened Monday for its final weeks before adjourning early for this year's elections, giving online poker a small window for one final push before the regular session ends.

It's already been an unprecedented year for the advancement of people's right to play poker, with Barney Frank's bill to license and regulate Internet gambling passing through the House Financial Services Committee in July.

But progress doesn't carry over from year to year in Congress, and changes from the November election could stop poker's momentum on Capitol Hill.

The next step is for Rep. Jim McDermott's Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act to advance through the Ways and Means Committee. A representative of McDermott told us the Congressman is pushing for a markup of the bill in late September.

Unfortunately, McDermott isn't in the position of Frank, who has the power to decide when a bill will be marked up as chairman of the Financial Services Committee. McDermott must convince Ways and Means chairman Sander Levin (D-Mich.) to call for the markup.

Congress adjourns on Oct. 8, but Poker Players Alliance executive director John Pappas expects the representatives to return the week after the Nov. 2 elections for an extended session.

"In past experience, they've worked all the way through Thanksgiving and through Christmas eve when I worked on the Hill," Pappas said. "I wouldn't expect anything different this time around. They have a lot of bills that need to be taken up. They don't have the appropriation bills done. The lame-duck session is going to happen. It's a necessity, no question about it."

The PPA is asking its members who live in the districts of Ways and Means representatives to send a PPA form letter asking for their congressmen to push for a markup and support the legislation. Enter your zip code on the site to find out if your representative is on the committee. Pappas doesn't believe the Ways and Means markup needs to be held in the regular session to keep up poker's momentum.

"If it doesn't happen before the elections, we feel very good we can get a markup and vote during the lame-duck session," he said.

It will take this extended session in addition to some significant political maneuvering from Frank and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for Internet poker legislation to go all the way this year.

Frank has been a champion of people's right to play online poker for years, leaving the impression that he would be willing to pull out all the stops if passing his bill was a real possibility. Reid is the most powerful man in the Senate and he comes from Nevada, where he's influenced by casinos like Harrah's that are pushing for legalized Internet poker. Though Reid is thought to have come around on the idea of poker-only legislation, he has never shown his support publicly. It would be a big leap for him to suddenly be the one to make this happen with a Herculean effort this year.

In other words, poker players should keep their expectations realistic for now. You still have a better chance of rivering that one-outer than a poker bill has of passing through both houses in the small amount of legislative time remaining this year.

But that's still a better chance than online poker has ever had before.

WSOP Europe 2010: Sept. 15th Daily Update

2010-09-15T10:53:00.001-07:00

Phil Ivey Takes 2010 Online Poker Money Lead

2010-09-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

Phil Ivey, the “Tiger Woods of Poker”, has quietly moved atop the leader board of the online poker world, slipping past Tom “durrrr” Dwan on the heels of an incredibly strong past week. The fact that Ivey’s accomplishment went virtually unnoticed by many poker fans is amazing, especially since poker’s top player is followed by so many of the game’s fans.

Since a $1.19 million drop two weeks ago, Ivey has been on a tear, picking up $1.66 in the past week to push his year-to-date total to $3,801,602 moving him just past Dwan’s $3,753,591. Ivey owes much of his upswing to Gus Hansen; the “Great Dane” has been dogged by Ivey’s strong play recently, handing over $1.1 million to “No Home Jerome” during the past week.

Dwan, like Hansen, has been bleeding green recently. Back in April, durrrr was sitting on a $6.6 million upswing for 2010, of which he has now given back almost $3 million. Hansen, for his part, has donated over $2.3 million back to other players at Full Tilt Poker nosebleed tables in 2010, securing his position as the second biggest loser for the year. (Brian Townsend has coughed up over $2.5 million over the same period)

Helping to secure his reputation as the world’s top poker player, Ivey has run his career online winnings to a stunning $19.5 million. Ivey has been incredibly efficient with his winnings in 2010; his gain has come over a mere 43,232 hands in 2010, while Dwan has labored through an amazing 260,345 to earn second spot on the list.

Already the top player in online poker, Phil Ivey has regained a familiar position by taking the top spot on this year’s list. With Dwan struggling through a Durrrr Challenge against Dan “jungleman12” Cates, Ivey is likely to pulling away from his top challenger even more, once again confirming his ranking as the game’s elite player

Poker Pro Phil Hellmuth Throws First Pitch At Oakland A’s Game

2010-09-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

UB.com poker pro Phil Hellmuth this week spent time with players from the Oakland A’s. His mission: Teach them how to play Chinese Poker.

But actually Hellmuth was there to throw out the first pitch at the Oakland A's game vs Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

"Please do not look like an idiot and bounce it up there, or moon-ball it and get booed by the fans!" Hellmuth writes on his Facebook as part of the photo caption.

Hellmuth has been seeing stars of late, hanging out with Michael Phelps last week and then former President Bill Clinton. He also hung out with Adrian Peterson, Roy Williams, and Larry Fitzgerald.

Of his future plans, Hellmuth writes: “On September 11th and 12th I will be hosting a $1 million free roll poker tournament for MGM Resorts International VIP's at the amazing Aria Hotel and Casino. The VIP's will have a chance to win a free $1 million in cash! I will emcee the event, and provide free signed books ("Deal Me In") for all participants. Then I fly to London for the WSOPE (World Series of Poker Europe) for a few weeks.”

Photo credit / courtesy of: Kristy Fick | Player and Media Relations Manager

First event at WSOP Europe sells out

2010-09-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

The bracelet chase is underway once again as play has started in London for the 2010 edition of the World Series of Poker Europe. Five events are scheduled from Sept. 14 through Sept. 28 and the first event -- a 2,500-pound, six-handed no-limit hold 'em event -- began Tuesday with a capacity field of 244 players.
WSOPPhotos.comThe WSOP Europe tournament area reached capacity on the first day of play.
The three-day event witnessed a ton of eliminations early on with more than half the field heading home less than six hours into play. Some early victims included Tom Dwan (who is still looking for that coveted bracelet in order to win his prop bets), Mike Matusow, Sorel Mizzi, Barry Greenstein and Annette Obrestad. Frank Kassela, the leaders for 2010 World Series of Poker Player of the Year honors, made the trip overseas, but also failed to make it through the first six levels.
Michael Mizrachi, Filippo Candio and John Racener, members of the 2010 WSOP main event final table, entered the event with hopes of adding some additional jewelry to their wrists before November. Things looked promising for each until after the dinner break, when all of them failed to hold on to their stack. Racener went out first after getting all his chips in with A-9 and running into Manig Loeser's A-Q on an A-10-5 flop. Following suit, Mizrachi donated some chips to Chris Moorman and then would be shown the door when his 10-10 couldn't hold against his opponent's A-7. Candio suffered a similar fate and hit the rail as well. Besides the aforementioned trio, the final few hours of the day weren't ideal for Phil Ivey, Allen Cunningham, Phil Hellmuth, Erik Seidel, Chad Brown, Peter Jetten and James Akenhead, who all were eliminated short of the money.
Only 31 remain after Day 1. Among the chip leaders are Chris Bjorin and Chris Moorman, but both are chasing Andrew Pantling who holds the top spot. Other survivors include 2009 WSOP Player of the Year Jeffrey Lisandro, EPT San Remo champion Liv Boeree, Phil Laak and 2009 WSOP Europe main event third-place finisher Praz Bansi. The prize pool of 610,000 pounds will be distributed to the top 24 spots with first place earning 170,802 pounds and those just barely making the money bringing home 5,624 pounds.
Action will continue on Wednesday until a final table is reached and the six that survive will play for the bracelet on Thursday. The second event, the 5,250-pound pot-limit Omaha. will begin on Thursday. WSOP organizers are expecting the biggest field to come from the third event, 1,075-pound no-limit hold 'em, which will begin on Friday.
WCOOP
The 2010 World Championship of Online Poker has crowned 24 champions with 38 more events still to come. The biggest winner to date is David "CrabMaki" Shallow, who emerged victorious over the field of 313 players to win the $10,300 event for $605,655. Shallow defeated 2009 WSOP Player of the Year contender Ville Wahlbeck for the title and one of the biggest top prizes of the year, live or online.
Although he won only $269,284.60 for his victory in Event 9, the two-day $1,050 buy-in no-limit hold 'em event, Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn's victory in the WCOOP event marks his fourth consecutive six-figure score since May. Kostritsyn also made history by becoming the first Russian to win a WCOOP event. His tenure as the only Russian to have that honor didn't last long as "Kroko-dill" won Event 13, the $215 pot-limit Omaha high-low, with one rebuy and one add-on. "Kroko-dill" currently sits second in the WCOOP leaderboard behind "cal42688," who continues to dominate all online tournament series on PokerStars.
Earlier this year, "cal42688" won Event 17-L in the Spring Championship of Online Poker and Event 17 was equally lucky during WCOOP as he won another major online event. In addition to his win, "cal42688" has cashed eight other times including making a second final table in Event 15, $215 razz. He's had a great start to the series, but there's still a long way to go and he'll have to keep up his good run in order to stay on top of the WCOOP POY standings and win the amazing prize of a champions trophy, an EPT Season 7 Monte Carlo prize package, an entry into the 2011 SCOOP main event, a 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure package and a special edition chip set.
WCOOP will continue throughout the month and conclude on Sept. 26 with a $5,200 buy-in main event.
Source: ESPN POKER BLOG

Math teacher leaves classroom for the casino

2010-09-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Math teacher leaves classroom for the casino

PokerStars Launches 50 Billionth Hand Promotion

2010-09-11T10:46:00.001-07:00

You read that right. PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, is on the cusp of dealing its 50 billionth hand. 50 billion! With such a major milestone to commemorate, PokerStars is busting out all the stops and dishing out $1 million in cash to its members.

In cash games, the PokerStars 50 Billionth hand promotion will actually kick in starting at hand #49,700,000,000 (that’s 49.7 billion for you non-mathematical whizzes out there). The players dealt cards in every one-millionth hand from there will receive $50 for every single VIP Player Point, or VPP, earned during the 50 previous hands at that table. The minimum payout is $50 and whoever wins the main pot is in store for a treat, as their bonus will be instantly doubled.

When the milestone 50 billionth hand is dealt, every player receiving cards in the hand will take home a colossal $500 per VPP earned over the previous 50 hands and the winner will also see their prize doubled. Text found on PokerStars’ website accurately points out, “This could mean a grand total of tens of thousands of dollars!”

Everyone dealt to in hand number 50 billion also lands a seat in the 2010 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event on September 26th, a $5,200 value. Finally, the player who takes down the 50 billionth hand banks $50,000 on top of the pot and all of the extra goodies. Wow.

PokerStars also has a promotion suited for sit and go players. Between September 10th and 25th, there will be five constantly running 50-player Super Sit and Gos. Each one has a different price tag – $1.10, $5.50, $11, $22, and $55 – and the winners of every Super Sit and Go at a particular buy-in over the course of the promotion will split $50,000. If you click on “Sit and Go” and then “All” in the PokerStars lobby, then you can track down these unique tournaments being held as part of the 50 billionth hand festivities.

If your bankroll on PokerStars isn’t quite up to snuff, the 50 billionth hand promotion provides an excellent excuse to load back up. Just reload using the code “50BN” or deposit for the first time with the code “FREEROLL50” and you’ll receive a ticket into one of three $50,000 freerolls that will be held on September 25th. They’ll take place at 09:15 ET, 15:15 ET, and 21:15 ET on that date and you can locate the freebies in the PokerStars lobby by clicking on “Tourney” and “Special.”

Still not convinced? If you’ve currently achieved any level in the PokerStars VIP program, then you can purchase a $50 cash credit for 3,000 Frequent Player Points, or FPPs. This can only be done one time per person and is open to any VIP member. The 50 billionth hand promotion will come to a close on September 25th, so make sure to take advantage of these rock solid opportunities before they pass you by.

The 2010 WCOOP is also taking place on PokerStars, ensuring that both its cash game and tournament tables will be bustling like never before. The 62-event series wraps up on September 26th with a $5,200 buy-in Main Event that will dish out at least $10 million. It’ll be one of the largest online poker tournaments ever held and its winner is assured at least a $2 million payday.

Likely due to the ongoing WCOOP, PokerStars has seen a 24-hour peak of more than 40,000 real money ring game players placate its felts for the last five days, the only time in the last 60 days that’s happened according to PokerScout.com. The site boasts a seven-day running average of 27,000 cash game players and happily accepts action from the United States. At the time of writing, which is just after 1:00am ET early Saturday morning, 117,000 total players are logged in and 4,600 tournaments are in action.

A NEW POKER DONKEYS PODCAST IS COMING THIS WEEKEND!

2010-09-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

Check out ITunes for a new episode of the POKER DONKEYS PODCAST! (Really...I'm not kidding!)

Tom Dwan plays poker for the money! (Shocking)

2010-09-10T23:47:00.000-07:00

In a frank admission on the sidelines of the London World Open 6, poker prodigy Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan has confessed that the real reason he plays the game is simply for the money.

Responding to a question on whether he took satisfaction from the fact that he was considered one of the top players in the world by his fellow pros, Dwan replied:

“No, that’s not why I play poker…I don’t care about the competition, just the money.”

Giving a fascinating insight into the mind of the 24 year-old New Jersey pro, Dwan said that the competition was only a factor for him in home, fun games with friends but that when it came down to real stakes it was the money which became all important.

That attitude seems to have served him well as since depositing his first $50 online in 2004 aged 17, Dwan has managed to work his way all the way up to Full Tilt Poker’s $500/$1,000 game, accumulating $5,010,587 winnings along the way.

That is in addition to the $1.5million he has won from live tournaments, as well as the lucrative live cash games he often plays.

Despite living in one of Las Vegas’ top penthouses, complete with a jacuzzi on the balcony, Dwan says he has a lot of fun while in Vegas but is predominantly their for the poker action and tends not to be their when not playing.

Giving another glimpse into his prodigious talent, during an interview with Michael Kaplan, Dwan said he could readily make $90,000 over three weeks multi-tabling online at the $10/$20 no-limit level.

However, Dwan seemed surprised when asked why he didn’t just guarantee himself $120,000 each month without all the stress.

“Anybody who wants to make $120,000 a month that badly will lose $10,000 in a pot and flip out. Or else they will stop playing against a bunch of fish because they are running bad.”

Thanks for the insights Tom, and we wish you continued good luck relieving your opponents of their bankrolls.

Fantasy Football Expert: Daniel Negreanu?

2010-09-10T23:38:00.001-07:00

Watch Daniel Negreanu Talks About His Fantasy Football Team on RawVegas.tv

Did Daniel said someone had a nice tight end? Yes I think he did!

Full Tilt Poker Guarantee $100K on September 11th

2010-09-10T23:34:00.001-07:00

Sundays have the biggest prize pools but this Saturday tournament will get you warmed up.

Full Tilt Poker guarantee that least $100,000 will be up for grabs on Saturday when they start their $100,000 Guarantee at 3pm ET. The tournament is notable because of the size of the prize pool as $100k is quite impressive outside of the Sunday biggies.

The entry fee that fuels that prize pool is $300 + $22 but there are several less expensive satellites still available so you don't have to roll high to play in this event.

The starting stack of chips is 3000 strong and the blinds will only be incrementing every 12 minutes while starting at 10/20.

Register with Full Tilt Poker to play in this fantastic tournament - take advantage of their deposit bonus offer to receive free poker tournament entries.

WSOP 2010: June 10th Daily Update

2010-06-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

WSOP 2010: June 7th Daily Update-Tom Dwan was not Duuuurific

2010-06-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

WSOP 2010: June 6th Daily Update

2010-06-07T21:40:00.001-07:00

Phil Laak: RECORD HOLDER!

2010-06-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

In one of the most amazing/stupid poker feats in history, Phil Laak played live poker for just for over 115 hours to set a new Guinness Book of World Records mark for “poker endurance.”

Laak broke two marks on Saturday — the unofficial record used to belong to Paul Zimbler at 78 hours, 45 minutes. The official record, held by Larry Olmsted, was 72 hours and 2 minutes.

Laak did it while playing $10-$20 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas during the World Series of Poker. He called the record attempt over early Monday morning.

As part of the official record, he was allowed to take five-minute breaks. The rules also allowed him to save that time for a longer break, and he did so once during a 30-minute nap. Laak said he did not use any drugs or stimulants during the attempt.

The record was partly a promotion his online poker room, unabomberpoker.com (he’s known for wearing a hooded sweatshirt over his head at the tables) but he was also pretty stoked about setting a Guinness record. And he didn’t just break the record by a few minutes. He played for over four days in a record we’re not sure anyone is going to want to tackle anytime soon. He had originally planned to play about 80 hours, enough to extend the current record.

Men “The Master” Nguyen Wins Seventh WSOP Bracelet

2010-06-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Men Nguyen on winning your 7th WSOP Bracelet! Men beat out Brandon Adams winning the $10,000 buy-in Seven Card Stud World Championship. He banked $395,000 and recorded his 67th WSOP cash, good for the second most all-time behind Phil Hellmuth’s 76. Our friends at Pokernewsdaily.com have the story HERE

POKER DONKEYS GIRL: LIV BOEREE!

2010-06-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

Poker Donkeys! Podcast officially backs Liv Boeree at this years WSOP 2010! Go LIV! Us degenerates love you!