Full Tilt Poker Recovers from Server Problems

Full Tilt Poker overcame some server difficulties this weekend, after a server failed during a busy part of the day, when tournaments were underway.

The crash, which occured during the site’s Sunday tournaments, impacted everyone playing on the site at around 7:45PM Eastern.  The outage lasted for several hours, and the site’s support team emailed players to inform them that since the tournaments that were underway at the time had not reached the money, the players who were still in the tournament at the time of the crash would be refunded their buy-in fee, and the remaining prize pool would be distributed according to chip count.

Tournaments that are offering a non-monetary prize follow similar rules, with a monetary value being assigned to the prize, and the amount being divided up amongst the remaining players.

The site is now back up, and running normally.

Dream Team Poker Seeing out 2009

Professional poker players certainly know how to see out the year in style.  The guys at Dream Team Poker celebrated the end of 2009 at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, with the tournament winners earning a cash prize and a seat at the 2010 Super Bowl.

The tournament attracted a large number of players, including the WSOP Academy Coach Alex Outhred, whose team, “Voltron”, was one of 54 in attendance.

The tournament was won by Tao of Pokerati, a team of three players; Paul Maguire, Dan Michalski, and Lana Maier.  The three were all part of the WSOP Media, who took part in another Dream Team event a few days prior to the event at the Bicycle, so they were well prepared for the tournament.

The tournament was a massive success.  There has been no official announcements regarding other future events at the Bicycle, but the future looks bright for 2010.

Betfair Announced Special Live Poker Event

Betfair poker have announced a special new live poker event.  The event is mostly aimed at their German speaking players, but players from all over the globe are welcome to attend.

The event will run from the 19th to the 21st February 2010, and will be titled the Betfair Poker LIVE! Vienna.  The event is being held in the Poker Royale in Wiener Neustadt, which is just to the south of Vienna.

The event will take place over a period of three days, and has a guaranteed prize pool of EUR50,000 - although the actual prize pool is expected to be much higher than that.  The buy in is EUR200 + 2o, and there are satellite tournaments running already, with the prize being a seat at the tournament.

If you’re planning a trip to Europe in 2010, this could be agood tournament to look out for.

Free Poker Games Online

Even professional poker players were new to the game once.  Some of  the older professional poker players got started in the days before the internet, when poker rooms and casinos were the only real options for getting a good game against experienced players.

Today, that has changed. It’s easier than ever to improve your poker game and get a large number of played hands under your belt, thanks to the meteoric rise of online poker.

You can play free poker games online, or you can play cash games.  The choice depends on your budget, confidence, and motivation for playing.  Most of the commercial online poker rooms offer an option to play free poker games online - often you can start playing immediately after creating an account, with a shorter registration process than for the cash games.

Even strong players sometimes play free poker games online, in the form of freerolls that offer entry to satellites.  You should be aware, however, that free rooms are often full of fish, and even the strong players who sit down at free rooms often have a more relaxed outlook than they would in a cash game, and are willing to take bigger risks than they would with real money.   This means that some of the psychology you pick up in free rooms may not translate very well to tournaments at higher limits.

There’s still a lot of value to playing free poker online, though.  You can learn hand values and probabilities, practice quick thinking and keeping track of the size of the pot, and develop confidence which will help you when you move to cash games.

Even if you’re not looking to play tournament poker, the free rooms are ideal for those nights when your bankroll is running low, or if you’re tired (or perhaps ill or feeling a little merry after a night out), and don’t want to risk real money. It’s never a good idea to play with real cash if you’re not 100% on the ball, but free games are ideal.

Celebrate the Holidays With Poker Bonus Blizzard

What better way to celebrate the holiday season than with some games of poker, and free cash for playing?  The Poker Bonus Blizzard is currently underway at Pacific Poker, and gives you a chance to enjoy a bonus blizzard of free cash at specific times of day between now and December 22nd.

The free cash will hit the tables between:

• 9:00 - 12:00 GMT
• 16:00 - 19:00 GMT
• 20:00 - 23:00 GMT

Players at the lucky table when the blizzard hits will be awarded a free bonus of between $8 and $888.

You can find out when the next bonus blizzard will hit by watching the countdown timer in the lobby.  Multi-table players are eligible, so why not increase your chances of winning by playing multi-table poker tonight?

There’s no limit on the number of bonuses that any one player can win, so even if you win tonight, you should still try your luck tomorrow too!

Good luck, and happy holidays!

World Series of Poker 2010 Schedule

The schedule for the World Series of Poker 2010 has been announced.  The tournament, which is the most prestigious and well known poker tournament in the world, will begin its 41st edition on the 27th May 2010.  The Main Event will begin on the 5th July, and, there will be a break after the final table is decided,with play resuming in November.

Changes to the schedule include the removal of the $50,000 HORSE Championship.  This rich tournament is set to be replaced by a $50,000 Player’s Championship, which will feature eight different games.

A new $10,000 HORSE title is being introduced to replace the former tournament. There are also plans to introduce a $25,000 No-Limit 6 handed Texas Hold’em tournament, along with several smaller buy-in Texas Hold’em events.  In total this year there are expected to be 57 bracelet events in the tournament.

One of the most interesting changes to the tournament is the schedule.  The organizers have declared that all tournaments will close play at 2:45 AM - no more  playing through the night!

A ‘bonus blizzard’ hits the Pacific Poker

A ‘bonus blizzard’ hits the Pacific Poker tables twice every hour from December 16-22 during the following times…

• 09:00 – 12:00 GMT
• 16:00 – 19:00 GMT
• 20:00 – 23:00 GMT

All players at the lucky table when the blizzard hits will get a free bonus of anything from $8 up to $888!

Players can watch for when the next Bonus Blizzard will hit by keeping an eye on the countdown timer in the lobby.

A handy hint: players will stand a better chance of being on the lucky table if they play multi-table!

There’s no limit to the number of bonuses that any one player can win, meaning the potential is there to win big.

Play Now!

Tournament wins can be elusive

I was thinking back to my first live tournament win. It was a great feeling but the journey was painful and often had me wondering if I would ever win a poker tournament in this lifetime. Sometimes the path to winning a poker tournament is filled with pitfalls and twists that are not always of our own volition. You have to have tough skin to play the game as it is. But when you make multiple final tables one would think that winning is inevitable at some point. Well, it kinda didn’t work that way and I had to really work hard to recalibrate my thinking and NOT change my game. Yes, I did not change one thing.

There is no reason to change anything when your are getting to the final table consistently and you take a beat or something out of your control takes place. I wouldn’t be saying that if I had been the culprit of my own demise but sometimes we have to roll with the punches. Winning a poker tournament can be a very difficult task. Wins are elusive and as long as you are aware of that you will be able to handle playing well along with the times when things don’t fall your way when you get heads-up. It’s a tough game for tough minded players.

Stay strong!

Your Chance for Aussie Millions

If you’re hoping to enter the 2010 Aussie Millions, then we’ve got some great news for you.  There’s still some time to win a seat via satellites with Party Poker.  The final satellite of the year will be taking place on Sunday, and there are 20 guaranteed seats up for grabs.

There will be one prize package awarded for every $15,000 in the prize pool.  There are daily freerolls to let you try to win your way in to the satellite, and if you don’t get lucky there then the buy-in for the tournament is $600 + $40.

Each package will include the main event buy-in, accommodation at the Crown Promenade Hotel, and $3,500 towards your travel costs.

Aussie Millions champion and PartyPoker Australia ambassador Stewart Scott said: “I’ve been playing at PartyPoker.com for five years. These great packages are an amazing opportunity for other players to play in this huge tournament. Claiming the Aussie Millions title has been the highlight of my career and I’d love to see another PartyPoker.com player take the title.”

Good luck to everyone who enters!

Online Poker Games and Casino Entertainment

online poker is an increasingly popular hobby.  Not only because it’s convenient and accessible, but because online casinos offer more than just poker games.  You can play all your favourite casino entertainment games; online poker, blackjack, slots, and more, without needing to travel to a casino, find a parking spot, queue at tables, etc.

It’s not just the convenience that makes online poker appealing, though.  There are social aspects too.  Casino entertainment games like online poker can be played in free-play mode, against other players - so you’re socializing without spending a fortune.

Plus, if you do decide to play for cash, casino entertainment games, including online poker, have some great tournaments.  Where else can you win a trip to a prestigious tournament in Las Vegas by playing a game online?

If you’re looking to meet some great new people, and play an intellectual, competitive game, then online poker is a good choice.  It can improve your memory, your mathematics, and your reasoning skills.  A night in playing online poker can save you a fortune compared to a night at the pub, or, if you’re good enough, could even turn out profitable.

Gambling Licensers Meet on Poker Restrictions

A public meeting took place earlier this week in Canberra.  Licensers met to tell Club Australia to adhere to the stricter licensing laws that were recently put into place.

President Peter Newell questioned how the Productivity Commission could make their recommendations (a total of 41 new recommendations were made) without recognizing that the clubs had made a large contribution to the local economy in the form of charitable donations, and jobs for local people.

The new restrictions could cost as many as 23,000 jobs across the country.

Newell stated that the current measures in place to tackle problem gambling were already working, as the rate of problem gambling in the country is less than one percent.  He argued that laws which liberalize internet gambling, and the use of credit cards are “lacking in common sense”, with online gambling growing at a rate of 25%, while poker machines are only gowing at 1.1% yearly.

The Australian Celebrity Poker Scene

Over the last 20 years or so, poker has become incredibly popular, thanks to online poker rooms, accessible tournaments, and the appearance of poker TV shows.  Today, professional poker players are celebrities in their own right, making TV appearances, signing autographs, and becoming household names in many parts of the world.

Poker is now so pervasive in popular culture that celebrities are flocking to the scene.  The most well know Australian celebrity poker tournament is the Crown Australian Celebrity Poker Challenge, which attracts a  massive following each year.  The tournament is very successful, with big names such as Morrissey, Melissa Hoyer, Jon Stevens and Simon Marshall taking part in this Australian celebrity poker tournament.

Even professional poker teams are drawing on celebrity power, with cricketer Shane Warne heading up Team 888 VIP and competing in many professional tournaments as a representative of the 888 brand.

Another example of poker in the mainstream is the reality show australian poker Hero, which propels its participants into the mainstream as they battle to achieve the status of poker hero and earn the chance to compete in some prestigious poker tournaments.

The interest in Australian celebrity poker can only be a good thing for the poker scene, drawing in new players, and introducing the general population to the joys of poker.  Hopefully the next decade will see the Australian poker scene become the busiest, most vibrant, and most exciting competitive poker scene in the world.

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