Online poker prompts interest in interactive gaming

Online poker prompts interest in interactive gaming The runaway success of online poker sites is stimulating interest in gambling on interactive TV. UK bookmaker Ladbrokes recently revealed that profits from its online gaming division were up 50% to over £21 million, apparently boosted by explosive growth in online poker, which is soon expected to overtake revenue from traditional sports betting. Meanwhile online betting and casino site Sportingbet announced record profits for the last six months, up 85% to £26 million on a turnover of £825 million, driven by an £8 million profit on turnover of £12.5 million in the Paradise Poker division it acquired last year. With over 800,000 registered poker players and as many games played each day, growth has exceeded expectations. Analysts will also be looking at the annual results for British bookmaker William Hill, which recently launched its own TV channel, featuring interactive casino games such as roulette. According to an article in The Sunday Times “the holy grail for interactive betting groups is gambling via television”. The one page story in the business section concludes “It cannot be long before the technology develops sufficiently to allow interactive poker on television”. The technology is not necessarily the limitation, at least in the UK, where the Sky platform is already littered with gaming and gambling opportunities. This often comes as a something of a surprise to visitors from America, where the legal position is more complex, although they appear to have gambling down to a fine art in Las Vegas. However, there is growing interest in the opportunities for what has been called “cash-skill gaming”, where prizes are offered for games of skill, including backgammon, quizzes and puzzles, which are apparently legal in most states.

Poker as a Life

Poker as a Life by Roy Cooke - www.cardplayer.com Players often ask me if I think they should go pro in poker. The answer is almost invariably a resounding, “No!” But, as is the case with most difficult questions in both life and poker, the answer is always: It depends. Choosing any career is a very life-defining decision. Choosing one with the stresses and uncertainty of a life at the green felt is risky, daring, and perhaps even foolish. But, it’s certainly a decision I can understand someone making. Poker has been very good to many players who put together a successful formula, but it has not been good to everyone who has pursued the game as a career. There are two clichés that are both true, sort of: Poker is a hard way to make an easy living. And, play poker for a living and sleep till noon. Playing poker for a living has many advantages. You can get up when you want and go to sleep when you want, and can be your own person and your own boss. The money can be good. For those who perform well, an upper-middle-class lifestyle, or better, is very plausible. That said, many players don’t perceive other issues in the poker world and the demands that a poker life can place upon them. There are correct and incorrect ways to approach a poker life. Some things that may be right for one person may not suit another. But, maintaining the right approach, the right attitudes, and the right lifestyle will greatly improve your chances for success and happiness. The wannabe pro poker player should approach poker as a never-ending learning experience requiring lots of study and game maintenance. Loads of players hanging on the rail will tell you they know everything about the game, and they will gladly share their wisdom and advice with you over lunch or dinner — your treat, of course. At dinner, they’ll be nice enough let you buy a piece of their action, or perhaps give you the chance to make a small loan. The last thing you need is advice about how to make a living at the game from people who struck out trying to do so and are now on the hustle. And there are, alas, far too many of these people. If you expect playing poker for a living to be a something-for-nothing experience, an easy road to an indulgent lifestyle, a rude awakening awaits you. Poker life is a tough, tough, demanding one. Many players develop the required skills to do well for a short period of time, but don’t develop the discipline necessary to maintain those skills, and fail the test of time. Hitting the “busted out from gambling” wall, particularly later in life with no other job skills, is not something you want to experience. Treat the game professionally, like a professional athlete would. And understand that it’s a business. Discipline yourself to perform on both of those levels. In my 30-plus years in the game, I have watched a number of friends crumble before the relentless pressure of mortgage payments, monthly bills, child support, alimony, and the occasional substance abuse issue, until they eventually fail. Good players who at one point dominated middle-limit games are getting up at 5 a.m. to try to pick off drunks in $10-$20 games, are struggling against $8-$16 lineups, and are hopping from Internet site to Internet site looking for a game they can beat, hoping to get out of debt. They are circling the bowl and are headed down the drain. And this is the junkyard in which many, many folks who thought they could beat the game for a living find themselves. To make it as a pro player, you need to pick the correct game to play in and have an adequate bankroll. The correct game is the game in which the spread between your ability and that of your opponents creates the greatest possible positive expectation with an amount of fluctuation your bankroll can handle. Realistically, you can perhaps pay a single young-person’s bills with winnings at the $8-$16 level, but that would be a pretty small standard of living. The first serious step-up in the ability of your opponents (where you run into other people who believe, with at least a modicum of justification, they can play poker for a living) is in the $10-$20/$15-$30 range. This is where the betting units start approaching the thresholds necessary to reasonably pay monthly bills and build a future. And from here on up, each time you double the stakes, the quality of the opponents you face increases significantly, thereby making it much, much tougher to beat the game at a level that will pay your bills. Poker is opportunistic, and you need to be financially positioned to take advantage of those opportunities when they present themselves. Bankroll depth is key. If you have to piece yourself out or pass on opportunities because you are undercapitalized, you have lost equity. That tends to compound upon itself greatly as the years go by. Many players miss the boat on this issue, and never put themselves in a position to seize moments of opportunity as they arise. If you don’t have the cash to take the shot when the sweet spot presents itself, you are not positioned to maximize your earn. A strong bankroll also allows you more freedom to play when you want to, reduces the stress of playing for a living, and makes for a much happier life. Never having the capital to operate your poker business correctly is something that can compound exponentially over the course of a poker career. I know a player who, whenever he starts to get a bankroll together, quits playing until he is forced to go back to “work.” Putting yourself in a position of having to win to pay your bills from month to month makes poker a drudging day-to-day grind. And it adds great amounts of stress and pressure to an already stressful situation. A wannabe pro player needs to be aware of the course and stages of his life. In some careers, once you learn the trade, move up, delegate, and so on, the work becomes easier. That’s not so in poker! In poker, the level of discipline and effort required to beat the game never diminishes. As we get older, our physical and mental skills deteriorate, diminishing our ability to play well. Many shortsighted players fail to plan for the later stages of life, and seeing once-great players struggle for survival in the later stages of their lives is a sad sight. Furthermore, as we grow, middle age and early senior citizen status make more financial demands upon us. The poker world is a subculture with a separate set of cultural issues for those within it. Many players make the poker world their whole life, and let it influence them greatly on a personal level. Professional poker is a dog-eat-dog adversarial world, with no quarter asked or given. If it is your only world, it can easily become your perspective on life. And there are much better ways and places in which you can live your life. The poker environment is full of angle-shooters. Many players cross lines in weak moments or moments of desperation, and when lines are crossed, it makes them much easier to be crossed the next time. Over time, it can become a way of life. I have seen many good people with strong values and high levels of pride in themselves lower the bar for themselves as they got involved in the poker world. Generally, the changes occurred as they struggled to survive the challenges they faced, but the environment took its toll over time, also. Watching good people change has been a sad side of poker for me. People change in other ways. In poker, you have no need for others’ approval. Behavior and respect for other people become less important to poker players than if they had to interact with people in business and other work environments. The stressful nature of the “play poker for the rent” situation wears on people personally and emotionally. Over time, some players lose pride in themselves, and some turn into total slobs. In short, when you play poker, it is much easier to become self-absorbed and less caring about yourself and others. As a player, it is healthier mentally to stay in touch with the outside world and to maintain some of its perspective. Keep and maintain relationships outside of poker. It will help to give you a wider perspective, keep you in touch with the outside world, enable you to operate in a normal environment, put you in a more caring environment, maintain pride in yourself, and feel better about yourself. All of those traits will come in handy as you go through the trials and tribulations that you will face as a poker player. Take care of yourself! It is so easy to get into the routine of pigging out on the good food at the cardrooms (by the way, I’m currently a slim and trim 235, so do as I say, not as I do), playing long hours, sleeping on bad schedules, not getting any exercise, hitting the social scenes and the bars night after night, doing drugs, and so on. It all can seem like the life of Riley. But those things tend to wear you down physically, emotionally, and mentally — maybe not today or tomorrow, and maybe not next week or month, but over time, they will take their toll. Taking care of yourself physically and mentally will enable you to make better decisions at the poker table. Like many things in life, there are tradeoffs. You do certain things and rewards come your way (that is plan “A,” anyway). Playing poker well on a professional level requires a high level of effort and sacrifice, but the rewards can be well worth it. Just approach the game realistically and be prepared to apply yourself. Then, maybe, just maybe, someday poker will be very good to you, too.

Online boom is music to the ears of poker sharks

Online boom is music to the ears of poker sharks By Jonathan Rendall for www.timesonline.co.uk EVIDENCE mounts that, as far as gambling opportunities are concerned, Britain is rapidly becoming the world’s bordello, apparently with governmental sanction. The figures for online poker gambled on British websites in the past year are astronomical, running into billions. It is the main growth area for the leading bookies. Is this good? Good for bookies’ profits, that’s for sure. And good for the Government’s tax take. I am not against bookies’ profits, as long as I don’t contribute too greatly to them. I am not even against tax, as long as I can evade it as much as is legally possible. But I don’t understand why novices are thronging to online poker. What is it, some cinematic idea of themselves as serious dudes? They are being eaten alive by a small community of true poker sharks from around the world. It is the biggest turkey-shoot since the invention of the gun. You can’t even see the colours of their eyes. If you could, would you walk into the room? The bookies don’t care who wins or loses. Why should they? They get their cut from “table fees”, then the Government gets its share. It is not just online poker. American gambling laws are far stricter than ours and in many states, internet betting, if not illegal, is legally ambiguous. There is now a growing trade in Americans coming here to place their bets. During the American presidential campaign, I know of one man who came over to place a £150,000 bet on George W. Bush. I don’t know if he got it on. The British bookies generally got that one right. In fact, throughout the whole campaign, John Kerry was favourite for precisely half an hour. A week before Brad Pitt’s separation from Jennifer Aniston, a mystery American approached Ladbrokes in London, seeking to get on a £10,000 bet that they would divorce. Ladbrokes turned him down, but let him have £100 on instead. A friend of the couple, perhaps? There has also been some action on the Oscars, rumoured to emanate from American sources. For Best Supporting Actor, Morgan Freeman, in Million Dollar Baby, has been backed in from as high as 5-1 to 4-9. That suggests someone knows something. The bookies did get hit this week by Barcelona beating Chelsea. However, they made money on the draw, which was also backed, and by Manchester United getting beaten. For the bookies, though, the best result of the week came on Sunday, when the spectre of the Chelsea quadruple was banished with Newcastle United’s victory in the FA Cup. “The best result we’ve had for donkey’s years,” a William Hill source told me. They stood to lose fortunes. With the Tories now out to 6-1 for the general election, that market is dead apart from a flurry of small bets on the Liberal Democrats at 50-1. Well, if you want to chuck it away. I am told, however, that a would-be punter approached a leading firm with a proposed £100,000 bet on new Labour at 1-12 recently, only to melt away without putting it on. Mysterious. Cherie? I lost a severe wedge on Howard Eastman to beat Bernard Hopkins after being tipped by a good boxing source. Eastman was terrifically game but Hopkins was masterly, a throwback to the days of honed defensive boxing. So much so that I didn’t mind losing the money, even if it meant roll-ups for a while. Then, after a prolonged bout of seconditis, I finally got a horse to win: Bridge Loan at Lingfield Park on Wednesday. I practically had to buy the win at 11-10, but you can’t keep losing for ever. When I put the bet on, the young bloke behind the counter asked cheekily if I’d named the horse myself. Later, he accosted me in the square, going: “Eh! Eh! It won!” He said he’d backed it, too, and had now left his job. So you leave your job for a £40 win. Is this the new breed of punter? I bet he plays online poker.

Online Casino News.com - Survey Reveals America’s Poker Dreams

Online Casino News.com - Survey Reveals America’s Poker Dreams Over 50% of Americans would abstain from sex for a year in exchange for a big online poker win. The average win required, according to a recent national survey, is $2.3 million. Conducted by StrategyOne, an independent public opinion research firm, on behalf of PokerStars.com, the scientific nationwide survey of American adults also found that men are more likely than women to exchange sex for super-sized online poker winnings, with 61% of adult males going on a year-long sexual furlough versus only 47% of women. Another 17% indicated that they would need to win between $1 and $50,000 in online winnings to give up sex for a full year. When it came to the pot needed to win, size mattered to men. The average cash amount men cited they would require to live sex-free for 365 days was $2.1 million; women were willing to sleep solo for a lesser $1.9 million. The survey also asked respondents who they would most want to ante up with in a game of online poker. Americans selected President George W. Bush as their most-preferred celebrity poker competitor, followed closely by Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton. Oprah was also the favorite celebrity among women and hotel heiress Paris Hilton was the celebrity of choice among Gen-Y respondents.

Man faces jail for illegal poker game

Man faces jail for illegal poker game ROCHESTER, N.Y. A 61-year-old man ordered to spend nine months in Monroe County Jail for running an illegal poker game says he was unfairly singled out by Rochester police. Vincent R. "Jim" DeFranco said in court yesterday others run poker games and pay their expenses by taking some money from the pot. Said DeFranco, -- quote -- "Technically, the others are as guilty as me because they take money to pay their expenses, but I'm the only one to get arrested." Acting County Court Judge John Schwartz said he considered a lesser sentence until DeFranco spoke. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sommers said DeFranco had ignored a series of police warnings to stop the games. DeFranco was arrested in March 2004 on a misdemeanor charge of promoting illegal gambling by running a public poker game at the Texas Hold'em Club. He was indicted on felony charges after seized records showed evidence of sports betting and possession of cards that allowed users to receive satellite television illegally. He pleaded guilty to multiple counts of possessing gambling records and a forged instrument.

Poker tournament bill advances

Poker tournament bill advances "Poker tournament bill advances" A Senate committee gave its blessing Wednesday to a bill putting Texas Hold'em poker tournaments in the same class as gin, cribbage and bridge. The bill would allow the tournaments in bars and businesses as long as hosts don't directly profit from the play and prizes don't exceed $200. The action by the Senate Agriculture, Veterans and Gaming Committee is only step one for the bill, sponsored by Sen. Dave Kleis, R-St. Cloud. He introduced it after a bowling alley in his district was raided by gambling regulators.

Interview with a Poker God

PSP: Interview with a Poker God Daniel Negreanu talks Stacked. by IGN Staff When it comes to household names, "Daniel Negreanu" isn't one that rolls off of most people's lips. It's too bad, really, because he's made some staggering accomplishments in his career as a professional poker player. Originally from Canada, Negreanu spent his teenage years as a pool player, gambler, and a "rounder" (someone who plays at illegal card tables) before moving to Las Vegas. After a few years in Sin City, he worked his way up to winning a World Series of Poker event at the ripe age of 23--the youngest winner in the series' history. In the seven years since then, he's racked up more tournament wins than any other player in history, raking in millions of dollars, and he has perhaps made more money in poker than anyone else. Period. So, with the wild popularity of Texas Hold'em, it makes sense that someone would consult him before making Stacked, a game that combines super secret AI -- developed for over a decade by the University of Alberta's Poker Research Group -- plus live competition. And it adds Negreanu's input in the form of video clips, voiceovers, and context-sensitive features. Speaking of input, we got the chance to talk poker and Stacked with Negreanu, so pull up a chair and get your chips in order. Click here for more

MPR: Poker bill survives legislative test

MPR: Poker bill survives legislative test by Laura McCallum, Minnesota Public Radio A bill that would legalize Texas Hold'em tournaments cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday. It's one of the smaller gambling proposals lawmakers are likely to consider this session. Gov. Pawlenty's proposal for a new state-tribal casino will be ready for legislative scrutiny shortly. St. Paul, Minn. — State Sen. Dave Kleis says his bill wouldn't expand gambling, it would simply make Texas Hold'em tournaments legal. Kleis' bill would legalize the poker games if there's no prize money involved. The St. Cloud Republican became interested in the issue after a St. Cloud bowling alley, the Granite Bowl, was raided last July for holding weekly Texas Hold'em tournaments. "I was a little upset with the fact that it was raided and there was, in my opinion anyway, a waste of some resources for something that shouldn't be illegal. I didn't believe it was illegal," Kleis said. The Stearns County Attorney found no clear violation of the state's gambling laws, and decided not to file charges against the Granite Bowl, which has since resumed its weekly tournaments. Kleis says his bill will make it clear that similar tournaments can take place across the state. But DFL Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson of Willmar questioned whether the game is as innocent as Kleis claims. "Texas Hold'em is almost at epidemic proportions at our colleges and universities right now. In my neighborhood in Willmar, I couldn't understand why all these cars were parked across the street all the time, and I found out that the senior high boys are over there after school, five nights a week, playing Texas Hold'em. My point in all of this: there is going to be some social consequence to the advancement of Texas Hold'em and other games of chance," Johnson said. Kleis argued that his bill puts some limits on the game, and doesn't allow tournament prizes to exceed $200. His bill cleared a Senate gaming committee on a divided voice vote, and will likely be heard in a House committee next week. But while Texas Hold'em may be a national phenomenon, poker isn't the gambling issue that will spark the biggest debate this session. That involves casinos. The Ghermezian family that controls the Mall of America wants to build a casino adjacent to the mall in Bloomington. And Gov. Pawlenty has proposed a new Twin Cities casino that would be operated jointly by the state and interested Indian tribes. He said on MPR's Midday program that the problem with the Ghermezian proposal is that Bloomington doesn't want a casino. "And so what we've said is: 'we'll be respectful of communities, we're not going to force them to have something like this, if they don't want it, we'll go elsewhere.' There are other communities who are more than happy to host a facility. It won't be as big or exciting," he said. Pawlenty says he supports efforts to require local approval before a state-run casino could be built. Two House bills would require voters in a community to approve a new casino in a local referendum. The House Gaming Division laid the bills over for possible inclusion in a larger gambling bill. Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, says she'll sponsor the metro casino bill that the governor supports. It would likely benefit three northern tribes -- White Earth, Red Lake and Leech Lake -- that have been talking to the governor's office. She says the bill will face an uphill battle. "Most of my colleagues are pretty anti-expansion of gambling, as am I, but I think the public... the polls have shown that the public is really in favor of expanded gambling. So we're kind of at odds with the public. And I think there are probably enough votes to do some kind of expansion, and I would like to see that it benefits Indian tribes., she said. Pappas says details of the bill are still being worked out. She says it will likely be released in early March, and will not include a site for a new casino. Pawlenty is proposing that the tribes involved pay a one-time licensing fee of $200 million, and he has included the money in his budget proposal. Once the casino bill is released, it's likely to prompt a lot more debate than Texas Hold'em.

WPT Invitational Draws Both Poker and Hollywood Stars to the Green Felt for Annual Pro-Am

WPT Invitational Draws Both Poker and Hollywood Stars to the Green Felt for Annual Pro-Am: "WPT Invitational Draws Both Poker and Hollywood Stars to the Green Felt for Annual Pro-Am " 40+ Celebrities Played Their Cards Right at the Commerce Casino Stop on the WPT Tour The WORLD POKER TOUR's(TM) (WPT) annual star-studded WPT Invitational today at the Commerce Casino brought out Hollywood's new crop of poker aficionados including such personalities as Ray Romano, Camryn Manheim, Jon Favreau, the Masterson Brothers Danny and Chris, Brad Garrett, Dean Cain, Mimi Rogers, Mena Suvari, Ed Asner, Norm MacDonald, Lou Diamond Phillips, Stephen Collins and 30 others. While the last celebrity "survivor" will take home a $5,000 donation for charity, there is plenty more at stake for the 236 total players in the tournament that concludes tomorrow -- a $200,000 prize pool and a seat at the WPT World Championship in April. The winner will also receive the elegant and prestigious Argentium(TM) Silver trophy, designed especially for the WPT Invitational. While the fans along the rail ogled the celebrities, the celebrities were in awe of their favorite poker stars...many of whom have made their names on WPT telecasts. Seated alongside the stars were such poker luminaries at Doyle Brunson, Layne Flack, Jennifer Harman, Daniel Negreanu, Annie Duke, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Laak, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, T.J. Cloutier, Gus Hansen and numerous other champions. Said Lou Diamond Phillips: "I think the THE WORLD POKER TOUR was the fuse that helped poker just blow up. I know a lot of kitchen and home game players who now see the strategy and yell out the answers. It's like watching Jeopardy on TV." The first celebrities to exit the tournament and tell their bad beat stories were former Los Angeles Ram superstar Deacon Jones, followed by Rossi Morreale (Junkyard Mega Wars), Erik Palladino (ER), Dean Cain (Superman), James Woods, Ed Asner, Ty Treadway (SoapNet), Chris Rich (Reba), Sarah Gilbert (ER) and Macauley (MAC) Culkin. Other celebrities in the chips were Jennifer Tilly, Laura Prepon (That '70s Show), Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: Next Generation), Adrian Young (No Doubt), David Sutcliffe (The Gilmore Girls), Gabe Kaplan (Welcome Back Kotter), Hill Harper (CSI:NY), Jeremy London (7th Heaven), comedian Kathy Griffin, Kelly Packard (Baywatch, Ripley's Believe It or Not), supermodel Natalia Vodianova, Skeet Ulrich (Scream), Tanya Roberts (That '70s Show), Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do), Traci Bingham, (Baywatch) and Willie Garson (Sex and the City). The WPT Invitational's Final Table will be taped for the WPT's much-anticipated Third Season of high-drama, high-stakes poker play on the Travel Channel. The new season will air every Wednesday night beginning March 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The show that reinvented poker as a televised spectator sport, WORLD POKER TOUR has made stars of the poker players who have captured million-dollar purses on the Tour. Since their WPT Final Table appearances, they are frequently spotted in airports and restaurants, and pressed for autographs by fans, just like their celebrity counterparts. In Season Three, the WPT is averaging a "millionaire a month" with its record-breaking prize pool of approximately $70 million. "The WPT Invitational has become a hot Hollywood ticket," says Steve Lipscomb, founder and President of WPT Enterprises (Nasdaq:WPTE). "It's a fan favorite, too... one of the WPT's highest rated shows each year. We embrace and share the stars' love of poker. It's great fun to see many of them hang around after they have lost their chips to watch and learn from the pros." Fans may view the Final Table on Feb. 24, with seating available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The tournament will begin at 3:00 p.m., but it is suggested that fans arrive by 2 p.m. to ensure a spot. The Commerce Casino, the country's largest poker room, is located at 6131 East Telegraph Road in Commerce, just five minutes from downtown Los Angeles off the Washington exit of the 5 Freeway.

Come Around To The Gaming Club Online Poker Room

Rounders tournaments are proving a big hit at The Gaming Club Online Poker Room right now, with $3,000 on offer for as little as a $5.50 buy-in, there's little wonder why. Even Matt Damon and Ed Norton could not fail to be excited by the prospect of $3,000 in prize money from an investment of $5.50. That's what is on offer at The Gaming Club Online Poker Room right now in their Rounders tournaments, a series of step-by-step tournaments on 5 levels. Players can buy-in for as little as $5.50 on Round 1 and work their way up to the big money prizes on Round 5. If five levels of tournaments seems like a little too much hard work, you can buy-in at any round you desire, even round 5 for $605. Here's a guide to moving through the rounds to Round 5. Round 1 10 Seat Sit & Go Buy in: $5 + $0.50 1st and 2nd placed players win entry into Round 2 Players placed 3rd-10th drop out Round 2 10 Seat Sit & Go Buy in: $25 + $2.50 1st and 2nd placed players win entry into Round 3 3rd wins another entry into Round 2 Players placed 4th-10th drop out Round 3 10 Seat Sit & Go Buy in: $112.50 + $11.25 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed players win entry into Round 4 5th wins another entry into Round 3 Players placed 6th-10th drop out Round 4 10 Seat Sit & Go Buy in: $275 + $27.50 First 5 players win entry into Round 5 Players placed 6th-10th drop out Round 5 10 Seat Sit & Go Buy in: $550 + $55 1st place wins $3,000 2nd place wins $1,200 3rd place wins $800 4th place wins $500 Players placed 5th-10th drop out The Rounders tournaments are proving extremely popular at all times of the day and night. Each round is suitable for all budgets and the huge payout for winning Round 5 in attracting many professional players as well as amateurs. If you're looking for a large win (aren't we all?) but have a small bankroll, you could do a lot worse than give Rounders a shot. The The Gaming Club Online Poker Room has a full review on PokerTourInfo.com and Pokernews.com, remember to check it out.

How poker became a winner on the Net

How poker became a winner on the Net You don't even need a poker face when you play online - which may help explain a boom that sees nearly £100m wagered every day and has made a little-known internet betting company worth £1bn. By Rachel Stevenson Steve McQueen's steely-eyed card shark in the 1965 film, The Cincinnati Kid, who held his nerve in countless smoke-filled drinking dens, has been the face of poker for decades. But steely eyes and a poker face are no longer needed as millions of everyday punters have joined an internet poker revolution. So many ordinary punters are pouring their money into the online game that a little-known British internet betting company, which owns one of the world's biggest internet poker sites, is now worth £1bn on the stock market. This time last year, Sportingbet, owner of the Paradise Poker website, was only worth £164m. Poker has always been glamourised by Hollywood as a macho game of chance, wit and tactics but its advent on the internet has made it accessible to all. Playing online poker has become a worldwide phenomenon, with tournaments available 24 hours a day to anyone who wants to play. At 3pm yesterday afternoon, there were more than 28,000 people playing in online poker games round the world, according to an online poker monitoring service, Pokerpulse, and the number of players across the world is already thought to be in excess of 1.5 million people. More than £94m has been wagered in online poker games in the past 24 hours alone and punters have walked away with a total prize money of around £69m in the past 18 months. On Paradise Poker's site, there are more than 800,000 players and 10 games are played on the site every second. The company makes £141,620 a day from poker and has turned its owners in to millionaires. The poker craze began in 2001 when the World Series, where hardened poker champions slug it out for multi-million-dollar prize money, was televised. Cameras under the glass tables revealed the players' hands to the watching television audience, creating compelling viewing as tensions on the tables mounted. Will he raise? Should he fold? The player on the right has two kings but has he guessed that his opponent across the table has two aces? Poker can be nail-biting stuff, a psychological minefield where a scratch of the nose, a cough, or a sideways glance can give everything away. Having a double first in the mathematics of probability from Cambridge can help but bluff and double bluff is what will get the champion poker player through to the final hand. The advent of televised poker has drawn in celebrity players, which has also served to heighten poker's cachet. The model and star of the recent Celebrity Big Brother, Caprice, has fronted an advertising campaign for Paradise Poker. Hollywood actors such as Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Tobey Maguire are regularly seen at champion poker tournaments. Challenge TV broadcasts Celebrity Poker Club, as well as the World Series and the World Poker Tour. Poker has become a club that everyone wants to join. So, while interest in poker has taken off, most people on the street would have no idea where to go to play poker. And, even if they did know where their local card sharks deal a hand, the thought of joining in a live game would be pretty daunting to the novice. Poker dens are actually illegal in the UK and poker can only be played in a properly licensed casino. Enter online poker, which gives players access to another world from the safety of their computer screen. Mark Griffiths, a professor specialising in addiction at Nottingham Trent University, said the challenge of testing your nerves and skill against real people all over the world from behind a computer screen gives online poker an irresistible allure. "There are other online casino games available for punters, such as roulette and slot machine games. But many people are turned off by the idea of betting their money against a machine, or a pre-rigged computer programme. What is attractive about online poker is you are going head-to-head with other punters. It is a game where you use your own skills. You don't bet against 'the house', you are playing directly against your opponents. That sense of competition is hugely attractive." In an online poker room, your computer screen presents a virtual card table at which you and your opponents appear as rather ghostly looking characters. There are "ring-games", where you can join in and leave at any time, and tournaments, which you can join for as little as $10 (most international sites operate in dollars). In a tournament, the money goes in to a pool, which the winner collects. The company running the website creams off a percentage of the winnings for hosting the game. Estimates from the research organisation, The River City Group, show websites are raking in £1bn a year. So advanced is the technology that you can watch a game going on and get a feel for the "characters" you are playing against, before you pull up your virtual seat and throw in your virtual chips. You can choose your name, your gender and your race. The best part is your sweaty hands, your nervous twitch and the whites of your eyes are never seen by your opponents. That all means wannabe poker heroes who are too shy to go eyeball to eyeball with the likes of the Cincinnati Kid are using online poker rooms at an alarming rate. "You can create a whole new identity for yourself in an online poker room and you don't even have to pull a poker face. You can be more daring than you normally would because you don't feel physically inhibited as you would if you walked in to a real-life card room," Professor Griffiths said. Some people use the internet to hone their skills before heading out to a real-life game. The aptly-named Chris Moneymaker began playing poker online and, two years later, had qualified for a real seat in the live World Series in 2003. He went on to win $2.5m. These internet-to-real world success stories are also fuelling aspiring poker players. The anonymity and open access of online poker is bringing women in to what used to be be a male-dominated world. Recent research for uswitch.com, a consumer website, found that as many as 40 per cent of online gamblers are women. Sarah Jessica Parker, star of Sex and the City, is known to be a poker fan, and a recent episode of the hit TV series, Desperate Housewives, had some of the cast playing a few hands. That kind of prime-time exposure of poker is serving to make the game appear an acceptable female pastime. "There is an increase of women playing poker online, although it is undoubtedly still predominantly male," Professor Griffiths said: "The betting shop or the seedy casino are places that would be off-putting for women to enter. But online, no one knows who you are and you can test your skills on the same level as the next person." There is another side to the glamour, of course. While the poker sites are keen to publicise the million-dollar winnings made by their customers, they are less keen to discuss those who are being ruined by the game. Michael Smeaton, of the gambling charity, Gamcare, says, "You are betting against other people, so when you win, someone else has lost." Calls to Gamcare's helpline from addicted poker players are on the increase and the charity is preparing itself for a deluge of problems as more people start playing. "You can become so engrossed in playing, competing against others and using your skills, that you can easily forget how much time you are spending online. You don't have to leave the house, you don't have to go to the cash machine. You are playing with electronic money, which is much easier to spend than if you had to hand over a wad of £10 notes. Betting higher stakes than you would normally want to risk becomes more normal," Mr Smeaton said. And, despite the millions waged on online poker, its legal status is a grey area. The US has taken a negative stance on online gambling and it is not strictly a legal activity there. The website companies cannot operate in the US and have chosen far-flung locations such as Costa Rica and Antigua from which to run their business. The British Government, however, is seeking to update its laws surrounding the activity. Current gambling laws were made in the 1960s, before the internet. The Government's Gambling Bill, which is going through Parliament, seeks to regulate online gambling, forcing operators that have British customers to be properly licensed. That will involve having to adhere to social responsibility codes, which the Government hopes will protect children from gambling online and ensure players are treated fairly by the website operators. The companies, however, will also have to pay tax if they want a UK license and, given how much money they have become used to making, they may choose to avoid the UK and its regulation, preferring to stay in their poker paradise. to find out who the real winners are, click here

Caribbean Stud Poker Strategy for the Online Casino

Online Casino Reports - Caribbean Stud Poker Strategy for the Online Casino Online Casino Reports is dedicated to bringing you all the best when it comes to casino gaming. This week we feature an in-depth look at the games Caribbean stud poker and how it´s played. We´ll also reveal some valuable strategies for winning at Caribbean stud poker when you play at your favorite online casino. Caribbean stud poker is just one out of many great variations of poker you can play at good quality online casinos. If you are interested in learning more about Caribbean stud poker and picking up a few winning strategies then read on. Caribbean stud poker is a variation of poker and as the name suggests it comes from the Caribbean islands. It´s a very popular game that can be found at the numerous casinos and cruise ships in the Caribbean islands. The game shares many similarities with standard table poker. As for the strategy, one of the best rules to play by is to raise on Ace-King-Jack-8-3 or better, and surrender otherwise. That is known as the beacon hand and it is the lowest break even hand in the game. One thing about playing Caribbean poker at the online casino that you must realize is that the dealer has to qualify in order for you to make the payoff. Unfortunately this doesn´t happen too often in Caribbean Poker. The advantage to playing Caribbean poker is it does offer a great payoff, which is why people take their chances and play despite the slim odds of winning. There are two phases of betting in Caribbean Poker. In the first phase, you ante in, before the dealer deals the cards. After the dealer deals cards to you and itself, and reveals one of its cards, you either place a "call" bet or surrender. Payoff gets interesting, when the dealer qualifies and you get even money for your ante and your "call" pays out as follows: As far as the odds go for Caribbean poker, the house has a 5.2% edge over you and most of the time the dealer will only qualifies 56% of the time. This means that 46% of the time you'll only get paid for your ante bet. This makes Caribbean poker a tough game to win at the online casino.

U.S. Poker Series Launches West Coast and Northeast Operation

U.S. Poker Series Launches West Coast and Northeast Operation Corportate Entertainment and Event operator of the Travelin' Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament establishes regional offices to meet demand. U.S. Poker Series today announced that it is expanding its operations center from Atlanta, GA, by establishing new offices in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. As the operator of the Travelin' Texas Hold 'Em, providing its poker tournament to Meeting Planners and Corporate Event Planners nationally, this expansion will meet the increasing demand from clients. U.S. Poker Series and its Travelin' Texas Hold 'Em is the premiere provider of poker tournaments for corporate functions. Working with Meeting Planners and Corporate Event Planners nationally, U.S. Poker Series brings its exciting, professionally organized events to corporate venues. "Over the past several months, the increased demand for our Travelin' Texas Hold'em tournament has been overwhelming. Our organization has grown significantly, and in order to effectively meet this demand, it was necessary to establish regional operation centers. From the time we started the business in June 2004, until now, all of our tournaments were managed by our Atlanta office. With operations now located nationally, we can increase our response time to our clients," said Stephen Kelly, U.S. Poker Series Vice President of Events and Marketing. In the Travelin' Texas Hold 'Em tournament, attendees from sales conferences and meetings are brought together to compete in a fun-filled, professionally organized, poker tournament. Using only casino-grade equipment, and professional dealers, the event creates the atmosphere of the popular Texas Hold 'Em tournaments that are televised nationally. About U.S. Poker Series U.S. Poker Series provides its Travelin' Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament for corporate conferences, meetings, and other corporate functions nationwide. Working closely with Meeting Planners and Corporate Event Planners, the company offers a real-life tournament experience in a casino-like environment. Founded in 2004, U.S. Poker Series, maintains its corporate office in Atlanta, GA.

Poker's Fab 4, The Hendon Mob, Invade LA

PhPoker's Fab 4, The Hendon Mob, Invade LA UK's Top Poker Players Provide Inside Scoop on Celebrity Poker Scene A Photo accompanying this release can be found here WHO: The four members of the Hendon Mob, Ram "Crazy Horse" Vaswani, Joe "The Elegance" Beevers, Barny Boatman and Ross "Rocky" Boatman, are top professional poker players from the UK who have just begun their second celebrity sponsorship for more than $1.25 million from Prima Poker. They are some of the most recognizable figures in the poker world and have entertained audiences on Fox Sports Net, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and have been profiled several times on ESPN, in Esquire, FHM, Card Player and All In magazines. WHY: The Hendon Mob can give your listeners and viewers the inside scoop on the celebrity and professional poker scene and provide tips for amateur players who want to break into the top tournaments. WHAT: The Hendon Mob will not only shares their tips for winning at Texas Hold'em, but for radio station audiences, they will give away a professional poker chip set (worth over $200), and for television audiences, they will demonstrate the cool chip shuffling techniques they have mastered from a lifetime of play. WHEN: Now through Friday, February 25th, The Hendon Mob are in LA to square off against the top professional and celebrity players in the WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino and the All In Celebrity charity poker tournament at the Spider Club in Hollywood.

Poker Face

Poker Face There's a new trend emerging, teenage boys becoming card sharks. More and more of them are playing the popular poker game "Texas Hold 'Em." For a group of Snider High School teens it's become a weekly ritual. Jeremy Screeton and Kurt Sanders are both 15-years-old. They got interested by watching ESPN's drama "TILT" and The World Series of Poker. They say it's just something fun to do and not an addiction. Experts say they could be taking a chance, research shows 4 to 8 percent of teens could develop a serious problem. Brent Stackler with ParkCenter cautions parents if they aren't discouraging the game then at least monitor it. "If teen really preoccupied with winning and excitement and not just playing for fun that might be an indication they shouldn't play because they have a problem." The North American Training Institute, an education institute specializing in youth and gambling addiction, has developed a list of questions. It's designed to help parents and teens identify signs of a gambling problem, click here for a link to NATI website. Here's some sample questions. 1. Do you prevent your family and friends from knowing how much you play poker? 2. Do you play poker with money that is supposed to be used for other reasons likes lunches, clothing and saving for college? 3. Is poker the main source of what you do to feel good about yourself? 4. Do you ever lie about whether you play poker or how much you lose? 5. Do you miss school or other important events due to gambling?

New online poker service launched

Online Casino News.com - All The Gambling, Sports and Casino News for the Internet Gambler A new online poker service has been launched from the same stable that brought internet gambling site casino.co.uk to the forefront of web gaming. Hoping to cash in on the booming poker scene, estimated to be worth in excess of $12 billion, Gaming Corporation have launched findpoker.com, a site aimed at those wanting to find and develop their interests in the game. The latest news, editorial and the best links will be offered on the site, which will generate revenue from cost-per-click advertising using ad-serving technology. “The launch of findpoker.com is part of our ongoing strategy of creating and acquiring market leading gaming sites”, said chief executive Justin Drummond.

Online Casino Reports - Poker Tournaments at the Online Casinos

Online Casino Reports - Poker Tournaments at the Online Casinos With the popularity of poker soaring at the online casinos a number of fantastic poker tournaments have sprung up. Poker tournaments can be found at your favorite online casino as well as at some of the most exciting international venues and land based casinos around the world. From televised poker tournaments to high stakes online casino poker games, this game has become all the rage. With the popularity of poker soaring at the online casinos Prima Poker recently announced that it would be funding a $1.25 million sponsorship for a team of the world´s best poker players. Online casinos are popular all around the world. Britain is certainly no exception. Some of the world´s best online casino poker players come from the UK. In fact 4 of Britain´s best poker players united to form the Hendon Mob and have recently picked up a $1.25 million sponsorship from Prima Poker. This sponsorship will send them around the world on the 2005 Prima Poker tour which includes 15 of this year´s most exciting poker tournaments. Online casino lovers will be interested in following the results of these fantastic poker tournaments. These 4 players, know as The Hendon Mob, became famous by showing off their poker talents on Fox Sports Net, tutoring 'Cousin Sal' on Jimmy Kimmel Live and being featured in cameo appearances during the 2004 WSOP on ESPN. They will be featured at the Prima Poker tournaments starting February 18th in Los Angeles, CA for the televised, WPT Poker Classic. This is the first time a group of professional poker players has scooped up such a large sponsorship thus making online casino poker playing history. The 2005 Prima Poker tour will be played around the world including Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Vienna, Dublin, Monte Carlo and London. The Hendon Mob will go up against the top professional and online casino players in the world. The tour will be featured on well known tournaments such as the World Series of Poker, the Master Classics of Poker, the Commerce Invitational and numerous WPT and EPT events. There is no doubt that online casino poker is hot for 2005.

Feds zero in on video poker kings

Feds zero in on video poker kings BY Steve Warmbir & Robert Herguth Sun Times Reputed top Chicago mob boss James "Jimmy the Man" Marcello was not simply controlling his criminal empire while he was more than 200 miles away in a federal prison in Milan, Mich. He was expanding it, the feds believe. And Marcello, in prison for overseeing an illegal gambling racket among other crimes, was eagerly anticipating the possibility that Illinois would legalize video poker gambling in bars and restaurants -- something that never wound up happening. The scene was the Milan prison visiting room on May 15, 2003. The feds were secretly tape recording Marcello's conversation. And paying a visit was Marcello's little brother, Michael "Mickey" Marcello, the alleged caretaker of the family criminal enterprise, while Jimmy Marcello was in prison. The Marcello family business included a large-scale video gambling business, the feds believe. Jimmy Marcello had one reaction to the proposed legalization of video gambling: Ka-ching! Jimmy Marcello, the older brother, considered sharp and brutal, was correcting the younger brother, Mickey Marcello, considered less intelligent, over who would benefit if the state legalized video gaming. Mickey Marcello believed other video poker companies might make out well. But Jimmy Marcello straightened him out on who would be first in line, the feds say. "First us," Jimmy Marcello emphasized. "Then them." Unsealed court filing The inside look at how an alleged crime boss was operating even while in prison is contained in a court document recently unsealed and obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. Federal prosecutors filed the court document in late 2003 to receive permission to raid Mickey Marcello's business, M & M Amusement, in Cicero, just after Jimmy Marcello got out of prison. The feds believe Mickey Marcello oversaw the collection of money from more than 40 bars throughout the suburbs from the Cicero location. Video gambling is the mob's lifeblood, pumping millions of dollars every year into the Outfit's coffers. The investigation of the Marcellos is part of a racketeering case tied to a larger probe that could solve up to 18 mob hits, sources said. A key player in that is a made member of the mob, Nick Calabrese, who is telling the feds all he knows about various mob hits. In the Marcello case, federal agents tapped Mickey Marcello's cell phone from November 2002 to at least October 2003 and surveilled Mickey Marcello and the men who allegedly worked for him while they collected cash from video gambling machines at bars and restaurants. The machines aren't against the law, but many bar owners offer illegal cash payouts to attract customers. The mob and the bar often split the profits. One machine alone can generate $100,000 in profits a year. The illegal video gambling continues to thrive despite recent crackdowns by the feds and local police. The affidavit notes that "some of Chicago's south suburbs, such as Crestwood and Palos, have become very strong areas" for illegal video poker. The affidavit didn't specify which Palos community. The crackdowns didn't seem to frighten the Marcellos. While Jimmy Marcello was in prison in 2001 serving out his 12-1/2 year sentence for racketeering, extortion and illegal gambling, Mickey Marcello, a Schaumburg resident in his mid-50s, made a move on behalf of his brother to take over the video poker business in a number of suburbs, including Cicero and Berwyn, according to the affidavit. Suburban mob meeting Men considered by the FBI to be made members of the Chicago mob, including John Matassa and Rudy Fratto, met with Mickey Marcello on the plan and approved the move, the affidavit alleges. The gathering was held at D Graphics, an Elk Grove Village printing company that authorities say has been used for other mob meetings. Officials from D Graphics could not be reached. While Jimmy Marcello was behind bars, his brother, Mickey, had even more clout than running a video gambling business. He allegedly ran Cicero for the mob. And Mickey Marcello and reputed mobster Alfonso Tornabene were helping run the Outfit itself for Jimmy Marcello, one mob informant told federal authorities, according to the affidavit. Tornabene declined comment Friday. Jimmy Marcello, who lives in the Lombard area, got out of prison in November 2003 and retook the reins, but troubles soon re-emerged. Days after he regained his freedom, the FBI and IRS swooped down on M & M Amusement. Agents seized records, equipment and cash. Mickey Marcello had been worried something was coming. In a series of secretly tape- recorded calls, the feds heard Mickey Marcello and two underlings nervously discuss a man parked outside M & M who they believed had them under surveillance. The only problem was, the feds weren't watching. Just listening. 'Reduced to parking lots' Agents learned Mickey Marcello's group had contacted someone named "Larry" to run the plate of the suspicious vehicle. They heard Mickey Marcello tell one of his people to remove records from M & M Amusement relating to cash collections. And they learned Mickey Marcello and his workers were changing their routines, in one instance opting to meet in the parking lot of the Steak 'n' Egger Restaurant to avoid the nonexistent physical surveillance. Mickey Marcello was heard laughing during one exchange and lamenting, "Reduced to parking lots." The Steak 'n' Egger was one of dozens of places that used video poker machines from Mickey Marcello's firm, the FBI alleges. Among all the establishments, the mention of the Steak 'n' Egger in the affidavit is the most noteworthy. The restaurant is tied to Willow Springs Mayor Terry Carr, who owns the chain and is the son of former Cook County Commissioner Al Carr. Terry Carr said the two Steak 'n' Eggers he owns in Cicero do not have the machines. But he didn't know if a third one that he franchises has the machines. Regardless, Carr said he would look into changing the language in his franchise agreement to create restrictions on video gaming devices. The town of Cicero itself comes up in the investigation. The secret recordings suggest that Mickey Marcello and his crew had a contact within Cicero government in 2003 whom they could go to with problems. In August 2003, for instance, Mickey Marcello learned that a competitor had installed two video poker machines in a club M & M was doing business with. Two minutes later, a clearly bothered Mickey Marcello called one of his underlings to tell him. The underling responded: "Son of a bitch, he took ours out, the bastard." Mickey Marcello's employee said he was going to see a Cicero town employee, referring to him by a distinctive nickname. That official is not identified in court documents, but a town employee with the same nickname denied last week knowing Mickey Marcello or his underlings. Cicero Police Supt.Wayne Johnson said Friday he would look into the matter. 'He's got a big mouth' Mickey Marcello has deep ties to the Cicero mob. He was connected to Michael Spano Sr., the onetime reputed Cicero mob boss now in prison for a scheme to defraud millions of taxpayer dollars from Cicero. A financial company tied to that scandal gave Mickey Marcello a $16,000 loan for a boat, part of which he never paid back. Mickey Marcello had no comment on the allegations in the court filing. "I appreciate your call, but I'm not interested" in talking, he said. While Jimmy Marcello is considered tough and shrewd, Mickey Marcello is regarded by investigators as less intelligent. When Jimmy Marcello still was in prison, at least one informant relayed to the FBI that Mickey Marcello was bragging about what was to come when his brother got out, a law enforcement source said. "He's got a big mouth, and there was some surprise among some of our sources, he'd been bragging that as soon as his brother got out of jail, he was going to take over, and Mickey would have a much bigger position," the source said. If that's true, it's probably something "you'd keep pretty close to the vest," the source said. "He didn't sound too bright, and usually that ends up getting you hurt." Neither Mickey Marcello nor his brother have been charged with a crime in this case. Charges in the mob murder investigation are expected sometime this spring, and Jimmy Marcello and numerous other reputed mobsters are targets, law enforcement sources said. Mickey Marcello appears resigned to going to prison for gambling crimes, according to the tape recordings. He has no criminal record, according to the affidavit. When Mickey Marcello visited his brother in prison in January 2003, Jimmy Marcello mentioned the possibility of Mickey Marcello getting "locked up." "I know it's gonna happen," Mickey Marcello said. "Maybe we could avoid it somehow," Jimmy Marcello responded. Mickey Marcello said, "I'm not worried about [it] so much. "What are they going to do, give me two f - - - - - - years?"

Defining Poker

Defining Poker by Bob Ciaffone know you think you know what poker is — especially if you have been playing it for more than a half-century, as I have. But it is one thing to think you “know it when you see it” (as one U.S. Supreme Court justice said regarding pornography, which failed to satisfy those looking for a precise definition, and brought the justice some derision), and another to put a definition into writing that will avoid any legal disputes. The legality of certain gambling games, and how each should be defined, is a frequent subject for courtroom battles. Here are some topical questions: What constitutes a lottery game, as authorized by the law of a given state? If a video terminal is used for playing a game, does that change the character of that game? How should the game of “bingo” be defined, and how much bearing does a law have on it that was passed many decades before bingo was invented? I really dislike seeing a lot of money and effort spent on litigation of such issues stemming from legislators passing badly worded laws or never updating old laws. I hope this does not happen too much with our game of poker. Let’s talk about poker and decide what qualifies a game to be “poker” and what does not. We will start by looking at who would want to get under the poker umbrella of a law accepting poker, and whether they should be admitted. The first “applicant” for the poker category would undoubtedly be casino games that call themselves poker, such as Caribbean stud poker and video poker. These are casino gambling games that use the ranking of poker hands to determine wager winners. Anyone drawing up a law to approve or regulate poker should be precise in it, such that it does not apply to casino gambling games based on poker hands. It is clear that the essence of poker is competing against other players (and not the house). We should be aware that it is possible to have a “casino gambling game” in which the house is not competing against the player, meaning it is unaffected by the outcome of the game. In such a game, a person (or even a coalition of people) will accept bets, just as the house would be doing in a typical casino game. One sees this in games like blackjack, for example, in which the players take turns acting as the house, or one player acts as the house for that session. The players are charged a fee for the opportunity to participate, and the house does not derive any monetary income that varies with the result. Such a method could, of course, be used for one of the casino gambling games based on poker. So, the way that a casino gambling game is excluded from a poker law should not be based solely on whether or not the house has a financial interest in the game. Perhaps we could say, “Casino gambling games based on poker have not been made permissible by this law.” Unfortunately, it is not completely clear what constitutes a casino gambling game. (Poker is a gambling game that is often played in casinos, so using these words is a bit ambiguous.) We should define poker in such a manner that a casino gambling game cannot qualify, no matter who actually conducts the game. I think these concepts form the essence of poker: First, the players compete only against each other. Second, they have one or more personal cards that only they can see. Third, a player wins whatever is at stake by either making a wager that no one is willing to match or showing a hand after the betting is over that is the most valuable, as determined by a ranking system that assigns a value to a hand based on the frequency of its occurrence. My suggestion is to write a definition of poker that incorporates these three concepts. Here is an attempt: “Poker is a card game in which each player can bet that his own hand is of a higher rank than that of any other player, and he wins whatever is at stake by either making an unmatched bet or showing the most valuable hand after the betting is over.” Do the players have to use a physical deck of cards, or can the cards be simulated? I do not know anyone who is willing to say that “internet poker” is not poker. Yet, such poker has its own set of governing laws. But in my opinion, players in the same physical location should be able to play in a poker game in which the “cards” are generated by a computer, as long as playing poker would be legal if physical cards were dealt by a flesh-and-blood dealer. Internet poker derives its character from the fact that players in different locations are able to play in the same game, and not from the fact that the cards are simulated in some fashion. Does a poker deck need 52 cards for the game to be considered “true poker”? I think a stripped deck (one in which the lowest-ranking cards have been removed, such as deuces through sixes) is definitely poker. Remember that the joker, or even two jokers, is used in some poker forms. If you can add cards, you can subtract them, as well. Would the game still be considered poker if you used fewer than five cards? I don’t think so. For example, when I was in Kathmandu in ’92, we played an Indian game called “flush” that’s a lot like poker. The betting was in some ways similar to poker, and there were hand rankings like straights, flushes, and trips. But you got only three cards. For me, poker is the traditional American game in which the best five cards are used to determine the ranking of hands. I am sure that regular readers know why I have chosen to write this column. Now is the tim e to take advantage of the wave of poker popularity and write some sensible poker laws. To write good laws, one must know exactly what the law covers. “I know it when I see it” did not work for porn, and will not work for poker.

Poker run helps Albany animals

Poker run helps Albany animals posted by jennifer emert for walb.com Albany- More than 200 riders participated in today's Poker Run to help the Albany Humane Society. The 25 mile course made five stops, the last stop, a party and chance to check their cards. Drivers paid an entry fee, but many also brought bags of change as a donation. It's one of the biggest events for the Humane Society's Pennies for Puppies campaign and motorcycle enthusiasts say they enjoy helping a worthy cause. "We will probably raise two to three thousand dollars today, with their help and this is the third year in a row that they helped us," said Donna Strickland of the Albany Humane Society. "People at the Albany Humane Society do a great job with the pets, with keeping stray animals off the streets, and finding pets for people who love animals," said Alan Cotton, Whiskey Barrel Saloon. The Pennies for Puppies campaign at the Humane Society runs through the end of the month.

HoustonChronicle.com - Paintings of dogs playing poker net big bucks

HoustonChronicle.com - Paintings of dogs playing poker net big bucks These paintings take a bow, wow! Artworks of dogs playing poker net unexpected riches By EYDER PERALTA In Houston, the big art news of the week was that Caroline Wiess Law gifted a big chunk of change (some $450 million) to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. That and the news that the Dallas Museum of Art has received about $400 million in cash gifts and art bequests. But the news that a couple of Cassius Marcellus Coolidge's paintings of dogs playing poker sold for more than half a million dollars had Alan Fausel's phone burning with calls. Fausel is the director of paintings for Doyle New York, the auction house that sold the art works, and he's been taking calls from eager strangers who own a poster or an ashtray with Coolidge's iconic images. The callers are asking if their Coolidges might be worth as much. "These are very important images to American popular culture," Fausel said. The images are simple: A Bold Bluff features five canines sitting around a table, heavily involved in a game of poker. A St. Bernard stares down the table, knowing he's got a losing hand. Waterloo shows the resolution — the St. Bernard happily collecting his chips, while the other pooches react with disappointment or anger at the loss. The two paintings weren't expected to bring in more than $200,000. And the initial estimate ($35,000) was set low to spur interest, Fausel added. The final price was an unexpected $590,400. This was a surprising price considering this type of art isn't highly regarded. In fact, the paintings (16 in all) were completed while Coolidge was employed by Brown and Bigelow, an advertising company. It was a path well worn by such artist/illustrators as James Montgomery Flagg and Norman Rockwell. Brown and Bigelow went on to mass-distribute the images, which now can be found everywhere. Online at art.com, a 16 inch by 12 inch print of A Bold Bluff goes for $8.99. At newtscards.com, a tapestry throw goes for $500. And respree.com offers a "museum-quality replica" for a cool $11.66. "I don't know if I can ever reproduce these kinds of results," Fausel said. Doyle New York sold the paintings as part of its annual Dogs in Art auction, which coincides with the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. But Fausel said this time around it wasn't the dog lovers buying the paintings. "It was more the Wall Street-type bidding," he said, citing a reaction to the sudden popularity of poker on television.

NDakota wants to host online poker ops

NDakota wants to host online poker ops North Dakota lawmakers hope to cash in on online poker, with a law welcoming companies hosting the online games. The state House voted 49-43 for the measure Wednesday after citing its potential for economic development, jobs and unique opportunities, the Fargo Forum newspaper reported. One lawmaker said the measure would allow the state to regulate the industry and collect taxes and fees for its general fund. If the state's senate also approves the measure, North Dakota will become the first state in the country to permit this kind of gambling. Republican Jim Kasper, the prime sponsor of the bill, said the state would derive tremendous revenue from licensing and regulating the industry. "This industry is growing at about 10 percent per month. No single state has passed legislation like this. We would be the first to do that," he said. It is estimated that if the state licenses 200 poker sites, it could take in $40 million. There are 50 million Internet poker players in the country now and 300 million worldwide.

Game Boy: 2K Games Plays Poker

Game Boy: 2K Games Plays Poker Take-Two grabs another license for its sports line. by Jeremy Dunham 2K Sports, a sub-division of Take-Two Interactive's new publishing label 2K Games, announced today that it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with WPT Enterprises for a line of World Poker Tour videogames. The new series of titles will be released on console, PC, and handheld systems, and are currently in development by Coresoft and Backbone Studios. "The World Poker Tour is fast becoming one of the most recognizable properties in entertainment," said Steve Glickstein, Vice President of Publishing for 2K Sports. "We are very excited to be partnering with WPT Enterprises. to bring everyone's favorite poker show into the virtual world of interactive gaming. Poker is one of the world's most popular pastimes and a natural fit for our lineup." "This agreement with 2K Sports takes the World Poker Tour into people's homes in a truly interactive manner," said WPT Enterprises founder and President Steve Lipscomb. "Gamers will have a chance to feel the exhilaration that our WPT players do when they grab one of those monster pots. We are looking forward to having our WPT brand available on the world's most popular game platforms." Specifics as to which game systems World Poker Tour will be released for have yet to be revealed, but we'll be back with more as soon they are.

Remington Keeps 'Poker Face' at Recent Charity Fundraiser

Remington Keeps 'Poker Face' at Recent Charity Fundraiser Over 200 Hotel Industry Participants Raise $12,000 at Texas Hold 'Em Tournament Phil Gordon and Robert Thompson of Celebrity Poker Showdown Host the Event Remington Hotel Corporation, the premier service provider to the hospitality industry(TM), announced that $12,300 was raised for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund at its recent Texas Hold 'Em charity poker event. Held on January 19 during the recent American Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) conference, the Remington-hosted event brought together over 200 of the hotel industry's brightest stars and deal makers for a night of high stakes poker and entertainment. Remington also announced that it expects to hold another charity Texas Hold 'Em event at the NYU Investment Conference in June. Phil Gordon and Robert Thompson of the Bravo! Channel's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" were on hand for the event to provide their trademark commentary and let some of their skill and expertise rub off on the Texas Hold 'Em attendees. Phil Gordon, expert poker analyst and co-host for "Celebrity Poker Showdown," is a world-class poker player, adventure traveler, sports fan, and accomplished businessman. Robert Thompson, Tournament Director of "Celebrity Poker Showdown," JetSetPoker.com, and the Hollywood Park Casino in Los Angeles, has been instrumental during his 24 years of gaming experience in finding dynamic ways to raise the bar on tournament competition. The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund provides unrestricted grants to the families of military personnel who have given their lives in the current operations in defense of our country. The gifts, $10,000 to each dependent family and an additional $5,000 per child, are intended to help these families through any immediate or long-term financial difficulties they may face. This gift is made quietly and without fanfare, to protect the privacy of the families. The Fund's goal is to support them in their time of need, and to ensure that they know that our nation appreciates the sacrifice they have made for us. "We are proud to support such a worthy cause as the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and honor the supreme sacrifice these soldiers have made to protect the liberties and values we cherish as a nation," noted Mark Sharkey, Chief Operating Officer of Remington Hotel Corporation. "What a great night for our industry. At what we expect will be an industry staple for some time to come, over 200 of the best and brightest gathered for a night of cutthroat competition at the tables, deal making and great food. Where else could one combine all of these in one night? Phil Gordon and Robert Thompson were wonderful hosts and kept the 'tournament' exciting and humorous. We doubt they will be looking for any of us to join 'Celebrity Poker Showdown' anytime soon, but we look forward to having them come back for one of our next events." Mr. Sharkey added, "We plan to hold another charity Texas Hold 'Em event during the NYU Investment Conference in June 2005 in New York. We encourage those interested in participating to get their names down ahead of time. The next event is guaranteed to be as exciting and well-attended as last month's." About Remington Hotel Corporation Remington is the premier service provider to the hospitality industry. One of the largest independent hotel service companies in the United States, Dallas-based Remington currently has 46 hotels under property management, 40 ongoing project management jobs and 33 hotels under asset management. Over the past 35 years, the owners of Remington have acquired, developed and sold more than 200 hotel assets. About the Fallen Heroes Fund The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund is supported entirely by donations. 100% of contributions from the public for this effort go to support military families; no administrative costs are deducted. The Fund's Trustees underwrite all administrative costs. Since 2000, the Fund has helped hundreds of military families. The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund contribution is given without restriction, available for any needs the family may have. This gift has helped these families in many ways: providing a sufficient down payment for a house, flying parents to the funeral of their fallen child, providing schooling for children, and even more immediate needs such as buying food and other necessities. Some families have put the funds in a trust for their children's education. Others have used them to establish support groups for families who are facing similar losses. The Fund is currently contributing to the spouses and children of U.S. and British military personnel killed in action, as defined by the casualty offices of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, and the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, in Operation Iraqi Freedom; and the spouses and children of U.S. military personnel killed in action in Afghanistan.

Dogs-Playing-Poker Paintings Fetch $590G

Dogs-Playing-Poker Paintings Fetch $590G Associated Press NEW YORK - A pair of paintings from the famed series depicting dogs playing poker fetched nearly $600,000 at auction Tuesday. The two works - "A Bold Bluff" and "Waterloo" - were among 16 paintings that artist Cassius Marcellus Coolidge was commissioned to create for a Minnesota-based advertising company in 1903. Of the 16, nine are of dogs playing poker. The two works that sold Tuesday for $590,400 capture moments in a poker game played by five dogs, among them a St. Bernard that ends up collecting the pot on a bluff. The winning bid set a new auction record for Coolidge, whose previous top sale was $74,000, said Alan Fausel, director of paintings at Doyle New York, which handled Tuesday's sale. The winning bidder was a private collector from New York. Doyle had estimated that the two paintings would bring in between $30,000 and $50,000. The sale was part of Doyle's annual "Dogs in Art" auction, which coincides with the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.

More poker rooms going smoke-free

Las Vegas SUN: More poker rooms going smoke-free By Liz Benston LAS VEGAS SUN For more than a decade, nonsmoker Sylvia Reiter has played poker through a cloud of cigarette smoke at Palace Station's poker room. Reiter, whose husband and two sons work in Strip casinos, is used to smoky surroundings. Starting this month, things have been very different for Reiter during her regular poker game. Last week she sat cheek and jowl with other players in a smoke-free room -- the only nonsmoking gambling area in the casino. "I think it's wonderful," said Reiter, a regular casino visitor since 1961 who has lived in Las Vegas for the past 16 years. "Even the smokers I play with are happy about it." Palace Station, along with Station Casinos Inc. sister properties Santa Fe Station and Texas Station, this year started following a trend that began in earnest in 2001 when poker rooms at the Mirage and Bellagio resorts banned smoking. Since then, nearly every major poker room on the Strip has quietly gone smoke-free. Others including the Flamingo, Gold Coast and Aladdin have followed suit in recent months. A few poker rooms like those at the Luxor and Sahara went smokeless when they decided to expand. In another sign that nonsmoking rooms aren't hurting business, others such as the Bellagio and Bally's are expanding already smoke-free rooms. Signature properties Wynn Las Vegas, MGM Grand and Caesars Palace also are expected to open new poker rooms in the coming months that will be smoke-free. It's a trend that Weldon Russell says will spread off-Strip to include big and small casinos alike in the coming years. "Other poker rooms will eventually go smokeless," said Russell, corporate director of bingo, keno and poker for Station Casinos. Several factors are contributing to the smoke-free trend. Many poker players who flock to the Strip are from states such as California that have banned smoking in public areas, casino operators say. "Personally, I thought it would never happen," Mirage Director of Poker Operations Donna Harris said of smoke-free poker rooms. "But with players being from California and California's restrictive laws, people had become accustomed to it." Customers who think this step will lead to entire smoke-free casinos or casinos with large nonsmoking areas will be disappointed: Operators say that won't happen in the foreseeable future because a significant number of gamblers and other casino patrons still smoke and like it that way. Operators say poker rooms are a different animal because they tend to be small spaces that are enclosed from the rest of the casino to keep out noise. With the explosion of televised poker tournaments and online poker rooms, casino poker rooms in Las Vegas are bursting at the seams. Poker rooms that averaged a few full tables on weekends a year ago now have waiting lists of more than an hour long. Women and younger players are getting pointers from television and the Internet and joining games that historically have been dominated by older men. More players means more smokers interspersed in the mix, making the air unbearable even for die-hard smokers. "The rooms are too small and you can't get rid of the smoke," Russell said. "On a Friday night you could cut the air with a knife." Some smokers have resisted the trend. Reiter said a fellow player told everyone that he would "never come back to this place" after Palace Station went smoke-free. "Needless to say, he came back the next day and has been here ever since," she said. Palace Station poker room manager Gary DeWitt said he was ready to fight the trend a year ago "probably because I'm a smoker myself." DeWitt, scanning a full poker room on a Tuesday afternoon, said the move has been good for business. "This time I'm 100 percent for it," he said. "The time was right." For players who still want to smoke, it's a short jaunt to the casino floor, where smoking is allowed. Dealers save seats for players so they can eat, drink, smoke and take bathroom breaks during marathon sessions. Reiter typically plays for eight to nine hours at a stretch while her husband works the swing shift. A friend she gambles with "smokes like a chimney" but has learned to live with the nonsmoking policy. "She told me, 'I won't quit but I'll smoke less,' " she said. Russell said the move to smoke-free rooms has boosted business for Station Casinos, which still allows smoking at its Boulder Station and Sunset Station poker rooms as well as poker tables in the main casino at Fiesta Rancho and Fiesta Henderson. The two other poker rooms will probably go smoke-free because the experiment has worked so far, he said. "We gained more customers than we lost if we lost any," he said. Santa Fe in January became the first Station property to offer a smoke-free poker room. Smokers and nonsmokers flocked to the casino to see the results and then requested smoke-free rooms at Texas Station and Palace Station, which adopted the policy this month, Russell said. "They didn't realize how smoky it really was" until they saw a nonsmoking room, he said. "A lot of smokers don't realize how bad it can get." Harris said the Mirage and Bellagio went smoke-free at the same time so as not to pick up the other property's smokers. The properties lost some hard-core smokers to locals casinos that still allow smoking "but much fewer than we anticipated," she said. Whether smoke-free rooms have helped business is hard to determine because the popularity of poker has increased gambling volume exponentially, she said. Bellagio, considered the most luxurious poker room on the Strip, will be adding 10 more tables by the end of April to meet demand. Sister property MGM Grand will open a new nonsmoking room with 25 tables by early April. The nonsmoking policy has its perks, Harris said. Players are gambling longer and "aren't walking out of here smelling like smoke," she said. The policy also means "no dirty ashtrays or burn holes" on the tables. For Garrett Okahara, playing poker always meant being able to smoke. "I've always believed that smoking, drinking and gambling go hand in hand," said Okahara, director of poker operations at the Orleans. "But now we live in a more health-conscious society." Okahara, a smoker and poker player, grew up in Las Vegas and dealt games at the Primm casinos before managing the Orleans poker room, Las Vegas' largest at 35 tables. The Orleans' room is virtually smoke-free because it permits smoking only during the graveyard shift between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. "I don't necessarily agree with it but it seems like a majority of people would rather have a nonsmoking room," Okahara said. "We live in a more health-conscious society." These days, a majority of players appear to be nonsmokers, though some of the newer and younger poker players smoke, he said. Russell said the nonsmoking trend will continue in part because of a dwindling number of poker rooms that still allow smoking. People who still want to smoke will end up congregating at those places, making the air even worse for players, he said. "They'll eventually go nonsmoking or they will go out of business," he said.

NBC spot in the cards for poker tourney

NBC spot in the cards for poker tourney By Liz Benston LAS VEGAS SUN Capitalizing on the popularity of poker and previous poker broadcasts on NBC, NBC Sports in May will air the first poker tournament to appear on a major television network. The 2005 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which is also the first poker tournament to be produced by a television network, will feature a $1.5 million purse and air on four consecutive Sundays beginning May 1 and concluding with a two-hour finale May 22. The tournament will take place at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. The invitation-only championship will include poker pros such as Doyle Brunson, Howard Lederer, Johnny Chan, 2003 World Series of Poker Champion Chris Moneymaker and last year's World Series of Poker champ Greg Raymer. Unlike most other tournaments where the winners of each poker table gather for a run-off, players in NBC's tourney will play each other one-on-one. The event will start off with 64 players who will be paired off and eliminated over time, similar to the way the National Collegiate Athletic Association structures their tournaments, NBC officials said. "This is a unique and exciting format" that lends itself well to television, NBC Sports Senior Vice President of Programming Jon Miller said. The tournament stems from the success of previous one-time poker broadcasts on NBC around the past two National Football League Super Bowl games, Miller said. In 2004, NBC aired a "Battle of the Champions" poker event featuring the best players in the World Poker Tour, but the new event will be the first multi-day, tournament-style event on a major network. This month, the network aired the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament, an event pitting eight poker pros against one another at the Palms resort in Las Vegas. Each of the players bought in for $400,000 for a game of no-limit Texas Hold 'Em and a collective prize pool of $3.2 million. That event attracted 8.6 million viewers, Miller said. The two events were the highest-rated poker shows of all time, he said. Ratings were especially strong among men 18-34 and men 18-49, a "very difficult demographic to reach consistently," Miller said. Budweiser has been tapped as the top sponsor of the event, which allows the beer distributor to feature its logo the felt poker table and elsewhere at the event, he said. Other sponsorships are still pending, he said. The cost of the sponsorship wasn't disclosed. The tournament would compete with the World Series of Poker, a Las Vegas-based tournament owned by Harrah's Entertainment Inc. that airs on ESPN. It also would compete with the World Poker Tour, a worldwide series of poker tournaments broadcast on the Travel Channel. Harrah's last month said it had retained the former president of CBS Sports as a consultant to renegotiate its agreement with ESPN to televise the historic poker tournament. ESPN has aired the World Series of Poker, held at Binion's Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas, for the past seven years and has broadcast poker on television since 1994. Harrah's took of the tournament last year, the same year of record turnout for the event as well as ESPN's highest ratings for the tournament. The World Series of Poker championship is an open event, with entrance allowed for anyone 21 or older with the $10,000 buy-in. Miller said poker pros have said the invitation-only, 64-person field of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship will include many of the world's top players. Miller said NBC affiliates have welcomed the high-rated poker events and don't appear to be concerned about a potential backlash from states that have fought programming and advertising featuring gambling.

Now it's Yahoo! poker on the cards

Now it's Yahoo! poker on the cards Search engine giant Yahoo! has started development for a real-money poker site, which it hopes to launch on its UK and Ireland portals before the end of the year. It has already announced plans for a joint venture betting exchange with Betfair, and it is believed the firm is eager to exploit the rapidly expanding egaming market in the UK. Yahoo! has been in discussion with several poker software firms over sub-licensing software, but it is believed to be keen to develop the poker room in-house. The firm currently offers play-for-fun poker as part of its skill gaming channel, but this would be its first move into real-money poker. And with a 40% market share of internet traffic in the UK it could be a powerful competitor to existing poker rooms. Yahoo’s UK office is keen to press ahead with the poker room, but the final decision rests with Yahoo’s board in the US, which is still thought to be reluctant to be to heavily linked to the gambling industry. It is also worried about jeopardising its position as a leader in the skill gaming market, which is legal in most US states. Yahoo is already one of the most popular gaming destinations on the internet, thanks to deals with skill gaming firms Midas Player and Worldwinner.

The game's afoot with high-end poker tables

The game's afoot with high-end poker tables By Paul Whitefield Los Angeles Times In simpler times, everyone had a card table. It had myriad uses: It became a bridge table when Bill and Edna came over on Wednesday nights, the kids' table at festive gatherings, the crafts table at Scout meetings, and, on special occasions, the gift table. People make millions playing poker now, and millions watch them on TV. We envy the sunglasses, those piles of chips -- and that cool poker table. You want one, and furniture makers are listening. What they're hearing, though, is that style is as important as function. Game tables also must be stylish, able to blend with upscale furnishings, or convert from game table to regular table. And, as befits an era of entertainment centers with $10,000 plasma TVs and Surround Sound, many of the offerings are priced to match. Fedde Furniture in Pasadena, Calif., for example, carries large game tables by Maitland-Smith in the $3,000 to $5,000 price range, with matching chairs at about $500 each. Smaller tables are closer to $2,000. As manager Melinda Kinney explained, Maitland-Smith, based in High Point, N.C., makes collector-quality pieces. Customers who have spent thousands on a room for entertaining want furniture of equal quality, and price is not a factor, she said. For people seeking quality and function but who also must weigh price, I.M. David Furniture offers tables for about $1,000, with matching chairs for about $500. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported that 65 companies planned to show game tables at a trade show in 2004 in North Carolina, compared with just seven in 2000. Looking for a high-quality reproduction of an 18th-century English game table? San Francisco's Burton-Ching Ltd., founded in 1995, specializes in heirloom-quality furniture built exactly like the originals. Although the company's pieces cost less than the actual antiques, they're not aimed at the casual customer. For example, a George II walnut folding game table, 36 inches by 36 inches, retails for $6,600, and a similar-sized George III octagon-shaped mahogany table runs $7,650. Like to shop online? Stine Game Tables, at www.stine gametables.com, invites you to build your own table, choosing wood, felt color, accents and pedestal style. Its tables are about $3,800. Of course, if you have champagne tastes on a beer budget, there are alternatives. Costco, for example, carries a game table that includes craps, blackjack, roulette and chess, but converts into a desk or end table, for $279.99. It also offers a rosewood pedestal poker table for eight players, at $479.99. And Bombay Co. recently had the Monaco card table and the Newcastle game table marked down to $99.

Poker players place bets in Park City

Poker players place bets in Park City Kim Hynes KWCH 12 Eyewitness News There's no money on the line, at least not yet. But amateur poker players take their game seriously. Over two thousand players placed bets in Park City Saturday. Players have to make it to the top 100 to qualify for the championship. Many were knocked out early, because they took a gamble and "went all in". But that doesn't mean they're totally out. Players have six more chance to make the championship. But one amateur says even if he doesn't make it that far, the tournament isn't a total flop. He says it's a lot of fun and worth participating in. The tournament continues Sunday at the Kansas Coliseum. After this weekend, other qualifying rounds are February 19-20, March 19-20, and April 16th. The top 1100 players will compete April 17th for a seat at the World Poker Tournament in Las Vegas. Players don't pay anything to play but are encouraged to make a donation to Park City Pride. The money raised will go to build a skateboard park in Park City.

The Latest: All in for poker

Students experience big losses and big gains playing the hottest card game in town by Kristi Eaton It's Tuesday night, and the only thing standing between accounting sophomore Ross Meyer and $50 are the five cards in his hands. Meyer and four of his friends are huddled around a table. As each of them listens to his iPod, they stare each other down until one of them succumbs to the pressure and folds. They are playing poker, now the hottest game in Hollywood and dorm rooms across the country. The variety and popularity of poker and gambling shows on television is inarguable. There's the "World Series of Poker" on ESPN, the "Celebrity Poker Showdown" on Bravo and "The World Poker Tour" on the Travel Channel. And that's excluding fiction-based programs such as ESPN's "Tilt" and NBC's "Las Vegas," which is in its second season. Meyer says he began playing in September after watching one of his friends win $250. Now, he can hardly tear himself away. He says he gets together with his friends to play at least once a week. "See that hand?" Meyer asks during Tuesday night's game. "That hand just cost me five bucks." Meyer says he also plays online poker, a practice many students do during work and class. Meyer plays online so much that he has become an affiliate of a Web site for international gambling called The Online Gaming Industry. Meyer says like all poker players, he has had his fair share of wins and losses. "The most I've won in a single day is $300, but I've also lost $100 in one day," he says as he throws his cards down on the table, revealing a pair of kings. But gambling can become a serious addiction, says Renee Siegel, clinical director of ABC Wellness, a treatment center for gambling addiction in Scottsdale. "(It) is more common than most people realize," says Siegel, who has treated more than 1,000 patients for gambling addiction. She says most people don't take the addiction seriously until it gets out of control. Addiction symptoms include taking time off from work or school to gamble, losing a large amount of money in a game or committing crimes to get more money with which to gamble. Siegel says the effects of gambling become apparent far more quickly than other addictions. "What takes alcohol and drug addicts 10 to 20 years to do, it takes one and a half to three years for gambling addicts," she says. Meyer says he realizes the addictive nature of gambling. "I think it can become addicting," he says as he twirls a chip back and forth between his fingers. "But you just have to watch yourself." Accounting sophomore Dan Massey feels a little more strongly about the ease at which gambling can take over someone's life. Massey says he spent countless hours gambling online during winter. At one point he was up $600, but he lost it all within five hours. "Online gambling is very easy to become addicted to," Massey says. He adds that he and others often don't realize they are playing with real money. "It doesn't hit you that you've lost all this money until afterwards," he says. Massey says he eventually won back the $600 and more after he placed first in an eight-hour, 14-person game. The prize was $1,000. Massey says he was attracted to the game after he saw "Rounders," a 1998 film starring Matt Damon as a former gambler who returns to his old ways to help his friend pay off loan sharks. While the film was not a big hit at the box office, it has a loyal legion of followers. "(It) is the best movie," Massey says. "If you ask any gambler, they will tell you that that movie had an affect on them." Business freshman Brandon Brefczynski says his reason for gambling is plain and simple. "I like to make money off my friends," he says.

Poker with World Series winner Chris Moneymaker not your average game

Poker with World Series winner Chris Moneymaker not your average game Jake Coyle Canadian Press NEW YORK (AP) - Playing poker with Chris Moneymaker, the accountant who came out of nowhere to win the 2003 World Series of Poker, is a bit like shooting hoops with Michael Jordan - though lady luck can even the odds slightly. But Moneymaker (yes, that's his real name) is many things not seen on the frequent ESPN replays of his historic Vegas run. For starters, he doesn't even wear those trademark Oakley sunglasses. "I use them only for the big games," he says, pulling up the table. This isn't a big game?! "Well, I'm not going to say that. Big money games, where I might get nervous. I haven't worn glasses in a while. They're more bothersome to me, actually, 'cause you have to take them on and off." Well, our game was admittedly not big money. It was for, ahem, no money. But the stakes were still very real for the eight players (amateurs but competitive, including myself) The Associated Press brought together on a recent weekday evening to compete against one of poker's biggest names. The game of Texas Hold 'Em was played at a Manhattan poker club, an apparently cleanly run (though unadvertised and technically illegal) parlour of about ten green felt poker tables. It packs in a crowd of mostly 20-something guys on a nightly basis, many of whom caught the poker bug from the much televised hold 'em games. But they are far from alone in today's full-fledged poker boom. In 2003, the sport (if you can call it that) became a surprise hit for ESPN, which recently released a DVD of their eight hours of World Series coverage. On it, you can again watch Moneymaker's unlikely rise to the final table, where he ended the tournament (and won $2.5 million US) with a full house, two hands after a dramatic bluff against vet Sammy Farha. That particular hand, where Moneymaker bluffed his way to win over $6 million in chips with just king high, deserves a spot in poker lore. That's a place Moneymaker already resides in, having ascended to the pinnacle of the game in his first tournament. But the average guy in the baseball cap has indeed changed. For nine months following his big win, Moneymaker, 28, remained an accountant, but as the poker boom grew, he realized the financial prospects at his door. Now with an agent, the Tennessee native has a video game due for this spring, an autobiography in the works and is in talks for a made-for-TV movie. And here he was playing a no-money game looking like a grownup frat boy. In Texas Hold 'Em poker, everyone is dealt two cards face down. After a round of betting, the dealer lays down three community cards called "the flop." Another round of betting is followed by one more community card called "the turn" or "fourth street." More betting, then the final card, "the river," is shown. The player who can make the best hand out of their two cards and those on the table wins. But aggressive raises, safe folds and daring bluffs make having the cards to win only half of the battle.