Online Portal Brings Poker News to France

Online Portal Brings Poker News to France Online poker portal, Pokernews, has launched its French Language counterpart, fr.pokernews.com. The fr.pokernews.com site carries much of the same content as the main pokernews.info site, but all content is in French. “France is a country where poker’s popularity is gaining quickly. France has had its own World Poker Tour event for three years, and is a country rich in poker heritage,” said Pokernews.com Director of Operations, John Caldwell, “We are proud to launch fr.pokernews.com, and hope we can bring valuable content to the French people in their own language.” The website specifically addresses the world of online poker, a booming multi billion dollar industry. Many of the news pieces and discussions focus on the online game, and a wealth of information is present for those wanting to join the hundreds of thousands of online poker players worldwide. fr.pokernews.com has up to the minute news on the happenings in the poker world. In addition to news, the website has extensive information on online poker including reviews and information of many of the top places to play online poker, including special bonus offers for players not available anywhere else. Caldwell added, “Poker is a global game, and we look forward to bringing more poker content to more places very soon.”

Online poker and the Law

Online poker and the Law Playing poker online? It's illegal, according to the Department of Justice. By Kim Komando You're playing with real money. You've paid for betting chips via an escrow service. And, if you're lucky enough to win, your account will be credited with money. What's wrong with this picture? It's all illegal, according to the Department of Justice. There are thousands of gambling Web sites. And they operate offshore, conveniently beyond the grasp of U.S. regulation. Online casinos have been around for about a decade. But the recent rise in the popularity of poker has spurred their growth. According to Keith Furlong, deputy director of Interactive Gaming Council, an industry trade organization located in Canada, online casinos will attract about $10 billion this year. Americans make up 60-65 percent of their business, he added. Some states have passed laws prohibiting online gambling. However, no federal laws specifically address it. Rather, the federal government relies primarily on the Wire Wager Act to prosecute online casino operators. Under the act, business owners who accept bets via a "wire communication facility" face fines and imprisonment. The act was intended to curb the use of the telephone to accept bets. Opponents are quick to note the act was written in 1961, before the Internet. They question whether the law applies to online gambling. And they insist that online gambling is a gray area at best. However, the Department of Justice is adamant that online gambling is illegal. And in 2000, it successfully prosecuted Jay Cohen, an American and part-owner of the World Sports Exchange in Antigua. Since 2002, the DOJ has pressured media companies to pull ads for online gambling. Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio company, stopped airing ads for online casinos that year. Other mainstream media companies have followed suit. Banks have also come under pressure from the DOJ. Many decline credit card transactions from online casinos. Among them is Bank One, a national bank. "[It's] because of the high likelihood of fraud," said Mary Jane Rogers, a Bank One spokesperson. "Bank One may restrict transactions that appear to be Internet gambling." She added that the bank cannot always tell that a charge is from a casino. Other payment options are also dwindling. PayPal stopped processing payments for gambling in 2002. That left only a few lesser-known escrow agents that work with the casinos. Recently, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled the United States can regulate online gambling to protect public morals. However, the ruling states that U.S. laws must be clarified. The nation of Antigua and Barbuda initially filed the suit, claiming U.S. restrictions amounted to unfair trade practices. The economy of Antigua and Barbuda, which are Caribbean islands, relies heavily on Internet gambling. Antigua and Barbuda points out the U.S. allows gambling within its borders. And, in the case of state lotteries, the gambling is sometimes government-sponsored. Interestingly, Antigua and Barbuda views the WTO ruling as a victory. It sees two options for the United States. One, the United States must ban all gambling. The second option would be to grant offshore companies access to the market. The Department of Justice did not return calls for comment. Users are still visiting these sites in record numbers. And many of them reside in the United States. Currently, the federal government does not prosecute the gambling sites' customers. However, some state governments do. The WTO hopes to reach a final resolution of the dispute between the United States and Antigua and Barbuda later this year. In the meantime, Americans may well be breaking U.S. laws when playing poker online.

Are you ready for high stakes games?

Are you ready for high stakes games? Ashley Adams / Poker Player Newspaper / Special to FOXSports.com So, you've been crushing the $1/2 game, beating the $2/4 game and running over the $3/6 game. You wonder if you're ready for higher stakes games. How can you know? Here are some things for you to consider before making the big step. The first consideration is the minimum buy-in. Generally it's ten times the small bet for the lower tier mid limit games and ten times the big bet for the higher tier mid-limit games. So $5/10 requires a minimum of $50, $10/20 requires $100 and $20/40 requires $400. And that makes sense because the action tends to be more aggressive once you hit $20/40. The second consideration is how much of a bankroll you need to play seriously at a higher level. You want enough money to test yourself — to withstand the expected vagaries of chance. You don't want to start off with a bad run of cards or a series of bad beats, only to bust your entire bankroll and have to go down to the lower stake with your tail between your legs. I recommend that you have at least 300-to-600 times the big bet before you seriously take on a higher stakes game, leaning toward the higher multiple as the stakes go up. So, roughly, that would mean a minimum bankroll of $3,000 for $5/10, $10,000 for $10/20 and $24,000 for $20/40. If you chew up half of that bankroll at the higher level I suggest you go back down to the lower level and start again. Of course these are just rules of thumb. If you're a very conservative player you might start out with less. If you tend to be more aggressive and wild you should probably have more. But you don't have to wait until you're ready for a full transition. I think it's often best to start by taking just a stab at the higher stakes game. Look around for a time when the game seems to have some weaker than average players and then just take a seat. Plan to stay only a short time. You still want more than the minimum buy-in, but it doesn't have to be a full bankroll. I'd recommend that you have 60-times the small bet for the games up to $10/20 and probably 100-times that amount for the $15/30 games and above. That will give you enough to withstand a short run of bad cards — enough for you to get a feel for the game before you move back down. You'll find that taking a stab will help you become both acclimated to the higher level, making your final transition to that level much more smooth-and help with your lower stakes game, as you become more confidant with the lower stakes players because of your experience in the higher stakes game. Move out of the lower spread limit games like $1-3 and $1-5 as soon as possible, regardless of your ability. These games usually have a very steep rake, making them tougher to beat than the slightly higher games. Give your learning dollars to other players rather than to the casino and you'll be better off. Finally, keep careful notes, keeping track of your winnings and losses for every level you're playing at. Make sure you know which stakes game you're actually beating. And don't let your pride get in the way of dropping down when the lower stakes game looks appealing or the bigger game is too tough. There's no prize for losing at the biggest game in town when you could be winning at a lower game. Ashley Adams is the author of Winning 7-Card Stud, (Kensington Press 2003). He has been playing 7-Card Stud for 40 years-and profitably in casinos for the past 10 years.

Today's Poker Tip

FOXSports.com - Poker: "Today's Poker Tip" "Move out of the lower spread limit games like $1-3 and $1-5 as soon as possible, regardless of your ability. These games usually have a very steep rake, making them tougher to beat than the slightly higher games. Give your learning dollars to other players rather than to the casino and you'll be better off." More on moving up to higher stakes games

All poker, all the time

All poker, all the time by Steven Sekelik for Vail Daily The popularity of poker is rapidly increasing locally as well as nationally. Its popularity is fueled by a combination of television exposure, technology, and the opportunity to win big money and/or prizes. Local bars and restaurants are hosting regularly scheduled free poker tournaments to help draw in more business. Cable channels such as ESPN and the Travel Channel showcase the extremely popular World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour. In addition, television advertisements for online poker rooms are on the rise. The most popular flavor of poker is Texas No Limit Hold ''em. In a No Limit Hold ''em, a player can go "all in" and bet all of their chips on any given hand, which adds a great deal of excitement to the game. As opposed to other gambling games such as blackjack, poker is a game that is dictated and controlled by the participants. Poker players can control the game by bluffing, being very aggressive, or by playing a very tight conservative style. Today's cutting-edge technology and high-speed Internet access provide a gateway for millions of diehards to play poker 24-7 at one of the many poker sites on the web such as PartyPoker.com, Pokerstars.com, AbsolutePoker.com, and Fulltiltpoker.com. Most online poker rooms offer free games with play money, as well as real money games. Many online poker rooms feature satellite tournaments that give players an opportunity to win seats at World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour events. To put the popularity of online poker in perspective, during peak hours, www.partypoker.com can have over 50,000 participants playing on over 5,000 tables on any given day. All of these online poker sites are based offshore, due to the gambling laws in the United States. Popular poker sites are estimated to be making over $100 million in profits each year.