Oddly enough, the winner and runner up in the New Orleans World Series of Poker event were both grads from Louisiana State!
Congrats to Walter Chambers, who takes home $787K and Corey Bierria, who takes home $433K!
This year's winner of the World Poker Tour championship was Tuan Le, walking away with $2,856,000 in winnings. That is just an amazing amount of money, and a testament to poker popularity.
Le's previous big win in the WPT was just 6 months ago when he won $1.5M at the 2004 WPT Finals in Mashantucket. He's had an amazing run in the last year.
You can read more about it at the Las Vegas Vegas Blog.
Sadly, the number of articles about Poker games being terminated and arrests being made is on the rise. It would be interesting to get some official crime statistics for Poker related arrests, but I bet its through the roof. Either that, or the press about these arrests is through the roof!
Just check out these articles:
And there are many many more!
In a recent article from Motley Fool, a comment was made asking if the recent poker craze is no more than a fad. Perhaps. But I personally believe it is just beginning to see the early stages of a long-term growth period.
Poker is available everywhere these days. You can play on-line, you can play at your local card room, you can play in casinos that until recently didn't have a card room. You can buy computer software, you can play on your Palm PDA, and of course you can play in your own living room with professional quality gear.
But saying poker is simply a fad is like calling any other addictive activity the same. If that were the case, would there be a Starbucks on every corner? Would Las Vegas continue to build more casinos every year? Would the number of porn sites on the internet grow year after year after year?
It is probably safe to assume that poker sites, like any other genre of websites, will eventually see some smaller players disappear either by merging with bigger sites or by not attracting enough players to remain profitable.
But in the meantime, as sites continue to compete for your dollars, you can expect to continue to see a variety of come-ons to attract you to their site. Bonus deposits will probably be around for some time as will tournaments awarding the winner a seat at a major poker tourney. The sites that will flourish are the ones that come up with unique promos found nowhere else or who strategically market their product.
For now, enjoy the ride - Poker is not going away anytime soon!
According to a recent MarketWatch article, poker sites are the Net's fastest growing business.
The latest statistics indicate that there are now over 1.8 million people playing poker on-line around the world. Sites have taken in over $1.4B in the past year which makes it the fastest growing segment of the on-line $9B gaming industry.
Since nobody can say for sure whether or not it is legal to gamble on-line in the USA, it's hard to say if players are taking a risk when they play. This is why it is important for the US Government to take a stand once and for all. Either make it legal so that people can enjoy the pastime without having to worry about breaking the law or ban it so that people can understand the risk and make an educated decision on whether or not they want to play.
The longer our government drags their feet on the issue, the bigger the “problem” will become. And at some point, perhaps a time that has already passed, the practice of on-line gaming will have grown too big for anyone to stop it.
What? Did you say Woman Poker Player? Yes, it is true, the 96% male-dominated card game does attract a few from the female sex. If you happen to be either one of the female poker players that actually reads the Cruzino Blog, you may want to check out Woman Poker Magazine, a new magazine targetting "women who enjoy the sport of Poker".
While we're discussing it - do women have an advantage over men when playing poker? We know that there are a lot more men playing than women, and a lot more men winning. But I do think women have an advantage. Especially in the friendly family game of poker. I've seen all too often that some men are intimidated by the women at the table - either because they need to prove their manliness, or because they don't expect the woman to play well, or because they flirt and completely change their tells due to the woman sitting at the table. Not all male players are affected, of course! But if some are, it gives the woman an edge if all else is equal.
Never seen a royal flush in play during poker? Well, check out this blog. He seems to be able to whip em out twice a day!
BTW - the odds of a royal flush in your hand are 0.003%. (there are 4324 combinations of royal flushes in 7 card poker games). The chances of a royal flush anywhere on the table turns out to be much greater. It just seems I'm usually not the one holding the right cards!
Empire Poker is ginving away 50 seats to the World Series Of Poker main event this year that will be held in Las Vegas in June.
The buy in for this event is $10,000. This year, the first prize from the event is expected to exceed $10million. To be eligible to win, you must go to Empire Poker, and sign up. Be sure to enter the bonus code EPCARDBONUS.
If you play home poker in some areas, you might want to get a vault for your pot. Sadly, a player was killed on Wednesday when two robbers decided to steal the pot from a Pompano Beach game.
With poker having been so heavily publicized by virtually every TV network and cable channel, more and more people are getting into the game. Some are traveling to the card rooms of Vegas, Atlantic City or just across town while others are deciding to begin hosting games in their own homes. While home games can be fun, there are risks which one should consider before they host their buddies.
1. Don't violate the law! Many states have laws prohibiting games such as poker being played in the privacy of your own home. The punishment can be as minor as a small fine or can be as big as time in jail and community service. You increase your chances of getting in trouble simply by charging a fee to cover costs or even by charging your guests for beers. You can check out the laws for your state at Gambling-Law-US.com.
2. Do it right. As we mentioned in another posting we did, a game will run a lot smoother and be a lot more fun if you have the right equipment. Be sure to have at least two decks of cards so that someone can shuffle one while the other it being used, have more than enough chips for the number of players you're hosting, and invest in either a good gaming table or, at the very least, a piece of felt you can lie across the breakfast table.
3. Be sure to have enough players. 6-8 people is good because the game can still continue should one or two need to leave. Having more than this can be too crowded.
4. Set smart limits. Don't encourage stakes which are more than you or your buddies can afford to lose. If anyone decides to up the ante with their car keys or wedding ring, reconsider whether your goal was to have a fun night of cards with the boys or a major financial disaster.
5. Don't take the money and run! Nothing is worse than a guy who wins a big pot then stretches and announces he's tired and is going home. A good rule is to agree to a quitting time at the beginning of the night. That way there will be no surprises and everyone will have a chance to win back their losses or go deeper into debt!
Information for this article was taken from Men's Health magazine, April 2005, pg 74.
Today on Bill's Blog you can read about his wishlist for poker software features.
While the poker software is reasonably good, I mostly agree with him that its lacking - particularly in notifications, watchlists, and instant messaging. I'd add regular messaging (ability to send/receive messages, start discussions, etc) as another weak area for the software.
It seems that there is such a "land-grab" going on right now for online poker, that the online sites are currently working on "get the site up and get players". And from a business model, that is probably the right thing to do.
But if software arrived that really did fix the gameplay problems, and also integrated notifications of games, players, tournaments, and specials such that you didn't have to weed through tons of random noise, I think it would fare pretty well!
One other feature I'd like to see would be a sidebar which showed all the details from the last hand. Each of the poker sites is sooo anxious to move to the next hand that you can hardly tell what happened.
Lastly, I'd like the game to auto-mark players I've already played against. It should keep track of when, where, and how we fared without my having to do anything. Some of the sites do allow you to pin notes to other players, but the interfaces so far are pretty clumsy.
I've been reading a lot about Poker Tracker software today. And I just tried it. I must admit, its pretty impressive. It works with most of the major poker sites, and it creates a database of your poker play. You can use this to determine how well you are playing, when you were really "gambling", and when you were going with the odds. Its a great way to reflect back on your play and learn about it.
To read the perspective of a more experienced poker tracker, read this.
If you use linux at home, you may be interested in what this site has to say. They've done a nice job summarizing which online casinos do work on Linux and which do not...
North Dakota's senate is discussing a bill which would make North Dakota the first state to allow licensed, online poker sites. The bill is sponsored by Representative Jim Kasper. On Tuesday, the House approved 50-44 a resolution which will put this question on N.D.'s June ballot.
Its hard to tell if this bill is good or bad. It is certainly good that it is being discussed. And the state wants to regulate poker, which means that we may be able to better trust online poker sites. But, in its final form, this bill may also impose state taxes and bank charges which increase the overall cost of playing online in North Dakota. Will that just mean that players continue to play elsewhere? The opposition's arguments are the typical anti-gambling arguments, that it will encourage people who can least afford it to play.
In order to pass, the proposal will require an amendment to the North Dakota Constitution. That amendment was approved on Tuesday by the state House, but has not yet passed the Senate.
Sources:
Internet Poker Debate Continues
WPT Enterprises announced their results from the Q4, 2004 today. Revenues were at $5.7M compared to $379K last year. This yielded a net loss of $459K
I'd bet this is a good stock (Nasdaq:WPTE) for next year if it weren't for their stratospheric P/E ratio of 722! (And we thought google was overrated!)
Tonight there is a world poker tour event being hosted in San Jose at at Bay 101. If you are in the bay area, this is your chance to see the pros, and also a few celebrities. Spiderman, aka Tobey McGuire, will be there too.... See also the Bay 101 site.
ESPN is getting into the business of Poker. Its just a free online poker room for now. They say they'll fund the project through advertising and cross promotional sales.
Just to lighten things up a bit on this weekend, thought I'd collect a few Poker Jokes to share:
Q: How do you get a professional poker player off your doorstep?
A: Pay him for the pizza.
Q: Why didn't the elephant play poker in the jungle?
A: Because there were too many cheetahs.
Q: What is the difference between a large pizza and a poker player?
A: The pizza can feed a family of four. The poker player can't.
Q: Whats the difference between a prayer in church and a prayer in the casino?
A: In the casino, you really mean it!
NBC has announced it plans to produce its own Las Vegas-based poker tournament. (cred)
I guess this means we're getting mainstream!
I just found a program called Poker Spy, which is a pretty neat add on if you like to play poker. It basically just watches the behavior of other players and tries to classify their play. Some may call this cheating, but its not doing anything that you couldn't do yourself with a pad of paper and a lot of note taking.
Its a 1.4MB program, and it worked fine for me when playing against Party Poker. One bummer - it really doesn't do anything if you aren't playing for real $$.
Anyone else have experience with it?
The other day we were playing Texas Hold'Em in a casual not-for-money game.
On one hand, we had four 9s show up in the face up cards on the table. "Wow! What are the chances of that?!" was exclaimed. One at the table even took a picture of it. Its pretty rare, but is it really photo worthy?
Well, lets figure it out. There are 13 different ways you can get 4 of a kind. The fifth card can be any of the remaining cards, so there are 13*48 = 624 different combinations which can yield 4 of a kind showing. The total possible hands that could be showing is the combinatorial problem of choosing 5 cards of 52, which is 52! / (5! * 47!) = 2,598,960.
So, the chances of getting 4 of a kind showing in texas hold'em is 1/4165 or 0.024%.
Not too rare!
Just as Cruzino.com has been doing casino reviews for the last 6 years, we've now added a section for doing online poker site reviews. If you play poker online, definitely take a few minutes to write your own review!!
This is your chance to get your opinion out. Its free and easy. The reviews were just posted last week, so you can be the first mover on this opportunity...
If you don't see your favorite poker site listed, just let us know and we'll get to work on adding it to the site.
Rumors are flying that PartyPoker.com's parent company iGlobalMedia is planning an IPO with an estimated valuation between $4 and $8billion.
Absolute Poker claims to have had over 100 million hands of poker played on their popular website.
We need to get a review up for their Poker Site!
With poker having grown significantly in popularity over the past few years, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss the types of equipment that you may want to purchase for your next home game.
Years ago, it was common for someone who was hosting a home game to have a bunch of thin, cheap, plastic poker chips, a bag of Doritos, and a few six packs of skunky beer. Everyone would sit around the table and play the same one or two games with little variety. Nowadays it is much more common for a host to provide a poker table complete with built in chip racks, custom clay poker chips which match the quality of those found in casinos, a variety of table-safe foods, and a variety of high end beers and/or hard liquor. And while Texas Hold'em is by far the most common game played today, home players like variety. It isn't uncommon for a group to play over a dozen different games throughout the night.
Here are the basics you should consider for your next game:
Poker Chips
The #1 item that can make home players feel like pros are the poker chips they play with. There are a variety of weights and materials that chips are made of but if you want the same type and feel that most casinos use, you'll want to order 11.5 gram clay chips. If your budget is limited, you can go with lighter chips or chips made of clay composite or non-clay materials. But if you can afford it, go with the best you can find. You also want to be sure to have enough chips for the number of players you'll be hosting. Although you could get away with 50 chips per person, you'll probably want 2x that. This allows players to buy-in for more chips in the middle of play without the bank having to buy back other player's chips to cover the buy-in. There is also a good chance that you'll find your home games start to grow once word gets out that you and your friends take the game so seriously! Plan on purchasing 500 chips for 5 players or 1,000 for as many as 10. It's also a good idea to buy a popular design from a supplier who has been around for awhile. That way, if you later want to add to your collection, you'll be able to buy more of the exact same chips. Make sure you have a variety of colors too as you'll want to define a value for each. For my personal set, I have Green (25 cents), Blue (50 cents), Black ($1), Red ($5) and Purple ($10). The colors are up to you.
Cards
No matter how good (or bad) your chips are, make sure you only play with high quality cards! Cheap, no-name brands that are made overseas tend to be thinner, smaller, bend easier and stick together when you try to shuffle. Your best bet would be to pick up a few used decks at your favorite casino. If you do decide to buy some instead, go with known brands such as Bicycle, Bee or Hoyle. Using the freebies that your local beer distributor gave out last St. Patrick's Day can cause problems through the night. (Hey, how did the Ace of Spades get a bent corner?) You'll also want to get at least 3 different colored decks. This way the decks can be shuffled together and sorted easily for a quick round of Blackjack or other players can shuffle decks in preparation for the next hands during play without the risk of "accidentally" mixing in the cards they're shuffling.
Table
Now let's suppose you have a quality set of chips and plenty of casino-grade playing cards. The last thing you should do is deal on a folding card table! Those were made for old ladies playing bridge. If your budget (and your storage space) allows for it, make the investment in a felt topped, padded poker table with built in chip racks. The felt top makes it much easier to deal and pickup the cards and reduces the tendency of chips to roll or slide around. Note that the felt top should be heavily protected with a spray on water repellent such as Scotch Guard and should be resprayed every 6 months to a year. This way when someone commits a party-foul and spills beer, cleanup will be much easier. (By the way, clay chips clean up easily too. But cheap playing cards are not plastic laminated and will be ruined if spilled on.) To reduce the risk of spills, make sure your table has built in drink holders or that you purchase some portable holders that slide under the table edge - just like the casinos use. If you don't have the room for a nice table, you may want to consider a folding top that can sit on the kitchen table. Try to find one that is the same size as your normal playing table. If it extends too far over the edges, you can bet that someone will lean on it during the night and flip the chips, cards and drinks right onto the floor.
Miscellaneous Accessories
There are a few other items that aren't necessary but can make any home game just a little more enjoyable:
Dealer Button: This is the black and white button used in Texas Hold'em that says "Dealer" on it. Helpful for remembering whose turn it is to deal when you pass the deck around. A necessity if you're going to have Hold'em tournaments.
Blackjack Shoe: The "shoe" is the card holder that casinos deal Blackjack out of. Almost every home game I play in has a player who likes to deal Blackjack when it is his turn. Why not make it a little easier?
Discard Rack: This is the rack that cards are put into whenever a player folds or a Blackjack dealer clears played cards off of the table.
Table Brush: To help protect your felt top, you'll want a quality brush to wipe it off. Casinos use this on all of their tables to remove crumbs, dust and other debris.
Portable Chip Racks: If you are hosting games that offer more than one table or if you want people to have an easy way to stack their winnings, chip racks are a good thing to have. Be sure you have at least enough to hold your entire chip collection in.
Chip Case: An aluminum or leather carrying case makes taking your chips to friends houses much easier. If your chips aren't going to leave your home, a nice wooden case is both elegant and practical.
Food
Nothing is worse than serving foods which are greasy or sticky as people tend to get their slop all over the chips and cards. Stick with foods that aren't saucy, wet, sticky, or greasy. If you are going to order pizza, make sure everyone uses a napkin before they sit back down to play. Ideal foods for keeping on the table would be nuts, M & M's, Pretzels, Chips, etc. Buffalo wings, greasy burgers and ice cream are not good ideas!
Drinks
Again, if you're trying to host a quality game, don't cheapen it by serving Busch Beer, Generic Vodka or Store-Brand Soda! Offer your guests premium drinks for an overall positive impression.
Conclusion
As you can see, hosting a quality game can be expensive. But most of the supplies are a one-time investment. I've been playing with a set of custom clay chips for about 8 years and people still comment on how much better it is playing with quality supplies. But be careful - Most of your friends will insist on only playing at your house!
The final table of the WPT at the Mirage will be on TV tonight at 9pm ET/PT.
Final players include Jim Meehan, Eli Elezra, Gabe Kaplan, John Juanda, Scotty Nguyen and Lee Watkinson.
We've been doing a fair amount of research here at Cruzino.com on this topic, and the answer is we still don't really know. We know that lots of people are doing it, but lots of people still wonder, and the courts don't seem to have really made a decision on this. In this article we'll show you some of the research we've found, and you can decide for yourself. Keep in mind that we are not legal experts, and this article is a collection of facts and opinions, not a legal analysis.
Overall, its very hard to tell if playing online is illegal. There is definitely a lot of information out there indicating that the US doesn't want you to gamble online. But, we haven't been able to find a specific ruling or law which says that it is illegal. I think this is a case where our laws haven't yet caught up with technology. The laws were written when the notion of playing in California at a casino located in Antigua was just not anticipated. Thus, while its definitely illegal to take bets here in the states, its not clear that its illegal to place a bet outside of the US while you are physically inside the US. I expect courts will rule on this soon.
All of the online gaming sites side-step the question by putting a legal disclaimer on their site and stating that it is your responsibility to understand your local gaming laws. I suppose that is true, but it sure seems like they should be helping us understand the law!
We did find some information on California gaming laws. California prohibits 11 specific games, including "21", and any "banking or percentage game." At the same time, California specifically allows licensed card clubs to take a non-percentage based rake from a pot. For example, if a pot is less than $10, the operator can take nothing. The operator can take $1 if its less than a $20 pot, $2 if its less than a $30 pot, and $3 if the pot is over $30. This is defined as not being a percentage game, and hence seems legal. Keep in mind that playing in a game is very different from running such a game. California Penal code states that it is illegal to "deal, operate, carry on, conduct, maintain, or expose for play in this state any controlled game." This applies to poker too.
One of the most referenced laws with regard to internet gambling is the Wire Act, which states, "Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both." According to the Department of Justice, the Wire Act does indeed prohibit internet gambling. But according to Professor Nelson Rose, this law only applies to those in the business of betting or wagering. As such, it does not apply to the common player; only the "house" or business will be punished.
In February, 2001, there was a ruling by United States District Court Judge Stanwood Duval dismissed two cases against Mastercard and Visa and where he ruled that the Wire Act "does not prohibit Internet gambling on a game of chance." This ruling was further upheld on November 21, 2002 by the US Fifth Circuit of Federal Appleals Court. According to his ruling, the Wire act only applies to internet sports betting. (more information here and here)
Lastly, it is worth noting that some legislation has been attempted and failed in recent months. For example, in 1997 Senator Jon Kyl (Republican, AZ) introduced the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act (IGPA). The 1997 act died on the Senate floor. Senator Kyl revamped the Act and reintroduced it again in 1999. This bill passed through the senate, but failed passage through the House (07/17/2000).
Conclusion
I for one think its pretty silly that the US legal system doesn't have a clear answer on this. We know that sites like Party Poker have about 20,000 players online at any given point in time, most of which are from within the United States. Poker is popularized on TV and legal in several states. And yet, none of the people playing online can know for certain whether what they are doing is illegal. It seems legal, and there are even a few federal court rulings to back that up. But it also seems that at any point in time, an arbitrary decision by a more conservative judge could interpret the existing law in a totally different manner. I know that we all have a responsibility to understand the law. But in this case, the law is not clear in any way. Its unfortunate that as individuals we are left to interpret it as best we can, and yet we have to live with the fear that our interpretation could be overruled.
References
World Trade Organization paper on Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services (Nov, 2004)
This paper was prompted by Antigua requesting that the WTO help resolve a dispute between Antigua and the United States where Antigua noted several US Federal and State statutes which made cross-border gambling illegal. Overall, there is no real conclusion from this paper. Antigua submits 14 conclusions about why it should be permitted, and the United States replies that "the recent growth in the remote supply of gambling raises serious regulatory concerns for the Government of the United States." The US also raises several concerns about internet gambling being linked to organized crime, money laundering, and other criminal activity. Overall, the WTO recommends that the US should drop prohibitions on Americans using online casinos.
New York court rules Net gambling illegal (July, 1999)
In this case, a New York based casino (WIGC) claimed that their casino was legal because it operated out of Antigua. The New York court ruled, "It is irrelevant that Internet gambling is legal in Antigua. The act of entering the bet and transmitting the information from New York via the Internet is adequate to constitute gambling activity within New York State."
c-net: Place a bet. Now go to jail (Feb, 2005)
In this article, the author discusses a number of questions that people have. But, like us, he doesn't have real answers.
Gambling and The Law
This site is run by professor Nelson Rose, a high profile researcher in the area of gambling law.
Internet Gambling
Very good analysis of the gaming industry and legal challenges by Nick Feldman.
The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act: An Analysis (May 1998)
UCLA Law analysis by Andrea Lessani.