Online Poker

Online poker in the USA could be step closer

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:36:36 +0000

We have previously reported in the general poker news here at onlinepoker.ie that Bwin were apparently active seeking arrangements in the USA in the anticipation of relaxation of the rules governing online gambling. You will recall that all forms of online gambling including online poker have been banned under the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act) but some believe that a relaxation will come at least within some states. It is therefore of particular interest the we learn in the general poker news that Bwin.Party has agreed a partnership with an Indian tribe based in California to provide online poker. The tribe in question is the United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC) and the tribal chairman David Keyser is reported in the general poker news as saying “we see the legislation of internet poker and other internet gambling as being inevitable”. This opinion was enforced when the Department of Justice published a new interpretation of the 1961 Wire Act suggesting that as long as the gambling was within state borders it might become legal. Online poker would be big business in California and it is believed by general poker news that the deal between Bwin.Party and UAIC would be for ten years following legalisation of online poker. Mr Keyser seemed happy with the arrangement when he is quoted in the general poker news as saying “having met with representatives from a number of online gambling companies, bwin.party was our first choice as partner” but then we would hardly expect him to say that they were third choice. The fact still remains however that online poker is illegal in the USA and although there is a lot of talk in the general poker news we know of no steps that are currently being undertaken to change that status; if it does there will be a lot of activity from several online poker providers to tap into a lucrative market.

Full Tilt Poker in the Irish poker news again

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:22:22 +0000

Here in the Irish poker news we hear that the long running saga of what happens to Full Tilt Poker may have taken a new twist. You may recall that Irish Poker News has reported on more than one occasion the difficulties that Full Tilt Poker had with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the fact that their license was withdrawn and furthermore that many poker players had cash in their accounts which the company was unable to pay back and it was hoped that a white knight in the form of the French group Bernard Tapie might resolve the situation and buy out Full Tilt and pay back the monies owed but recent reports in the Irish Poker News suggest that this has fallen through with the Tapie group blaming the DOJ for a last minute demand that all monies be repaid to players within 90 days; the DOJ has so far made no comment. We now learn from sources in the Irish Poker News that PokerStars, once the main rival in the USA may have made a successful bid to acquire Full Tilt in a deal that would see monies repaid to poker players of Full Tilt and at the same time settle their own outstanding issues with the DOJ. It is believed in some reports in the Irish Poker News that players are owed in excess of $300 million and that the total price including settlement with the DOJ may be around $750 million. What is not clear is whether the settlement includes cases taken out against individuals in the PokerStars organisation. This could be fast moving affair which means that by the time you read this Irish Poker News article, further developments will have taken place but as we recommend PokerStars for online poker we shall be keeping an eye out for what happens.

There are still plenty of online poker tournaments on offer

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:56:52 +0000

The Paddy Power Irish Open poker tournament may be over and as reported in the poker tournament news it was won by Belgian Kevin Vandersmissen but that does not mean that poker tournaments are finished for another year as there is still plenty going on. The next big one here at poker tournament news is the WSOP (World Series of Poker) in Las Vegas held between July 6^th and 14^th and although this carries a hefty $10,000 entry fee you can get in for much less through satellite tournaments such as those at Paddy Power Poker but as this is a prestigious event even those tournaments carry an entry fee of $500 but they are running Thursdays and Sundays. Paddy Power poker has lots of other tournaments running on a daily basis for Irish poker players so you don’t have to scour the poker tournament news to find one unless you are after the big prize. Of course Paddy Power Poker is not the only one to offer online poker tournaments and poker tournament news here at onlinepoker.ie would like to draw your attention to the huge array of poker tournaments available at the very famous Party Poker. Party Poker has tournaments starting from as little as $1 entry and as these are sit and go, which means that once the required number of players have registered the game begins, there is generally no waiting around. An interesting format of poker tournament play that poker tournament news has found is also at Party Poker and that is called “shootout” where in a multi table tournament you start to receive prize money simply by finishing in the top three at the first table but of course you also go through to the nest round where you can win again. This is a great tournament to spread the prize money around so take a look at Party poker.

New bonuses in the poker bonus news

admin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:47:18 +0000

There is always something going on in the poker bonus news as online poker providers vie with each other to attract new online poker players but 888 poker is really going for it right now with a possibility to get $400 in poker bonuses. This offer is basically a 100% match of your first deposit up to $200 which is released in $10 increments as you play poker and earn Bonus Points. 888 poker has reported in the poker bonus news that status points and reward points are earned simultaneously for cash games and tournaments and with ten different statuses you are always on the climb. Not to be outdone also in the poker bonus news is Paddy Power poker who is offering a huge first deposit bonus of up to $2000 which is again a 100% match of your first deposit and is released in chunks of $10 as you play poker. To sign up for this bonus you need to be a new player to Paddy Power Poker and download the poker software plus quote the code PPP2000. Paddy points are earned for every cash game and tournament but the exact number of points earned depends on the rake of the hand and the number of players but with $2000 up for grabs that is a huge poker bonus. Not to be left out, Ladbrokes poker is also in the poker bonus news with a new offer since February 1^st 2012 of a 250% match of a new players first deposit up to €1250 but rather than being released in small pieces this poker bonus is released in just 5 stages of 20% each and you have 60 days in which to complete the required play. Everybody is offering new players a poker bonus at the moment and the poker bonus news is full of these offers so take a look around and the poker sites we recommend here at onlinepoker.ie

Online poker changed one year ago

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:28:59 +0000

Any American poker player will know that in the general poker news nearly exactly one year ago the world of online poker changed forever when the Department of Justice indicted three online poker companies in relation to the UIGEA (unlawful internet gaming enforcement act) and the whole online poker business in the USA stopped. The charges related to the fact that the online poker companies were supposedly using illegal methods to get American banks to process payments from American poker players. As was well reported in the general poker news the investigation later revealed that Full Tilt Poker was not in a position to repay funds to American players; they then lost their license from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission which affected poker players from all over the world. Fortunately we hope there will have been very few Irish poker players affected but the general poker news does advise Irish poker players to stick with the names they know and which are listed on this online poker site. Also in the general poker news this week is the revelation that in Australia where poker machines are extremely popular and are used in theory to help communities through contributions from the operators, the amount that is getting to the communities is extremely small compared to the takings from the machines. According to some reports in the general poker news only between 1.5% and 2% of total losses find their way back to communities. The report which was commissioned by UnitingCare Australia in connection with a national debate on problem gambling suggested that this was a very inefficient way of funding local community work. The poker machines or “pokies” as they are known in Australia are the most common form of gambling in Australia but as we know in Ireland from reading the general poker news, they are not the best from a poker players point of view.

Belgian in the Irish poker news after open victory

admin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:16:58 +0000

Well it is all over for another year and the Irish poker news is full of what happened in the Paddy Power Irish Open. Just to recap this is one of the longest running poker tournaments in Europe and as is customary was held over the Easter weekend this time in the Burlington Hotel in Dublin. Although there are many different satellite tournaments running throughout the weekend the main event is a €3200 plus €300 buy in NLH freeze out tournament which attracts top poker players from all over the world. Many players will have found their way to the event through online poker qualifiers which have been regularly promoted over the past few months in the Irish poker news pages on this site. The tournament also runs the popular €100,000 last survivor promotion in which the longest lasting Paddy Power online poker qualifier wins the €100,000 package in addition to any prize money which the player may pick up. Irish poker news at onlinepoker.ie was watching closely as going into the final day the table of 9 players included two players who were in with a shout of being sole survivor and they were chip leader Ian Simpson from Newcastle and Philip Magennis from Co. Down but it was Ian Simpson who was to prevail and lift the prize in addition to his fourth place prize money of €107,500. The main event which carried a first prize of €420,000 was one by Belgian Kevin Vandersmissen who was the short stack man at the beginning of play. Watching play on behalf of Irish poker news there was a lot of luck around the table with many hands being decided by what came on the flop including the final hand which was an all in affair with Vandersmissen hold nothing but an unsuited 9 -7 against an unsuited Ace – King but the flop revealed a nine and it was all over. You can be as good a poker player as you like but as Irish poker news always says, without luck you are nowhere.

Caribbean cruise and poker together

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:24:36 +0000

The world of poker is changing and could become a family affair with the latest poker tournament news emerging that combines a Caribbean cruise with 7 fantastic days and nights of poker action. Famous cruise specialists Royal Caribbean International is linking up with WPT (World Poker Tour) to bring this cruise to poker players from around the world but as yet we have not heard of any online poker qualifiers although we shall keep our ears to the ground for you. We are sure this will fill up fairly quickly so if you are interested get in touch with WPTCruise.com. The ship being used is Freedom of the Seas and although no official WPT events will take place there will be plenty of poker action to keep guests busy including cash games, free rolls and ladies only events. The poker cruise in the poker tournament news will probably start in Miami and take places such as the Cayman Islands, Mexico and Jamaica and we have heard that there might even be a visit to Haiti. Most cruises allow for tours to the places they visit during the day followed by travel (cruising) at night which is perfect for a poker player and needless to say the food and entertainment on board will be spectacular. Every passenger will also receive a WPT sponsored welcome package and coaching will be given so whether you are a novice poker player that likes cruising or a poker player who wants to try cruising this is the best of both worlds. We are sure here at poker tournament news that more will be heard about this promotion which incidentally is taking place from September 30^th this year and we shall keep our eyes on the online poker sites to see if anyone is offering this as a prize in any online tournament.

A poker bonus can be very complex

admin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:17:17 +0000

One thing that we regularly cover on these pages is the poker bonus news where we try to keep pace with the ever changing poker bonuses that are available and the first thing to notice is that it is practically impossible to calculate the chance of receiving your full poker bonus due to the complexity of the rules and the same applies to all the poker bonuses we see. Ladbrokes poker is in the poker bonus news this week for releasing a new poker bonus that is 250% of your first deposit up to €1250 which is one of the best poker bonuses we have seen. The poker bonus is released in 5 equal increments so for example if you deposited the €500 which is needed to get the full €1250 bonus the bonus would be released in €250 instalments. To earn the instalments you need to earn poker points and this is where we at poker bonus news think it starts getting difficult but we hasten to add that this is not specific to Ladbrokes poker but also applicable to the VPPs (VIP player points) ay Poker Stars poker or the Paddy Points at Paddy Power poker or the Party Points at Party Poker. The points you earn depends on the rake from the hands that you are playing which in turn depends on whether it is poker tournament play or poker cash games, how many players are seated and how much you contributed to the pot. The poker bonuses in the poker bonus news at the moment are a 100% first deposit match up to $2000 at Paddy Power poker released in $10 chunks, a 100% first deposit match up to €500 released in 10 chunks at Party Poker and a 100% match up to €465 released in €10 chunks at Poker Stars. This poker bonus from Poker Stars gives you 90 days and three deposits to reach the maximum amount. Poker bonus news cannot suggest which the best of these deals is as it so much depends on how you intend to play.

Cash poker winnings become a problem

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:09:13 +0000

In the general poker news this week we learn of the apparent dangers of keeping cash at home having won it playing poker and it all takes place here in Ireland. It would seem that the police carried out a drugs raid in Caverdavin and although they found no drugs they did find an amount of cash (some €36000 in fact) that they assumes was a result of criminal activity. The disputed truth of the matter in the general poker news is that the cash belongs to a Mr Paul Carr who is apparently a very good poker player who won €300,000 in a Paddy Power poker event, something which can of course easily be verified. Mr Carr states in the general poker news that people know that he is a good player and that he keeps large amounts of cash so for security purposes he does not keep it in his own house but leaves in the safe keeping of his friend Jason Ahern who in turn left the €36000 in the house of his girlfriend in Caverdavin. General poker news has learned that the State having seized the money is now asking to keep it for a further three months in the belief that certain documents will be brought forward that would result in the cash never being returned. Mr Carr has lodged a separate application before the Limerick District Court objecting to the three month extension on the basis that the cash is perfectly legal and there is a logical explanation as to why the cash was to be found in the house. The case is still ongoing but reports in the general poker news suggest that the judge has given a further two months for the documents to be filed with a review in May. It would appear that to avoid this type of poker news story online poker is the answer where no real cash changes hands.

Poker tournaments are an alternative to cash games

Calling Irish women poker players

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:56:06 +0000

We have noticed at onlinepoker.ie an increasing number of female poker players at all levels of the game and indeed there is no reason why female poker players should not be equally as good as male players and in fact there are some good reasons why they might indeed be better by making decisions based on pure logic rather than any macho tendency so here in our Irish poker news article this week we would like to focus on women’s poker. Irish poker news believes that one of the best places to play women’s poker is at PokerStars where there is a specific league for lady poker players from across the globe and the fact that we are already in March makes no difference as the leagues are monthly. The poker league in the Irish poker news is sensibly divided into three depending upon your tournament buy in and they are $0.10, $1.10 and $5.50 so for as little as $0.10 you can enter the tournament. Irish poker news has learned that the way it works is that the women’s poker league ends up in a $10,000 freeroll tournament to be held in January 2013 and every month the top players in the league can gain entry. In the $0.10 league only the first placed player will win a seat but in the $1.10 league there are 5 seats available for the top players and in the $5.50 league there are 10 seats to be won every month. All of this is not really Irish poker news but as we look at the leader boards we see very few Irish poker players so onlinepoker.ie would like to encourage all Irish lady poker players to register with PokerStars which you can do directly from this site so that we can have Ireland represented at the grand final in January next year.