Poker the top topic searched on the Internet, after porn
January 8, 2008
There’s no secret what the most-searched-for item on the Internet is: porn.
Whether it’s a curious search for the latest Paris Hilton nipple slip or some type of sick and twisted fetish, sex is the undisputed online king. It has the crown and always will.
So what’s the most popular search outside of the sex realm? It’s a close cousin as a vice, but remains pretty PG.
According to one of the industries leading search engines, Lycos.com, poker was the most searched topic on the Internet. It’s the second year in a row the game has earned such honors.Poker drew more interest than MySpace, YouTube and golf. It even dominated the interest in the volatile Britney Spears.
The interest in poker remains hot, despite a constant forecast that the fad is nearing its end. It all started in 2003 when a Tennessee accountant named Chris Moneymaker won the Main Event of the World Series of Poker. It was his first trip into a live casino, and by the time he walked out of it he was $2.5 million richer.
The success story fueled the poker boom, and it hasn’t died down since.
The reason is money. It’s impossible to cite an exact figure on the U.S. poker-playing population, but it’s been estimated to be between 50 million and 70 million players. This is hardly an arbitrary number.
Some players play very high stakes, but most of them play for a measly $10 or $20 per session.
Two new players debut on Poker After Dark
January 7, 2008
Courtesy of Poker Listings
David Oppenheim and Gavin Smith will make their first appearances on Poker After Dark as the NBC show continues with a new set of players next week.
David Oppenheim has been playing professionally for about 15 years and is considered to be one of the best Limit high-stakes cash game players. He hasn’t made as big an impression on the tournament world yet, with his best finishes a third place in a 2007 World Series of Poker event and third at the World poker Tour Borgata Poker Open in 2003.
Gavin Smith has proclaimed himself the “wild card” at the tables because of his aggressive nature. His style has resulted in a WPT win as well as more than $3.7 million in tournament cashes over the years.
Oppenheim and Smith will be joined at the tables by Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and Erick Lindgren. With such poker heavyweights at the table, you’d think there would be some pretty serious poker talk.
Poker After Dark: The 19th Hole
January 4, 2008
Poker After Dark: The 19th Hole
New match features 6 top players who also share a penchant for golf.
(PRWEB) January 4, 2008 — This week’s match on NBC’s Poker After Dark is sure to capture the attention of poker fans everywhere, but maybe even more so to those who also enjoy a day on the links whether they are a scratch golfer or a perennial hacker. For anyone who has ever imbibed in a few of their favorite beverages with friends at their local 19th hole after a round of golf, they’ll see a lot of similarities between the camaraderie that exists among their golfing buddies and how this match plays out. The banter at the table is largely golf-oriented, and the stories the players relate are amusing and entertaining.
In a quest for this week’s $120,000 first place winner-take-all prize, two newcomers will make their debut on PAD in the persons of David Oppenheim and Gavin Smith. David has been playing professionally for about 15 years, and is known as one of the best limit high-stakes cash game players in the world. Gavin, a self-proclaimed “wild card” at the tables due to his aggressive nature, is anything but quiet when he plays and will undoubtedly provide some interesting table talk.
These two will swap stories and butt heads with four pros that have also been known to engage in a friendly wager or two on the golf course in fan favorites Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and Erick Lindgren. Ivey has won two PAD titles, and will be looking to become the first player to win three. Brunson and Negreanu have each won one, and Lindgren will be looking for his first in three tries.
Brief profiles of all six players follow. The match will begin airing on NBC late night Monday at 2:05 a.m., January 7, and will continue for five consecutive nights in the same time slot. A special program called the “Director’s Cut” will air late night Saturday, January 12, at 1:00 a.m., right after Saturday Night Live. This show will feature Poker After Dark’s new host, Marianela, with a behind-the-scenes look at the week including highlights and insightful player interviews.
Ship It, Fish! - Something For Nothing?
January 3, 2008
The UIGEA turned out to be challenged from a number of directions. The story has been well covered elsewhere, and I don’t know enough to do it justice, but my understanding is that banks are simply saying that they can’t implement the complicated rules and are appealing to regulatory agencies. Like most court/legislative maneuvers, this will take some time to sort out.
Meanwhile, online poker remains as grey as ever. Money goes in and out to the sites still operating, and some payout systems still work (although fees have reached new heights).
I’ve been just too busy doing actually useful work to spend time playing much poker, but as a change of pace I often play on weekend mornings until it becomes boring. I decided, though, that I wouldn’t deposit. Instead, I’d take from Chris Ferguson’s challenge and try to literally get something for nothing.
888.com online casino and poker room site Review
December 31, 2007
The 888.com online casino poker room, Pacific Poker, features five of the most popular poker games, including Texas Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, and Omaha Hi. Players can participate in games using the downloadable client software, or use a browser based ‘no download’ version, enabling them to play while on the move.
The client software has recently been updated, and is now a 3D client, with great graphics, customisable player avatars, improved navigation, and a lobby where players can chat with each other.
Pacific Poker offers a school where players can improve their poker game, with free tutorials for beginners, and advanced tips for seasoned pros.
As well as poker, the casino section, powered by 888.com, offers many other games, including blackjack, roulette, and slots. So if you ever need a break from playing poker you can try out classic, multi-hand, or crazy blackjack, and pick up some tips at their industry approved blackjack school.
The 888.com and Pacific Poker client software is available in both Mac and PC versions. Installation is simple, and the software is easy to use. They offer 20 different, secure, payment methods, and budgeting facilities so that you can cap the amount you spend per month – pefect for people who are worried about over-spending on, for example, the slot machines.
Executive Poker Tour Founder to Ring NYSE Opening Bell
December 28, 2007
Executive Poker Tour Founder, Rick Rahim, will be in New York City Monday morning to ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange.
Rahim, who also serves as Chief of Financial Development for Project Lifesaver International, will join Project Lifesaver CEO Gene Saunders and Chief Barry Thacker for the opening bell ceremonies at the NYSE. Also joining the trio will be Captain Bo Garvin of Project Lifesaver, Daryl Bank, and representatives from the Morris County, NJ and Suffolk County, NY Sheriffs offices.
The Executive Poker Tour (www.ExecutivePokerTour.com) is a series of nationwide poker events held in casinos across the USA. The events are filmed in High Definition for broadcast on national television. The Executive Poker Tour supports Project Lifesaver International.
The next dates for the Executive Poker Tour are January 11-14 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ.
The Executive Poker Tour is known for its extremely player-friendly structures. The $2,500 main event starts with 25,000 chips and blinds of just $25-$50.
The Executive Poker Tour’s first event in October was a terrific success. Many celebrity poker players joined executives and sports celebrities as the first series of poker tournaments was filmed for television. The first show is now being produced and is expected to air early in 2008.
Hollywood Juice
December 27, 2007
While much of Hollywood continues to be shut down due to the ongoing writers’ strike, people like Brittany and Jamie Lynn Spears keep us entertained with their dysfunctional lives. It’s the trainwreck that you can’t look away from… But let’s move on to stars playing poker.
It seems that Mekhi Phifer, currently starring on E.R., likes poker more than the occasional celebrity tournament. He recently held a family Christmas party at his home for 80 people, and a poker game was the big attraction. He even put up the grand prize – two tickets to the Bahamas. For those not invited (like me, can you believe it?), Phifer can be seen in the recently released film, This Christmas, in which he starred and produced.
Titan Poker Online Event Posts Big Numbers
December 21, 2007
The world of online poker has a lot of attractive qualities, and one of the biggest is the opportunity for a poker player to participate in a World Series of Poker style poker series from the comfort of their own home. The latest such series is the one posted by Titan Poker, the European Championship of Online Poker (ECOOP). In the ECOOP players from around the world got an opportunity to compete for ten days in a variety of events with huge guaranteed prize pools, with the main event putting up at least one million dollars to be split among the winners.
Things got off with a bang as the first ECOOP event, a No Limit Holdem event boasted 1,049 players for a prize pool of more than $200k in this $150k guaranteed event, and the trend continued for all the tournaments.
By the time the main event rolled around, however, just enough players failed to sign up and the poker room had an overlay of $8,000. The victory went to wllkllu, who picked up more than $200k. Here are the top ten finishers:
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