Nov 15 2011
Cake Poker Network finally consents to players using HUD’s
written by: Steve Comments: Comments Off
In a Mitt Romney-esque flip-flop, the Cake Poker Network has decided to change its long-standing policy which forbade players from using any poker tracking software that included an in-game Heads-Up Display (HUD) according to an article that appeared in Card Player Europe.
The change likely has a lot to do with the malleability of the online poker industry in the aftermath of Black Friday, as virtually every online poker room has been forced to adjust to the changing online poker climate.
In the article, Intertops Poker stated the company’s new policy toward HUD’s would be changing as of November 9th: “… we are in the process of making some further changes to allow players to use 3rd party software that provide HUD’s such as Poker Tracker and Hold’em Manager… In the past we always provided this capability for our players but we never allowed any 3rd party software vendors that gave players enhanced note taking and hand history information.”
The Cake Poker Network has long held the belief that HUD’s provide an even greater advantage to long-time online poker players, thus discouraging new players and casual poker players from joining sites that allow these types of third-party software programs. The new move does allow players to constantly change their screen-names at Cake Poker (the site allows any player to change their screen-name every 7-days) which will help thwart the HUD’s ability to compile a massive database of notes on any single opponent.
The Cake Poker Network is one of the few US-friendly online poker networks left (although not all Cake Poker Network skins allow US players) and includes such notable poker rooms as Cake Poker, Unabomber Poker, Power Poker, and Intertops Poker.
In the past few years, Matt Glantz has made a name for himself as one of the most skilled and consistent players in live tournament poker. He dominated the PokerStars EPT London High Roller in 2009, winning $883k in the process. His other wins include a 12th place finish at the second Epic Poker League Main Event for $46k, and a 14th place finish at the first EPL Main Event for $43k. In combination with four separate WSOP final table cashes, Glantz has amassed over $4 million in career earnings.
Now, Glantz is offering a unique promotion in which you can receive a share of his winnings in upcoming events. Glantz is promoting his new website/blog, MattGlantzPoker.com. By creating an account on the site, you’ll have a chance to be randomly selected to earn 10% of whatever Glantz wins at WPT Jacksonville, scheduled for November 18.
If you’d rather not leave your potential earnings up to chance, you can instead refer other individuals to Glantz’s website. The three biggest referral generators will each receive 5% of Glantz’s winnings at the Bellagio 5 Diamond Main Event. The event is scheduled for December 6 and sure to have a large prize pool due to its $10k buy-in.
If you’re unable to make the top 3 but still crack the top 5, you’ll receive 5% of whatever Glantz wins in the next EPL Main Event, scheduled for December 14. If Glantz is able to repeat his performance from the previous EPL Main Events, that would mean a sum of over $2,000 for each player. An outright EPL Main Event victory, on the other hand, would be worth closer to $50,000 each for the lucky top referrers.
Signing up for Glantz’s new site is relatively easy, requiring only your email address and a username. You can also sign up by using your Facebook account.
With the World Series of Poker now officially over, the attention of the poker world will likely switch back to the legislative fight in the United States, as pro-gaming advocates lobby Congress in the hopes that lawmakers will legalize and regulate the online poker industry.
After a fairly productive hearing by the House subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade in October, the Committee has now announced that it will hold its follow-up hearing on November 18th, 2011; just a day after the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs holds their own online poker hearing. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has dubbed their hearing, “What’s at Stake for Tribes?” and will obviously have a different agenda than the subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Witnesses have not been listed at this time, but the late October hearing featured such notable online poker advocates as FairPlay USA’s Parry Aftab and the Poker Players Alliance’s (and former US Senator) Alphonse D’Amato. Unlike previous hearings that were used to demonize poker and gambling, October’s hearing played out as more of a legitimate fact-finding mission, with expert testimony on the safeguards available for online poker websites.
The main legislation being discussed is HR 2366, the Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2011. Barton recently told Politico that the debt-reduction super-committee made up of six democrats and six republicans is considering adding online poker legislation to their final package.
While many gaming law experts feel online poker legislation is a long-shot this year, the possibility of the Super-Committee adding Barton’s online poker bill to their deficit reduction package could potentially pave the way for legislation sooner rather than later.
The virtual felt at PokerStars was ablaze this past week, with some of the biggest names in online poker battling it out in high stakes cash games. Phil “takechip” D’Auteuil was the biggest success story of the week, earning over $414k playing almost 6,000 hands across 47 sessions. D’Auteuil is now the seventh-biggest online poker winner of the year with almost $1.4 million in positive earnings.
D’Auteuil boosted his bankroll largely at the high stakes PLO tables, though plenty of action occurred in $50 / $100 NLHE as well.
Directly behind D’Auteuil was Peter “GARFIELD25″ Chan, who played a relatively prolific 8,145 hands to win over $377k. He actually earned $485k on Tuesday alone, enough to nearly erase the half-million deficit he accumulated over the course of the year. Chan would’ve been the top earner of the week if not for a $106k pot that he lost late to D’Auteuil.
“!P0krparty!,” an unidentified player believed to be Harry Kaczka, had an excellent week as well with $230k in profit. His volume towered over everyone else’s, with over 22.5k hands across 133 sessions. Finally there was Ville Wahlbeck, earning over $210k after 2,256 hands.
Just as many big-name poker pros were deep in the red last week. The worst performer was Rui “PepperoniF” Cao, who lost $194k after playing 6,629 hands. Brian Hastings experienced a rare losing week as well, dropping $126k after a relatively paltry 1,600 hands. Much of Hastings’ money went directly to Chan, though Phil Galfond contributed a fair portion as well.
Typically a strong performer, Jen “Jeans89″ Kyllonen faltered last week as well with $112k in losses after 3,865 hands. Romain “moirhums” Arnaud, the biggest winner in the prior week, largely canceled his earnings by losing $117k after about 2,000 hands.
Nov 13 2011
Linda Johnson and Barry Greenstein join poker greats in HOF
written by: Steve Comments: Comments Off
On Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, Nevada the Poker Hall of Fame grew by two more members as Linda Johnson and Barry Greenstein were rewarded for a lifetime of achievements and contributions to the world of poker by being inducted into the very exclusive club.
The Poker Hall of Fame is an elite club, and even with this year’s two inductees the Poker HOF totals only 42 members. Johnson and Greenstein are not only successful poker players (Greenstein one of the game’s all-time greats) but also active contributors to the poker community, and held in the highest esteem by their peers.
Mike Sexton had the honor of introducing Linda Johnson, laying out her roles with Card Player Magazine, the Tournament Directors Association, the charity Poker Gives, and the World Poker Tour as well as her poker resume which includes an open WSOP bracelet.
Greenstein was introduced by his good friend and long-time high-stakes rival Doyle Brunson, who would have needed two speeches to list the career accomplishments of Greenstein, including authoring the book Ace on the River, and his generous donations to numerous charities, including all of his tournament winnings in recent years.
Here is a look at the 42 Poker Hall of Fame members:
- Johnny Moss
- Nick “The Greek” Dandolos
- Felton “Corky” McCorquodale
- Red Winn
- Sid Wyman
- James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok
- Edmond Hoyle
- Blondie Forbes
- Bill Boyd
- Tom Abdo
- Joe Bernstein
- Murph Harrold
- Red Hodges
- Henry Green
- Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson
- Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson
- Jack “Treetop” Straus
- Fred “Sarge” Ferris
- Benny Binion
- David “Chip” Reese
- Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston
- Jack Keller
- Julius Oral Popwell
- Roger Moore
- Stu “The Kid” Ungar
- Lyle Berman
- Johnny “The Orient Express” Chan
- Bobby “The Owl” Baldwin
- Berry Johnston
- Jack Binion
- Crandell “Dandy” Addington
- T.J. Cloutier
- Billy Baxter
- Barbara Enright
- Phil Hellmuth
- Dewey Tomko
- Henry Orenstein
- Mike Sexton
- Dan Harrington
- Erik Seidel
- Linda Johnson
- Barry Greenstein
Comments Off - Click Here to Speak Up