AP Rakeback Dark Cash Game Season 5 Episode 67
In Episode 67 4/4 of Poker After Dark the Cash Game, you can see the amazing thought process in the eyes of Phil Ivey. Phil Ivey is regarded as the best Online Poker Skill Games player in the world right now and is coming into this cash game right after making it to the final table of [...]

Virgin PokerStars.com issues challenge to prove that poker is a game of skill

South Carolina poker call to action
I am naturally suspicious of people who use phrases like “call to action.” It’s one of those marketeer phrases that makes me cringe. That said, if you are a South Carolina poker player or one who travels here to play in some of the best home games around, you should be interested in this. Moreover, if you live in Greenville, South Carolina and don’t join me on Monday night, you don’t care about poker and your right to play it. Monday March 30 at 5:30pm, South Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell will be holding two public hearings on a bill that would legalize home poker games and also expand charity gaming (including charity poker tournaments) in South Carolina. I will be there and you should be, too. Here’s why. Every Monday night I play in the best home game I’ve ever known. The action is great, the location is perfect, and the players are great people. The game has been running for years and shows no signs of dying off. There are games like it all over the state–friendly folks who just want to play cards in a safe environment. Under South Carolina law, local law enforcement could come in at any time and cite every player for violating the state’s gaming law. That we’ve never been raided is no great comfort. Even though this is a friendly game where the only rake goes to pay for drinks and snacks, it is still illegal. And if you think the local constabulary won’t bust a game of this sort, you are sadly mistaken. Last month I covered the trial of five people who were playing in a $20 max-buy no-limit hold’em game in Mt. Pleasant. The max rake on the game was 50 cents and the house owner, according to several people who testified, stopped taking rake the moment he had enough to cover the pizza and beer. The players were put on trial and, despite the magistrate’s obvious distaste for the law, convicted. [See the April issue of Bluff Magazine for my article on the trial.] A few years back, I held what was then my annual Bradoween poker tournament. It was not a huge affair. We had 43 people from around the country in town and crowded into my small house. The buy-in was insignificant and I charged no juice. People from other states laughed at me when I took the buy-in cash to my neighbor’s house and left it there. They laughed harder when I programmed my police scanner to listen for a raid and put a couple friends outside to watch the door. If I had watched myself that day, I might have laughed, too. It was ridiculous. It was a game among friends that wasn’t even charging for the BBQ and sweet tea. Still, if the raid on a similar game in Greer (a nearby suburb) a couple months before was any indication, I stood an uncomfortable chance of getting busted. It had happened to one of my friends just weeks before. He’d been playing in a similar game and had been handcuffed in front of his wife and kids. To people in less-antiquated states, this probably seems inconceivable. The simple fact i this: playing any game with cards or dice in South Carolina (read: Monopoly, bridge, poker, etc) is illegal. President Pro Tempore Glenn F. McConnell, a Republican from Charleston County, wants to change that. His bill would decriminalize social gambling (including poker) in a private homes where no rake is taken. It would also allow for charity poker tournaments for churches and charities like the Lions and Elks Clubs. Opponents of the bill suggest that opening the door to kitchen table poker is the equivalent of opening up the state border to the likes of MGM and Harrah’s casinos. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You can read the full text of the bill HERE. The language is specific, more restrictive than even I would like, and would in no way allow for casinos in the Palmetto State. All of the above is to say nothing of the rampant hypocrisy surrounding the debate. South Carolina is a lottery state. The South Carolina Education Lottery program is lauded by many of the same people who fight against decriminalizing home poker games. It’s nearly impossible to go to a convenience store or turn on a T
V without seeing an ad for South Carolina scratch-off tickets or Powerball jackpots. Make no mistake: South Carolina is, in fact, a gambling state, as long as the state is taking the rake. McConnell held a hearing on his bill in Charleston last week. If news reports are to be believed, the pro-poker crowd outnumbered the anti-poker folks by 20-1. The Greenville hearing could be a lot different. The Upstate of South Carolina is a great deal more conservative than the Midlands and Low Country. In the past, I’ve seen giant protests over similar issues. Even the legislators are worried about bringing the issue to Greenville. Said Senator Robert Ford to Charleston poker players, “Y’all get a couple of buses. I’m always afraid of Greenville on these kinds of issues.” It’s my hope that we won’t need Charleston poker players to defend our rights to play in Greenville. I know there are hundreds of poker enthusiasts in the Upstate who care about this issue. The question is, do you care enough to show your support in public? You don’t have to speak. You don’t even have to give your name. You only have to show up. It won’t take but a couple hours out of your day. I know poker is a solitary pursuit, but the battle to legalize it is not. Don’t be the kind of player who complains but does nothing to remedy the situation. If you don’t show up, don’t complain about the law. When you finally have Republicans and Democrats agreeing something needs to be done about the antiquated South Carolina gambling laws, you know it’s time to give just a little bit of yourself. So, you coming? Monday, March 30th 5:30-7:30 pm Greenville County Council Chambers 301 University Ridge Greenville, SC 29601 The South Carolina Poker Players Alliance is trying to get a good idea on who might come. If you’d like to RSVP for the hearing, you can do so HERE. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment here or send them to my e-mail address: rapideyereality — @ — gmail dot com

Those who wish to play different games at online William hill casino need to join them first before they can try their hand at various games. It would be best to check around and find an online casino site such as Online Casino King which offers nice sign-up bonuses to new members. Once you sign-up with a casino and deposit money, you can start playing the game of your choice. Some online casinos offer free games, so newcomers can brush up on their skills before placing any bets. There are various games available at online casinos; blackjack, craps, video poker, Ladbrokes Bingo, online roulette, slots, backgammon, online pool, baccarat, keno, Caribbean stud and lots more. Casino owners keep on adding new games, so members have greater choice while playing here as compared to land based casinos. Online casinos have better payouts as compared to brick and mortar casinos, as they have lower overhead costs.

Winner Poker is in Search of its Top 30 Players
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Poker Cup Australia 2008
Titan Poker is proud to announce the Poker Cup Australia Super Satellite Series awarding one or more skillful poker players with a seat(s) to the upcoming Australia Poker Cup 2008, which will be staged from October 12th – October 20th, 2008 at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/Poker_Promotions/Poker_Cup_Australia_2008.html

While there’s a ton of instructional info on the web to give you all the strategies and tips for playing your best, I’d like to focus on ways of getting the most fun out of playing holdem at home. Our perspective is that holdem is simply fun to play. We’re not doing it as a means of income, but we’re playing for entertainment purposes. The competitive aspects of friendly poker are no different than you’d find in your weekend golf or tennis game.

It’s simply nothing more than having a great time with friends or family at home. So, let’s look at some of the things that can make it even more fun.

Create The Atmosphere…

The first way to enhance our fun is to create the proper atmosphere. No, we’re not going to build a room that will hold the World Series of Poker or the World Poker Tour. But, without a lot of trouble and not too much expense, we can create our own poker room environment.

Before we begin, I’ll state the obvious and suggest you get some high quality poker chips. Personally, I prefer medium heavy, clay poker chips. They’re more fun to play with, add to the game, and you can do all the neat chip riffles you see on TV that don’t work with cheap, plastic chips. Plus, they’re just cool.

Next, consider getting a poker table. While the dining room table may work, you can add greatly to your game by having a genuine holdem poker table. They come in all price ranges. You can get an inexpensive table-top that you simply put on top of whatever table you’re using. They have the look of a real table but at a fraction of the cost.

But, if you’re really into your poker and can justify the cost, there’s some beautiful looking poker tables that are a genuine piece of furniture. They are not only the best way to play, but they can be quite striking as furniture in a recreation room.

Now, if you’ve got a very nice table, how about adding a neat light above it? One that’s tailor made for playing cards. All kinds of choices from Tiffany lamps to poker lamps.

If you’re going to go all out for your game room, here’s a few ideas that really add that special touch.

-Jukebox

-Popcorn machine

-Dart game

-Electronic dart game

-Pinball machine

-Foosball

-Posters of poker champions or your favorite players

-Poker wall art

Neat Accessories…

If you want to dress up your game without spending a lot of money, here’s a few more ideas.

How about poker buttons to help the beginners? You can get a set of buttons which include the dealer button and one for the small and big blind. It can help remind beginners when they have to ante up and where the play begins.

Shoes for dealing cards and card shufflers are also inexpensive, but functional items as well. Or how about a deck of World Poker Tour playing cards. It’ll give you that “official” look.

You also might want to consider a chip case. Or get the entire chip set including a classy aluminum or wood case. If you have large games, you can buy packages that have as many chips as you’ll need. How many chips are needed is covered in another article or you can do a web search.

So, these are just a few ideas to help you have the absolute most fun from playing poker with your friends. Factor in the enjoyment factor and how much you’re willing to spend, then decide which of these ideas fit best into your entertainment plans.

Note:

This article may be freely distributed so long as the author’s information, copyright, and any active links (where possible) are included. A complimentary copy of any newsletter or a link to the website using this article would be greatly appreciated.

Copyright 2005 Expert Infoproducts LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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PokerTime $200,000 Rake Race
Are you the only one at your very own Halloween poker bash? Everyone else is at the PokerTime $200,000 Rake Race (the biggest poker leaderboard on the net), sinking their teeth into some great action! Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/Poker_Promotions/PokerTime_200000_RakeRace.html

Aussie Millions 2010 – Qualify at Ladbrokes Poker
Join some of the biggest names in poker by qualifying with Ladbrokes for as little as 4. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/Poker_Promotions/Aussie_Millions_2010_Qualify_at_Ladbrokes_Poker.html

Poker is famous for bringing out the worst in people although it cannot be discounted that some poker players have been better persons than they were before they started playing. Poker is an amusing game that requires basic mathematical skills and almost always ends up negatively for the mainstream participants because of the scrape implicated with the game. Its unfortunate thought that magnificence of poker just happens to be the tragedy of most poker players.

Poker is saturated with players who get successful for a while and misconstrue their short-range victory as an acceptable standard for their future income. While the flow of creativity is very fluid among seasoned and amateur players, common sense is not very common. An authentic poker player can be determined in relation to how he/she behaves in a nasty run.

Financial management and hard work will get you to last more than a couple of months in the game of poker. You have to play within your means although this is a fact that most poker players tend to ignore. It’s an ambush that new poker players must be wise enough to dodge. Play the lowest possible stakes that you can realistically justify and ingest your ego. Learn this and you are sure to be an eventual winning poker player.

Seasoned full time poker players cannot rationalize playing at stakes that are inconsequential to them. On the other hand, casual players are not hampered by the pressing, relentless responsibility to make a dollar. Time and money are worthy investments. They are the most formidable artillery of an improving player at his/her disposal. Time should be the same for everyone, but money does matter. Your ego may tell you not to play on a nickel-and-dime game and stay there for weeks on end just to enhance your game on a small deposit, but it would prepare you for bigger games when you are all set.

Most people who jump start their poker career assume that when they win, they are knowledgeable and talented enough. But in fact, they are not. Nearly everyone in the poker table can reminisce their memories and find within their poker careers moments when something actually clicked for them. These moments would differ but most would agree that it was the time when each discovered that winning poker was actual work.

Playing poker casually or for a living and making profit is not entirely impossible. When you can say that you are making progress, what’s when you realize that poker is a game of effort.

Remember, there are infinite resources available to poker players who want to join the game and try their capabilities at making money. Time, money and the proper management of the two can really get you ahead.

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888day: The BIG payday!
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ECPokerTour Barcelona Satellite Tournaments
Online poker players will compete for representing Titan Poker at the 500,000 Guaranteed Prize tournament, part of Europes most exclusive live poker series. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/Poker_Promotions/ECPokerTour_Barcelona_Satellite_Tournaments.html

Series of Poker prize package from 888poker
888poker in Canada is offering its Canadian players the chance of a lifetime to make the transition to pro. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/Poker_Promotions/wsop_prize_package_888poker.html

Free money means that you are playing on the casino money and not your own. There are hundreds, if not thousands of online casinos. Some of them are full service casinos that offer the same variety of games that you are used to seeing at an off line casino. If you like hot casino action, you can take advantage of these casinos as well as the free money they are giving you to place a bet with them. When casinos offer free money to players, they are doing so with the hopes that the players will want to continue playing with them at the casino.

You should take a good look at the casinos that are offering the free money before you accept the bonuses that they are offering. You can also discover more about the casinos by reading reviews about them. You can find an internet site that will teach you everything that you need to know about the casinos and then make your decision from there as to which you want to visit. Take a look at whether or not they are using software that is compatible with your computer, if you have to download the software or play with a flash player or if the software will work with your system. After that, you can narrow your search as to which of the casinos will be the best for you when you are playing and looking for free money.

In addition, you need to know what the free money is for when you are using it for casinos. You are going to want to know how you can use the free money in the casinos and which games it will let you play. The money is only good if you can use it to play the games that you want. You are better off to use casinos that have the biggest variety of games, even if they are giving less free money than other casinos that may prohibit the type of games that you can play when you are using their bonuses. The more freedom you get when it comes to the casinos and how you can play, as well as the games that they offer, the more fun you will have when you are entertaining yourself with internet gambling. You want to be sure that you have a good time when you are gambling online and make the most of any bonuses offered.

Traffic is the very first thing that one should look forward to while selecting the best poker room. See how many poker players are there with searching in the poker room lobbies as well. The lobbies should provide a wide variety of games including the Texas Holdem and even have a huge amount of tables. When surveying these poker lobbies, look out for the various limit levels and the various buy-in amounts. Also, one should be aware of what all a poker room is offering you.

Every person is different and the most effective poker room for a player can depend on his or her specific needs and preferences. In case you are a player who loves playing different forms of poker, it is better to look forward to the poker room that provides numerous styles to play. While there are other players as well who love playing just a single style like the Texas Holdem and therefore such people should consider the rooms that are specialized in offering the particular poker style. In addition, when looking for the reputed poker room, you need to make certain that you know the rules of that room well in advance. Ensure that the poker room has those rules that you can live with before actually playing.

Indeed, another thing to ensure is the security offered by the particular room. Protection against the illegal tampering and security against collusion is important to note. Also, the beginners should be extra careful while choosing a room to play poker at. without proper protection features, the players cannot be well assure that the personal data and payment details are not being copied from the poker site and all the details stream from one poker player or room to the other. While selecting the best poker room, game flow and graphics are other important points worth noticing. You wish to make certain that while playing, the poker game runs really smooth without any crashing. Most Texas Holdem poker rooms highlight the flaws just after 15 minutes of the play. Talking about the room graphics, ensure that you are really comfortable with layouts as well as overall look of that poker room. It is actually no fun playing at the table that distracts you from your strategies and skills.

At last, select the rooms offering special bonuses and packages to the online poker players. This is actually beneficial to the players who love playing large and deep betting amounts. There are even some sites that provide the sign up bonus which the players can take benefit of. Be extra careful regarding such bonuses as they are just made to lure the players.

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Michael Mizrachi Bio
Michael Mizrachi is an American professional poker player, born in Miami Florida January 5th 1981. Poker blood runs right through the Mizrachi family his brother Robert has had some moderate success on the professional poker tour, and has a twin brother Eric who plays as well. Some people might say Michael’s game is magical, his [...]