Sep 30, 2015 | News
Paddy, whose full name is Patrick Hicks, passed away last Saturday the 26th. Paddy has been in the poker arena for decades and had grown to become part and parcel of the Irish poker community. His popular stake out was Fitzwilliam Card Club within Dublin, where his presence will be greatly missed. He lived in Hamilton Street.
Paddy, who is survived by his children, Billy; Sharon; Yvonne; as well as Paula, was not just admired at the poker tables for his playing prowess. He was also popular away from the games. He had an admirable demeanour that drew people to him. Whether he was playing Irish poker or the conventional poker as known worldwide, Paddy was evidently an experienced hand.
Is Irish Poker any different?
Well, Irish Poker is one variant of Hold’em, which has protocols most poker players are familiar with. It, obviously, has its distinct features, like the player being dealt 4-hole cards in place of 2 pre-flop; two of which are soon discarded – actually immediately following the flop round of the betting. This form of poker is offered both as a No Limit format as well as a Pot Limit format.
During this mourning period, both online poker players and those who play in casinos and other brick and mortar venues within Ireland are united in remembering one of their own. Paddy’s demise follows that of another elderly Irish poker player, Liam Flood, who passed away slightly over a year ago. Liam was also admired as a gentleman. In fact, his nickname was ‘The Gentleman’.
Liam left an indelible mark on the poker scene in Ireland, having played a major role in the establishment of the Irish Poker Open Tournament. His prowess as a poker player was also underlined by his two major winnings of the tournament – in 1990 as well as 1996. He passed away at 71yrs of age.
Both Patrick and Liam were poker veterans who could pride themselves with having witnessed the evolvement of the poker scene in Ireland, from the betting game of a relatively small community to becoming a popular game for people of all walks of life. That does, in no way, mean that playing of poker has ever been curtailed in Ireland, but it has had its hiccups too, like in many other countries.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Irish have always had a liking for poker, more or less like their beer, the state laws on gambling became a little too tight in 1956, and a good number of casinos closed down. However, as the saying goes, where there is will there is a way. The Irish were keen to identify loopholes in their new state poker law. Shrewd operators opened gambling venues in the name of clubs and thus returned poker and other gambling activities with a bang. Of course, today, casinos in Ireland operate without concealing the fact that they are gambling arenas, and there are fourteen of them well established and buzzing with betting activity.
Today, as Ireland’s poker fraternity remembers with admiration the life of Patrick Hicks, the elderly folk cannot miss to relish the long way they have traveled, with online poker and other online gambling activities becoming accessible to gaming lovers in addition to the games in brick and mortar casinos. Ireland is way ahead of many countries when it comes to the vibrancy of poker. One may wish to point out, for example, that poker players have opportunity to play or watch live poker in eight well established casinos. In fact, the Emerald Casino, which is said to be Ireland’s largest and situated within Dublin, boasts of 24 games tables; 24 gaming machines; plus 22 poker tables.
Sep 29, 2015 | Article
2015 marks the year for the awareness of poker games. Technology has taken things to the next amazing level. Live streaming of Poker is going to attract hundreds of Poker fans. Twitch T.V has made its name in the cosmos of live poker streaming but still it lacks the depth, some minor and major software changes need to be done to make the live streaming attractive enough for the players.
Visualize! The world where you can access poker’s live streaming just in seconds. Pokers fans you are going to experience a new thrill, a new excitement. You imagination has taken the physical shape via Periscope.
Must be wondering what periscope is! Periscope is an app that has made feasible for you to enjoy the live streaming via your smart phones. For poker fans smart phones were never smarter before the development of this great app.
A lot has been done in the technology, what else can be better than seeing the live streaming of poker? Nothing can be! Moreover without leaving the comfort of your homes you can access the live streaming on your smartphones.
All you need to know about Periscope
This live streaming app is available for iOS and Android users. There are many apps with the restriction of availability some apps are available on iTunes while some on Google playstore which create problems for the people but now poker fans won’t face any such problem either they are android users or iOS fans they will get access in both ways.
Just with a single command the live streaming starts, moreover to keep record of anything they can use their smartphones as video cameras.
Some flaws of Periscope
Other side of the story has some twists and turns, still live streaming technologies have given significant amount to challenges to the poker industry.
Live streaming can bring huge differences between the poker players and casino staff because of security threats. There is a possibility that the information get transmitted in real time which is of course ain’t good for the integrity of live poker. Moreover poker players might lose their trust in such casinos which will result in huge loss to the gambling world.
Stop it! before it goes viral
During live streaming the differences between players and casino staff can easily go live. Once it goes viral then nothing can stop it because all of us are aware of the power of YouTube. Billions of people can watch the dispute which results in losing the faith in that particular casino. On the whole still they are unable to find a single solution for this issue, hopefully in near future new advancement may take pace and come out with a logical solution.
Bottom Line
There is continues discussion going on social media regarding periscope and people seem to be much active especially on Twitter. All in all it is good to enjoy the live streaming but in case of any dispute between the players and casino staff it won’t be good for their reputation because once it goes viral then it is impossible enough to counter it.
We still can’t guess what the future holds for periscope but if we talk about live streaming then there are many others apps in the construction phase. We can stop one or two apps but it won’t work for all because banning the entry of Smartphone users is not a solution to this problem.
It’s the time for you to join the discussion and come up with suggestions may be you will come up with any solution.
Sep 29, 2015 | News
Recently, Mike McDonald, alias Timex almost skipped playing the WCOOP 51K USD Super High Roller, but rather opted to play and apparently he is now leading the pack of the last eight. Mike had decided against playing in the biggest buy-in tournament the world has ever witnessed but opted to go on with the game. To prove his instincts right, Timex, as he loves to be referred to in game of luck was atop the final eight players in the 2015 Poker Stars World Championships of Online poker 51K USD Super High Roller.
According to Mike McDonald, the issue of him registering late for the game was not an issue that was to be taking with lots of weight as such. Apparently, he argues that he does not feel good playing deep stack or even wanting to make an entrance sort of a thing. It was just that Mike McDonald had from the first day of the tournament thought that it was much tougher than he had actually experienced it. Ideally, Mike thought that it was going to be tough in the sense that most super high rollers were quite competitive in essence. However, this one was a tough one in the sense that he average player was quite good at it. Therefore, Mike saw quite a challenge and that is perhaps the reason why he was hesitant to register in the first case.
Mike McDonald said that in the last 30 to 45 minutes of registration, a number of several weaker players came to register as well as the chip were more towards the weaker in players in the poker field. Even in the event of these happenings, Mike argues that he had no idea how exactly he would fare in the field at the end. According to poker news, there was a time that Mike thought that he was quite confident not to play at all. However, things turned around suddenly and then he just decided to hop in and make the plunge.
The other notable players who were with McDonald in the last eight of the Super High Roller include Jose Angel Latorre, David Peters, Tollerence Holz, Nikita Bodyakovski and Cuffme. When the players will be returning to PokerStars on Monday noontime, the blinds would be set at 1000/2000 with a rather 250 ante and then the top 6 spots will play out. The mini-cash winning would be worth $126500 but there definitely are some two players who will at the end of it all being going home empty handed at the end of Day 2. The winner will subsequently get $851000 and as things stand currently, McDonald has just positioned himself rightly to take the title at the end of the event.
Notably, after Day 1 which attracted a total of 46 entries to the field, McDonald took some period of time to chat with poker news journalists about how he felt about the event and what exactly would be his prospects in the near future with regards to playing poker.
Some of the notable poker players that were bundled out at the end of Day 1 include Nick Petrangelo, Daniel Colman, Thomas Muehloecker, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, Dzmitry Urbanovich and Doug Polk. It is also advisable to stay tuned so as to get all the latest poker news with regards to Mike McDonald’s progress and that of the other poker players. By the end of the day on Monday, it is expected that some changes would be seen on the log but Mike McDonald is likely to retain his place at the apex. One of the notable players of his times, Mike is no doubt having a great time in this case. It is good to keep watching and staying updated so as to get the most ideal details in essence.
Sep 29, 2015 | News
Poker news just in is that Archie Karas, a famed gambler has since been placed in the Black Book, also referred to as the list of excluded persons. Having been one of poker’s most legendary gamblers, this is news that has been received with shock and disbelief in equal measure all over Nevada Casinos and more so in other parts of the world.
One Anargyros Karabourniotis, herein referred to as Archie Karas is ideally the so-called stuff of legends. The man has been gambling and playing poker for as long as anyone could imagine and therefore the news of his ban is something that has been quite outstanding to many. From the year 1992 to the year 1994, Archie Karas is said to have turned $50 to more than $40 million in what is even up to date referred to as “The Run.”
During that duration, Karas is said to have defeated some of the best names in poker. These included Chip Reese, Stu Ungar and Doyle Brunson just to name but a few. In fact, it is good to note that only Johnny Chan was able to beat Karas at the time by reportedly $900000 from the revered poker player.
Unfortunately, for the once legendary gambler, his heater came to an end and subsequently he proceeded to lose almost everything over the next two years. Today, more than 2 decades later, his fall from grace has been going from bad to worse. Just recently, he was placed in the unwanted Nevada Black Book that is officially known as the List of Excluded Persons.
According to poker news released by the Las Vegas Review Journal, the gaming commission in Nevada voted unanimously in order to make Karas, currently 64 years old the 33rd entity in the list of shame. Again, Karas who happened not to have attended the hearing in order to defend himself might face criminal charges if he entered any Casino in Nevada.
So, what caused Karas to be included in this list?
Well, he was included in the list according to experts as a result of committing numerous transgressions. The most recent of those transgressions came in the September of 2013 whereby he was arrested for cheating at blackjack when playing poker at the Barona Casino in the eastern parts of San Diego. Eventually, the man himself was found guilty and subsequently sentenced to three years in probation. Prior to that incident, Karas had also been arrested about four times within Nevada from the year 1988 for the same offence of cheating and blackjack.
From these details and other poker news, there is no doubt that Karas is a man in great trouble. He has been involved in cheating for quite some time and this is the main reason as to why he has since found himself in the list of shame. A legendary gambler of his caliber would never want to get into such a mess but according to many experts, this occurrence is his own making. He has made cheating at blackjack a common issue for him and he always gets arrested when he commits the offence and therefore it is only prudent that he corrects this way of life.
Considerably, Karas has more than $205000 in terms of lifetime tournament earnings and seven cashes from the World Series of Poker. Notably, the largest score of his entire career came during the 2009 WSOP whereby he took the fifth position in the $10000 World championships no limit deuce to seven draws for an amount totaling $53783. Of course, after this aspect of being black listed, he would never be able to attend any future WSOPs and that simply means that he is done as a gambler considering the many times that he has found himself on the wrong side of the law.
Sep 28, 2015 | Article
Over the past one decade, Brazil has been going through a very serious budget crisis. Every other year, budget deficits have been a thorn in the flesh that has only served to hurt the economy of the country as a whole. Due to these developments, the government of Brazil is now considering a way out of this mess. Among the many options that the government has been considering in recent years, passing gaming legislation with regards to poker has been an outstanding option.
Brazil’s budget crisis might just be the perfect catalyst to a bill that aims to pass and legalize online gaming in the country. It is in the interest of balancing the national budget that the government has been considering the possibility of passing legislation for online gaming regulation in order to aid the country out of this mess. Brazil’s budget that was recently presented by President Dilma Rousseff includes a major $17 billion in terms of spending cuts. With these issues, there is no denying that the budget of the country requires some serious balancing work.
According to one poker industry pro called Jocelyn Wood, the president of Brazil just recently conducted a high level meeting with senior ministers and a range of other leaders in her political coalition with a view of gauging the amount of support that the new legislation might enjoy for it to be passed in the house. The legislation is solely aimed at taxing and regulating the online gaming arena in order to make sure that there are no major imbalances in the national budget in the near future.
These latest developments represent a perfect turnaround from the most recent events whereby the country has been plunged into turmoil mainly by unsustainable budget. In August, the country not only outlawed the playing of online poker in public but the president also came up with a bill that will aim to allow for regulated online sport wagering in the country. This again is an aspect that the members of parliament and senate need to look into in this regard.
Presumably, the idea of whether or not the country ought to pass this online gaming legislation in the country has been a very controversial issue. Those who are supporting the regulation like one Senator Ciro Nogueira pointed out clearly that the prohibition of online poker might not be as effective as many might be made to think. There is a considerable amount of revenue that the country can get from this gaming industry and therefore regulating, rather than eliminating will be the right decision to make.
In that same regard, Senator Noguiera introduced a bill in the month of July 2014 which was proposing that there be taxation of all kinds of gambling. The idea behind this was that it could assist the government in instances of financial crisis. Research shows that if this gaming industry is regulated, it might bring to the country new revenues in excess of R$15 billion per annum.
Additionally, Senator Noguiera also pointed out that there is no prohibitive approach to gambling that was being championed through the said bill. Again, no one will give up playing poker even if it is regulated or forbidden. It is therefore prudent to only make sure that the industry remains regulated so that it can compete fairly with the other major industries in the country.
It is important to note that the current anti-gambling legislation did not in any manner stop gambling in the country. Moreover, the clandestine market, as many people here love to call it is known to move in excess of R$18 billion every other year. Whereas there are many championing for the passing of the online gaming sector in the country, there is also a considerable number, especially in the religious sector that are morally against the whole idea of online gaming and regulating poker altogether.
