Archive for January, 2009
Jan
27
Joining a poker game is not all that difficult and the easiest way is to play online through one of the many online gaming sites. There are lots of accredited names, one of which is the well respected company Ladbrokes. Ladbrokes is a name that is well-known throughout the UK, being the overall largest betting company in the British Isles and the largest retail bookmaker in the world, owning over 2,000 retail betting stores spread across Ireland, the UK and Belgium.
Joining a gaming site such as this can bring a number of advantages such as attractive bonus options and top promotions. Many such as Ladbrokes have attractive online poker rooms and can attract around 1,000 players to their tables with the No Limit Texas Holdem tables attracting the most action, centered on the micro to low limits. Of course all the operators offer all of the poker games and many feature chat facilities with email and phone support for their customers.
A recent ruling by a Pennsylvania judge on the 16th January 2009 ruled that the poker game Texas Hold ‘EM is a game of skill and under the state law is therefore not gambling. This could have important implications in other states as it is expected that this ruling will be cited when prosecutions are brought under laws in other states.
It is believed that this will have a direct effect on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which was approved in the United States congress in 2006. It is this federal law that allows the various states to determine what is unlawful within their borders, and most states make a sharp distinction between what is a game of chance and what is a game of skill. Clearly if it is considered that gambling is based upon chance, then a game of skill cannot be considered to be gambling.
The Crown Casino poker room in Melbourne Australia saw the 2009 “Aussie Millions” poker event number 8 begin for the chase towards the 41.2 million top prize. The day I AUD$100,000 “high Rollers” no limit event began with top players such as Erik Seidel, John Juanda, Phil Ivey, Nam Le, Gus Hansen, and JC Tran, were evident on the days play.
Feature of this tournament is the “speed poker” format, where players had 30 seconds to act before their hands were killed. The action was fast-paced, as several of the big names headed to the rail in the first few levels and the betting was the pot limit pre-flop and no limit after the flop.
After the breakneck pace that was seen on day 1, the second day started more slowly and David Steicke entered the day’s action with the lead, soon to be lost early in the day but he came back in style to begin his elimination of all but one of his opponents on the way to claim the Raymond Weil winner’s watch and the $1.2 million top prize.