More and more I am seeing younger poker playing that seem to not be satisfied with playing the game itself. It used to be the older players were the ones doing all the prop betting but now I am seeing kids do it on a regular basis spending almost two and three times their buy-ins on prop bets. It seems like prop betting, making side bets on various activities related to your particular game, are gaining in popularity. Prop bets are nothing new to the game but it used to be only hard core gamblers were into that kind of thing.

In any event I tend to look at prop bets as a fun way to say you have leaks in your game. It makes no difference whether it’s a roulette wheel, black jack or the craps pit. Ultimately those activities take money away from your bankroll and that is why they are called leaks. Conversely, there is nothing inherently wrong with playing any of those games but when you have to do it each and every time you play poker for extended periods of time it becomes a leak and something you need to shut down. Remember, your bankroll is your lifeline. Without it you are out of action and that’s no fun. Protect your bankroll as if it were a new born baby at all times.

I am sure everyone is wondering how things have been since I moved over to Ultimate Bet. To put it mildly things have been great and I am running ridiculously good right now. I recently took down a single table and ran deep again for my second cash in the nightly $10 dollar which usually has 650 or so entries. I finished 16th and 26th respectively and was bad beat out of both poker tournaments.

I also final tabled a smaller 57 entry tournament for a very nice cash and took down 5th place. Basically all of the reasons I gave you guys for my leaving PokerStars have been reinforced even more. My starting bankroll has more than doubled already and I only play tournaments and single tables. Again, the difference being that UB has smaller fields giving me much better percentages to make and take down final tables. The best is yet to come!

Here we go again. It looks like the FBI is sticking their hands back into the world of online poker again. The first time it was with payment processors based in New York. This time around it appears that the FBI has been contacting various Full Tilt customers inquiring as to how they are paid.

No doubt they are either in the process of or have already begun putting together another so called “money laundering” case against the banks that provide checks to online poker players. To say that this is nauseating would be an understatement. Does this mean that U.S. players on any site will now be subjected to being probed by the FBI or other government agencies? This is a tremendous waste of time considering that online poker  will be legal in the very near future. Just take a look at what is happening in California if you are still not sure about the future of online poker in the U.S.

One would certainly think that the FBI has much bigger fish to fry than worrying about an online poker room when there are crimes of epic proportions being commited around the country on a daily basis. Hopefully this too shall pass and the online poker world and those of us that enjoy playing in it can get back to doing what we love to do without being deterred.

“Bring back A.J. Benza!” So goes the cry in the Two Plus Two poker forum. Apparently over 600 forum posters have put together a petition for the return of Mr. Benza. Kara Scott just is not cutting it to put it in a nutshell. This comes as no surprise to me as I have watched the current season and Gabe Kaplan without a “straight man” is rather boring. True, the HSP action is second to none but A.J. brought something to the show that is sadly missed right now. Kara has a lot of experience but very little knowledge about the game itself in my opinion. She is there to dress the show up but brings no additional substance. Her interviews are uncreative and lack depth.

Whatever the case the producers wanted to freshen the show up and this is what we have left. Hopefully the producers of the show will listen. Time will tell.

Yes, it’s that time again. I will be playing in the Majestic Star Deep Stacks poker tournament this coming weekend in Indiana. The tournament usually has around 70 players. The structure has 30 minute levels and starts you out with $9000 chips and $50 / $25 blinds. Its about time for me to break through to the final table having bubbled twice in five tries. I’m looking forward to it!

Foxwoods casino signed Bernard Lee to a sponsorship deal. This is a huge development because it marks the first time that a professional poker player has been signed by a land based casino. Could this be the beginning of a new trend in the poker world? I certainly think it has been long overdue. One would think that this would be yet another enticement for casinos to get in the ongoing marketing game against the all so hated online poker rooms. You can believe that Foxwoods will not be the last of the land based casinos to make this kind of deal.

Bernard Lee is the host of a radio show called “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” and is a well known poker journalist that happens to be a pretty good poker player too with over $750k in tournament winnings. This is great news for the poker world and we wish Bernard the best in his new endeavors as a sponsored player.

If you hadn’t noticed already ESPN is now broadcasting the WSOPE Main Event Championship and it has been a blast to watch. The tournament is still in the early stages and nothing too dramatic has taken place but it has been a lot of fun watching Brunson, Obrestad, Bloch and many others go at it on the TV table. So be sure to tune in. Here is the upcoming broadcast schedule:

Sunday, February 14th: 11:00pm ET
Monday, February 15th: 12:00am ET
Monday, February 15th: 1:00am ET
Sunday, February 28th: 9:00pm ET
Sunday, February 28th: 10:00pm ET

Enjoy!

It looks like the party poopers at MasterCard  are at it again. They have discovered how the online poker sites are processing online transactions and decrypted the code. That means for those US poker players that were using MC to deposit can no longer do so. My guess is that Visa is not far behind. Your best choice for depositing online if you are a US poker player is Western Union or e-Wallet. They are both easy to use and your deposit will show up in your online poker account in a matter of minutes.

Yes, that’s what the rumblings are in the cyber poker world. It looks like former NBA world champion Dennis Rodman is a possible online poker host for Online Poker. Dennis can be seen on “Rehab with Dr. Drew.” That’s not exactly the kind of segue you want to see in a potential host but to each is own. I hope they know what they are getting themselves into.

Last year was an incredible learning experience. I got an opportunity to communicate with many of the editors of poker magazines that I have been reading for years. Some of that communication came from personal requests and others I solicited myself. In any event the experience and feedback has been extremely valuable in helping me to mold my writing into an even more viable “product” moving forward. I suppose the most fulfilling accomplishment was being hired as a regular writer with Oz Poker last year. Any time a web site comes and asks you to participate in a new venture and believes in your ability to communicate this great game to the masses it is an honor.

The fact of the matter is that those of us that writer articles for the larger poker web sites are very fortunate. I have been doing so for over two years now and I am still very thankful to be able to work and get paid for doing something that I have a love and passion for. Clearly the game of poker is and has been evolving over the years with all of the new faces and the aggressive style of play. It takes a lot of work to keep up with those faces and all of the goings-on in the poker world but I am still having the time of my life doing it. True, I am not playing nearly as much as I used to but that is a trade off I accepted a long time ago. In return I get to write my own blog and share my passion for the game with others.

It doesn’t get much better than that.