As if this is any surprise Full Tilt Poker makes yet another huge signing in adding Annette Obrestad to their already stellar line up. Full Tilt Poker is home to Pros like Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer and Tom “Durrrr” Dwan. Obrestad, who turned 21 this year, will be participating in her first WSOP this year. I have to admit that this is going to be a VERY interesting WSOP with Obrestad being involved. There is going to be a lot of press following her every move. Plus she is likely to be playing a lot of the No Limit events which will really give us an idea of how she fits into things in the uber large WSOP fields. I am looking forward to it!

You asked for it and now you got it! Full Tilt Poker now offers Rush Poker tournaments. The boom continues as the players refused to relent in demanding Rush Poker tournaments. Now Full Tilt has given them what they want. The announcement came down yesterday and the response has been outstanding from the jump. The format is just a little different than we are used to when it gets down to 10 players though. The play will continue with four-handed play as players are rotated in and out until the field plays down to heads up. There is no hand-to-hand play as in normal tournaments and no bubble either. When the field is down to 28 players tables will play with 7 players each until the field plays down to the final 10.

A little different format than we are used to. Adjustments will need to be made in play but all in all it is still a great idea and will likely do very well.

The Final Table reverts to the normal final table you see and is also the only way you can observe a Rush Poker tournament. Sounds like fun!

With the ongoing investigation over at Full Tilt you have to wonder just what is next for U.S. facing poker rooms like UB, Absolute and Pokerstars. Is this all about scaring poker rooms or will there really be some serious punitive actions taken by the feds? Considering that there has been nothing done thus far over the past year since the UIGEA was announced I suppose you could make an argument that online poker players will continue to play with impunity. But all it takes is one episode of a room closing down and the rest will likely fall like domino’s for fear of retribution by the U.S. government. Remember, there is a reason PartyPoker is no longer U.S. facing and I wouldn’t be surprised if U.S. players are forced out online poker all together if they really do go after Lederer, Ferguson and Ivey with indictments.

Believe me folks. A lot of very interested players and business people are watching this scenario very closely.

I know it probably is not very shocking to hear but Full Tilt Pros are now under federal investigation and possible indictments are to follow. A federal grand jury in Manhattan is looking into whether Full Tilt Pros are part of a money laundering scheme. Of course the feds are going after big names like Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer and the like. The genesis of this scenario seems to be from two people in particular that have disputes with Full Tilt. No one knows exactly what the details are in those disputes but it seems like the feds are going to run with it.

My take on this is two fold. Either the feds are very serious about this scenario and other poker rooms are to follow or they are sending a VERY strong message to Full Tilt as well as U.S. facing sites about how they are processing money in relation to the UIGEA.

Only time will tell. We will continue to follow this story as it develops.

Since we last talked I have been extremely busy as you probably have noticed. In any event most of those tasks have been addressed and I can get back to blogging a lot more regularly. The last time we talked I was in the midst of my new conversion to UB poker. Since then I have made 2 more final tables in large multi-table events with 200+ players. I have also been able to climb my way up to Step 5 of the WSOP Main Event ladder. Surprisingly this has been a lot of fun. My previous step experience on PokerStars was like running on a treadmill being knocked back every couple of steps to the point where I simply gave up. This time around has been different. I have both played well and gotten lucky at just the right times. I have only been knocked back once. That is a testimony to my being a better player than I was four years ago for sure. Mistakes and bad plays that I don’t have to make is why I am getting there as much as I should be getting there. I also took down a 3rd place in a 137 player tournament last week too.

Overall, the experience on UB has been what I had anticipated. I expected to cash a lot more and make many more final tables on the same volume of play. Ultimately for me that means larger cashes and more profit. I know a lot of you are wondering how the competition is on UB. Well, in my opinion the UB players are better than the “average” Pokerstars player.

Why?

Because they play small pots and do not automatically fold when they miss the flop or their opponent makes a small bet. Conversely, on Pokerstars you see a lot of pre-flop all-in’s and large raises. That kind of play does happen on UB but not nearly as often as on Pokerstars. I also think the luck factor is lower because people don’t make the same kinds of calls in bad spots as often. When you out play someone you have earned the pot on UB. I had a few adjustments I have made since joining in January but nothing major. I am running quite good and expect to win this WSOP seat.

Curtis III

UB recently announced that they are canceling the Aruba Poker Classic to focus on launching their new $500k weekly guaranteed tournaments. This is good news as it marks the beginning of a new serious of tournaments along with another does of the UB Online Championships that have been so popular. UB is planning on holding the Online Championships twice a year now which puts them on par with similar series on Pokerstars and Full Tilt. UB has also indicated that they will continue to qualify players for major land based tournaments such as the WPT and WSOP.

I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous. Seriously, who wants a professional golfer that is not necessarily associated with his gambling exploits right now to endorse their casino? Apparently online poker room Paddy Power does.  TMZ is reporting that Tiger Woods was offered $75 million to become a sponsored player on the site. The details of the offer are not known but one would think that Paddy Power is raking in quite a bit of money making offers like this.

The kicker is that Woods turned down the deal post haste! Now how may people would do something like that unless they are ridiculously rich? On a more serious note the deal is probably not to Tigers benefit to take at the moment considering his circumstances. I also have to consider the source. TMZ is known for exaggerating stories but my curiosity got the best of me on this one.

Is international online poker coming to an end? That’s seems to be the consensus on Two Plus Two. With countries like Italy, France and now Switzerland either already limiting or preparing to limit online play to only with their own countries this does not bode well for the rest of the online poker countries that are smaller. It likely wouldn’t have nearly the same effect with larger countries like the US but it still is not good for the game. My guess is that it would lead to some of the top tier online players from other countries moving to the US or Germany in order to continue to play against the top competition.

Clearly the United States is looking into legalizing online poker seriously for the first time since the UIGEA went into affect. Obviously the hope of US poker players would be to participate world wide against competition wherever it may be with the ability to play in any and all online poker rooms unrestricted. However, the precedent being established by the smaller countries may influence the decision making in a way that I am not too thrilled with. The US government has been very narrow minded about learning how the business of the game works and why the players want to be free of restrictions on where they can play. If they simply put in the tiniest efforts in understanding the players and began to listen instead of dictate it would go a long way in bridging the chasm between online poker and the US government as we move forward towards legalization.

Like it or not the bad economy is the best thing that could have happened for online poker. No longer can the clowns in D.C. ignore the potential revenue like they have been in the past. Online poker will be legal sooner than later in the U.S. Let’s just hope they get it right the first time.

Once again our government is poking its nose into the poker world and has corralled yet another “person of question” regarding online poker monies. This newest incident took place in Florida with the arrest of  Michael Olaf Schuett’s in relation to online poker money transfers and payments. So far no charges have been made but he is being held nonetheless. The interesting part of this scenario is that Florida has begun looking into online poker and its revenue potential.  Schuett is known for living the “high life” and this may or may not turn out to be poker related. Who knows what this guy is really doing to peak the Secret Services interest. Whatever it is it looks like he could be in big trouble. Hopefully this turns out for the best in regards to the poker world. Unfortunately, the Secret Service is investigating how online poker players get paid for cash outs. I will keep you posted as this story develops.

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.

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.

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.