November 2011

Getting Past The Dark Clouds

Normally the month of November is one of celebration for poker. The November Nine, the Poker Hall of Fame inductions and the crowning of a new World Champion have made November a special one for poker players, fans and media. 2011 is different. The dark clouds of Black Friday continue to hang over the poker [...]

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The November Nine Profiles

YOU WANTED AN INTRODUCTION…SO HERE YOU GO 1. Martin Staszko 35 Years Old Trinec, Czech Republic Odds as set by the Wynn sports book: (Opened at 3/1) • Day 1C – 74,950 • Day 2A – 105,500 • Day 3 – 94,500 • Day 4 – 394,000 • Day 5 – 2,433,000 • Day 6 [...]

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Full Tilt Ponzi?

THE GAME SEEMS TO BE UP FOR THE RED TRIANGLE You’ve seen the infamous black and white photo of Full Tilt Poker’s initial marketing campaign with its original members — Howard Lederer, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Phil Ivey, Erick Lindgren, Jen Harman, John Juanda, Chris Ferguson, Clonie Gowen, and Phil Gordon. The shot resembled a [...]

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Randy Blumer and the Birth of Online Poker

Before online poker was its own sub-culture with its own language and its own heroes and villains, before it was a force that could divide continents and anger governments, there were a bunch of computer science geeks and a man with a dream. Bluff examines the early days of online poker. In the beginning there [...]

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Breaking Down The WCOOP

A RECAP OF THE WINNERS AND MONEYMAKERS Sixty-two events and $47 million in prize money is by any account a major poker tournament series. The 2011 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) on PokerStars.com didn’t have the American players who took home $28 million in prize money just last year but what it lacked in [...]

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Hard Work Wins In The End

LAAK LEARNED EARLY WHAT WORKED When I was in about the third grade, I learned a new word. It was called “allowance”. It turned out that some kids got paid for staying alive. I remember the day I learned that word and what it meant. My new buddy had five dollars in his pocket and [...]

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Partouche

We are in Cannes for the Partouche poker tournament. We always come this time of year. There is nothing better than the South of France in September. The weather is beautiful, the food is fantastic, and the shops along the Croisette glitter with glamorous overpriced goods. We like to stay at the Hotel Trois Quatorze. [...]

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