Some Players Never Change ... Which Makes For a Happy New Year

I was playing online the other day and ran into a player I hadn’t seen in a long time. In fact, it had been so long that his screen name didn’t register with me and it wasn’t until I read the notes I had on him that I was able to remember his unique playing style.

This guy was an almost compulsive reraiser. If someone raised before him and no one cold-called before it was his turn to act, he almost always made it three-bets to go. That was usually enough to get him heads-up with the initial raiser, and if the flop was ragged Mr. Three-bet would either bet if the action was checked to him, or raise if the original raiser came out betting. That was often enough for him to take the pot away from the initial raiser, who—presumably—raised with big cards like A-K or A-Q and missed the flop entirely.

If the initial raiser had a big hand and continued to bet out, Mr. Three-bet tended to call the initial raiser only to toss his hand away without showing it whenever the initial raiser bet out on the river too.

When I remembered how Mr. Three-bet played, I looked for hands where I had something too. Then I made it four bets, which usually got things down to a confrontation between Mr. Three-bet and me.

After I’d won three or four pots from him and showed down a real hand each time, I was able to steal some pots from him too.

Mr. Three-bet has a nice idea going, in that aggression is usually a good thing, but he carries it so far that he is no more than a one-trick pony and I wonder how much money he costs himself by playing this way, and whether he sees the error in his ways, or is simply blind to the fact that his play is transparent to any opponent taking the time to clock him.

He went broke at our table after trying a kamikaze steal by three-betting with 6-5, catching part of the flop, and losing to a guy with an overpair pocket jacks who wasn’t going anywhere regardless of whatever ploy Mr. Three-bet tried.

I wonder if he’s made a New Year’s resolution to play differently in 2008. If I run into him online, I’ll let you know. But the majority of player resolutions to play tighter, play smarter, and not to go on tilt won’t last week. They seldom do. And that's money in your pocket if you take advantage of it.

Have a terrific year at the poker tables and in life itself too.

Happy New Year and keep flopping aces…

Germany Enacts Online Gaming Ban

In just a very few days, on January 1 to be exact, Germany will prohibit online gambling. All 16 German states approved a law to prevent all online gambling.

Under their new law, wagers made from Germany to gaming companies outside the country are also illegal. German states also have the authority to demand that internet service providers block web sites which promote betting, and have the authority to force banks to stop gaming-related money transfers.

Bwin Interactive Entertainment, which operates under license by the former East German government prior to unification, is suing four German states and is seeking to continue offering online bets after the new rules come into effect. They claim their license trumps the online wagering ban. Cases are pending, but this law looks like the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) on steroids, and it will be interesting to see the reactions and responses from within Germany.

I'm Calling Out Absolute Poker

The Absolute Poker Scandal is Poker's Story of the Year
The scandal involving Absolute Poker, with the online poker community doing much of the detective work that led to the uncovering of a “superuser” account that had access to all the cards in play during a tournament, is surely the poker news story of the year.

The surges of interest within the online poker community held Absolute’s feet to the fire and finally admit that some of their employees had indeed gaffed a tournament to their own benefit.

Absolute Promised anAudit Report by December 7, But Failed to Deliver. I Want to Know Why.
But now it’s been a month since there’s been any news at all from Absolute. In a November 22 press release they said that an investigation and audit were underway. They promised to send a copy of the audit report to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission by December 7, 2007. So far, no word, and here it is nearly a month beyond the promised date. There’s not even a statement to the effect that the report was delayed, and when its release might be expected.

Why Does Anyone Still Play at Absolute?
So who’s still playing at Absolute? Quite a few, actually, if you check the stats.

I'm Calling Out Absolute for their Failure to Stand Up and Answer
And I’m wondering why. On the edge of a new year, it’s time to call out Absolute, and call out anyone who is foolish enough to play at a site that had a major problem and now does not have the intellectual honesty, the courage, the conviction, or the cojones to provide honest answers.

I'm Calling Out Absolute's Players Too

I’m calling out Absolute’s players too. You must be fools to entrust your money to a site that will not stand up and take responsibility for their actions, or lack thereof, when it comes to keeping your money and your game safe and secure. It’s not like Absolute is the only game in town. Players, you have a choice, and none of the other online poker rooms seem as rife with security and honesty issues as Absolute.

Absolute Seems Happy to Let Time Disolve this Story's Furor
It appears as though Absolute is happy to let time pass and erode the furor and indignation that accompanied this story when it first broke. Now, instead of a detective story, the scandal looks to be well on its way to becoming a market place issue. If that’s the case, then only the actions of Absolute’s customers, by voting with their feet, can force Absolute to ‘fess up, explain what really happened, share the audit report with the online poker community, and explain how they will prevent this from happening again.

I’ve never played at Absolute. I don’t have any particular axe to grind. But that’s not important. What is important is that I plan never to play there unless Absolute is forthright and forthcoming about their role in online poker’s biggest scandal to date.

Absolute Poker: It's Time to Do the Right Thing
Happy New Year, Absolute Poker: I’m calling you out to answer for your behavior, and to show the online poker community how you plan to guard against this in the future. I’m also calling out Absolute’s players, asking you why you persist in supporting a site that will not respond to their role in poker’s biggest scandal ever.

If you want to help put the Absolute Poker Scandal to rest, take your money and play elsewhere, at least until Absolute bellies up to the bar with some explanations and a plan for going forward. If you believe in honest poker, it’s the least you can do.

Happy Holidays: No Poker Content at All!

Happy Holidays to everyone stopping by to read my blog. May you have a healthy and prosperous new year.

The Holiday spirit touches people in very different and often unsuspected ways. Yesterday it touched me. It was an incredibly beautiful day in the desert, about 70 degrees, with blue skies and absolutely no wind: the perfect day for a bike ride. I got on my bike and kept riding all the way from Palm Desert to Palm Springs and back again, about a 32-mile jaunt.

I was about two miles from the turn around point, cutting through the Palm Springs Airport and cruising to a stop for the traffic light where the airport exits on to Tahquitz Canyon Road. It was there I heard a high-pitched voice from behind me. "Hey," the voice said, "is that a Trek Madone?"

I was now stopped at the light and turned to look. The voice belonged to kid about 11, and I realized he must be into bicycles in a big way if he could recognized the make and model of my bike from a distance. I stopped to talk to him, and we were soon joined by his older brother, younger sister, and his mom.

Turns out the kid was visiting his mother from Boulder, Colorado, and I told him that he lives in the bicycling capital of the United States, the home of Velo News Magazine, the Slipstream Racing Team, and lots of well-known bicycle racers. He knew all that, and prouldly told me he was just starting to get into bike racing and that he loved cyclo-cross too, because, he told me, "You get to race in the snow, the mud, and the goop of winter and that was a lot of fun."

We chatted for about five minutes when I wished them all a happy holiday and pedaled off, thinking how nice it was to meet such an pleasant, focused, well spoken, and polite kid--a kid who has a passion and is pursuing it.

After riding into downtown Palm Springs and returning through the airport again, I saw another cyclist stopped with a map in his hand, and obviously trying to figure out where to go. I asked him if he needed directions. Turned out he was from Germany but spoke pretty good English and we were able to communicate.

He just arrived yesterday, had ridden from his sister's house and had no idea how to get back. But he had the address and a map, and I was able to point him in the right direction. He told me he liked my bike and asked whether it was expensive. I told him I got it for about 60 percent of the original price because it was last year's model and came painted with Discovery Team's logo and colors, and since there was no more Discovery Team, Trek had to reduce the prices on this model to clear their inventory.

He was riding a borrowed bike, but told me about the bike he rides at home in Germany. We wished each other a happy holiday and I pedaled off, through the airport, through Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage until I was back in Palm Desert.

I was daydreaming as I rode, thinking that all in all, it had been a good year and I had plenty to be thankful for. I'm not sentimental in the least, and have never been caught up in all the seasonal celebrations. But there was good cheer in the air yesterday, and it came to me on two occasions on the access road leading to and from the Palm Springs Airport.

In fact, if I had spotted Santa's sleigh making an apporach to the runway as I pedaled home through the airport, I wouldn't have been surprised at all.

Disappointing WTO Decision in Antigua vs. US Online Gaming Case

The World Trade Organization Issues a Decision
On December 21 a World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitrary panel ruled that Antigua is entitled to $21 million a year from the United States, a far cry from the $3.4 billion that Antigua sought in its claim against the US regarding online gaming.

The WTO’s ruling took into account only money Antigua lost through online horse-racing wagers, instead of all online gaming. The panel chose not to account for all online wagering that takes place in the US. Instead, it only awarded Antigua compensation from online wagers that are taxed and regulated.

While that's the underlying logic to the WTO's decision, it seems the WTO simply decided to throw Antigua a bone, and a small one at that, while allowing the US to pursue their course of unfair trade practices at a bargain price. Call it a tax on ufair trade practices, or the small cost of moralistic legislation that will cause the US to stay out of step with most of the rest of the world, while prohibiting citizens like you and me to play poker with our own money from the privacy of our own homes. There's a larger cost too, the loss of billions in tax revenue and job creation that would accrue to the US if they were to regulate and tax online gaming.

Some Background on this Case
Antigua’s claim against the US is predicated on the US allowing certain forms of online wagering, such as horse race wagers, but prevents access to other forms of online gambling and therefore violates those sections of the General Agreement for Trades and Services (GATS) that cover online gambling.

Who’s Still Chasing Down the US; Who Settled Their Claims
The European Union, Japan, Canada, India, Costa Rica, and Macao joined Antigua in seeking sanctions against the US. The US settled with the EU, Japan, and Canada, but negotiations with India, Costa Rica, and Macao continue.

Letting the Fish Off the Hook
While online gaming companies urged their host countries to stand tough against the US in order to force them to reviser online gambling laws, the EU settled for smallish concessions. This let the US off the hook for much less than the amount that would be lost to the gaming industry itself as well as lost taxes to their host countries that are excluded from the US online gaming market—the largest in the world.

This Decision Can’t Be Appealed
The decision issued by the WTO arbitrary panel cannot be appealed, although the WTO must first approve the arbitrator's decision before Antigua can act, and that approval will not come until January.

WORLDWIDE REACTION TO THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION'S DECISION
Because there are so man y parties involved in this case, there are reactions from many quarters, and the issues involved in this case still comprise a very unsettled situation.

The Remote Gambling Association
Online gaming in the US is anything but neatly tied up and put aside in a box. The Remote Gambling Association, a trade association representing European internet gambling companies, plans to file a complaint against the United States for violating WTO rules by targeting foreign gaming companies while not prosecuting US online gaming operators.

The RGA said the WTO decision fails to address “…discriminatory and protectionist US practices against European and other foreign online operators in the form of selective prosecution related to trade in gambling services.”

The RGA’s Clive Hawkswood said: “How would US investors and businessmen feel if they invested in a business in the UK based on international law commitments, and then suddenly the UK not only passed new laws forcing them to shut down their business, but then tried to throw them in jail for past activities while still allowing their domestic competitors to continue on doing the same thing? That’s what is happening to our industry in the US.”

Safe and Secure internet Gambling Initiative
Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for The Safe and Secure internet Gambling Initiative, said the RGA’s action should encourage lawmakers to regulate internet gambling through Representative Barney Frank’s proposed internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act.

According to Sandman, “It is time for the US to end its hypocritical practices that discriminate against foreign online gambling operators, while allowing US gambling operators to accept bets for certain forms of gambling. Regulation of internet gambling should be supported as a means to resolve this trade dispute.”

Trade Law Expert, Professor Joseph Weiler
Joseph Weiler, a professor of law at New York University, commented, “What is particularly troubling is that these prosecutions for past activity are still continuing. To compound it by selecting only non-US targets is even more troubling. To clarify the situation for the future for all is one thing, but that does not seem to be the case here.”

Anti-Gambling Advocate, Representative Bob Goodlatte
"Considering that Antigua and Barbuda were asking for over $3 billion in compensation, and they were only awarded a token $21 million, this decision is a partial victory for the U.S.," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, (R-VA), a staunch opponent of all online gaming—except, of course, for online horse race wagering. The inconsistency there stems from the fact that the horse race industry is a major contributor to Goodlatte’s campaigns. For the full story on how Rep Goodlatte’s philosophical inconsistencies, see my blog entry dated December 3, 2007.

Financial Services Roundtable
The Financial Services Round Table warned that regulations being drafted to enforce the Unlawful internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) will present major compliance obstacles unless the Bush administration clarifies its conflicting views on online betting.

Bank of America
The Bank of America said that the Government should provide a list of specific entities that banks are forbidden to take payments from. “Without a definition of what is legal,” the Bank of America stated that “financial institutions will be forced to block legitimate transactions in order to avoid the possibility of permitting an illegal transaction.”

Antigua’s Reaction
Antigua's finance minister Errol Cort described the WTO's decision as a setback for the small Caribbean nation. Antigua had sought to apply $3.4 billion in trade sanctions against the US to compensate the nation for lost revenue due to unfair trade practices, but were instead awarded $21 million by the WTO.
Still, Cort is hopeful, saying “We think that this decision, as terribly flawed as it may be, should still have the desired result of getting the US to sit down with us and seek an amicable resolution. We look forward to meeting with the U.S. delegation in the very near future.”

Read the Full WTO Decision
The full text of the WTO decision can be accessed here:

PDF version of WTO decision: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/285arb_e.pdf

US Shakes Down Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo for $31 Million

When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, the Mafia did a ruthlessly effective job of collecting protection money from small businesses in the neighborhood. Bakers, butchers, bars, and others—they all paid their tithe to the local collector.

It was a nuisance, to be sure, but small potatoes when measured against the latest version of protection rackets: The shakedowns conducted by the US government. US Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway (pictured right), in a role befitting the boss of bosses, announced in a press release that Microsoft Corporation, Google, Inc. and Yahoo! entered into settlements with the US to resolve claims that they promoted illegal gambling. The total amount of the three settlements—or should I say shakedowns—is $31.5 million.

Running a Protection Racket: The Mafia Was Small Potatoes Compared to the Feds
While the mob’s take back in the day amounted to sums that were measured individually in the hundreds, and possibly the thousands for businesses that could afford to pay that kind of freight and didn’t have the cojones to stand up to the local mob collector. Even allowing for inflation over time, the government has raised the shakedown scheme to a level undreamed of by neighborhood capos of old.

If You Don't Have the Balls to Stand Up to Them, the Bully Will Run Right Over You
It appears that Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo are severely lacking in the cojones department too. They absolutely rolled over and submitted to the big bully, instead of standing up and saying,”C’mon, bring it. Charge me with a crime,” then watching as the US government turned tail and scarpered off, because they’ve never charged anyone with online gambling offenses except in cases that violate the wire act—and that doesn’t apply to online poker.

Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo: Groveling Like Bitches on a Leash
Microsoft paid out $21 million: $4.5 million to the United States and a $7.5 million contribution to the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) to establish a fund to assist ICMEC with its national and international mission. They also agreed to provide a $9 million online, public service advertising campaign to inform and educate a target audience comprised of college level or younger people that online gambling enterprises are illegal under U.S. law. The educational—or perhaps “indoctrinational” is a better word for it—campaign will run for three years, beginning in early 2008. This settlement, based on illegal conduct that Microsoft Corporation neither contests nor admits, resolves claims that between 1997 and June 2007, Microsoft received payments from on-line gambling businesses for advertising on-line gambling.

Google got off cheap, settling out for $3 million to resolves claims that they also neither contest nor admit that they received payments from on-line gambling businesses for advertising on-line gambling between 1997 and June 2007.
The Yahoo! settlement of $7.5 million also resolves claims, which they neither contest nor admit that they received payments from on-line gambling businesses for advertising on-line gambling between 1997 and December 2007. The company has now forfeited $3 million directly to the United States. Yahoo! Also agreed to provide $4.5 million worth of online advertising for a public service advertising campaign. The campaign, to begin January 2008, will tell users that operators and participants in online or telephonic sports bookmaking and casino-type gambling activities doing business in the United States may be subject to arrest and prosecution.

These settlements involve corporate conduct the Government found in violation of the Federal Wire Wager Act, federal wagering excise tax laws and various states’ statutes and municipal laws prohibiting gambling. Unregulated commercial gambling is illegal throughout the United States.

Take My Lunch Money Mr. Schoolyard Bully, But Please, Don't Hit Me...
This, of course, is subject to challenge. Microsoft, Yahoo!, and Google simply gave their lunch money to the schoolyard bully, figuring that paying protection would keep them from a bloody nose on the way home from school.

Hanaway's Spin...
According to Hanaway, “Honest taxpayers and gambling industry personnel who do follow the law suffer from those who promote illegal online behavior.”

...And Mine
Get up, Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo! Get on your feet. What kind of wusses are you? Stop groveling. Stand up to the government and maybe you'll have the rights you deserve. If you don't stand up to them they'll take your lunch money again, and again, and again, in myriad ways, time after time, until they bleed you into abject submission or you decide that enough is enough and decide to fight back.

Let's Make a Deal: How the United States Bought its Way Out of Treaty Obligations and Shunned Billions in Tax Revenue in the Process

According to an agreement signed a few days ago, the US will provide the European Union (EU) with trade concessions in mail services and warehousing as compensation for removing gambling services from its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitment. Although the EU sought $100 billion in concessions, these accommodations fall far short of the mark.

The agreement offers new U.S. market opportunities for European companies involved in testing and analysis services, as well as in research and development, and postal and courier services.

We'll Give Up Online Gaming, Shun Billions in Tax Revenue, and Pay the European Union Billions in Concessions Too

Gambling will no longer be covered by US WTO commitments, and instead of choosing to regulate and license online gaming and garner billions in tax revenues in the process, the US will provide concessions to the EU in an amount less than $100 billion. Not a good deal from my perspective, but it satisfies those who see online gaming as morally wrong—except, of course, things like horseracing and fantasy sports, which have successfully lobbied their way through our congress and were cut out of the process.

No One Gets Off Scot Free...

The US decision to renege on treaty commitments to the WTO and close its markets to offshore internet gambling operators, meant the US had to compensate other governments that would be affected by its decision. According to WTO treaty obligations, any government harmed in this manner is entitled to negotiate compensation with the United States. The European Union, Canada, Japan, India, Australia, Costa Rica and Macao joined Antigua in requesting talks. Australia dropped its claim while Japan reached a deal.

...and Our Bad Deal Now Sets a Precedent

The agreement between the EU and the US will now play a role in ongoing negotiations between the US and China, India, Canada and other countries over the WTO issue. This includes the dispute with Antigua. A ruling on the amount of compensation due Antigua has been delayed.

A Short History of Legislative Stupidity

Last year the United States’ Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) stopped U.S. banks and credit card companies from processing payments to online gambling businesses located offshore, closing off a growing business worth more than $12 billion. In March 2007, the World Trade Organization ruled that the US ban was illegal. The WTO ruled that although the US had the right to prevent offshore betting to protect public order and public morals, our government broke trade agreements because rules were unequally applied to American operators offering remote betting on horse and dog racing.

We Still Have to Worry About Antigua: The Mouse That Roared

The WTO will soon rule on Antigua’s request to impose $3.4 billion in commercial sanctions against the US for its failure to comply with the ruling. Antigua, the smallest nation ever to win a WTO dispute, has requested an intellectual property rights waiver that would permit software, movie, and music piracy. Needless to say, this alarmed software and media companies no end, including Microsoft and Universal Pictures, and the Recording Industry Association of America.

This ruling is a blow to European online gaming companies, as firms such as PartyGaming hoped the EU might turn down a settlement in favor of fighting to restore their ability to operate in the United States.

Throw Them Under the Bus, Kick 'em to the Curb ... It's All in a Day's (Political) Work

Does this agreement sell out American couriers such as UPS and FedEx? Did the EU throw their own gaming industry under the bus? Time will tell. This complex affair could have been settled easily and simply had congress chosen to pass Representative Barney Frank’s (D-MA) bill, but leave it to politicians to continue to muck things up, and kill the goose laying a golden egg full of tax revenue in the process.

Bluff Magazine Fires Managing Editor Chris Vaughn For Cheating in Online Poker Tournament, Then Lying About It to an Interviewer

Bluff Magazine, after saying that they would discipline but not fire managing editor Chris Vaughn, sacked him earlier this week. He was fired cheating in an online poker tournament and lying about it when confronted by an interviewer.

“Bluff Media, publisher of Bluff Magazine, has made the decision to terminate Chris Vaughn as managing editor,” they reported on their web site.

They added, “In light of Chris’ involvement, recently admitted facts and the feedback obtained from industry professionals, it became apparent that the credibility required to perform the job functions of managing editor of Bluff Magazine at our company’s level of standards have become severely diminished.

“While we regret having to make this decision, we believe that it is the best alternative for all parties involved, including Chris, Bluff Media and the poker playing community at large. We wish Chris the best of luck.”

Here are the gory details: Vaughn recently won a tournament at Full Tilt Poker. But that was only the beginning, not the end. Towards the end of the tournament Vaughn sold his account. In other words, he peddled his position in the tournament’s pecking order to another player—presumably a better one—who went on to win the event.

Vaughn compounded his culpability because he lied about doing this in a radio interview.

He wasn’t the first player to sell his position in a tournament and probably won’t be the last, but it does violate one of poker’s prime directives: One player per hand. It’s not a gray area, either. Selling your interest in a poker tournament is a form of cheating, and violates the terms of service at online poker rooms.

Vaughn’s interview was webcast at http://www.thepokeroad.com/. After the story came to light, Vaughn admitted his lie to Poker News.

Barney Frank's Bill Supporting Online Poker Attracts 45th Co-Sponsor

Congressman Barney Frank's (D-MA) Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, a bill that would regulate and license online gambling in the United States, has attracted Representative Ellen O. Taucher, (D-CA) as its forty-fifth cosponsor.

Congresswoman Taucher is a member of the Aviation sub-committee; the powerful Highways, Transit and Pipelines subcommittee, and chairwoman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee.

Here is the list of representatives supporting Congressman Frank's IGREA, a bill that would overturn the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA):

Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii)

John Larson (D-Conn.)

Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.)

Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.)

Robert Andrews (D-N.J.)

Jim McDermott (D-Wash.)

Joe Baca (D-Calif.)

James McGovern (D-Mass.)

Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.)

Charlie Melancon (D-La.)

Howard Berman (D-Calif.)

James Moran (D-Va.)

Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)

Ron Paul (R-Texas)

Michael Capuano (D-Mass.)

Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.)

Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.)

Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas)

Julia Carson (D-Ind.)

Steven Rothman (D-N.J.)

William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.)

Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.)

Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)

Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)

Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.)

Robert Scott (D-Va.)

William Delahunt (D-Mass.)

Adam Smith (D-Wash.)

Bob Filner (D-Calif.)

Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.)

Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.)

Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.)

Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.)

Melvin Watt (D-N.C.)

Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.)

Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.)

Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.)

Robert Wexler (D-Fla.)

Michael Honda (D-Calif.)

Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.)

Steve Israel (D-N.Y.)

Albert Wynn (D-Md.)

Peter King (R-N.Y.)

Don Young (R-Alaska)

Ellen Taucher (D-Cal)

Congressman Frank continues to state the importance of US players contacting their political representatives to express their position. This is, according to Barney Frank, one of the most effective ways in which further support for this and the regulation of US online gambling can be achieved.

If your congressional representative is not on this list of cosponsors, contact his office by letter, email, phone, or through the Poker Players Alliance at http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/ and make sure your viuews are made crystal clear to him or her.

That's the least we can do to protect our rights, and ensure that we can play poker online in the privacy of our own home.

"Poker" is Top Search Engine Topic--Again!

We’re Number One—again! For the second year running, Lycos announced that “poker” was the top search engine topic during the year. Despite a year of headline grabbing activity by such tabloid-cover headline grabbers as Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Anna Nicole Smith, Barry Bonds, Lindsay Lohan, and even Pamela Anderson, poker still generates more search activity than any other term.
I’ve read that poker’s popularity is diminishing. It’s not. While funding an online poker account is admittedly tougher with UIGEA in effect, and there’s way too much poker programming on TV that’s repetitive, uninteresting, and has weak production values, our collective interest in poker is not slowing down. The engine is running full speed ahead, and the interest in the game of poker has not abated—and doesn’t look like it will anytime soon.

So go ahead. Punch “poker” into your search engine of choice. Just to get a sense of how popular poker is, I typed “poker” into Google as I was writing this post, and 14,700,000 hits on all that’s available about poker will never be able to do it; the information overload is just too great. But if that information overload is indicative of interest in our game, it means you should always be able to find a poker game regardless of where you are located.

So stick a finger up in the air. And tell anyone who’ll listen, “We’re number One!”

Poker Wonks Aggregates More Than 100 Blogs at One Site

If you’re a fan of poker blogs, as I am, you’ll love this site I discovered. It’s Poker Wonks, found at http://www.pokerwonks.com, and launched by Dimat Online, Inc in November 2007.

The site aggregates feeds from over 100 poker blogs, and provides a home for poker bloggers and poker blog readers.

Visitor to PokerWonks.com can scroll through the latest blog posts by category, date, or topic. Through a free registration, users can save their favorite blogs to the front page by utilizing the “Wonk It” feature, and follow their favorite blogs when logging in.

With more than 100 poker blogs on the site, Poker Wonks has a lot to read through, and I expect it to grow even larger in the future.

European Union to US: Open Your Online Gaming Market

As the trade dispute between Europe and the US over Internet gaming industry continues, the British Government said it favors regulation instead of prohibition.

European Union Trade Commission Peter Mandelson (pictured right) said recently that Congress should either open its market to overseas operators or compensate Europe for blocking the American gambling market to European operators.

Trade experts acknowledge that legislation introduced by Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), the Internet Gambling Regulation Enforcement Act, could resolve the potential $100 billion gambling dispute and bring the US into compliance with international trade agreements.

The trade dispute stems from Antigua’s World Trade Organization (WTO) victory over the US earlier this year. After the WTO ruled that the US had violated trade rules in barring Antiguan online gaming operators from the US market, the US withdrew its WTO obligations with regard to free trade in the gaming area.

The US withdrawal allows Europe and other countries to demand trade concessions up to the size of the entire sector on an annual basis, which amount to the astronomical of $100 billion. If the parties cannot settle the matter themselves, binding arbitration before a WTO panel could be the result. Antigua is separately involved in arbitration with the US to determine the size of the compensation due it. Other countries seeking compensation include India, Costa Rica, and Canada.

“Rather than negotiating away settlements that could negatively impact the US economy, the Administration and US Congress should seek a more sensible policy solution and regulate Internet gambling,” said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. “As the British Government has correctly acknowledged, it is clear that the futile approach by the US to prohibit Internet gambling is a failure. Regulation of Internet gambling could bring the US into compliance with WTO requirements, protect consumers and generate billions in revenue needed for critical government programs.”

The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative promotes the freedom of individuals to gamble online with the proper safeguards to protect consumers and ensure the integrity of financial transactions. Their web site, at www.safeandsecureig.org, provides a means for individuals to register support for regulated Internet gambling with their elected representatives.

Annette Obrestad Wins Tournament Performance of the Year Award

Annette Obrestad became the youngest player ever to win the “Tournament Performance of the Year” award at the prestigious European Poker Awards in Paris.

Her achievement at the World Series of Poker Europe was recognised as “phenomenal” by Poker Europa Chief Nic Szeremeta who presented the award. She defeated a field comprising of “one of the toughest fields in poker” to win more than $2 million.

Annette beat fellow nominees Carlos Mortensen and Bruno Fitoussi. Mortensen won $3.97 million at the WPT in Las Vegas while Fitoussi took $1.2 million by finishing second in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the poker calendar, the WSOP HORSE event, also in Las Vegas.

Annette was nominated in two other categories including “Leading Lady” and “Rookie of the Year.” She narrowly missed out to Katja Thater, who also won a WSOP bracelet this year, in the “Leading Lady” category.

Only 19, and two years too young to legally enter a Las Vegas casino, Annette Obrestad is an online poker prodigy who shot to fame after winning the Main Event at the World Series of Poker Europe in London’s Leicester Square. Two months later Annette narrowly missed her first European Poker Tour win—taking second place and a $429,181 payday in Dublin.

“I am so happy to win this award. I prefer this one than rookie of the year because I was up against such great players. I am still learning so much,” she said. “There are still a lot of areas of my live game that can improve. My instincts, my ability to know what certain tells mean. But I am getting better all the time.”

UCLA defeats USC at the Poker Table

UCLA’s Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society poker team beat USC's poker team in front of about 35 spectators last week. It's not quite Rose Bowl crowd on New Year's day, but it's a start.

Five players from each team played a best-of-three series of heads-up matches, and Igor Gampel, John Kennelly, and Michael Shinzaki of UCLA were victorious to guarantee victory over the Trojans.

This was the second intercollegiate poker event since the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society was founded (see blog entries dated August 14 and October 10, 2007). In the first, Harvard beat Yale, also by a score of three matches to two.

The GPSTS plans to involve more schools in a national tournament. We’ll let you know as this story develops. In the meantime, a Bruin victory is some slight consolation for having USC kick their ass all over the football field this year.

Funeral Services Set for Chip Reese

Funeral services for Chip Reese will be held at the Palms Northwest Mortuary & Cemetery, located at 6701 N. Jones in Las Vegas, on Friday, December 7, at 2 p.m.

David "Chip" Reese was born March 28, 1951, in Dayton. He died early Tuesday morning, December 4, 2007 in Las Vegas. Reese showed signs of walking pneumonia and complained the night before of having flu like symptoms. Reese was admitted to the hospital and died during the night in his sleep.

A regular player in the "The Big Game," Reese competed at the world's highest limits. He flew below the general public’s radar, however, because he tended to eschew poker tournaments. But he entered and won the inaugural $50,000 buy-in HORSE tournament at the 2006 World Series of Poker, following a six-hour heads-up final match against Andy Bloch.

After the event, his close friend Doyle Brunson stated,” There’s really no one more deserving of this title. He's got to be one of the best all around poker players I've ever known." Brunson added, "He's also just a good man."

Chip Reese Dead at Age 56

David “Chip” Reese, born in Dayton Ohio in 1951, is dead. Widely regarded as one of the best poker players in the world and the youngest player inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, he died in his sleep last night, reportedly of complications due to pneumonia.
Reese won three World Series of Poker Bracelets, including the inaugural $50,000 buy-in HORSE event at the 2006 World Series of Poker. He might have won more, but preferred big money, high-stakes cash games to tournament poker.

Reese graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in economics and was accepted into Stanford University law school. On his way out to California in 1974 Reese stopped off in Las Vegas to play poker. After winning $60,000 he decided to skip law school and play poker for a living, and when asked about his decision, he uttered the now immortal line, “Law doesn't have the same monetary incentive as poker."

R.I.P. Chip Reese 1951 – 2007.

Strident Anti-Online Gaming Congressman Bob Goodlatte Takes $40,000 in Contributions From Horseracing Industry

I Got the Horse Right Here ...

Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia (pictured right), one of the online gambling's most strident detractors, is—according to an article on Gambling Web—the recipient of $40,000 in contributions from the horse racing industry. Horse racing has cut-outs exempting it from the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA), and was also slated for exempt status in bills Goodlatte tried to push through Congress in the past.

If Online Gaming is Immoral, How Can You Take Their Money?

Goodlatte has always taken the position that gambling is immoral and that online gaming should be banned. Yet he takes money from the horseracing industry in return for an exception from current and proposed legislation dealing with online gaming.

So is Goodlatte a principled politician who happens to have a blind eye when it comes to the ponies, or is he simply whoring himself out for a few bucks added to his campaign coffers?

Can You Really Buy a Congressman for as Little as $40,000?

The answer is pretty clear if you follow the money. I’d love to hear Representative Goodlatte attempt to justify his position, and explain in any sort of convincing manner why online gaming ought to be illegal and subject to prosecution, with the exception of horseracing.

He Won't Respond to Me

But I don’t think I’ll hear from him. Last year I challenged him to a freezeout poker game, with the money to go to charity as a way of demonstrating that poker is a game of skill, not luck. I never received a response from either Mr. Goodlatte or his staff. I certainly don’t expect see him try to extricate himself from the corner he so illogically painted himself into this time. After all, how can one purport to be morally opposed to gambling while taking money from the horseracing industry in exchange for granting exemptions to that very industry?

Are Online Poker Sites Returning to the United States?

I’ve noticed something lately, and although it’s certainly no secret, it’s been a very low-key affair. But online poke rooms, many of which abandoned the US market in the wake of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act’s (UIGEA) passage in October 2006, are beginning to advertise once again in poker publications that distribute primarily in the United States.

While there are no grand announcements, and no TV advertising thus far, ads for online poker rooms are beginning to appear in print media. As editor of Poker Player Newspaper, I'm in a position to know. I’ve received more than a few emails recently from online sites inquiring about advertising, and asking that we send them a media kit and rate card.

Not all online poker sites plan on returning anytime soon. The publicly traded online rooms are probably going to eschew the American market until UIGEA is either reversed, held in abeyance, or a new law to regulate online gaming is enacted. But many of the privately held companies, without the listing restrictions that publicly traded firms must adhere to, can ignore UIGEA if they so choose.

They are beyond the reach of US law, though I’d suggest that any online rooms deciding to re-enter the US market ought to warn their senior staff about the dangers of getting on a plane that happens to land in the United States.

Funding accounts are still difficult, especially if you intend to play for relatively large stakes and need to make deposits that exceed, say, $500 per day. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and in the case of online poker, the old adage, “Follow the money!” is still valid.

It’s nice to see that some of the firms that departed our shores are now screwing up the courage to return to the US market. Welcome home!