Main Headlines
The Global Poker Index Newsmakers: January 27, 2014
KICKOFF AT BORGATA…
- A summary of the recent accomplishments of players ranked on the Global Poker Index.
Merge Makes a Quiet Exit from New Jersey and Delaware
Players only became aware of the move when they received “account suspended” messages when logging in.
- Merge Gaming has quietly left the New Jersey and Delaware markets.
- Poker players from those states attempting to log on have been met with a message saying that their account has been “suspended for security reasons.”
- After the introduction of state regulated online poker in Nevada, Merge also stopped accepting players from the state.
German Court Decides that Tournament Entry Fees Are Not Necessarily Wagers
A decision that should facilitate social poker events in Germany, may have little impact on professional poker tournaments.
- The German Federal Administrative Court has issued a ruling that the payment of a poker tournament entry fee does not automatically count as a legal wager.
- The ruling is based on a qualification that the entrance fee is paid exclusively or mainly to cover the costs of the tournament.
- The exact significance cannot yet be determined because the text of the ruling is not available and any interpretation based on the press release may be premature.
“Poker is Not Gambling” According to Dutch Court Ruling
In the second ruling in four years, a court in the Netherlands rules that poker is not subject to gambling laws.
- An Amsterdam court has ruled that the organizers of a poker tournament in the Netherlands were not guilty of breaking the country’s gambling laws on the grounds that “poker is not gambling.”
- The ruling came after seven years and an independent investigation of the roles of skill and luck.
- This is the second court ruling that poker is a game of skill in four years.
Suspect Arrested in Borgata “Chipgate”
Christian Lusardi has been arrested after the discovery that $2.7m in fake tournament chips had been flushed down the toilet in his hotel room
- Poker Pro Christian Lusardi has been arrested by New Jersey State Police on suspicion of being the player who introduced counterfeit chips into the Borgata Winter Open $2 Million Guarantee event.
- Lusardi was the chip leader going into day two of the event and finished in the money, earning a pay out of just under $7k.
- A worker at Harrah’s Resort and Casino discovered that a blockage in a waste water pipe was caused by $2.7m in fake Borgata chips—apparently the chips had been flushed down a toilet.
Picks from F5 Poker:
Full Tilt Poker Uploads Action From Down Under
You can now watch hours of high stakes action from 2012 Aussie Millions. As a part of Full Tilt Poker’s celebration of Australia Day, the one time proud sponsor of the Aussie Millions Poker Championships tournament series has recently uploaded hours of new video content from 2012.
Matt Affleck Wears Clothes In The Winners Circle
Only tears of joy as Mcmatto takes down Borgata side event. Most know Matt Affleck for having taken one of the most devastating televised beats ever at the 2010 World Series of Poker. Of course, readers of F5 know Matt for letting Matt Savage take unflattering New Year’s Eve photos of him and then posting them to the internet. This weekend, none of that mattered as Affleck proved once again why, when it comes to poker, no one should cry for him.
Nigel “The Guru” Goldman — Ponzi Scheme “Poker Champ”
Allegations that Goldman vanished with millions of investor money. Nigel “The Guru” Goldman, the author of “Make a Million from Online Poker”, may have found another way to “make” a million—by making off with millions that aren’t his. That’s right, this so-called “high rolling poker champ” and poker author is on the run from authorities after allegedly scamming “investors” for roughly €3million Euro, according to the DailyMail.
Poker Podcasts and Training Vids:
Podcast: #40 – Vanessa Selbst The Mental Game of Poker
Is it possible to play in the zone all the time? Vanessa Selbst doesn’t think so, and nor should you. In the latest episode of The Mental Game of Poker Podcast I get to speak with the most successful female poker player of all time fresh off the back of a $1.4 million winning trip at the PCA. We have a very high level discussion on how she manages her energy to make sure that rather than playing he zone all the time, she works hard to play in the zone at the most important time. We also discuss, how she manages mental energy, how to avoid burning out, and how she maintains her passion and enjoyment of poker through rough periods. This was a really enjoyable show with one of the true top performers in the game today.
Podcast: Episode 65: Ryan van Sanford Thinking Poker
Ryan van Sanford (@RyanTYFL on Twitter) is an active member of both the Tournament Poker Edge and the Thinking Poker Podcast communities. At 20 years old, he’s new to the live tournament scene and just had his first big win in a preliminary event at WSOPc-Choctaw.
Training Video: TCOOP Prep Live Sweat with DannyN13 Tournament Poker Edge
TCOOP is coming and DannyN13 has recorded a live sweat to help you prep for this turbo mega series. Check out how he crushes the turbo game. This is a 7 part series.
Training Video: Ghost: BalugaWhale – 2014 MSNL Live Play – Part 4 Deuces Cracked
Andrew 'BalugaWhale’ Seidman continues his discussion of playing GTO and adapting quickly to exploitative play, and how to adapt quickly to information you’ve gathered at the table. Featuring an extra-focused discussion on manipulating people into making large mistakes.
Exclusive Articles on pokerfuse PRO:
Online Poker Accounts for 70% of iGaming Revenues in Delaware
Online poker is clearly the biggest revenue generator of all internet gambling games available in Delaware, according to official statistics published by the State Lottery.
Lottery SNGs: iPoker vs Winamax
Software Snapshot compares Expresso Poker with iPoker’s latest feature, Twister. Winamax introduced a new form of lottery game-cum-hyperturbo tournament structure called “Expresso Poker” in August 2013. The three-max tournament combines a pure-luck prize pool from 2x to 1000x the buyin, and a 3-max fast-structure winner-takes-all tournament to decide the winner of the prize.
Merge Gaming Strategy Leaves Cash Game Traffic Flat
Merge has missed out on the post-summer recovery entirely. Merge Gaming has gained almost 9% of extra cash game traffic in the last week, but its traffic trend remains flat after six months of strategy changes.
