Daily Poker News Review: Thursday, March 13, 2014

Main Headlines

Buy-In Obligations System Rolls Out Across Games and Stakes on PokerStars

All no-limit games up to NL200 now use the anti-ratholing system, and a slow rollout is underway on PLO.

BIO has now been added to all games from nanostakes NL2 (1c/2c) up to NL200 ($1/$2), and PLO 25c/50c up to $1/$2.
The new system has so far been well-received by full-stack players, who appear to make up the vocal majority of respondents in the dedicated thread on 2+2.
After a certain threshold of buying in short—currently set to eight times—a player is forced to return to the table with the amount they previously left with.
The goal of the new system is to prevent systematic “ratholing,” the process of leaving a table with a large stack and returning with less.

bwin.party: New Jersey “Yet to Reach Full Potential” Due to Geo-Location, Payment Processing Problems

partypoker operator champions a successful US launch, but regulatory hurdles “impact all operators.”

Bwin.party was among the first to launch online gaming in the New Jersey market in November 2013.
The group in particular highlighted the success of its online poker launch as the largest in the New Jersey market.
Geolocation verification still locks out many legitimate customers.
Payment processing is also still a bugbear, with credit card deposits on both Visa and Mastercard being rejected by some banks.

PokerStars to Remain Poker Only, Rep Confirms

“'We are poker’ and nothing else” for the foreseeable future, says PokerStars’ Steve Day.

Full Tilt’s casino games marked the first time that Rational Group has offered non-poker games for real money.
“Never say never”—but PokerStars will no plans to expand into casino games at PokerStars.

Tournament Director Software Adds Access to The Hendon Mob to Facilitate Global Data Collection

The Global Poker Index shows more of its global ambitions.

The Tournament Director has added a new feature that allows users to submit live tournament results directly to the Hendon Mob database.
“The Tournament Director will allow more players to be added to THM/GPI and is another step towards the eventual release of the GPID (Global Poker ID) that aims to become, in the next two years, a standard in the poker industry,” according to the press release.

Skrill Returns to Adjarabet After Software Fix

One of the most popular transaction options returns for international players on the Georgian poker room.

Skrill was dropped as a deposit and withdrawal option by Adjarabet in January, but it has now returned and players report that it is working.
Now that an acceptable fix is in place, Adjarabet, which is currently 11th in the global cash game traffic rankings, may cautiously continue its campaign of international growth.

iGNA Panel to Tell the “Story So Far” in Regulated US Online Poker

Execs from Ultimate Poker and WSOP will sit alongside online poker commentators and analysts to discuss the nascent online poker industry in the US.

The four-strong “Story so Far” panel will discuss “what progress has been made and what lessons have been learned” from the various attempts to rebuild an industry “destroyed by Black Friday.”
Poker heads from WSOP and Ultimate Poker will sit on the panel.
The iGNA 2014 event, running March 19-21, will be the first since the introduction of regulated online poker in the states of New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware.

Picks from F5 Poker:

Patrik Antonius Forced To Relive Worst Poker Nightmare

Ivey League promo vid rehashes 800K loss. Team Ivey pro Patrik Antonius and his good poker frienemy Phil Ivey sit down to talk about one of the largest pots either one of them have ever played on television. In a sit down session for an Ivey League promotional video, Ivey and Antonius are asked to take us through the notorious Sky Poker hand (posted after the jump) where the pair dig deep into their bankroll as well as go multi-levels deep in thought thanks to “props.”

Jake Cody Not “Going Down There” When His Baby Is Born

PokerStars Pro on dealing with baby wait. Team PokerStars Pro Jake Cody has a lot on his mind. His girlfriend, Alex, is two weeks away from giving birth to his first daughter, Arianna, and, in anticipation, Cody has been watching some “quite graphic” videos of what is about to transpire and he’s taken to the PokerStars blog to deal with his feelings.

Take A Shot — Tips And Tricks For Better Poker Photography

Capture the tension of poker like the pros. BJ Nemeth. Joe Giron. Neil Stoddard. Hell, even WhoJedi. You most likely don’t know these these names (well, except for that last one) but they are the unsung heroes of tournament reporting.

Phil Ivey Looks To Establish His Poker Legacy

Bracelets and Ivey League are his focus. Yep! It’s another awesome segment of Phil Ivey candidly talking with Bluff Magazine video producer Thomas Keeling about everything under the sun. In this clip, an older, wiser and more personable Ivey ponders his legacy in poker, talks about what the Ivey League means to him, pledges support for the WSOP and qualifies Phil Hellmuth as a “great poker player…errr a great tournament poker player.”

Poker Podcasts and Training Vids:

Podcast: 03/12/2014 Poker Action Line Poker Action Line

BIG Dave and Joe discuss the latest developments in poker on television, the release of the WSOP schedule for this summer, and the possible need to make changes to avoid counterfiet chips. They also take a quick look at 3 major tournaments going on in Florida.

Podcast: A plethora of captivating poker topics Ante Up! Pokercast

Scott says poker analogies work very well in all walks of life, and we get to complete an O’Mally’s Move.

Training Video: Cash session review and the power of the squeaky chair by Jorz MoreEV

Jorz is doing a video review for Justin, his student and moreev member,

Training Video: jk1f2: Fundamental Analysis In Hypers Part II HUSNG

Following up on his first video, jk1f2 returns with another review at $15 hyper turbos on pokerstars. Those who saw jk1f2's first video will quickly recognize his methodical, straightforward approach to analyzing fundamental concepts as he explains the various decisions he is faced with. The pace and analysis of jk1f2's videos is especially appealing to players looking to improve their understanding of the fundamentals of heads-up hyper turbo poker.

Training Video: Search and Destroy 2: gorillachip – Playing Out of Position on the Turn Deuces Cracked

In a continuation of last week’s episode, Josh and James look at situations where James faced a turn raise out of position. Topics include knowing when to call, when to let go of overpairs and top pair-top kicker, and when to check top pair on the turn.