WECpoker

Several Opponents of Online Poker are heard at Congressional Hearings

2009-12-08T08:34:32Z

The long awaited hearing focusing on internet gambling in the House Financial Services Committee headed by Barney Frank (D-MA) took place last week. The hearing was only 90 minutes long and did feature witnesses that were in favor of US Regulation of Online Gambling (as opposed to ban), but several strong opponents of online gambling spoke up or provided testimony to cast a negative light on poker.

One of the strongest enemies of online poker is Spencer Bachus (R-AL), the Committee’s Ranking Member, who last year falsely relayed a study linking internet gambling and suicide. He said Online gamblers can gamble 24 hours a day, seven days a week from home. Children may play without sufficient age verification and they can bet with a credit card. This undercut’s a player’s perception of cash. Young people are particularly at risk because if you put a computer in a bedroom or a dorm room, it’s a temptation that they may fall prey to. He also stated that UIGEA should have been implemented and finalized two years ago. He also said, “If Congress repeals the law, online casinos will proliferate. In the next five years, I feel that if [we] are successful in creating a federal right to gamble on the internet, we will create a generation of millions of Americans who from their youth will be addicted to internet gambling and, therefore, life-long problem gamblers.” Barney Frank labeled Bachus’ comments “hyperbole” and “based on no factual basis whatsoever.”

The Tribal Chairman for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, who has been lobbying to have the tribe offer internet gambling in California, came to the hearing against online gambling because it hurts Indian Tribe casino business and was upset Tribes were not consulted about the UIGEA extension.

A letter was released at the hearing, from Shawn Henry, assistant director for the FBI’s cyber division, that stated “Technology exists to manipulate online poker games in that it would only take two or three players working in unison to defeat the other players who are not part of the team. The online poker vendors could detect this activity and put in place safeguards to discourage cheating, although it is unclear what the incentive would be for the vendor.”

The good news is overall the hearing seemed a positive for the online poker industry and the chances for regulation. Chairman Frank opened up the proceedings with the most logical opinion from a freedom-loving American, “I continue to believe it’s a mistake for the Congress of the United States to tell adults what to do with their own money on a voluntary basis. Some adults will spend their money unwisely, but it’s not the business of the Federal Government to prevent them from doing it.”

December Online Events

2009-12-08T08:32:37Z

December Specials/Events from WECpoker

PokerTime- $50K Points Challenge (and $10 Free No Deposit)
Carbon Poker- Xmas 2009 Promotion (Win over $17,500 in cash)
Cake Poker- Reindeer Games ($50,000 in Holiday Cash and Prizes) Dec 20-27
PokerStars- Passport Promotion (Finish Top 2000 Dec TLB-Win Cash and Live MTT Entries)
Bodog Poker- 12 Days of Poker ($12K in Prizes incl 100K seats, merchandise) Dec 16-27
Sun Poker- Two Billionth Hand Promotion ($160,000 to be given away)
Party Poker- Full House Promotion (Win more than $1 million in the Three-In One promotion)
BankRoll Builder (Exclusive Freerolls for 60 Days after 1st Deposit $20K Monthly)
UltimateBet- Poker2Nite Freerolls: Compete for Over $20,000 (Watch TV Show on FSN)
Mansion Poker- ipoker Two Billion Hand Promotion (winner of 2B hand wins $60K in prizes)

Bodog Sportsbook- 10% Immediate Bonus on Deposit (A Rated SBR)
RakeTheRake Rakeback- Huge Amount of Exclusive Rake Races, Freerolls, MTT Packages
$40,000 Boss Network Rake Race (Dec 1-31)

WECpoker is a comprehensive poker resource from a unique, personal perspective.

Online Poker Staking

2009-11-29T19:50:52Z

Over the last few years, Online Poker Staking has been booming!!! One small site that started in 2006, where a large stake was $10, has turned into a plethora of sites with stakes and winnings in the Tens of Thousands of Dollars and a couple in the Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars.

What is Staking?

Poker staking is the act of one person putting up cash for a poker player to play with in hopes that the player wins. Staking is just about as old as playing poker for money and has made its way online. Staking is simple – a backer (person providing the stake) finds a horse (a player to be staked) and agrees to give the horse a stake (an amount of money to be put into play). The backer and the horse come to an agreement on how the stake will be used (play in a poker tournament or ring game) and they’ll split the winnings (50/50 is a fairly standard arrangement). The horse plays the game that’s been agreed upon, and that’s the end of that.

Another option, Buy A Piece (different name used on different sites) allows you to sell shares of your action to groups of individual investors using a plan that you devise. Once you are finished playing the set of games specified, the sites software completely automates the process of profit distribution.

Before online staking forums came about everyone believed online staking was just not feasible. It turns out that staking has grown into big business and these online poker staking forums generate hundreds of new members every week. The use of poker staking to distribute risk among professional players is discussed extensively in the book The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King by Michael Craig.

Why would I want to stake someone?

Why someone stakes another really depends on the person. Some people to do it to help others, other people do it for entertainment or amusement, other people do it for pure profit. When you stake someone you are giving them a chance to make you both money.

Are there Organized Staking Sites that put a Staker and Horse Together?

Yes, there are several sites that provide a forum for stakers and players to meet up. Each site has its own system for the stake process which involves putting together the two parties. Typically, someone who wants to Stake, lists a game he wants a Horse to play, and players make applications to play that game. The Staker then chooses the player that will receive the stake from all the applications. All of the sites also offer the "Buy A Piece" option described above where a player makes a plan then sells it to a group of investors.

Also, the Staking boom has gone beyond organized staking sites. You will find staking springing up even in individual threads in some Poker Forums.

You can find the only site that lists many of the staking sites HERE.

Las Vegas Hotel Rates Down - But Still too High in my Opinion

2009-11-28T00:57:39Z

I have been reading the Las Vegas Sun lately to see how casinos have been holding up in this tough economy and 13% unemployment rates in Las Vegas. It is pretty gloomy reading the paper these days. Each day seems to bring another casino group filing for bankruptcy or having to halt their plans to build a new resort. Boyd Group just announced it would be at least 3 to 5 YEARS before they re-start building on the new Mega-Resort on the spot the Stardust once stood.

One thing I have noticed, while room rates are down, I still think they are terribly high at many casino/resorts given the need to attract more visitors.

Visitor numbers were down 4.7% January through September vs. 2008, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports. Convention attendance dropped 27.1% during that period.

While hotel discounting is the norm now, you will still find the new luxury Aria opening at official rates under $200, from $179 on slow days. That's at least 20% off what they originally expected, but still a lot of money for people trying to enjoy a Las Vegas Vacation and still have money to gamble. Besides the Aria, a ton of hotels in Vegas still sport rates over $100 a night. The new Mandarin Oriental is banking on high rollers, with 392 rooms and suites that start at $545, with a second night free.

Just what happened to those old executives of Las Vegas who realized that cheap hotel rates and low-priced food brought the masses to gamble and made Las Vegas popular? Seems the town has gotten away from that idea and charges high prices for many places that serve food, put on shows, and provide hotel rooms.

My Las Vegas Hotel Recommended List

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow - Check Raising the Devil

2009-11-28T00:54:39Z

One of the most recognizable faces (and personalities) in Poker has recently released a great book, Check-Raising the Devil. For those that don't know him, his nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table. He is also known for sometimes ruining hours or days of good play with a single spectacular misjudgment, known as a "Mike Matusow Blow-up" or "Mike Matusow Meltdown". Matusow began playing poker seriously in the early 1990s, first while working as a poker dealer, then as a professional player. His successes include being a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, and the winner of the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions.

Unlike most poker books, Check-Raising the Devil takes you on a breathtaking, true-life roller coaster ride from his humble beginnings in a trailer park to a rock and roll lifestyle full of hot women, sex, wild drug-filled parties and million-dollar wins and losses. Yet behind the glamour and glory of his high-stakes poker career lurked the flip side: a person torn between two debilitating mental illnesses; bipolar disorder and ADHD. To dig himself out of depression and suicidal despair, Matusow turned to dangerous street drugs to self-medicate a problem he didn’t understand, and spiraled deeper into the darker world of addiction, police narcotic stings, and jail time.

In this revealing and tumultuous autobiography, the combustible Matusow holds nothing back. You’ll get a mouthful of the man behind the infamous Matusow Meltdowns seen on national TV.

Other Highly Recommended Poker Books

Interesting Report on Online Poker (includes summary of legal status)

2009-11-28T00:48:03Z

A report on online poker was authorized and ordered by the Florida state legislature this past spring. This report has been completed. It contains a detailed summation of the legal status of online poker on the international, federal and state level, from the government viewpoint. Everyone should read this report to understand how our lawmakers, both federal and state, view the legal status of online poker (and online gambling). This report is expected to play a very important role in how legislators on both the federal and states level proceed.

Interesting Excerpts:

Poker is played, legally and illegally, in Florida every day. Legal forms of poker include penny-ante games played by individuals in private homes and authorized games played in regulated cardrooms located in pari-mutuel facilities. Illegal poker includes Internet games and those that occur in sports bars or other venues where unlicensed operators offer poker games.

In the United States, the Department of Justice interprets federal statutes to prohibit all forms of Internet gambling; however, the department’s interpretation relies upon some federal laws that predate the Internet. Florida law does not specifically address Internet poker or other forms of online gambling.

The Nevada Legislature passed legislation in 2001 allowing its gaming commission to adopt regulations governing the licensing and operation of Internet gaming. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Justice advised Nevada that federal law prohibits gambling over the Internet. More recently, the North Dakota Legislature considered bills in 2005 to regulate, license, and tax Internet poker. The state Senate rejected the bill after receipt of a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice indicating that federal law prohibits Internet gambling.

Link to Actual Report

Link to 2+2 Thread Discussion

Tony Bigcharles Video Interview

2009-11-28T00:44:43Z

All Vegas Poker Interviews Tony...this is old but I thought it might be interesting

Tony BigCharles -update

2009-11-28T00:40:45Z

Tony Bigcharles, the infamous self-proclaimed "Poker Professional" who was discussed below, had been maintaining a massive blog at All Vegas Poker. He recently went into a fit and had his highly entertaining blog closed, although it remains in archive to read about his zany adventures and thoughts.

This attention-seeking character can not remain sidelined for long, and has already posted in a new thread opened at All Vegas Poker titled "Tony Bigcharles News and Sightings". I highly recommend you follow his antics.

UIGEA Regulation Implementation to be Delayed at least 6 Months

2009-11-28T00:36:36Z

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is expected to make a statement Friday that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner granted the Poker Players Alliance's petition to delay the compliance date for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The six months would be a compromise to the year requested by the PPA and Frank.

Word of the delay comes just days before the December 1 date when banks and financial institutions were to be held responsible for making sure no outgoing transactions were made to web sites related to what was termed as "illegal Internet gambling."

The six-month delay, while not a victory in itself, sets the stage for future victories by giving Frank time to address his other bill, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act.

It remains to be seen how the banks and credit card companies will respond to a delay. The situation likely will remain similar to recent months, where some are blocking transactions and some are not. But the six-month stay should prevent blocking from getting worse.

PokerNews

Just Why is Rake and RakeBack Important in Online Poker?

2009-11-23T23:50:31Z

What is it?

Poker rooms take a percentage of every pot that is played ( called the "Rake" ). This is how they make their revenue. That set percentage of each pot being taken off the table means that decent players can go through long stretches making little or no money even if they win a few pots here and there. In low-limit games, the rake can be high enough in comparison to the stakes to make the game almost unbeatable over the long term.

This is one reason that much of the poker advice available to newcomers idealistically tells them to build up a bankroll quickly and get out of low-limit games ASAP. In the real world that isn't always possible, leaving some players resigned to playing in the low limits much longer than they would like. Luckily for these grinders there's another option: Rebates for Play!! This is more commonly known as RAKEBACK!!!

It's no overstatement to say that RAKEBACK is one of the greatest creations of the online poker boom. In essence, it's a deal between you and the house to recover a portion of the rake you pay and return it to your bankroll. Rake back deals are possible with online poker rooms because the costs of running such rooms are dramatically lower than running a brick-and-mortar (live) poker room. These rooms still take a rake like a brick-and-mortar casino would, but they can afford to pay some of it back in exchange for player loyalty without losing any of their profit margin. While a handful of small online card rooms pay rakeback directly to players, the majority of rakeback deals are done through sites affiliated with card rooms.

High-limit players can certainly benefit, but it's the low-limit players who have the most to gain from rakeback. Consider that most online poker rooms take a rake of 5% up to a maximum amount, usually around $3-4. If a $2/$4 limit holdem player wins an $80 pot, he's actually paying the house a full 5% of his winnings. If a $100/$200 limit holdem player wins a $2000 pot, he's paying the house less than 1% of his winnings. The low-limit player's rakeback can be the difference between being a break-even player and a winning player; the high-limit player's rakeback is more likely to simply provide spending cash. If you're trying to build a bankroll by playing anything below $5/$10, it's to your advantage to find a rakeback deal.

It is also worth noting that rakeback almost always applies only to cash games -- deals that will also return a portion of your tournament entry fees to you are few and far between, so if you mostly play tournaments you're going to have to add cash games to your repertoire if you want to get value from a rakeback deal.

How Does a Player get Rakeback?-How is it Determined?

Poker RakeBacks are literally a rebate of the poker rake contibuted on each pot. You are paid a specific percentage of the rake that you generate. This rebate is paid to the "RakeBack Provider", who in turn distributes the vast majority of this commission back to you as your Poker RakeBack.

Most poker sites determine the amount of poker rake you generate by taking the actual rake of each pot and dividing it by the number of players that were dealt cards in that hand. For example, if the pot is raked $3 and 10 people were dealt cards, then each person generated $0.30 in rake for that hand. Your Rake Back is a percentage, typically 25% to 50%, of that $0.30, regardless of whether you win or lose the hand. This may sound like a small amount, but it really adds up because of the speed of internet poker. In addition, multi-tabling can exponentially increase the rake, and therefore your Rake Back.

Whether it covers the cost every month of a case of your favorite beer, dinner out, tickets to see your favorite team, or is enough to pay your entire rent or mortgage, getting a healthy percentage of your money back is better than letting the online poker rooms keep it. And remember, just like comps at your favorite casino, it's free money.

Who Provides RakeBack?

To get a rakeback deal, you must locate and choose a reliable "RakeBack Provider" (an affiliate website who offers rakeback for various online poker rooms). Once you have become a member of the "RakeBack Provider", you follow directions on their site concerning the details for signing up for RakeBack on each individual poker room they represent. Generally, you can only apply for RakeBack for online poker rooms that you do not currently have an account. But that is not always the case, so check the requirements of the RakeBack Provider.

Since these sites handle your rakeback money (that they get from poker sites), it is important to be cautious when joining.

This Poker Resource Site Recommends quality RakeBack Sites