Absolute Poker Stud and Mixed Game Poker Tournaments

September 29, 2009

absolutepokerlogoAbsolute Poker has a very thorough Hold ‘em Poker and Omaha tournament schedule; however, there are very few Stud Poker tournaments and mixed game events running on a daily basis, and there are virtually no guaranteed tournaments outside of a $1500 Guaranteed HORSE event. For the casual Stud Poker player or mixed game player, Absolute Poker will suit you, but if you are looking for a lot of action in these two styles of poker gaming, you might want to try PokerStars or Full Tilt Poker. Bigger online poker rooms have more traffic and are able to offer a better variety of tournaments when it comes to alternative poker like mixed games and even Stud Poker. Absolute Poker does offer a couple big-money weekend NL Hold ‘em guaranteed tournaments with prize pools in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is where most of the Absolute tournament traffic congregates to.

If you are interested in the few 7 Card Stud Poker tourneys that Absolute does offer, most of them run at the $2+$0.20 buy-in rate, but there are also freerolls and $5+$5.50 events. You can also play Stud Hi/Lo tournaments on Thursday nights at 21:00 EST at Absolute Poker for a buy-in of $2+$0.20; however, some of these events are bumped up to $3+$0.30. Absolute Poker does not currently host Razz Poker (7 Card Stud Lo) tournaments.

Absolute Poker offers about the same amount of mixed game poker tourneys as they do Stud Poker events, which isn’t that many, but it’s enough to get your feet wet. HORSE is the only mixed game available at Absolute Poker, which is a 5-game mix consisting of Hold ‘em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, and Eights or Better. Most HORSE tournaments at Absolute Poker are either freerolls or have a $2+$0.20 buy-in; however, there are a few $5+$5.50 and $10+$1 events about once per month.

There is a $15+$1.50 $1,500 Guaranteed HORSE event that appears to take place monthly at Absolute, so this is the most action you’ll find in terms of mixed game guaranteed tournaments. If you do try your hand at HORSE on Absolute, you’ll probably eventually end up graduating to another online poker site with more to offer in these styles of events because once you get the taste for mixed games, it’s hard to go back to single-game tournaments.

Absolute Poker is a smaller online poker room; therefore, there’s just not enough traffic to feed a lot of alternative poker games and tournaments, especially guaranteed tournaments. If you like a small online poker room, then Absolute is great for Texas Hold ‘em action and even Omaha for that matter, but it’s just not a suitable fit for active players who like to change up their play from the typical hold ‘em games. You may want to practice your Omaha, Stud, and Stud Hi/Lo here, try some HORSE, and then move on to an online poker room that has more Stud games, Razz, and mixed game tournaments to offer you.

Lady Gaga invited to the Irish Poker Festival by Ladbrokes

September 28, 2009

lady-gagaBetween the 2nd and 4th of October the Irish Poker Festival will be held and there we might be able to see if Lady GaGa has a poker face or not. Usually people have to qualify for this tournament or they can buy directly in to the tournament but in Lady GaGa’s case it was enough to create a number one hit containing a lot of references to poker to get a free invitation to the tournament.

Lady GaGa is going on tour together with Kanye West bet there is an opening in the schedule which would make it possible for her to participate in this tournament.

“It would be great if she could make it to the tournament,” said Andreas Gillberg who is one of the managers at Ladbrokes and at the same time he is adding that there is a spot open for Kanye West as well should the Lady want to bring some company.

Ladbrokes Poker have already managed to get one music celebrity to participate in this tournament. Shane Lync from Boyzone have already accepted his invitation to the Irish Poker Festival.

The first price in the Irish Poker Festival is €100.000. The question is if that’s enough to get her to participate in the tournament.

Majority thinks Phil Ivey will win the 2009 WSOP Main Event

September 28, 2009

Even though it is still a couple of months until the final table of the 2009 WSOP is going to start there is one player who is already a huge favorite to win the main event. In many recent surveys he has been the number one pick amongst most people and even the online sportsbooks are giving him a good chance to win.

At the moment the 2009 WSOPE is being played and the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table is still in the distant future. But according to a survey made on WSOP.com there is already a big favorite to win this years WSOP Main event.

At the time of writing this poker news post 78.56% of all the people who voted had chosen Phil Ivey as the winner. We find this very interesting since Phil Ivey is going to start out the final table in 7th place and only $9.765.000 in chips compared to the chipleader Darvin Moon who is sitting on $58.930.000 in chips.

If you look at the odds offered by Sportsbook.com you will see that they have Phil Iveys odds as the third lowest of any player in the tournament. This shows that either the online sportsbooks have a lot of faith in Phil Ivey or they are just getting an insane amount of bets on Ivey to win and had to adjust the odds accordingly.

This is what the visitors of WSOP.com think the outcome of the final table will be:

Odds from Sportsbook.com:

  • Antoine Saout – 15/1
  • Darvin Moon – 5/2
  • Eric Buchman – 4/1
  • James Akenhead – 12/1
  • Jeff shulman – 6/1
  • Joseph Cada – 12/1
  • Kevin Schaffel – 12/1
  • Phil Ivey – 5/1
  • Steven Begleiter – 11/2

Final Table chip counts:

  • Phil Ivey 9.765.000
  • Darvin Moon 58.930.000
  • Jeff Shulman 19.580.000
  • Eric Buchman 34.800.000
  • Joseph Cada 13.215.000
  • James Akenhead 6.800.000
  • Antoine Saout 9.500.000
  • Steven Begleiter 29.885.000
  • Kevin Schaffel 12.390.000

Full Tilt Poker Mixed Game Tournaments

September 28, 2009

Full Tilt Poker offers quite a number of mixed game tournaments and even more mixed game cash tables. You will find that Full Tilt gets pretty creative with their mixed game styles and acronyms that represent them. Some of the most common mixed game tourneys at Full Tilt are detailed below, as well as some of the unique mixed game cash tables that you just won’t find anywhere else.

The most basic mixed game available at Full Tilt is HA poker, which only consists of two games, Hold ‘em and Omaha Hi. This is a great place for beginning mixed game players to start out to understand the way mixed events run. Switching between two different games is a lot easier than five games, so it is best to work your way up from here. You can play in a handful of HA events every week at Full Tilt starting at $5+$0.50 and going up as high as $69+$6. This game is also featured in the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) with guaranteed prize pools up to $200K.

Once you’ve graduated from HA, you might want to try HOSE, which consists of Hold ‘em, Omaha Hi, Stud, and 8s or Better. HOSE is a slight modification of HORSE, which contains Razz and is the most popular mixed game, made popular in the 2006 WSOP. There are a couple of HOSE tournaments at Full Tilt with $3 or $5 buy-ins.

Other mixed games that Full Tilt offers at cash tables include HEROS poker (Limit Hold ‘em, Limit Stud Hi/Lo, Limit Razz, Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, and Limit Stud Hi). HO is also available, featuring Limit Hold ‘em and Limit Omaha Hi/Lo. HOE includes Limit Hold ‘em, Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, and Limit Stud Hi/Lo (8s or Better). OA consists of PL Omaha Hi and PL Omaha Hi/Lo; OE is Limit Omaha Hi/Lo and Limit Stud Hi/Lo; and finally, SE is Limit Stud Hi and Limit Stud Hi/Lo. While these games haven’t caught on in the tournament schedule at Full Tilt, they may be offered some time in the future.

Mixed game tournaments are a great way to hone your skill at multiple poker games or challenge yourself once you become bored with single-game tournaments. When you are able to play more than one variation of poker, you are suddenly placed in a different class of players, who are much more versatile, knowledgeable, and well-rounded. Becoming efficient in mixed games will also help your game when you do revert back to single-game events. Confidence in your all-around poker skill set is an important part of being a consistent and successful poker player.

Consider yourself warned, though, as once you try mixed games, you may become fixated on playing them and find it difficult to amuse yourself at single-game tables. However, you cannot advance as a player, especially professionally, if you don’t explore ways to challenge your poker mind and master other games outside of Texas Hold ‘em, and even Omaha for that matter.

Barry Greenstein wants to allow poker bots

September 27, 2009

The computer geeks programmers who are creating poker bots who can play online poker are making more and more progress. Every now and again it happens that the online poker rooms are finding these bots at their tables and they have to block the account of that player.

So far they can’t handle all the aspects of the game, they can be seen playing perfect poker for a short while but will eventually end up throwing the money away on some stupid play. When it comes to Limit Hold’em these bots are doing a pretty decent job at making a profit at the lower levels but at the No Limit tables it is a lot harder creating a bot that can play and win consistently and according to the poker bot creator Rob Turner it is highly doubtful if you could ever create a bot that could completely master all aspects of the game.

“It can take years before we see poker bots that are unbeatable at the poker tables. It might even be impossible to create a bot like that,” said Turner.

Rob Turner is not only a poker bot developer but also one of the people who fight for their rights to play at the online poker rooms. So far there are no poker rooms that have officially said that it is allowed to use bots to play for you. In order to try to get poker rooms to open up for bots Turner have put up a $10.000 reward to the first online poker room to openly accept poker bots.

Rob Turner get support from Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein, who also thinks that poker bots should be allowed.

“I think that online poker sites should allow poker bots, but only at specific tables where it is clearly stated that you are playing against bots. The regular poker players should know who the bots are and then decide if they want to play against them or not,” said Greenstein in an interview with PokerListings.se.

But personally Barry Greenstein would not want to play against a poker bot.

Ladbrokes Promotional Code September 2009

September 26, 2009

New players signing up at Ladbrokes in September 2009 can now get a fantastic welcome bonus just by entering the Ladbrokes promotion code TOPBONUS when registering the account. This qualifies you for a 100% match bonus up to massive $1000. This bonus is quite easy to clear and will be a big boost for your bankroll, no matter what you deposit. For example if you deposit $500, you will get $500 pending bonus that is being cleared once you have reached the required raked hands at the real money tables. Before releasing the bonus, players must also fill in a short form at Ladbrokes, but this is done quickly and you will see when to enter this information.

This poker bonus is larger than what most online poker rooms can offer. Another thing that differs a bit is that there is no need to earn certain player points but only raked hands. This is a better deal for cash game players and if you play at the ring game tables, probably you won’t have much problem clearing this sign up bonus.

Ladbrokes is one of the oldest and most trusted gaming brands, and they host players from all over the world. Within the same account you can also enjoy a great sportsbook, casino and other games. The poker site is now located on the Microgaming network and there is plenty of activity at most levels. In general Ladbrokes is much recommended for cash game players.

There are also loads of other promotions and campaigns offered here, don’t miss the Monthly $1,000,000 Rake Race or the valuable Loyalty Program. Signup now with promo code TOPBONUS, the best Ladbrokes Poker Promotional Code for September 2009 to receive this great bonus offer.

Expekt Poker Referrer Code September 2009

September 25, 2009

Expekt Poker, this popular iPoker room that is giving out a lot of bonuses and promotions to all players. The top Expekt referrer code for September 2009 is EXPwlm1005 and this need to be entered in the registration process with Expekt. With this code, players are entitled for a 100% match bonus of the first deposit, up to a maximum of $600. This bonus is rather easy to clear and all you need to do is to earn player points at the real money tables. For every 375 FPP earned, $5 of the poker bonus is being released to your poker account.

There are many other exciting offers when signing up with the Expekt Poker referrer code EXPwlm1005 in September. Among other things you will get free access to the weekly $1000 Freeroll that are being played every Wednesday.

Players are also automatically being enrolled into the VIP program at Expekt Poker. This loyalty program consists of six different levels which are Grinder, Rounder, Expert, Champion, Master and Legend. Obviously the more you play, the higher you will go into the VIP levels, which leads to more valuable awards. These awards can be tournaments, cash prizes or just any exclusive offer. Once active with Expekt Poker, you will see many special promotions and campaigns to take advantage of, such as Bad Beat Jackpot, Jackpot Sit and Go’s and others.

Enter the top Expekt referrer code september 2009 EXPwlm1005 for the best promotions and signup offers for new players.

Bodog’s 15 Days of Poker Tournament Series

September 24, 2009

For 15 days, Bodog is celebrating their 15th anniversary with the 15 Days of Poker Tournament Series promotion. Fifteen qualifying tournaments will run with a final freeroll tourney to wrap things up on October 15th when a $15K prize pool will be up for grabs.

Bodog Poker Pro David Williams said, “For 15 years, Bodog has been a leader in the online gambling industry, giving players a superior gaming experience while awarding billions in prizes.” He added, “And Bodog.com’s 15 Days of Poker tournament series gives online poker players a fun and profitable way to celebrate this colossal achievement with Bodog.”

The 15 Days of Poker kicked off on September 21st, but you can still get in on the action up until October 5th. Every night between these dates at 8:15 p.m. EST, the 15 qualifiers will run for buy-ins ranging from $5 to $15 and feature different Texas Hold ‘em formats including NL, PL, FL, Turbo, Super-Turbo, and Re-buy tournaments.

For each qualifier, the top 30% of finishers of each event will receive Tournament Leaderboard Points that will determine who will advance to the 15 Days of Poker Semi-Final to take place on Thursday, October 8th at 8:15 p.m. EST. Those players placing from 16th to 115th place on the leaderboard and those who have participated in at least 10 qualifying events will advance. The top 15 places will skip the Semi-Final and move straight to the culminating $15K Final Tournament to take place on October 15th at 8:15 p.m. ET.

Winner of the Semi-Final and top 15 finishers of the Final will earn a seat in the weekly $100K Guaranteed that takes place every Sunday on Bodog at 4:00 p.m. EST. Places 2nd through 14th in the Semi-Final will get a seat to a satellite for the $100K Guaranteed. Additionally, the top 15 places of the Semi-Final will get a seat at the freeroll tourney, as will the top 1st through 15th places on the 15 Days of Poker Tournament Leaderboard, as well as those who participated in at least 15 of the qualifying events.

There are so many ways to win here that it’s a poker party foul to not take advantage of such an offer. After all, there probably won’t be another deal like this at Bodog until their 20th anniversary.

PokerStars appear in Rap Video

September 24, 2009

The Pokerstars brand is beginning to pop up in more and more music videos lately. Earlier this year we could see a quick appearance by Daniel Negreanu in a Kate Perry video for the song Waking up in Vegas. And the PokerStars logo got some short camera time in the music video for My Time with Fabolous.

And the online poker giant have done it again, this time theyhave teamed up with the rapper Drake and in his music video Forever you can clearly see the PokerStars player LeBron James (also known as RealLeBron at PokerStars.com) while he is playing online poker at PokerStars.

The song Forever comes from the soundtrack for the movie More Than a Game which is a documentary about James.

You can watch the music video on YouTube by clicking this link.

Bodog Poker Referral Number September 2009

September 23, 2009

Now is the time to signup at Bodog Poker for a great signup bonus as a new player at this online poker room. Just enter the referral number 1169861 in order to qualify for a 100% match bonus up to $500 as well as an additional 10% instant poker bonus which you will have available on your account right away. There are hardly any poker rooms that give out instant poker bonuses nowadays, with no clearing requirements before the bonus is released, so this is chance you should not miss out on.

When entering the top referral number for September 2009 (1169861) at Bodog, you will automatically qualify for this bonus offer and all the other promotions Bodog can offer. This includes a very competitive points reward system where you can get exchange your earned points for cash. We can also recommend you to check out the large guarantee tournaments and freerolls available at Bodog Poker.

The 100% match bonus is being added to a pending bonus account, as in most poker rooms online. The bonus is being released into your poker account as you earn points at the real money tables. For every 100 points earned, $10 of the bonus amount is being released. The player points are being earned quite quickly so I would say this a easy to clear poker bonus for most players.

The 10% instant bonus is a bit different. The bonus is being added to your account instantly, and you can use them for any poker game you wish, but you need to earn a certain amount of player points before you can request a withdrawal of the funds. This is obviously done to avoid fraud attempts. However, getting an instant bonus is a very unique thing nowadays, and a great easy to increase your bankroll right away. Players need to earn 3 points for every dollar given in bonus money.

This is the best September 2009 Bodog referral number available and this is an established poker room we can truly recommend. They also offer a great casino and also sportsbook within the same player account.

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