Poker Around The Intertubes
Friday, November 26, 2010
I've been a tad out of the loop lately as it relates to poker. Other than keeping up with my bro and his quest for a ticket to Vegas via the Victory Poker Pro Contest, it's just been slow going. In fact, the first time I stared down an online poker table was when I watched him play a SNG last week while sitting in my living room killing time. The last time he visited and played, he won the SNG; this time proved no different as he took down another SNG while I sat back and enjoyed the show.
I've yet to play on Victory Poker, but I'm pretty sure I'll give them a go sometime soon. I'll certainly be more inclined if they give my bro a chance to go to Vegas and compete against 24 other hopefuls to be their next poker pro for a year. Guess we'll just have to see about that, though I consider him a lock with his 1 minute video garnering the 3rd most votes of all the entrants. In the meantime, I've been thinking more and more about poker lately, so I thought I would see what's going on in the poker world around the intertubes.
First off, it looks as though there may be some turmoil between Phil Hellmuth and his sponsorship of Ultimate Bet. Seems he hasn't worn any UB logos for a while and may be having issues with his sponsorship deal with them. To be honest I've always felt like Phil was in the right place at UB. Playing the annoying poker brat part, I don't think he fits in well with the bigger poker sites like Full Tilt or PokerStars. I always felt like UB and Phil were a perfect fit. Watch Phil prove me wrong and ink a deal with one of the big two before we hit 2011.
Next up, it seems former WSoP world champion Peter Eastgate has sold his championship bracelet at auction on eBay for nearly $148,000. Previously he had indicated he would take a reduced roll in the poker world and it looks as though this might be the icing on the cake. Nothing like winning over $9,000,000, then selling your bracelet and calling it quits. I don't begrudge him a bit for not being a poker ambassador. Some years the poker world hits the the jackpot - Greg Raymer being a good example - and other years you get Russ Hamilton. That's just the way the bookie crumbles.
And with that let's take a minute to discuss PokerStars. Wouldn't you know it, they've once again laid claim to the latest WSoP Champ, Jonathon Duhamel. During my long drive home from work recently, I spent some time listening to various audio interviews of him and I have to admit, I was pretty impressed. He definitely sounds like he could be an ambassador for poker. And though it might not be as big a deal as I first considered, I think it's good that he can potentially tap the US, Canadian and French markets as an ambassador. That could be a pretty powerful voice for poker if he works as much as he says he will.
On to Full Tilt for a moment. Though they had their chances to claim the champ, it just wasn't meant to be. That's not really what I want to write about right now anyway. What has impressed me of late is their announcement of the Rusk Poker Mobile capabilities. Yes you can now play poker on your smart phone while
Sadly it looks as though I won't be taking advantage of this opportunity anytime soon as it only works on phones that support flash, such as Android enabled smart phones. Honestly, I'm not sure who to be disappointed in more. I could of course hoist the middle finger at Apple for refusing to offer flash on their phone, but this little nugget of news has been known since their first iteration of the iPhone. I could also give Full Tilt a hard time for not offering a version of the mobile app sans Flash, KNOWING that Apple is in no rush (pun intended?) to add it to their platform. There is no doubt that keeping iPhone out of the game severely hurts their Rush Poker Mobile player base by not offering support for arguably the most important phone in the history of phones. I just hope they are hard at work on a version that supports the iPhone.
With all this poker site talk (make that type), it's gotten me thinking about the many sites I've played in my 7 years of online poker play. Now I've played some stinkers in my day, though I won't mention any names right now, but I've also played some excellent sites that are always bringing the heat as well as continuously looking to improve. Many sites and guides have reviews of all the poker sites you can play online and it should come as no surprise that PokerStars and Full Tilt always seem to be at the top. And though I've enjoyed playing at both for many years, I must admit Full Tilt remains my favorite site to date. Yeah I know I just mentioned it's a bummer they don't have Rush Poker Mobile on my phone, but at least they are pushing the envelope by making it available with a good platform on as many phones as currently possible. I love the fact they are always coming up with new and interesting ideas. That's just my type of poker site.
Until next time, may the felt be with you.
posted by TripJax @ 3:59 PM,
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World Series of Poker No Limit Hold'em Championship Final Table 2010
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Catch all the action HERE.
Until next time, may the felt be with you.
posted by TripJax @ 1:12 PM,
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