In light of the recent negative media in regards to online poker and the security issues at several major poker sites
the minds that run these operations need now be taking a more serious approach to the issue that has begun to define the trust a player has in his chosen poker site.

Suffice to say that Party Poker and Poker Stars have consistently led the way with the tightest security on the market and have certainly gone a long way in actually defining the safety that its players should expect when depositing and then playing with their own money online.

Up until now
the other major internet poker site
Full Tilt Poker has lagged behind the two power units in the market in its security policies. One of those policies is certainly being a public external audit whereby anyone who is interested can analyze the card distribution and hence being able to determine if the randomizer program in use at Full Tilt is actually fair. The other major security issue is the lack of policy with regards to third party “black hat” data mining software being used for profit on the Full Tilt tables against unsuspecting players.

Full Tilt experienced a bonanza of business last year when Party Poker (being a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange) was forced to pull out of the American market to avoid getting into a potential legal battle with the Government of the USA. Within weeks of the legislation
Full Tilt became a major player in the market leaving behind many other poker sites of its comparative size like Ultimate Bet
Absolute Poker
and Bodog for example. Those sites now are suffering in their own right with “soft” security and need to make some big decisions if they can expect future growth.

So given that Full Tilt may have had some growing pains
it could be argued they had other things on their mind than security. In a recent communication with the company however
I have been informed of at least these issues which are now being addressed at this point.

An external audit is now being considered as a Full Tilt company representative stated – “As for a third-party independent audit of our shuffling and dealing processes
we are currently considering our options in that area and hope to have a related announcement soon.” I really hope they follow through with this because an external audit will go a long way in drowning out the bad beat drama found in so many poker forums about full tilt hands that went terribly wrong.

Next is the enforcement and crackdown on the data-mining activities of third party software like Poker-Edge. This software has always been the nemesis of Poker Stars and Party Poker where those sites actually scan your hard-drive now to determine if you are using such software. You will get a warning of account deletion and confiscation in about a New York minute if you are actually using it.

Only recently Full Tilt actually put up a list of prohibited software that included Poker-Edge. Now it is one thing to have a list of prohibited software and actually do something about it
which up until now Full Tilt didn’t really “prevent” its use. That all changed when operators of Poker-Edge actually boasted on their own forum that Full Tilt doesn’t even care about using the Poker-Edge on their tables and cited mockingly that “Poker-Edge does have a b2b affiliation with fulltilt such that if you signup with fulltilt through the poker-edge link… you’ll get poker-edge for free (for three months). So I truly doubt that fulltilt cares very much about that prohibited list.”

Well that tidbit irked the sleeping giant to the point of identifying Poker-Edge as being in breach of their affiliate agreement and have now cut off association with that software
and further as stated by the Full Tilt rep “As far as the data-mining issue is concerned
we are currently
reviewing our options
which may include the introduction of countermeasures that will deter and prevent the use of such programs and/or databases. The integrity of our site and the security of our players are of paramount importance to Full Tilt Poker
as they have been since our inception.”

Given that Full Tilt Poker has now deemed these issues a priority as well
I should think that would be a wake-up call to Bodog
Ultimate Bet
Absolute
and the rest of the aspiring poker sites that want to progress in this game of capturing new players and deposits. You are simply going to need the highest security standards and policies as part of your infrastructure.

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Paddy Power Poker Issues Presidential Invite


Popular poker site invites President Obama to take part in this year’s Irish Open poker tournament. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/PokerNews/ns_19012010_445.html

Who Is Isuldur1?


Unknown poker player loots the industry’s best. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/PokerNews/ns_16112009_377.html

The class of online poker software used is an important factor to consider while selecting an online poker room. When playing poker with online players by placing bids
it is difficult to notice the opponent’s body language
which in turn is very vital for the success of the game. But
with the help of a good online poker software tool
it is easy to know the reaction time and highest bids play. Online poker software is actually a set of programs designed by top professionals and employed by online poker rooms to enable the players to have the best poker experience.

For an inexperienced player
design is important
in order to follow the game and analyze various movements at the playing table. It is also necessary to check the sound effects. Further
see whether the graphics involves special features.

Another important factor determining online poker software is playability
i.e. whether the games run smoothly without any interruption. The poker room’s capability to host large poker tournaments and possibility to play at various tables at the same time are factors to be checked. Statistics and usability of the interface are the other factors vital for online poker software.

Based on the specific needs of the players
different online poker software tools are available. For example
in order to determine hand strength for Hold’Em
Stud
and Lowball
one of the excellent tools is the Pokenum Poker Hand Analyzer
which has features to add cards to the board. Likewise
poker chart software program introduced by the Ace Analysis Company provides graphs and analysis
which helps users to track their performance history throughout the poker career. There are many websites in the market
selling online poker software. In some instances
online poker rooms use their own proprietary software.

Among the top names in online poker software are Texas Hold’Em Assistant
Dave O’Brien’s Smoke’em Poker
iPoker
Wilson Software Turbo Poker
Frugal Gambler Video Poker Teacher
IRC Poker
and All Video Poker for Palm OS. Nowadays
free online poker software tools are also popular.

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2010 WSOP Event #8: No-Limit Holdem chip counts
2010 WSOP Event #8: No-Limit Holdem chip counts Here are some poker pros to look out for – Phil Hellmuth is in 16th with 84
700 and has more bracelets in NL holdem than any player in the world. He has the most experience by far deep in NL tournaments. Look for Cliff Josephy in [...]

There are several online poker rooms where you can play Poker against other people on the internet. The following major online Poker Rooms have established reputations and a wide selection of games and players:

Party Poker
Party Poker is the most popular online Poker site
with a large number of players
tables and games to choose from. You can play Texas Hold Em
7 Card Stud or Omaha… A ton of different tournaments are happening at any one time
and Party Poker offers great promotional events. A good signup Bonus offer – get up to $100 on your first deposit. Party Poker software is simple
straightforeward
and easy to use – it works on Windows
but it is not compatible with Mac or Linux.

Poker Stars
One of the best sites for tournaments
you can play Texas Hold Em
Omaha or 7 Card Stud at the Poker Stars online Poker Room. Limits range from $0.01/0.02 to $100/$200 and overall the players are tougher than average. Poker Stars has a good frequent player program. This is a good place for players looking to compete in online Poker tournaments.

The Poker Room
The Poker Room is where many new players go to play Texas Hold Em
Omaha or 7 Card Stud. A good selection of tables to choose from with low Limits of $1/$2 all the way up to limits of $25/50. The Poker Room offers a good selection of lower stakes $1/2 and $2/4 tables
more than most other online Poker Rooms. Good signup Bonus offer – get up to $100 Bonus. The Poker Room website is well-designed and their Poker software is user-friendly. All games offer a no-download version of their software that runs great on Windows
Mac and Linux operating systems.

Ultimate Bet
The Ultimate bet site features many different game variations
high limit games
and celebrity players – play Texas Hold Em
Omaha or 7 Card Stud games. The Ultimate Bet website has a slick look to it and the software has many great features – works on Windows
but no Mac or Linux versions. This Poker Room has a good variety of different games going on and many high limit games. Good signup Bonus offer – get up to $100 on your first deposit
and they also offer a great frequent player program.

Royal Vegas Poker
Royal Vegas Poker is part of the Prima Poker Network – a network which brings together thousands of people playing Poker simultaneously at dozens of card rooms to create one
unified body of players and one enormous online Poker Room. Play Texas Hold Em
Omaha
5 Card Stud or 7 Card Stud. Their software works on Windows
but it is not compatible with Mac or Linux. There is always a good selection of games and tournaments to choose from at Royal Vegas.

For access to some of the web’s best online games and tournaments
visit The Poker Pages.

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Poker Cup Australia 2008


Titan Poker is proud to announce the Poker Cup Australia Super Satellite Series awarding one or more skillful poker players with a seat(s) to the upcoming Australia Poker Cup 2008
which will be staged from October 12th – October 20th
2008 at the Crown Casino in Melbourne
Australia. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/Poker_Promotions/Poker_Cup_Australia_2008.html

Dealing with Sore Losers

Once in your poker playing life
youll come across one or more players that simply cant step to the beat of losing and winning. These people are those who probably think they should win simply because their opponents seemed to be winning the entire day
which is not a good excuse for losing badly in [...]

Win a seat at the 2009 ECPokerTour Salzburg


Titan Poker presents the year’s most prestigious new tournament
the ECPokerTour Salzburg 2009. The ECPokerTour poker championship will be staged in the lavish new Alpine Palace Card Casino between April 3rd and 5th 2009. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/Poker_Promotions/2009_ECPokerTour_Salzburg.html