Full Tilt Poker’s Fall From Grace

Of all the falls from grace in the online poker world, none have been more shocking than the recent demise of one of poker’s major titans. We’ve seen some major turmoil after UIGEA. The Ultimate Bet scandal/Absolute Poker horrified us, especially the lack of any repercussions against the perpetrators. But none have served as a bigger wake-up call than the recent meltdown of the US poker industry. Pt 1 of this will deal with the history, and Pt 2 will be analysis.

The woes can be traced back to the UIGEA, a sketchy piece of legislation attached to the Safe Port Act. Congress members has a long-standing tradition of holding bills hostage unless other members sign their own bills, and UIGEA was tacked on to increase support for a bill to increase the security of American ports. The UIGEA didn’t ban poker outright, nor did it even mention poker once, but nonetheless, banks would take no chances (very ironic given what happened to most of them in just a year, a fitting end I suppose). Partypoker, the biggest provider at the time, completely pulled out of the US market. But Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker remained. The two were colossal sites. The two were gold standards of the industry. Granted, FTP demonstrated a severe lack of competency in its customer relations, but we overlooked that for the rakeback.

Fast forward to Black Friday. Any of us that had money on the site were horrified from day one. Then came the announcement that the DOJ was letting them pay us back, and we could breathe a sigh of relief. Stars sent out checks very quickly, but FTP remained mysteriously silent. Even Phil Ivey, once seen as one of FTP’s foremost leaders (who are the execs anyways?) filed a lawsuit and promised to boycott the prestigious WSOP.  That was just the tip of the iceberg for poker players, though. It took until late June for the trouble to hit the fan. FTP had its Alderney Gaming Commission license revoked. A major industry recognition, its loss meant FTP had no credibility in providing online poker and all play ceased.

Now, FTP is rumored to be in a buyout deal with European investors. FTP has no liquidity and estimated to have over a billion of dollars of liability. Still, it is a major name in the poker industry and is poised to make a major comeback if major changes are made in its management.

For those of you reading this who were Full Tilt Poker players and are looking for a new room I have to give a shout out to 888 Poker.  The 888 Poker bonus is one of the best in the business, with you receiving up to $600!

Bodog Bad Beat Bonus

If you’re into poker, you’ll know that bad beats will always be part of the game. More so than not, this unfortunate event always gives you an unpleasant drawback. Of course, you can be a gracious loser. However, great news is, you can turn this bad luck into a fortune! Check out Bodog Poker’s newest promotion. This promo allows players to get paid for their bad beats. Getting cash makes it a whole lot better! At Bodog Poker, players can now collect a bad beat bonus to an utmost of $1,000!

Visit Bodog.com Now!

How do you get it?

Only the player with the hand that lost will get to be rewarded the bad beat bonus at the table where it was dealt. This happens when a player who has a Full House with “Aces full of Kings”, or a stronger hand, is defeated by a Four of a Kind hand, or better. With this instance, the player gets a chance to earn a hundred times the big blind sum of up to $1,000.

The following conditions are required in order to avail with this bonus. You will only be entitled when you’re playing Texas Holdem cash games for real money. Tournaments are not covered under this offer. The winning hand and the losing hand should have used both their pocket cards in order to be qualified. These two hands should have gone to showdown as well. Keep in mind that the hand should not constitute of less than three players. Also, all hands should have been played completely unaided. Influencing others how to play their hands or revealing yours will invalidate your eligibility. And lastly, you must submit your hand number within 48 hours to be eligible.

Still think bad luck bad beat sucks? Go ahead and take full advantage of this promotion then. Not all poker games offer bad beat bonuses, so if you don’t have a Bodog account, join now and register. You can create an account for free!

In order to collect your Bad Beat Bonus, you’ll only have to email them through poker@bodog.eu or dial the number 1-866-909-2237 to supply the number of your hand and the name of the table. It’s pretty simple and easy. Once again, don’t forget that the number of your hand should be given within 48 hours of playing it; and kindly wait another 48 hours in order for your bonus to be processed.

This is a great promotion and can really put the ice on your bad beat burns.  Download Bodog Poker today and take advantage of this promotion.