Lock Poker Buys Cake Poker Network – Leaves Merge

There has been some big news out of the Lock Poker camp recently with a statement released yesterday that Lock Poker is buying the Cake Poker network.  Lock Poker plans to rebrand the network to Revolution Gaming and this change is set to take place on June 1st.  For those players who currently have accounts with Lock Poker the transition will be seamless with only a software update being required on June 1st, but everything else transitioning seamlessly with real money cashier and VIP points still being untouched in the Lock Cashier.

Lock Poker states that they have outgrown the Merge Gaming network and that in order to continue on their path to success they must step out on their own.  Lock Poker states that their core philosophy is partnering with their players and building their own poker network is the best way for them to be able to provide better promotions and customer service to their valued customers.  There has been speculation that the Merge networks decision to shutdown LOCKOPS last month had something to do with this change, but in reality Lock Poker, which claims to provide 40% of the players on the Merge network truly had gotten too big to be restricted by a network that they did not own.  The LOCKOPS debacle may have sped up the process, but it was inevitable for Lock Poker to go out on their own eventually.

Visit Lock Poker now to visit the site and check out their plans for this move.

 

The Cake Poker network was dying a slow death and this acquisition is the best thing for the skins on the network as well.  There will be more players which will result in a better tournament schedule and more gaming options for players.  The Revolution Poker network (formerly the Cake Poker network) will likely instantly become the largest online poker network for American players and this can only be a good thing for poker players in the United States.  Lock Poker has shown an ability to build their business and partner with players in the past, which I expect to continue and become even more apparent when running their own poker network.

For those of you who haven’t heard of Lock Poker before I suggest you start downloading Lock Poker here, so you don’t waste any time playing at any other online poker room that accepts US players.  Lock Poker has proven over the past couple years that they are here to stay and they plan to be the best option for US residents.  To learn more about Lock Poker check out www.pokerdownload.co.uk, a great new site that provides detailed information about the room and the downloading step.

Mac Poker Lets You Play

The difference between a PC and a Mac are well known and both choices have their positive and negative points. The choice of a Mac is great if you are a designer and it has been proven that you are likely to pick up fewer viruses when using a Mac. However, it is not all good because many Mac users found that they were unable to get access to many of their favourite sites and download options. In the world of online gaming, this has caused a lot of problems but thankfully this is changing with the rise of Mac poker options.

Mac poker brings you freedom

Given that more and more people are switching to a Mac, it makes sense for poker sites to look out for this market. The smart phone and tablet market is bringing a lot more people to the world of online gaming and they are being catered for so it is only fair that Mac users are being looked out for as well. In a competitive industry, firms have to offer customers what they want and with Mac poker options, Mac users are finally getting their hands on the gaming options that they want. After all, using a Mac is no barrier to being a lover of poker so it makes sense that this option has been created.

Apart from the behind the scenes stuff that very few people worry about, there is no real noticeable difference in the way that Mac poker players play when compared to PC players. The download option provides the poker games and logging in and depositing funds will go through the same process. Mac poker sites will offer welcome bonuses for new members like standard poker sites so there is no need to worry about this element. After all, a poker bonus is one of the most important features of a poker site.

Mac poker takes you to the table

Once you are up and running with Mac poker play, you should find that you can gain access to the same events and tournaments as PC players. If Mac players could only face Mac players, there would be a limited market so the fact that the tournaments are fully open is great news for a Mac player. Taking on your fellow players is one of the biggest thrills of online poker so having as many chances as possible to beat a rival is great news. It doesn’t matter if your opponent is a PC or a Mac player, getting one over on them is something worth celebrating.

There is no point in denying that there are massive differences between PCs and Macs but the gap is narrowing. This can be shown by the fact that PC users and Mac users can play the same games at the same time on the internet. Mac poker is a great innovation which has further enhanced the reputation and desirability of a Mac for many people. If you were holding off on getting a Mac because of its gaming limitations, worry no more.

Mac Compatible Poker Sites Is Now The Norm

Long time Apple CEO Steve Jobs died yesterday, but not without leaving his legacy of being an innovative computer entrepreneur and inventor, who continue to advance the technology that we take for granted today.  This news has prompted me to write a post here about mac online poker rooms, which are now becoming the norm.  Just a few years ago a Mac user would have to search the web in order to find a room with software that was compatible with their Mac computer, but this is no longer the case.  This post will look at some of the top Mac compatible poker sites and how they implemented Mac computers into their business plan.

Titan Poker

Titan Poker offers a flash version of their free poker software that can run on any system, including Mac computers.  The even better thing is that the flash version does not require a download.  You simply visit the Titan Poker website, click on the flash button and get right to playing.  Titan Poker is one of the most popular online poker sites in Europe and should continue to be with these innovative ways to reach more players.

Carbon Poker

It was less than a year ago that Carbon Poker introduced their Mac compatible software.  It is downloadable at the Carbon Poker website and functions exactly like the downloadable PC version.  Carbon was one of the later poker rooms to jump on the Mac compatible band wagon, but it’s never too late.

PokerStars

PokerStars, which many people consider to be the biggest and best online poker site on the web has redone their entire software in order to enable Mac downloads.  I guess this only makes sense for the biggest poker room online, especially when it seems like more and more individuals are preferring Macs to PCs.

Mac computers don’t look like they are going anywhere and the major poker rooms seem to have realized this and almost all poker sites now offer some way for Mac users to play at their poker room.  What is going to be the next step?  I suspect some poker sites will be launching mobile phone compatible downloadable software very soon.  It seems like everything is going the way of the phone, and I expect a good portion of the poker players on mobile devices to be using iPhones.  Steve Jobs truly has left his mark.

Bodog Adds Celebrity Personality Amanda Leatherman

The ever-popular giant of online poker gambling websites, Bodog.eu has signed a big name in the poker niche with Amanda Leatherman, who will be joining Team Bodog, a compilation of trusted poker pundits and professionals.

Amanda has in the past few years grown to be a fairly large name in the poker community and her addition to the famous Bodog label will only elevate her buzz cloud.

On the issue, Amanda stated: “The Bodog life and my own are scarily similar. I can’t wait to do the Bodog photo shoot. I’ll be posting those shots on my facebook as soon as I have them but in the meantime I’ll see you all at the tables, both live and online.”

To provide some background, Amanda hit Las Vegas at age 19 and began playing poker from the start. She learned the subtleties of the game playing from home and researching the strategies characteristic of the poker formula. Since then, she’s found success in competitive play and as a developing face of the game.

Her addition to the Bodog team is anticipated to be a natural and mutually beneficial synergy.

Visit Bodog.eu now to start playing poker and to learn more about Amanda Leatherman, who will surely be a great addition to the team.  You can also try to find Amanda at the Bodog poker tables, where you can chat with her or try to best her at a game of no limit hold’em.

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 Changes Country Domain After More Seizures

After black Friday when Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and UB/Absolute Poker all had their domains seized Bodog remained confident that theres would remain untouched, but it seems that this confidence is swaying lately after the newest set of online gambling domain seizures.  Bookmaker.com, BetEd.com, 2Betsdi.com, TruePoker.com and several other more domains were seized by the Department of Justice on Monday forcing those companies to scramble to keep their current players from finding a new online sportsbook.  Bookmaker.com responded the quickest launching Bmaker.ag right away and quickly sending out an email to inform current players that it was business as usual at their new domain Bmaker.ag.  Bodog.com was not seized, but it seems that Bodog is taking precautionary steps to prevent this occurrence.

Bodog.com has redirected its domain to Bodog.eu for all Bodog related visitors.  The website still looks and acts the same way, just on this other domain that Bodog had already owned.  The country specific domains, Bodog.ca and Bodog.co.uk are still working just as before and players from Canada and the United Kingdom will notice no change whatsoever from this domain change.

This seems to be a smart decision for Bodog because it is hard to say what the DOJ is planning to do next.  Every United States facing sportsbook seems to be in the firing path and this preemptive action to change the domain to a .eu may be what Bodog needed to stay out of the line of fire.

Sign Up At Bodog

That being said this may be perceived by Bodog players that the company is not stable and the more paranoid Bodog players may take this opportunity to take their money off the site while they think they still can.  Bodog is confident that business will run smoothly, but any small change by a company, especially an online gambling company at this time, can easily be misperceived by the general public and this could cause harm to Bodog’s business.  I personally hope this does not happen, because I feel that Bodog is one of the top sportsbooks and poker rooms online and they were the best bet to fill the American poker void left by Full Tilt and PokerStars being forced out of the United States market.

It will be interesting to see how players react to this domain change in the coming weeks.  As I mentioned before Bodog is still at top gambling site for United States residents and players from around the world.  If you are like me and feel that Bodog is one of the more stable American facing poker rooms left online make sure you sign up using code 3178530, which is a referral number for Bodog.

November Nine Are Set

It was a long 8 days, but the main event at the World Series of Poker has finally played down to the final table.  The remaining nine players will have to wait until November to continue their quest for the biggest title in poker.

The biggest name in this years November Nine would have to be Michael Mizrachi.  Mizrachi had many ups and downs in the last couple of days of the main event, but he was able to hold on and finish strong in order to head into the final table 7th in chips.  The biggest chip stack falls to Jonathon Duhamel who has just under 66 thousand chips, which is about 30% of all chips in play.  There is no doubt that Duhamel will enter the final table in November as the favourite.

The unlucky tenth place finisher ended up being Brandon Steven.  Steven got all of his chips in with (A,K) suited against Jarvis’ pocket queens.  The queens held up and the November Nine were set.

The last part of day 8 played out very slowly with no player wanting to make the mistake that would cost them their spot at the final table.  When the action finally came to a close the remaining nine players and the crowd in attendance rejoiced that the final stage was finally set and one of these players would become a new multi millionaire and have a place in poker history forever.

The final table will take place in Las Vegas in November so be ready to watch what goes down!

Sammy Farha wins Event 25 at WSOP

In a World Series where big names hadn’t been winning bracelets, Sammy Farha has started to turn things around for the big name professionals by winning event #25, the WSOP Omaha Hi-Low Championship.  outlasting 212 of the top poker players in the world to win his 3rd WSOP gold bracelet.

Farha had a tough heads up battle with young Brit James Dempsey, who had just won his first bracelet only two weeks earlier.  Farha takes home $488,421 for his efforts in this tournament and Dempsey doesn’t do too poorly either, taking home $302k for second place.

Farha won the event when each player finished with trip 10′s and a jack high, but Farha’s 5th card was a 9, which was just slightly higher than Dempsey’s 8, winning him the hand, and subsequently the tournament.

With the World Series almost half way finished I expect to see some more big names earn bracelets to add to their collection.  I read on another website that Mike Matusow has $20k down that Phil Ivey won’t make a final table at this World Series.  I’m interested to see how that bet pans out because Phil Ivey is widely regarded as the top poker player in the world, and if he can’t even manage to reach a final table in any of the several events at the World Series then it will once again bring into question how much skill plays a part in the outcome of poker tournaments.

I for one think Ivey will pull it off.  Another bet Matusow made was that only 1 or fewer of the 88 players Howard Lederer had in his pre-series fantasy draft would win a bracelet.  I’m not sure if Farha is included in the list, but if he is then there is a very good chance that Matusow will have made some poor bets the other day.

The World Series is heating up and you can still win your seat to the main event.

Sign Up at Full Tilt Poker Now!

Remember to use full tilt referral code “THEFULLTILT” when signing up to make sure you receive the $600 bonus.

Review of Online Poker Site PokerSite.org

Here at Poker Bankroll Tips we want to provide our visitors with the best information possible about online poker.  This includes outlining what other poker sites on the internet are worthwhile and provide unique interesting information that many of you may enjoy.  One site that we feel everyone should check out is PokerSite.org.  This site is rich in content and provides some of the best online poker reviews you can find.  You can also venture deeper into the site and find poker bonus details pages, as well as the poker downloads pages.  There are 17 online poker reviews and there are also this many unique pages dedicated just to the bonus and the download of these sites.  It is really surprising how much information you can find on these simple topics at PokerSite.org.

Bonus Pages

The bonus pages outline the bonus details including how the bonus is earned, how big the bonus can be and how long until the bonus expires.  The page also outlines how you can go about receiving the bonus including which bonus codes you should use to receive the bonus described on the page.

Download Pages

The download pages explain the download options, such as downloading on a MAC or a PC.  The page then goes on to provide a step by step guide to successfully downloading the poker client.

Poker Reviews

The reviews on PokerSite.org are some of the best you will find anywhere on the internet.  The software is looked at in depth.  The poker room promotions are also looked at in detail with seperate sections for each of the big promotions offered by the poker room.  Also included are the tournaments, the reward plan, the support, the withdrawal and deposit options and any other interesting facts that set the room apart from all the other online poker rooms on the internet.

PokerSite.org is a great site with an amazing design.  You can really tell that the owner of the site has paid a great deal of attention to detail and this is what really makes the site stand out.  All of the content on the site is presented in a visually appealing way which allows you to spend a ton of time taking in the information that is presented!

Phil Ivey Gets a Divorce

It has been reported that Phil Ivey and now ex-wife Luciaetta were granted a divorce in a Nevada court room on December 22nd, 2009.  Phil Ivey is often considered the best poker player in the world and some even consider him the best player to ever sit down at the felt.  Ivey has accrued about $12M in tournament winnings over his career.  Add the many millions he has won playing the highest stake cash games in the world and the various endorsement deals he has and you can begin to understand the net worth of Phil Ivey.  The divorce files were sealed so it is still anyones guess how much Phil Ivey is really worth at this time.

Phil Ivey was often considered the “Tiger Woods” of poker so the divorce couldn’t have come at a more interesting time.  The differences between the two however are many and there is no evidence as to why Phil Ivey and his wife decided to call it quits.  Ivey, unlike Woods, will keep all of his endorsement deals and continue to be the face of poker in the world.

You can find Ivey playing online at Full Tilt Poker, where he frequently plays the largest cash games online poker has to offer.  Full Tilt offers 27% rakeback to all new players.  The instructions on how to receive Full Tilt rakeback can be found at the top of this site under the rakeback drop-down menu.

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