Poker Blog & Poker Forum

In another version of dumb poker ideas, some douche rocket on 2P2 has the bright idea to program an application in VB (Visual Basic for the uninformed/uncool) that would take the collective input from thousands of donks and take the most popular action in a heads up match. Pit the supercomputer application against someone like Tom Dwan and see what happens. So it would look something like this –

“Say the first hand we are OTB and have 73o. The software receives from 2000 players: 44 calls, 1699 folds and (2000 - 1699 - 44) raises as possible action for the hand. The software will then choose fold, because it is the most frequent one.”

Of course, since most players are losing players anyway, this would be like the blind leading the blind. I’m sure if offered the action, Tom or most any other online pro would happily take it. A better idea would be to take the thousands of idiots that think this is a good idea, throw a big free roll for them at a major stadium, then gas the joint. Hey, at least then the swings from donk strikery playing online would diminish somewhat, right?

Source: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/collective-intelligence-poker-322076/

A ruling today by the judge in the domain seizure case against 141 gambling domains just made it easier for the state to actually take control over domains from operators such as Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars. The judge unilaterally shot down every argument presented in the case from attorneys representing the defendants. He also struck down the arguments from the PPA and iMEGA, along with several other special interest groups that opposed the measure.

It would appear that Kentucky is hell bent on returning to the days when the internets simply, didn’t exist. This is a ass-backwards move that should make anyone think twice about visiting the state, much less living there. Anyone with a computer anyway. What’s next? Abolish sites that display porn? What about information sites for girls seeking abortions? All of those things are considered “bad” by some people but not all. Sounds a lot like what North Korea and other communist states impose on Internet freedoms that are available to “most” people in “free” countries.

It’s disappointing to see this happening in the year 2008. That politicians feel that they should regulate morality and ensure that we can’t harm ourselves in the privacy of our homes. A final hearing is set to take place on November 17th. In the meantime, the sites all have 30 days to institute some sort of geo-targeted blocking so that Kentucky residents can’t access these sites.

Last night when the action got shorthanded in the PokerStars WCOOP Main Event, the final six players began to discuss a chop deal, Alex Kamberis AKA AJKHoosier1 took over the talk. While we applaud his savvy in negotiating a sweet deal as the shortest stack at the table, we frown heavily upon gratuitous self promotion.

It all started when Alex immediately protested at the offer for a chop and his cut being about 80K less than what he felt entitled to. During the rapid fire chat he said this:

AJKHoosier1: not to sound like a total dbag but im #1 in cardplayer opoy and #2 on pocketfives tournament rankings i think that should count for something

Well, Alex you did just that you friggin douche. If I were at the table you would have lost my vote the second you decided to beat your chest and announce just how big your dick really is to the world. At least later you admitted as much:

AJKHoosier1: and now i sound like a total dbag

Yup, and the new rumor is you like to dress up like Peter Pan and hang out with this guy.

Good job on getting yourself a good deal with the chop. Boo for being a self absorbed doucherocket and making a fool of yourself during the final table of the biggest online poker tournament ever.

US poker players are having to come up with new ways to move their poker bankrolls around it seems on a weekly basis now. With the US crackdown on payment processors making them jump through so many hoops, a cottage industry has sprung. There are services like ChipWalkers out there but many folks are stuck trying to use a sub-forum that they’re a member of, etc. Also, even with services like Chip Walkers there are rampant rumors of abuse and fraud taking place.

A recent thread on 2P2 asks the seemingly dumb question of why don’t the poker sites allow you do this (move money from A to B). The obvious answer is that they don’t want to help the competition. However, think about this for a minute. If they charged a fee they could add a significant amount to their bottom line. Others argue it’d be a wash.

What are your thoughts? Would it make sense for the poker rooms to offer something like this? Would you participate if so?

Source: 2+2

Brian Townsend (aka sbrugby) is another name that can be added to the list of players who have been caught multi-accounting at some of the top poker rooms online - except this time it’s one of Full Tilt’s very own.

Through admission on his own blog, Townsend came forth with a public apology for using multiple accounts on both Pokerstars.com and FullTiltPoker.com over the last six months. According to him, none of these accounts were used to play in any of the high stakes games, nor were they used to multi-account in tournaments. It is interesting to note that at the same time he began multi-accounting, was around the same time he was named a red pro at FT.

Townsend’s reasoning for creating the additional accounts, was because he wanted to remain anonymous while playing low limit games. He felt as though people would see him as failing for sitting in a 25/50 or 50/100 table instead of those that he is most familiar with.

“The reason why I created these accounts was because I enjoy anonymity when playing smaller and am very prideful in what I do,” said Townsend. “The past two years I have made a lot of money playing poker. This year I have been breakeven. For me it’s correct to play smaller when things aren’t going well. I am smart enough to move down when things aren’t going well; I was just too prideful to make it public.”

Townsend is a “Red Pro” at Full Tilt Poker. For those who may not know a “red pro” status allows those players to earn an hourly rate in addition to one of the best rakeback deals available. As retribution for breaking the one account rule, Full Tilt has taken immediate action against Townsend by stripping him of his pro status, which of course means he loses all the perks that go with it, for a period no less than six months. CardRunners on the other hand posted on 2 + 2 that Townsend will be donating $25,000 for the Habitat for Humanity charity. PokerStars is the only room which has yet to release any formal statement on their course of action against Townsend who used the alias aba20.

What most people are now asking is why the special treatment with Townsend? Why is he only being stripped of red status and not a ban like other cheaters in the past?  A charitable donation of $25,000 really isn’t very much when you consider what the majority of these players make. Whether he used the accounts to play in the same games or not, he still played under separate aliases, which is clearly against the T&C’s of these poker sites and yet he is only getting a slap on the wrist.