Poker Blog & Poker Forum

Last night UB.com (aka the cheating poker site formerly known as Ultimate Bet) launched a new TV show called Poker2Nite.  The show is hosted by Joe Sebok and Scott Huff and is supposed to be some kind of poker talk show.  For the very first episode they brought on former real-world hot tub three-way specialist (according to her wikipedia page), Trishelle Cannatella.

The interview started off with the 3 chatting about Trishelle’s last name, then Sebok asks why she is dressed so modest.  Trishelle gets extremely “upset” and storms off the set.  While on her way out, Huff says to her, “Maybe you’d be more comfortable if we did this in a hot tub”.

After watching this video, it looks like this is purely a marketing ploy for the show considering all 3 of these characters have ties to Ultimate Bet.  As Trishelle is walking off the set the look in her face is more of a smirk then actual anger, and Sebok himself seems to have a smile on his fase as well.  Here is the video here:

Cannatanella also seems to be the latest AP/UB “hot chick” poker player as she was seen playing the WPT Celebrity Invatational sporting an AbsolutePoker.com patch seen here.  To her credit she did end up coming 3rd in the tournament winning $20,000.

Ah well, I guess everyone has their price.

According to a recent study performed by a group of Canadian scientists and this site, poker is apparently considered to be a stress reliever.

Apparently these scientists found during their study that the more poker players become involved in a game the less signs of cortisol they have in their blood stream.  Cortisol is the stress hormone created naturally by the body.  Too much of it can be deadly!

During the study with the poker players they found that on average the amount of cortisol in their blood decreased by 17% throughout a prolonged session.  They believe the reasoning for this reduction is because while the players are playing they become so focussed that the stresses of their everyday life simply slip out of their mind.

Sure, this makes sense, but obviously the players involved in this study didn’t receive any brutal suckouts during their play or were good poker players to begin with.  I know that when I play I can get extremely stressed after my aces get cracked by some douchebags 98 offsuit.  Also, I find it stressful that I seem to lose a lot of money playing poker.  Good thing I wasn’t in that study!

Every year Pokerstars runs the biggest series of online poker tournaments called the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), and 2010 is no exception!  As always these tournaments seem to get bigger and bigger every year, with more cash up for grabs.  Just like last year they will continue to have the 3 levels of buyins for the games, making them affordable to everyone.  There will be a low, medium and high variety of each of the games with buyins as low as $5.50 and as high as $25,500 (for the High Roller heads-up tournament).

The tournament, which will consist of 33 events with 3 versions (99 total), is set to begin on May 3rd and will run for just under 2 weeks until May 16th.  All of the tournaments have HUGE guaranteed prizepools, so do not miss out on the chance to win some great money!  Without further adieu, here is the schedule for the 2010 Spring Championship of Online Poker:

Pokerstars 2010 SCOOP Schedule

Event 1: No-Limit Hold’em with Re-buys Six-Max
May 3, 2010
Low: $5.50 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
Med: $55 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed
High: $530 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed

Event 2: Fixed-Limit Badugi
May 3, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $75,000 guaranteed

Event 3: Pot-Limit Five-Card Draw
May 4, 2010
Low: $11 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed
Med: $109 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
High: $1,050 buy-in, $75,000 guaranteed

Event 4: No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up Match Play
May 4, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 5: No-Limit Hold’em
May 4, 2010
Low: $11 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $109 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: $1,050 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 6: Mixed Hold’em Six-Max
May 5, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $400,000 guaranteed

Event 7: Seven Card Stud
May 5, 2010
Low: $33 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed
Med: $320 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
High: $3,150 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed

Event 8: Pot-Limit Omaha Heads-Up Match Play
May 6, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed

Event 9: No-Limit Hold’em
May 6, 2010
Low: TBD buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: TBD buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: TBD buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed

Event 10: No-Limit Hold’em Ante-Up
May 7, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed

Event 11: Fixed-Limit Omaha High-Low
May 7, 2010
Low: $55 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $530 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed
High: $5,200 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed

Event 12: No-Limit Hold’em 2x Chance Turbo
May 7, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed

Event 13: No-Limit Hold’em Shootout
May 8, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $15,000 guaranteed (Quadruple Shootout)
Med: $215 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed (Triple Shootout)
High: $2,100 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed (Double Shootout)

Event 14: Pot-Limit Omaha with Re-buys Six-Max
May 8, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 15: No-Limit Hold’em Big Antes
May 9, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed

Event 16: No-Limit Hold’em Two Day Event
May 9, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $1,500,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $2,000,000 guaranteed

Event: 17: Pot-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha
May 10, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed

Event 18: No-Limit Hold’em Four-Max
May 10, 2010
Low: $33 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed
Med: $320 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed
High: $3,150 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 19: Deuce-Seven Triple Draw
May 11, 2010
Low: $11 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed
Med: $109 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
High: $1,050 buy-in, $75,000 guaranteed

Event 20: Seven Card Stud High-Low
May 11, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed

Event 21: No-Limit Hold’em
May 11, 2010
Low: $11 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $109 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: $1,050 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 22: Razz
May 12, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed

Event 23: No-Limit Hold’em with Two Re-buys & One Add-on
May 12, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 24: Eight-Game
May 13, 2010
Low: $33 buy-in, $75,000 guaranteed
Med: $320 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed
High: $3,150 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed

Event 25: Pot-Limit Omaha High-Low
May 13, 2010
Low: $11 buy-in, $75,000 guaranteed
Med: $109 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed
High: $1,050 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed

Event 26: No-Limit Hold’em with One Re-buy & One Add-on
May 14, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed

Event 27: Fixed-Limit Hold’em Six-Max
May 14, 2010
Low: $55 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $530 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: $5,200 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed

Event 28: No-Limit Omaha High-Low Turbo
May 14, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed

Event 29: Pot-Limit Omaha
May 15, 2010
Low: $55 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $530 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
High: $5,200 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 30: HORSE
May 15, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed

Event 31: No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max
May 16, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $20,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed

Event 32: No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up Match Play Two Day Event
May 16, 2010
Low: $270 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
Med: $2,600 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed
High: $25,500 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed

Event 33: No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Two Day Event
May 16, 2010
Low: $109 buy-in, $1.000,000 guaranteed
Med: $1,050 buy-in, $3,000,000 guaranteed
High: $10,300 buy-in, $5,000,000 guaranteed

To take part in the events, visit Pokerstars.com and use Pokerstars Marketing Code FUZIONPOKER for a 100% up to $600 bonus on your first deposit!

Wow, it seems people will believe anything just because some idiot wrote it on a forum nowadays.  Well, thats what happened today after some person posted about his friend being interrogated by the FBI about his small stakes Full Tilt Poker account.  LOL!!!  Really???  Come on people, don’t you think the FBI has better things to do such as hiding looking for terrorists?  Do you really think they care if you play a $5 poker tournament 3 times a week on some poker site?

Well, many sites did just that today, as many stories are now being circulated about Full Tilt Poker and the FBI in Google News.

The post that sparked all this debate was made on 2+2 (one of the largest poker forums) where someone by the name of FreakDaddy (seems credible) posted:

I had a friend of mine who is a small time online player in Washington contact me last night and say he got a visit from the FBI. They came to question him about his account on Full Tilt poker. He doesn’t even have large amounts of money across 4 poker sites. He’s an older ex-Navy Seal, and was really surprised that they showed up at his door. So I’m not sure, and he’s not sure what’s going on, but something is going down.

Just an FYI. I have no idea if anyone else is talking about this yet, or any other players have said they are being questioned.

I don’t know if it’s directly related to the past seizure or not, but just wanted to give a heads up and see if anyone else has been visited.

Well, there may be some truth to this story, but I suspect it may have to do with a cheque the person might have received.  Since the US Poker Sites are all scrambling to get around the UIGEA laws that are making it difficult to process payments, quite possibly they are just investigating the source of one of these processors.

We will post more information about this story as it becomes available.

Pokerstars.com is currently getting ready to deal their 40 billionth online poker hand!  This is a HUGE milestone for the site, and if anyone remembers the 20 Billionth hand promotions you will know there is going to be a ton of added value.

Here is a list of some of the special promotions going on for this event:

FIRST DEPOSIT FREEROLLS

Make your first ever deposit using marketing code FUZIONPOKER and the deposit bonus code F40 and you’ll be able to play in as many  ‘$1,000 First Deposit Freerolls’ as you like. There will be five per day from February 14-21, with a combined value of $40,000! Also, you will receive their 100% up to $600 first deposit bonus (conditions apply).

RING GAMES

Leading up to the 40 billionth Mega Milestone, starting with hand 39,601,000,000, players dealt into every millionth hand will earn a cash prize. There will be 400 milestone hands during F40, which they estimate will award more than $1 million! Milestone hands will be dealt on any cash game table, including tables with buy-ins as low as $1.

Players dealt into every millionth hand will win a cash prize of $40 for every VPP they earned in the previous 40 hands played on that table. Because PokerStars wants everyone to be a winner, an extra VPP will be awarded to all players dealt in – this means you’ll win a minimum of at least $40. The winner of the hand will also get their cash prize doubled!

On the 40 Billionth hand, players will receive $400 times every FPP they earned in the previous 40 hands.  For example, if you earned 32 VPPs in the last 40 hands, you would win $12,800 for being dealt into the 40 billionth hand (32 x $400). Win the hand and this will be doubled to $25,600!

TOURNAMENTS

* On Sunday, February 21 at 16:30 ET, there will be a special Sunday Million 4th Anniversary Edition with $4 million guaranteed prize pool and a first prize of at least $1 million
* On Sunday, February 14 at 14:30 ET Pokerstars is hosting a $40 tourney with a $1 million guarantee
* They are holding eight special tournaments over an eight day period from February 14-21, each with a 40 FPP buy-in and $40,000 prize pool!

SIT & GOs

From February 14-21, there will be 40-man Super Sit & Go tourneys with buy-ins of $1.10, $11, $22 and $55. All Super Sit & Go first place finishers will receive an extra cash prize at the end of the promotion: a share of a $40,000 prize pot. There will be one $40,000 prize pot for each Super Sit & Go buy-in level, for a total of $160,000.

If you don’t have a Pokerstars account, this is probably the best time to sign-up.  Visit Pokerstars.com today!