Speedyfold Poker Blog

Online Poker Taxation in the USA - Party Poker poised to take advantage

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:27:29 +0000

The long road to online poker taxation seems to have started in the USA. Which at face value doesnt sound like a good thing at all, but is actually pretty positive news. For several years now online poker in the USA has had a status that is for all intents and purposes illegal. So when the USA figures out the best way to tax online poker (which there has been initial steps towards) it can officially approve and regulate it. This would mean re-opening the US to fully legal online poker. Now there’s the good news.

It may take time, but the momentum seems sufficient to get there eventually. This is particular good for the likes of Party Poker, the former giant of the online poker world and still a formidable presense. They of all the sites probably have the most to gain as they have a player database of over 10 million American players, who were former players at their site before US regulation.

So it is going to be an interesting year or so ahead, especially with Party Poker waiting in the wings ready to shake up the current status quo.

Dwyen Ringbauer

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:52:50 +0000

Day 1 of the WSOP has just concluded and whilst glancing through the names of the chip leaders I noticed the name Dwyen Ringbauer. Not a name I have heard of and it looked a bit unusual. In fact I thought it looked a bit like an anagram. Low-and-beyond it is indeed an anagram of Breadwinner Guy. How very apt. Lets hope he continues to do well and live up to his name.

Peter Eastgate Retires

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:31:38 +0000

Peter Eastgate has announced his retirement from poker. The 2008 WSOP Main Event champion has decided it is time to call it a day and move on to new things.

Eastgate’s short but successful career comprised of many high WSOP and EPT cashes including the following notable scores:

Mar 2010 - $20K NBC National Heads-Up Championship - 5th $ 75,000

Feb 2010 - Deep Stack Extravaganza, Las Vegas - 7th $ 85,000

Feb 2010 - DKK 35,000 Main Event EPT Copenhagen - 22nd DKK 80,000

Jan 2010 - €5K Main Event EPT Deauville - 8th € 70,000

Oct 2009 - £5K Main Event EPT London - 2nd £ 530,000

Jul 2009 - $10K WSOP Main Event - 78th $ 68,979

Jan 2009 - $4,800 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure 1st $ 343,000

Jul 2008 - $10K WSOP, Las Vegas - 1st $ 9,152,416

Eastgate, from Denmark, but living in London is speculated to return to his homeland following his retirement.

In a statement about his retirement Eastgate said:

“When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player. My goal was to become financially independent. I achieved that by winning the WSOP main event in 2008. The period following has taken me on a worldwide tour, where I have seen some amazing places and met many new people; it has been a great experience.”

“In the 20 months following my WSOP win, I feel that I have lost my motivation for playing high-level poker along the way. I have decided that now is the time to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life. What this will be, I do not yet know. I have decided to take a break from live tournament poker, and try to focus on Peter Eastgate, the person.”

Ivey WSOP Prop Bets

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:05:06 +0000

This year’s WSOP has seen some of the biggest prop bets ever. Not only has there been the Durrrr ones we have already discussed, but Phil Ivey has got some massive ones booked in. Howard Lederer has laid 5 million dollars against him getting 2 bracelets over the course of the next 3 years. Phil Ivey is already half way there after winning Event 37, the $3000 horse event. Following that win Ivey also booked bets running into the millions at 7-1 about him getting a 2nd bracelet this year. eg Phil’s $50,000 to villians $350,000

Phil has also got bets direct with Durrrr over who will get the most bracelets over 2 years. After nearly a great start for Durrrr (finishing 2nd in Event 11) Ivey has lept ahead with that Event 37 win, making it 1-0 to Ivey. Things look like a big uphill struggle now for durrrr, as Ivey is a bit of a bracelet machine given the proper motivation (ie money) and already has a total of 8 lifetime bracelets to his name now. Durrrr is still looking for his first one, but no doubt has the talent to get there.

Bets and talk about bracelets have been frantic of late, with Ivey vs Hellmuth also a lot in the news. Hellmuth has had a couple of deep runs (most recently 7th in a PLO8 event) but no bracelets this year. Most people in the industry seem to think it is only a matter of time before Ivey overtakes Hellmuth, some thinking in less than 5 years. Many are also speculating on Ivey even reaching the dizzy heights of 30 bracelets in his career. He’s sure come a long way since his No Home Jerome days.

Durrrr WSOP Bracelet

Mon, 31 May 2010 19:39:38 +0000

Since Tom “Durrrr” Dwan became a member of Team Full Tilt there has been a promise to play more tournaments, so this year at the WSOP Durrrr is really going to go for it on the tournament volume. As a bit of encouragement he has been taking bets on himself getting a bracelet. He offered 3.25-1 on him getting a bracelet this year (including the WSOP Events in London) and 2-1 on him getting 2 bracelets in 3 years. In other words to bet against him you would need to put up $32,500 to win a $10,000 profit if he didnt win one this year. Those odds look pretty decent. Durrrr is a great player, but pretty much unproven in majors MTTs, and the WSOP does have many events with huge field sizes, so winning a bracelet is going to be far from easy. Whether he wins the bet only time will tell, but as a betting man I would bet against it for sure. Nevertheless, good luck Durrrr.

Overlay or No Overlay that is the Question

Mon, 31 May 2010 19:32:25 +0000

The Pokerstars Sunday Million nearly had an overlay last night. First time in like almost forever. I say almost because there were 7214 entrants, which means 7214 x$200 prizepool = $1,442,800. There is a $1.5 million guaranteed prizepool so it sort of looks like an $57,200 overlay, but then when you consider the rake of 7214 x $15 = $108,210 it wasnt really. Close, but not quite a cigar as you might say.

Danloulou won, taking down $215,555 after a chop with 2nd place player airic1400, who got $175,000

Congrats to the 1080 players who cashed and liberated Pokerstars of a little of the normal rake.

If you fancy giving the Sunday Million a go, and trying to emulate those 1000+ players, then join Pokerstars and get a deposit bonus up to $600

Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz bluff against Timoshenko

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:00:19 +0000

This was a pretty interesting hand from the Party Poker Premier League. Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz vs Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko. FullFlush a minor legend from the cash game tables, and Jovial Gent a legend from tournament play. Although it’s clearly a ballsy play, I do have a small problem with it. The speed of the shove makes the hand look really weak in my opinion. Add that with how he looks afterwards and maybe a call is findable. But how can you possibly call with KJ for so much? Almost impossible in reality.

Women are taking over poker

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:00:06 +0000

The last few months have been pretty amazing for female poker players. Liv Boeree hot on the heals of both Vanessa Selbst and Annie Duke. In fact the last 12 months or so has included by far the biggest collection of wins by women ever. Anyone get the feeling they’re taking over? …

In April 2010 Liv Boeree won the EPT San Remo for $1,698,300
In April 2010 Vanessa Selbst won the NAPT Mohegan Sun for $750,000
In March 2010 Annie Duke won the NBC Heads-up winning $500,000
In May 2009 Vanessa Rousso won the High Roller at the EPT Grand Final, winning $749,467
In March 2009 Sandra Naujoks won the EPT Dortmund for $1,159,541

SCOOP Schedule and Dates

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 04:07:03 +0000

The long awaited Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) is now on the doorstep. There is a massive and very varied schedule of events, so it looks like it’s going to be a good one. The SCOOP series of events takes place on Pokerstars. Join Pokerstars to take part.

Each event is duplicated at 3 different buy-in levels to cater for all budgets. eg you can play the $22 event 1, the $215 event 1, or the $2100 event 1. Or all 3 if you feel that way inclined.

Event	Date	Time	Game	Buy-In	Guarantee
1	May 2	13:00	NL Holdem (6-max)	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $250,000 Med: $1,000,000 High: $1,000,000
2	May 2	17:00	NL Holdem (2-day event)	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $500,000 Med: $2,000,000 High: $2,000,000
3	May 3	14:00	NL Holdem 6-Max w/rebuys	Low: $5.50 Med: $55 High: $530	Low: $250,000 Med: $500,000 High: $1,000,000
4	May 3	17:00	FL Badugi	Low: $16.50 Med: $162 High: $1,575	Low: $25,000 Med: $50,000 High: $75,000
5	May 3	20:00	PL Omaha (Turbo, 1R1A)	Low: $11 Med: $109 High: $1,050	Low: $50,000 Med: $100,000 High: $150,000
6	May 4	14:00	PL 5-Card Draw	Low: $11 Med: $109 High: $1,050	Low: $25,000 Med: $50,000 High: $75,000
7	May 4	17:00	NL Holdem (Heads-Up)	Low: $16.50 Med: $162 High: $1,575	Low: $100,000 Med: $250,000 High: $500,000
8	May 4	20:00	NL Holdem	Low: $11 Med: $109 High: $1,050	Low: $100,000 Med: $200,000 High: $500,000
9	May 5	14:00	Mixed Holdem (6-Max)	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $100,000 Med: $200,000 High: $400,000
10	May 5	17:00	7-Card Stud	Low: $33 Med: $320 High: $3,150	Low: $25,000 Med: $50,000 High: $100,000
11	May 6	14:00	PL Omaha (Heads-Up)	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $25,000 Med: $100,000 High: $200,000
12	May 6	17:00	NL Hold’em	Low: TBC Med: TBC High: $TBC	Low: $100,000 Med: $200,000 High: $300,000
13	May 7	14:00	NL Holdem (Ante Up)	Low: $16.50 Med: $162 High: $1,575	Low: $50,000 Med: $100,000 High: $200,000
14	May 7	17:00	FL Omaha Hi-Lo	Low: $55 Med: $530 High: $5,200	Low: $50,000 Med: $150,000 High: $250,000
15	May 7	20:00	NL Holdem (2X Chance) (Turbo)	Low: $16.50 Med: $162 High: $1,575	Low: $250,000 Med: $500,000 High: $750,000
16	May 8	14:00	NL Holdem Shootout	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $150,000 Med: $150,000 High: $200,000
17	May 8	17:00	PL Omaha (6-Max w/rebuys)	Low: $16.50 Med: $162 High: $1,575	Low: $100,000 Med: $250,000 High: $500,000
18	May 8	20:00	FL Holdem Turbo	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $25,000 Med: $100,000 High: $150,000
19	May 9	13:00	NL Holdem (Big Antes)	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $250,000 Med: $750,000 High: $750,000
20	May 9	17:00	NL Holdem (2 day event)	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $500,000 Med: $2,000,000 High: $2,000,000
21	May 10	14:00	PL Holdem / PL Omaha	Low: $16.50 Med: $162 High: $1,575	Low: $75,000 Med: $200,000 High: $300,000
22	May 10	17:00	NL Hold’em (4-Max)	Low: $33 Med: $320 High: $3,150	Low: $150,000 Med: $300,000 High: $500,000
23	May 10	20:00	NL Holdem Turbo w/rebuys	Low: $11 Med: $109 High: $1,050	Low: $150,000 Med: $300,000 High: $500,000
24	May 11	14:00	2-7 Triple Draw	Low: $11 Med: $109 High: $1,050	Low: $25,000 Med: $50,000 High: $75,000
25	May 11	17:00	7-Card Stud Hi-Lo	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $50,000 Med: $100,000 High: $150,000
26	May 11	20:00	NL Holdem	Low: $11 Med: $109 High: $1,050	Low: $100,000 Med: $200,000 High: $500,000
27	May 12	14:00	Razz	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $50,000 Med: $100,000 High: $150,000
28	May 12	17:00	NL Holdem w/rebuys	Low: $11 Med: $109 High: $1,050	Low: $200,000 Med: $400,000 High: $600,000
29	May 13	14:00	8-Game	Low: $33 Med: $320 High: $3,150	Low: $75,000 Med: $150,000 High: $250,000
30	May 13	17:00	PL Omaha Hi-Lo	Low: $11 Med: $109 High: $1,050	Low: $75,000 Med: $150,000 High: $300,000
31	May 14	14:00	NL Holdem (1R1A)	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $250,000 Med: $500,000 High: $1,000,000
32	May 14	17:00	FL Hold’em (6-Max)	Low: $55 Med: $530 High: $5,200	Low: $100,000 Med: $200,000 High: $300,000
33	May 14	20:00	NL Omaha Hi-Lo	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $50,000 Med: $100,000 High: $200,000
34	May 15	14:00	PL Omaha (6-Max)	Low: $55 Med: $530 High: $5,200	Low: $100,000 Med: $250,000 High: $500,000
35	May 15	15:30	NL Holdem (Heads-Up) (2-Day Event)	Low: $270 Med: $2,600 High: $25,500	Low: $250,000 Med: $500,000 High: $750,000
36	May 15	17:00	HORSE	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $50,000 Med: $100,000 High: $150,000
37	May 16	13:00	NL Holdem	Low: $22 Med: $215 High: $2,100	Low: $200,000 Med: $750,000 High: $750,000
38	May 16	17:00	NL Holdem Main Event (2-Day event)	Low: $109 Med: $1,050 High: $10,300	Low: $1,000,000 Med: $3,000,000 High: $5,000,000 ($1,000,000 to 1st!)

Liv Boeree wins EPT San Remo

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:52:40 +0000

Liv Boeree has just picked up the title in the EPT San Remo. Liv is part of Team UB and her previous best tournament win was a mere $42,000 (small in comparison to the €1.25 million win from San Remo, that is!).

Liv has rapidly become a bit of a celebrity on the poker scene and is someone who is known for her love to party and have a good time, and also for being pretty intelligent (for a bird).

Well done Liv (just joking about that last part btw)

1 € 1,250,000 Liv Boeree
2 € 750,000 Jakob Carlsson
3 € 420,000 Toni Pettersson
4 € 345,000 Michael Piper
5 € 270,000 Alexey Rybin
6 € 210,000 Giuseppe Diep
7 € 150,000 Claudio Piceci
8 € 90,000 Atanas Gueorguiev
9 € 63,500 Claudio Rinaldi
10 € 63,500 Dmitry Stelmak
11 € 50,000 Ramon Demon Cserei
12 € 50,000 Allan Bække
13 € 40,000 Per Albin Linde
14 € 40,000 Erik Tamm
15 € 35,000 Dermot Blain
16 € 35,000 Mohsen Tayfeh
17 € 30,000 Paul Berende
18 € 30,000 Thang Duc Nguyen

Liv satellited into the event for just $500, so not a bad return on investment.

Sadly Liv’s parents couldnt make it to watch the final due to the travel chaos caused by the volcano in Iceland. Dont worry Mr and Mrs Boeree, there will no doubt be a next time.

If you fancy trying you luck against Liv, then you can play against her at Ultimate Poker

Ultimate Poker