Speedyfold Poker Blog

I guess you could say the shit has hit the fan. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued an indictment against the 3 major poker sites that are operating in the US online poker market (Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker). Basically online poker for US players looks like it could be over for the time being, with the exception of a few smaller operators.

11 people were indicted, 2 from Stars, 2 from Full Tilt, 2 from Absolute Poker, 4 from payment processors, and 1 from a bank. Early indications suggest they are trying to get the payment processors and bank on money laundering and bank fraud, and the poker sites on running a gaming site that they allege is illegal in the US because of UIGEA.

If there’s enough dirt some of it may stick, and the sites may end up with quite a chunky fine. The bank and payment processors are probably screwed if there is enough evidence.

It’s unlikely that the DOJ would fair that well making a case off the back of the UIGEA legislation mainly because of the words “unlawful” and “gambling”. It could probably be argued by a team of lawyers/experts that poker is a skill game and not gambling. And it could probably be argued that the game of poker wasn’t unlawful in the first place, therefore not covered by UIGEA.

Perhaps a little dirt linking them a bit too close for comfort to the payment processors will be the DOJ’s main weapon of fear. But a gambling man (or a man keen on skill based wagers) would probably bet on a settlement being reached at some point later down the line. Pretty shitty for US players though. Tough break guys.

It looks like Full Tilt have probably won their battle to block PTR and Sharkscope from tracking cash hands and SNG results. Whilst this battle has run for a little while now, it looks like they have introduced updates now that could well be the long term nail in the coffin for coverage.

The word on the street is that Full Tilt now boots any IPs/accounts which display data mining behaviour, with some time-length considerations to make sure that it is definitely data mining going on. That is certainly no small amount of work to do technically, but Full Tilt obviously viewed it seriously enough to dedicate some programming time and money to it.

I guess mixed feelings in terms of a reaction. Those 2 sites were great resource sites, but at the same time they also did create a bit of an artificial playing field with players constantly looking up their opponents and often cherry picking their opposition.

Full Tilt hasnt done anything restricting OPR though thankfully, nor should they. In MTTs you have no control who you get seated with so it is just a very nice resource for all poker geeks and grinders.

RIP Full Tilt cash/sng stats tracking

The SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker) is taking place on Pokerstars in May. There are 38 events in total all taking place at 3 different buy-in levels (low, medium, and high). So whatever your budget you can take part in the events of the series. There is a total of $25 Million in guaranteed prizepools so it is certainly a good chance to take a shot at a decent payday. If you sign-up to Pokerstars you will get a deposit bonus of up to $600, matching your own deposit.

Here is the full Pokerstars SCOOP Schedule:

01 08-May 10:00 NL Hold’em (6-Max)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

02 08-May 14:00 NL Hold’em
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

03 09-May 11:00 NL Hold’em (6-Max, w/Rebuys)
Low: $5.50
Med: $55
High: $530

04 09-May 14:00 FL Badugi
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

05 09-May 17:00 NL Hold’em (Turbo, w/Rebuys)
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

06 10-May 11:00 PL 5-Card Draw
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

07 10-May 14:00 NL Hold’em (Heads-Up)
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

08 10-May 17:00 NL Hold’em (Turbo)
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

09 11-May 11:00 Mixed Hold’em (6-Max)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

10 11-May 14:00 7-Card Stud
Low: $33
Med: $320
High: $3,150

11 12-May 11:00 PL Omaha (Heads-Up)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

12 12-May 14:00 NL Holdem Knockout
Low: $27
Med: $265
High: $2,600

13 13-May 11:00 NL Hold’em (Ante Up)
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

14 13-May 14:00 FL Omaha Hi/Lo
Low: $55
Med: $530
High: $5,200

15 13-May 17:00 NL Hold’em (2X Chance, Turbo)
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

16 14-May 11:00 NL Holdem Shootout
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

17 14-May 14:00 PL Omaha - 6-Max w/Rebuys
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

18 14-May 17:00 Triple Stud (Turbo)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

19 15-May 10:00 NL Hold’em
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

20 15-May 14:00 NL Hold’em
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

21 16-May 11:00 Mixed NL Holdem / PL Omaha
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

22 16-May 14:00 NL Hold’em (4-Max)
Low: $33
Med: $320
High: $3,150

23 16-May 17:00 PL Omaha (Turbo, 1R1A)
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

24 17-May 11:00 2-7 Triple Draw
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

25 17-May 14:00 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

26 17-May 17:00 NL Hold’em (Turbo)
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

27 18-May 11:00 Razz
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

28 18-May 14:00 NL Hold’em (Big Antes, w/Rebuys)
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

29 19-May 11:00 8-Game
Low: $33
Med: $320
High: $3,150

30 19-May 14:00 PL Omaha Hi/Lo
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

31 20-May 11:00 NL Hold’em (1R1A)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

32 20-May 14:00 FL Hold’em (6-Max)
Low: $55
Med: $530
High: $5,200

33 20-May 17:00 NL Omaha Hi/Lo (10 min levels)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

34 21-May 11:00 PL Omaha (6-Max)
Low: $55
Med: $530
High: $5,200

35 21-May 12:30 NL Holdem High Roller (Heads-Up)
Low: $270
Med: $2,600
High: $25,500

36 21-May 14:00 HORSE
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

37 22-May 10:00 NL Hold’em (6-Max)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

38 22-May 14:00 NLHE Main Event
Low: $109
Med: $1,050
High: $10,300

Amazingly Vanessa Selbst has won the NAPT Mohegan Sun for the 2nd year in a row. The $5000 dollar event at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut attracted 387 entrants, and Selbst once again bested them all. This takes her to $4.29 million in career live tournament winnings. No one can question the girl’s ability, and she is certainly fast becoming a big player in the team of Pokerstars Pros.

1 Vanessa Selbst $450,000
2 Dan Shak $254,000
3 Tyler Kenney $170,000
4 Thomas Hoglund Jr. $120,000
5 Vincent Rubianes $90,000
6 Joe Tehan $70,000
7 Aaron Overton $50,000
8 Steve O’Dwyer $32,330
9 Corey Hochman $26,000

Pogo650 won the 60th Billionth hand prize on Pokerstars, taking down $102,090.   He was sat at a Limit Holdem table with $5/$10 stakes with just $233 when the big one hit. 

Pre-flop for some unknown reason DrPepel folded.  This despite big onscreen warnings that this was the 60th Billionth hand, and a long delay whilst the rail was filled with online spectators.  And a message by the host in the chat box saying “The winner of the hand will have their prize money doubled. On top of that, they will receive an extra $60,000″ {plus VPP related money from the last 50 hands}. “And you can’t win a hand by folding”.

The flop come down with 2h Ks 3h with 5 players still involved.    Turn was 6d and river the 9d.  At this point Pogo650 probably didnt think his Qh3c hand was much good, but it was and he scooped the $147 pot and more importantly the $100K prize.

Other players at the table:

MeisterHahn - got $11,040
Blue Baboon - got $21,045
Hedgehog87 - got $21,045
chezlaw - got $21,045
DrPepel - got $21,045 (yes he did get something at least, for being dealt in)

Pogo650 said afterwards “I’m possibly the biggest luckbox alive over the last week or so. Two losing sessions ended in milestone hands”

For what it’s worth DrPepel, the guy who folded, claimed he had 2-4, and therefore saved himself a few dollars, whilst potentially missing out on a hundred thousand.

They are doing similar milestone hands all the way to 100 Billion. Sign-up to Pokerstars to try to hit a milestone hand yourself.

Annette Obrestad (Annette_15) has finished 2nd in the Wynn Classic main event in Las Vegas, winning $215,922.  This takes her career winnings in live tournaments up to $3.7 million.   She’s currently 4th in the women’s all time money winners list behind Kathy Liebert, Vanessa Selbst, and Annie Duke.

212 players paid the $5K entry fee for the event.  Here are the top finishers:

1st       Timothy West    $318,738     
2nd       Annette Obrestad    $215,922     
3rd       Matt Waxman    $120,814     
4th       Max Steinberg    $71,974     
5th       Eric Froehlich    $51,410     
6th       Vasilis Lazarou    $41,128     
7th       Carter King    $30,846     
8th       Francisco Fernandes Braga    $20,564     
9th       John Kim    $17,944     
10th       David Wooldridge    $15,423     
11th       Men “The Master” Nguyen    $15,423     
12th       William Kopp    $15,423     
13th       Konstantin Streletskiy    $12,853     
14th       Audley Harrison    $12,853     
15th       Marcus Gonsalves    $12,853     
16th       Alben Barkley    $10,282     
17th       Robert Notkin    $10,282     
18th       Gerald J DeNicholas    $10,282 

It would seem the Full Tilt Pros are getting a bit of a lock on the all time poker winnings list.  Some of which relates to tournaments which perhaps are a little too exclusive to be included.  

If we take Erik Seidel for example, who by all accounts has been doing fantastically lately.  The bulk of his winnings do however come from very exclusive events, often with very small fields.   Often you also find that Team Full Tilt in particular are the group of pros most rolled to play them.  

Let’s look at it in more detail.  Here are Seidel’s latest scores which propelled him to the top of the All-time money winners list:

3rd March 2011 Won the $25K NBC Heads-up - $750,000
27th Feb 2011 Won the $25K High Roller at the LA Poker Classis - $144,570
27th Jan 2011 Won the $250K Super High Roller at the Aussie Millions - $2,472,555
22nd Jan 2011 3rd in the $100K High Roller at the Aussie Millions - $618,139
13th Jan 2011 4th in the $25K High Roller at the Pokerstars PCA - $295,960

If we take the $250K buy-in at the Aussie Millions as case in point.  This attracted just 20 entrants and 11 of those were either Team Full Tilt members or Full Tilt Red Pros (5 of the former, 6 of the latter).

Similarly with the $100K event just about a week earlier.  Out of a tiny field of 38 players, half…yes 19 players were Full Tilt players (10 Members of Team Full Tilt alone).

Let’s not take anything away from Seidel’s acheivements.  Clearly he is on his A-game to win such events against such tough opponents.  But it does also feel increasingly a little like an old-boys club rather than a true all time money winners list from open tournaments.

February isnt even over yet and the race for the first player to reach Supernova Elite in 2011 on Pokerstars is well and truely on. Several players are up around 700,000 VPPs, with 1 million VPPs being the target to get the coveted stauts.

One person in the running, Isildur1 has been playing long sessions of heads-up 25/50 and also Heads-up $5600 SNGs. However despite this volume he is nonchalent or previously oblivious to the SNE race. Pretty sick to be one of the main contenders without really trying for it or not particularly caring. This is highlighted best by the following conversation at the table where azntracker is talking about given up on the race if Isildur1 plans to keep playing the volume he’s playing.

azntracker: Hey isildur, i was just wondering what your intentions are for VPPs
azntracker: Right now it’s me and you #1/#2
Isildur1: What
Isildur1: u mean 1 and 2
Isildur1: i got no intentions
azntracker: ah cool
Isildur1: why?
azntracker: ah, well ive been playing a ton to try get 1mm as soon as i can
Isildur1: how much u got now
azntracker: but your 5k HU will kill me if you keep going
azntracker: i got 623k now, u?
Isildur1: ok
Isildur1: little less than you i think
Isildur1: is there any prize?
azntracker: are you going to be grinding these as much as you have been?
azntracker: no prize
Isildur1: k, no idea
azntracker: if so, i’m gonna stop playing as much as i have been, save me misery haha
Isildur1: u play sng to?
Isildur1: lol
azntracker: yes, but i gotta play 30-40 table all high stakes
Isildur1: right now im playing pretty much
Isildur1: kk
azntracker: by the way, we played at the same PCA table, u busted med day 2 with QQ vs my ATs
azntracker: i had KK two times i 3bet you previously but u folded
Isildur1: ok:/
azntracker: yea you are playing sooo much now
azntracker: are you going to continue playing so much everyday, next week or 2?
Isildur1: yeah mb
Isildur1: what does it matter for u
azntracker: oh well i’d just like to know if i should keep killing myself to get 1mm vpp first
Isildur1: ok, i dont know sry
Isildur1: ilprolly play pretty much
azntracker: it’s just a personal goal of mine to get 1mm first, that’s all
Isildur1: ok well sry i plat theese 5k so much
Isildur1: gonna get some food
Isildur1: glgl
azntracker: good luck!

Full Tilt Poker had a pretty interesting software addition recently with the introdution of Multi-Entry Tournaments. These, as the name suggests, allow you to register for the same tournament more than once. Most of the tournaments are being restricted to about 6 entrances per person at the moment, but that is thought to increase to possibly as many as 10 or 20 per person.

The software makes sure all your entries are seated at different tables so there is no major disadvantage to players who choose to only register once. In the event that the situation arises where you have more entrances left than there are tables then a stack merger will occur. The entrace on the table that breaks will have it’s chip stack added to your smallest other stack left in the tournament.

It’s a decent software addition because it increase prizepools quite a bit, and also enables players to play more of the tournaments that they like. If you want to give the Multi-Entry tournaments a go then sign-up to Full Tilt and get a $600 deposit bonus.

Pokerstars have recently introduced Home Games, a very nice addition to their software where people can effectively run their own little sub-site within Pokerstars. They can decide what poker games are offered and what tournaments are run. They can approve whoever they wish as members (eg friends/family/colleagues), they can run leagues, and they can even customise the look of the club by adding logos and changing colors.

All games are offered from Holdem, Omaha and Stud, right through to likes of Triple Draw and 8-Game. In cash games you can decide on the game, the limits and on the table size. In tournaments you can decide the start time/date, the blind speed, the starting stack, the pay structure, the table size, and whether rebuys are allowed or not. You can choose whether a particular tournament’s outcome will contribute to a league, and you can decide over what period the league is run. Overall there is a lot of power and flexibilty in what you can do and it has certainly raised the bar in online poker software. You can create up to 3 clubs yourself and you can join up to 10 clubs, so you can get involved with several (eg one for work, one for friends, or whatever). Each poker club can have up to 50 members so you can create quite a sizeable “home game” really. Even if you have just 4 or 5 of you as a family who want all the flexibilty of the sotware and not having to shuffle cards or anything then the feature is great. Leagues tables and the like all become a walk in the park.

Some of the other things you as Club Manager can do is decide on the club name, and grant admin powers to other members. So if you have someone whom you trust to run some games or tournaments when you are not around, you have that flexibilty of handing over a bit of the power.

From Pokerstars point of view it is a great opportunity to encourage a few new sign-ups. If someone is into online poker the home games feature might just be enough for them to persuade a few friends/colleagues/online buddies to try it too. So all in all it is a great idea both from a users point of view and for them as a site commercially. Worth checking out for sure, and making use of all the features.

To set one up click on the Home Games icon in the main Pokerstars lobby. Then click the Create a Poker Club button. You will need to enter a club name and an invitation code (of your choice). You will then be given a club ID number and immediate access to your private poker club. For friends to join you just give them the club ID number and the invitation code. They simple enter that info, again via the Home Games icon. You will get an online prompt anytime anyone has submitted the correct details and you can choose to then approve them or reject them. Once approved they will have access to play the poker games/tournaments within the club. You can get emails sent to you when new people try to join, so if you dont have pokerstars open you can still be kept informed of club activities.

It’s once and a while that poker software additions really make you sit up and notice, and this is certainly one of those occasions.