Merge Poker Sites Have More Than Just Poker

November 22nd, 2011

If you are going to play on a poker site, you will want to ensure that it has a good range of poker options. This is the minimum requirement that a poker site should provide to its players but the best poker sites will provide a lot more.

There will be times when a poker player will want a change of pace or perhaps take a break from playing poker and this is where a number of side games can be very important.

There will be some players who have no interest in poker room side games and that is their prerogative, after all, there are plenty of casino sites they can turn to in order to enjoy these games.

Make life easier on yourself

However, having all of your gaming fun in one place can make life much easier so finding a great poker site that provides additional games is often the best solution for any poker player. This is why Merge Poker sites should be your first port of call when you are looking for a poker site that gives you a little bit more. There are many different side games that can be found on an online poker site so no matter what you like there should be something of interest to you.

One of the most common games in any casino would have to be roulette, which has a simplicity about it which means that every player can join in. Some games leave players wondering about the rules or how best to gamble but with roulette, even a novice can have a great deal of fun at the table. The Merge Poker sites understand this and this is why you will usually find a great selection of roulette tables on the wide array of poker sites. If you are looking for a break or if you feel your luck is in, the roulette table is a perfect place to spend some time.

There is more than just poker on poker sites

Even though poker is probably the number one card game around the world, Merge Poker does serve up other card games for you to enjoy. One of the other popular card games would have to be blackjack and again, its simplicity is its key to success. Facing up against the dealer in a battle to reach 21 is a simple duel but it is one that keeps people coming back for more. Sometimes your fate can be decided by luck but there is no doubt that keeping a cool head and understanding the best strategies can help you achieve a winning outcome. Blackjack is sometimes overlooked as a game of skill but a great player can turn most situations to their advantage.

As you would expect from online gambling sites, technology is at the forefront and this can be seen in the array of video poker games that are on offer. Merge Gaming poker rooms offer more than just sit down poker, you can also join in the fun with the video games that have been mainstays in physical casinos for many years. If you are looking for more information about these sites, mergepokernetwork.com is the place to visit.

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Trying online blackjack

October 13th, 2011

The online poker market is still facing problems with former powerhouse Full Tilt still facing legal issues. They still have their virtual doors closed to people all over the world and there’s no sign of it getting better in the near future. If/when Full Tilt manages to get relicensed, it remains to be seen how popular they will be; it’s highly likely that a lot of their former players will have lost confidence in them and won’t go back.

With the future of online poker being uncertain you may want to have a go at blackjack which is another popular card game and just like poker, it requires skill as well as luck to win. While I would recommend blackjack to anyone, I especially recommend it to people in the UK because UK residents have access to some very large and well established online casinos and the chance of them being shut down is almost zero.

Of course, Full Tilt was a behemoth in the poker sector at one time but their problems arose from accepting USA players. If they hadn’t of done this, they would never have gotten into trouble with the FBI and they would still be at the top of the game today. By contrast, the UK’s largest online casinos such as William Hill don’t accept USA players so it’s unlikely that they will run into the same problems.

If you’re in the UK then learning all about blackjack and the different reputable casinos that are out there can be difficult and that’s because the majority of blackjack information portals are aimed towards USA players and recommend USA online casinos. There’s always the chance of these being shut down just like Full Tilt so it would be best to avoid such casinos and stick with the best known UK brands.

The best site for such information is Online Blackjack UK which is the UK’s largest blackjack site and they only recommend the best known and most reputable UK casinos that you can trust both for a fair blackjack game and to pay you when you win. Obviously they don’t just talk about casinos; they also have loads of information on subjects such as basic blackjack strategy and different betting patterns that you can use when you play.

One of the things that I like about playing blackjack is that it’s so much easier to play than poker and it makes a refreshing change. The final thing that I will point out is that the UK’s best known online casinos like Bet365 and William Hill also operate popular online poker rooms as well so you can get the best of both worlds with them: casino games like blackjack and poker games. You get all of this from just one single account so the whole thing is a very convenient and easy.

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Some good poker tips

September 11th, 2011

beautiful-poker-girl

Having a strategy in a game is the same as having a strategy in life to help you achieve your goals and aspirations. If you want to be taken seriously as a poker player, you must always appear in control and someone who knows what you’re doing.

And to beat your opponents to the pot, you must have a winning strategy. Those who have mastered their moves often leave the table well-rewarded. To start you out on your path toward winning your first poker million, here are some poker tips and strategies you can use.

You have got to play a good all round strategy poker holdem if you want to succeed. The stability of your play will be determined by a lot of key points. In this post, we give you three Texas hold em tips intended for a good head start. Keeping a strict set of rules and improving it along the way while experience is accumulated should ensure success.

1. You need to choose your hands carefully. As a rule of thumb, playing anywhere between 10% and 20% of hands should allow you to have the edge. Every time you get involved, you should be in a spot where you are confident to win the hand.

2. Staying focused is of utmost importance. Since you won’t be playing in more or less 80% of the hands, it is easy to fall out but it is very important to pay attention. This is the time you take to gather information about your opponents. A positive strategy in poker holdem will take account your opponents’ behavior. If you notice a specific betting pattern, aggressiveness or passivity, be sure to take note of it for future playable hands.

3. Starting with a good bankroll and playing the right buy-in will ensure that you don’t go broke. This is very important, especially in the beginning stages. You can’t always win and you have to make sure to have enough to go through the bad times. Playing no more than 1% of your money in buy-ins is a good rule of thumb. This will also give you a sense of security about your bankroll which is very important because you just can’t play your A game when you are scared to lose it. Stay in control.

Theses are our top 3 beginner Texas hold’em tips that you can follow to your discretion.

Some of you will have the right instincts and build their bankroll in the process. Others will have to unlearn some faulty strategies and assimilate new ones. So, it may take some time. Stick to the plan and you will be alright.

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The Full Tilt closure

July 3rd, 2011

So it seems that things will get worse before that get better in online poker in the USA and elsewhere.

The actions started by the DOJ and FBI two and a half months ago have had an unexpected ripple effect this week when Full Tilt Poker totally shut down. Not just in the USA (where they were closed since April 15th), but all over the world. Indeed the indictments led to Full Tilt’s gambling authority to start their own investigation.

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission is the regulatory body that granted Full Tilt Poker their gaming license. The AGCC regulates all egaming activities for companies operating in Alderney and attempts to comply to the highest international standards of fairness and integrity. Alderney is one of the Channel Islands and part of the British Crown. Similarly to the Isle of Man (that regulates Pokerstars), Alderney has the ability to attract gambling operators while regulating them.

But the similarity with Pokerstars stops there. Unlike Pokerstars which was announced to be following their gambling rules and which had their license maintained, Full Tilt just got their license revoked. This is an unprecedented event that led to millions of non-American players left enable to play online poker there, and worse to dispose of their bankroll. And this sad situation is not expected to evolve fast. The main reason for this negative audit seems to be that Full Tilt had not been able to send their balance back to their American players more than two months after Black Friday. But PokerStars had done so long time ago.

So things apparently are getting worse before they can get better. Hopefully the positive outcome of this entire situation is that online gaming will get better regulated internationally. This is good for everyone. Players will be treated more fairly. Government will be able to raise taxes. Operators will be be better regulated so that the bad apples will be discarded and this business gets the respect it deserves. This will lead to better products on the market.

France is probably one of the leading markets when it comes to regulating their online gambling vendors. The USA is now actively working on their own amended regulation. Other countries will follow as well.

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online poker in the USA

May 19th, 2011

The sad truth.

It is one month already since the Black Friday of online poker, in other words the FBI crackdown of the four major online poker rooms allowing US players: pokerstars, full tilt poker, absolute poker, ub poker.

Without any bias, we can say that Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker were and remain the two global leaders of online poker and their products are impeccable: fantastic software, a huge choice of games and tournaments, impressive rosters of pros, juicy incentives such as VIP or rakeback programs, social communities with millions of members…

So why did the the FBI shut them down?

Is it in the benefit of users to remove such great products from the market? Are these products dangerous temptations leading to gambling addictions in underage children and unemployed widows? Is removing them a way to improve our freedom? Will it help the US economy? Will employment get better? Are these products worse then online casinos still allowed to operate? Is it better for the public to watch TV instead with 30% of the time used for advertisement? Was this action conducted for the benefit of the public, or it is based on a few individuals who are just ‘doing their job’?

As you can guess the answer to all above questions is NO. But how did it happen?

Is America the great country it used to be, or is it a declining country which has lost the ideals of freedom it is based upon? By the way poker was invented for the most part in the USA (with roots in Europe), what a tragic end game for this beautiful card game!

The reason why this happened is a chain of events. First the Republicans were against online gambling even though they are for live casino gambling. Ridiculous to say the least. But as they could not enact an online gambling regulation, they passed the UIGEA, which is a midnight regulation added and unrelated to a port security law. UIGEA is a technical law related to financing by operators, but it does not address the question of if online poker is legal or not. In short this is a dirty law driven by partisan motivations, not to benefit the public.

But then there are a few ambitious individuals at the Department of Justice who are using this regulation to indict these poker rooms. So here again they are not trying to support the users here, they are not questioning if all of that is making sense, they are ‘just doing their job’.

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Vegas Technology Casinos & Slots

January 21st, 2011

Even though there are hundreds of active online casinos offering gambling games, there are only a few software providers which let these casinos run their games, providing a random number generator for fairness, an appealing graphical interface and the large database management system necessary to coordinate thousands of players simultaneously playing. One of the leading gambling software provider is Vegas Technology, and vegas technology online casinos have a large market share.

The advantage for these casinos is that they can rely on the experience, reputation and know-how of Vegas Technology to provide a safe, secure and entertaining platform to play casino games at. Security of private information and financial transactions is crucial to online gamblers given the uncertain legal landscape and the unfortunate history of some rogue operators. This is one of the area of strength of Vegas Technology as the company started by offering secure money transfer over the Internet for e-commerce businesses.

But each online casino is enabled to customize its product so that they all look and feel unique, sometimes with their own game variations and sexy design. Their uniqueness comes also from their promotions, bonuses, perks and VIP Club, how effective their customer service is or what banking methods are allowed, what is the size of their progressive jackpots, etc.

With respect to games, one of their forte is vegas technology slots as they have over eighty slot machines. Some of these online slot machines are just the great classics that can be found at brick and mortar casinos, while others were invented by the Vegas Technology engineers and cannot be found elsewhere.

For example ‘Alien Invasion Slots’ is a three reels slot machine with coins from ten cents to ten dollars. In this game you will start a space adventure where you meet aliens and dangerous creatures trying to invade Planet Earth. Killing them on the payline provides you with extra rewards and you also get a chance to a high jackpot of 2,000 coins.

How about ‘Luck o’ The Irish Slots’? If you see the Leprechaun, you may get a chance to win the top jackpot of 2,400 coins or other awards and bonuses. In this fairy tale decor, ‘Pot of Gold’ is the wild symbol adding to your chances of winning.

So what are you waiting for? You can play these Vegas Technology games anywhere, either using the regular software version on your computer at home or work, or any place with an Internet connection if you use the flash version where you directly play from the browser.

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Jungleman ravages Dwan in durrrr challenge

October 22nd, 2010

The ‘jungle’ is notorious for all kind of hazards, as Tom Dwan has become only too aware. After months of speculation surrounding the next challenger, Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates has stepped up to the plate and made a blistering start against the casually-coifed Full Tilt pro.

The ‘durrrr’ challenge, (a clever marketing stunt or great money-spinner, call it what you will), is a 50,000 hand challenge thrown out to any budding poker player (except Phil Galfond). If a player can record a profit after 50k hands of PLO or Hold’em against Tom Dwan, he will pay you $1.5 million (on top of the profits). If Dwan prevails, then the challenger must fork up $500k. Episode one of the durrrr challenge featured Patrik Antonius, but the measured Finn finds himself down $2 million at the 40k hand mark. Action has since petered away due to travelling commitments, leaving some to believe Patrik has already paid Dwan off.

Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates is a 20 year old, feisty poker prodigy. Having won over $1.5 million online in the past year, he follows in the footsteps of ‘Isildur1’ as the new high stakes phenomenon. Highly active in the twoplustwo forums, he’s not afraid of voicing his opinions, having blasted Ben Grundy for requiring a stake. Cates, a Cardrunners coach, started up by grinding $5 dollar SnG’s, and credits saying grace as one of the primary reasons for his success.

In just under 7,000 hands (the couple are playing at a furious rate), Jungleman finds himself $692k up. Dwan seems to have met his match in the aggression stakes, but in a challenge of million dollar swings, anything can happen. So there is no foul play, the $2 million being ‘waged’ has been shipped to the impregnable Phil Ivey, and he will credit the winner accordingly. Admittedly, Jungleman has had the rub of the green so far. Cates (K-9) scooped a hefty $141k pot when he out-flopped Dwan (A-K) on a K-3-9 rainbow board. However on several other instances, Dwan seems to be succumbing to clever Jungleman value bets. Let’s see if the High Stakes Poker wizard can adapt.

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60-Years Old Woman wins UB.com Bad Beat Jackpot

October 1st, 2010

UB.com makes a bad beat a good thing.

For those of you out there who play poker in any form or shape you have heard, experienced, or dealt some really bad beats. There is no more painful feeling at the poker table then watching your quads lose, or your straight flush get beat by a higher straight flush.

At UB.com (previously know as Ultimate Bet) that pain can quickly turn into the best feeling some poker players might feel in their whole lives because of the UB.com Bad Beat Jackpot.

UB.com has always been known to have one of the largest bad beat jackpots that quite frequently stay in the six-figure range. At UB.com if you play at their tables specifically labeled as a bad beat table and lose with quad 8’s or better you are in for a big UB.com payday.

You don’t even have to be the winner or the loser of the bad beat hand, at UB.com most players close enough to the action when it happens will get a reward. UB.com players who are the table and even at some of the other tables with the same type of game and the same type of limit get awarded some of that UB.com bad beat jackpot money.



UB-bad-beat-jackpot


Towards the beginning of September the UB.com bad beat jackpot rose to the massive amount of $670,575.38 before one lucky UB.com player hit it. A 60 year-old woman who plays at UB.com under the screen name “KAPPIT” had her quad nines get crushed by “CIBV” quad queens. “KAPPIT” who has been playing for 40 years turned her unlucky hand into over a $218,000 dollar payday at UB.com, the funny part is she was playing at a .25/. 50-cent table.

The bad beat jackpot at UB.com is split up as follows: 25% rolls over to the next jack pot, 10% for the house, and 65% goes to the players with the split up going like this: 50% to the loser of the hand (the victim of the bad beat), 25% for the player with the winning hand, $1,000 for every other player at the table, and the rest is split up amongst other players playing at the same type and stakes when the UB.com bad beat jack pot is hit.

UB.com sure knows how to reward it unluckiest players. Since the inception of the UB.com bad beat jackpot UB has rewarded over $58 million in bad beat money and there is no sign of slowing down with 2010 being the highest bad beat rewarding year at UB.com.

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Milkybarkid needs stake

September 17th, 2010

English PLO specialist Ben ‘The Milkybarkid’ Grundy may not be a household name on the professional circuit, but he boasts one of the most astounding Pokertracker graphs.

Grundy, whose blonde, youthful looks earned him the nickname ‘Milkybarkid’, has made over $7 million online.

poker profit

poker profit

Considering PLO’s volatile nature, his win rate is remarkable. Although in a summer update on his blog, Grundy laments a recent downswing and a loss over 300,000 Pokertracker hands.

He cites money being tied up in several houses as the reason for needing a bankroll to play $100/$200 on Full Tilt Poker. Grundy has a solid live tournament pedigree, having come 3rd in the 2009 WSOP, $2.5k PLO/Hold’em event for $100k. Other career highlights include a 7th place finish at the 2005 EPT Monte Carlo main event for $105k. In total he has amassed over $500k in live tournament winnings.

A few users on twoplustwo are questioning the validity of Grundy’s online results, arguing his 13.5 BB/100 win rate seems too good to be true. Much of the $3.4 million he won online during 2008 was on European sites, including Betfair Poker.

Cynics are questioning the reason for a stake given his alleged success. Two respected voices on the forum, Daliman and Jungleman (who is set to face Dwan in the next ‘durrrr’ challenge), have also voiced their doubts. Grundy claims to have suffered two $500k downswings, yet his graph only alludes to swings of $200-$250k. Moreover, why does he need to be staked for $200/$400 when he can crush the $25/$50 games so comprehensively? A defiant Ben responded by swearing on the life of his family his graph is real, and challenging anyone to bet $25k against him.

His $7 million in online winnings should not be considered a liquid bankroll, as Grundy was reportedly staked by badbeat.com in the past, and used some of the money for cars and property.

Grundy’s graph may be a thing of beauty, but the skepticism voiced in twoplustwo will make it difficult for him to find a stake.

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Negreanu and Duke at loggerheads

August 25th, 2010

Amanda Leatherman
Daniel Negreanu has been heavily scrutinised after he allegedly used the expletive ‘c***’ in a recent interview with PokerPlayer.co.uk.

The four letter curse was directed towards female Ultimate Bet pro and sibling of Howard Lederer, Annie Duke. Open-minded Daniel has never been afraid to voice his opinion, but the word used to describe Duke was far from diplomatic.

Tension arose when Negreanu and Duke disagreed over the existence of the ladies event at the recent World Series of Poker. Daniel supported such an event, citing his disappointment at male entrants using tampons as card protectors, and Shaun Deeb playing in a dress. Negreanu argued women had every right to hold their own tournament, free of male bigotry and chauvinism.

Duke hit back however, claiming that a separate event did no favours for breaking down the sexual barriers in the game. The shrewd Negreanu, however, found the hypocrisy in Duke’s repost. Despite claiming men and women are equal at the felt, Duke, in sync with her UB marketing image, champions herself as the ‘best female poker player in the world’ on her website. Negreanu went on to say, ‘how offensive are you, you f***ing c***?’.

Daniel’s attack has polarised opinion amongst poker circles. Whereas some people have praised him for his candidness, others have berated his terse choice of language. The row has escalated, with Duke calling for PokerStars to take responsibility for Negreanu’s words.

Negreanu has not replied on Twitter as of yet, but Lex ‘RaSZi’ Veldhuis came out in support for the Canadian ice-hockey lover. Lex added it was quite ironic that Duke asked PokerStars to assume responsibility, when Ultimate Bet has attempted to keep its super-user scandal under wraps. The animosity between the two parties is understandable. Duke’s website Ultimate Bet is in direct competition with PokerStars, and her brother Lederer co-owns further rival site Full Tilt Poker.

In other sections of the interview, Daniel discussed his rigorous training regime and decision to remain t-total throughout the 2010 WSOP. He questioned Phil Hellmuth’s ability to win another bracelet given the younger, superior opposition dominating large NLH tournament fields, and lauded praise on Phil Ivey. Negreanu stressed the importance of bluffing in today’s high stakes poker games, and hinted that he is dating glamorous Pokernews journalist Amanda Leatherman.

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