The World of Poker In the News

There has been plenty happening in the world of poker recently, in fact there is always tons of stuff happening in this massive industry. With plenty of websites participating in satellites and promotions for packages to the EPT (European Poker Tour), it might be good for you to know that Season 9 kicks-off n 8 days, starting in Barcelona. Besides always having a great turn out and of course, great guaranteed prize pools, the European Poker Tour will be giving away some new special bling. This will only help add to an already exciting tournament series and a good turn-out of big names.

By 'bling' we mean luxury Swiss “Black and Steel” design Slyde by HD3 watches worth €5,480. There are six for the main event winners and an extra special “Black and Rose Gold” design for the Poker Tour Grand Final winner, with a retail value of €9,000. Pretty cool! The tour starts in Barcelona on the 15th August and makes its way to San Remo, Prague, Deauville, the Bahamas, London, and Berlin before ending up in the final at Monte-Carlo.

You are not too late to qualify. PokerStars is the best place to catch daily qualifiers, including a steps tournament which allows you to work up from $2.20 all the way to a seat at the EPT Barcelona - visit PokerStars.

In the meantime, Cantor gaming is readying themselves to offer online poker in the state of California. We have been hearing a good deal about Nevada and their new legislation in the news, but California it seems, is following hot on the heels of this state. Both Cantor and Horse Racing United have release information of an exclusive agreement to develop an online poker platform. Cantor operates sports books across 7 Las Vegas resorts. They will provide supporting infrastructure and technology to Horse Racing United, subject to them receiving a license to operate an intrastate poker site.

Is California really looking to legalize Online Poker?

It certainly looks likely. Why? To provide additional support to the horse racing industry. California is facing one of its worst ever budgetary crisis, and online gambling is believed to be able to generate sufficient tax revenue to help get this under control.

PokerStars to the rescue

It has been a long tense round of negotiations, however PokerStars finally come to an agreement with the US Department of Justice to buy Full Tilt Poker's assets. What this means is that all the assets that were frozen following during the low period, better known as Black Friday, will be made available in the next 90 days. This totals $184 Million. An additional $148 Million of frozen assets will be made available to US players, however this will be refunded separately. It has still to be agreed as to when US players will be refunded these monies.

And now another - Blaze Poker

Prior to the Full Tilt Poker capsize, they introduced an innovative new way to play poker, called Rush Poker. This was a faced paced new game in which players didn't have to wait between hands. As soon as a player folded, he would immediately have a new hand in front of him. Fold again, and another hand  instantly appears. This allowed players to get through considerably more hands per hour.

Hot on the heels was PokerStars who then launched their version of the game, called Zoom Poker. This was then followed by the iPoker Network who introduced Speed Hold'em. Ladbrokes are the next to launch their version of the game called Blaze Poker.

Blaze Poker is pretty much the same concept using the quick fold option to get your next hand. The benefits of the game are the sheer speed that the game is played. Your win rate should increase considerably as you don't have to wait for ages for premium hands. When a player folds, he is moved instantly to another table to face another hand. The blinds are assigned to players who have played the longest without posting them. This faced paced game will also allow you to shoot up the loyalty ladder, as you will be sure to earn your loyalty points at a much faster rate.