Full Tilt Poker is here to stay!

The following is from an email I recieved from Full Tilt Poker "As an online poker player, you have probably heard about the new legislation passed by the U.S. Congress earlier this week that attempts to prevent you from being able to transfer money to online gaming sites. While this new law has prompted some sites to announce plans to abandon the U.S. market in coming days, we assure you that Full Tilt Poker will continue to provide all of its players - both inside and outside of the United States - with a full complement of real money ring games and tournaments for their enjoyment. After consultation with numerous legal experts in this field, we want to make you aware of the following: * Legal The new U.S. legislation does not in any way attempt to criminalize the act of you playing online poker. By playing online at Full Tilt Poker, you are not breaking any U.S. Federal laws. * Full Access The passage of the new Internet Gaming law will not have any impact on your day-to-day experience at Full Tilt Poker. We will provide all of our players, everywhere in the world, with full access to all of our games and tournaments. * Easy Deposits and Withdrawals We will continue to provide our players with all of the safe, secure and convenient methods for transferring money to and from the site. In fact, in recent discussions with our payment processors, we have been assured that this new law will have no immediate impact on their day-to-day business. And as always, any monies that you have on deposit with Full Tilt Poker remain completely safe and secure. Furthermore, we firmly believe that online poker is not encompassed by this new legislation. In any event, we will continue to lobby for an express carve-out for online poker and for your right to play a truly American game from the privacy of your own home and computer. We are excited about the future here at Full Tilt Poker and in the coming weeks and months, we plan to roll out many new features designed to enhance your online poker experience. We appreciate your loyalty to our site and, in turn, want you to know that we will remain loyal to our valued players in the United States and throughout the world. We look forward to seeing you at the table. Sincerely, Full Tilt Poker" Bravo Full Tilt Poker! Play Online Poker

Online gambling still in the cards?

Loopholes in law aimed at ending Internet betting may render it ineffective Read the full MSNC Article here

Poker Tournaments For Beginners

By: Mansi Aggarwal As the game of Poker is scaling new heights, casinos and resorts where the game is played along with the media have left no opportunity untouched to accrue contemporaneous benefits. This is evident from the rise in number of Poker tournaments. Since past decade there are significant number of Poker tournaments held at the local as well as the national level. The highly played poker games in these tournaments are- Seven Card Stud, Seven Card High-Low, Omaha Hold 'Em, and Texas Hold 'Em, community poker etc. Poker tournaments can be of different types. For instance- shootout tournaments where the tables along with players are not eliminated but continue to be there till one player emerges as a winner. Unlike to this are the elimination tournaments were the game commences with all players having equal amount of chips and prolongs until one player manages to get all the chips. Here the tables are removed and at the end a single table is left. All those who survive in the game till the last table get some sort of reward to cherish. Such tournaments have no re-buys but the ‘Re-buy’ tournaments provide the chance to re buy the chips once they are all gone. The chips are to be purchased by paying extra money. So the game continues for long and there are little odds of being segregated from the game. Besides this there are also satellite games in some areas of United States like Las Vegas. These tournaments involve a group of people that gathers and each places in a portion of his money. The fortunate winner gets a good amount (even more than a million dollar) to invest in other costly large-scale crucial tournaments. Usually the prize money for the poker tournaments comes from the entry fees. This fees is most often known as the ‘buy- in’ fees. Sometimes the money flows in from an external source or agency. But this amount gets invested in buying the invitations only. The buy-in fetches you a calculated amount of chips to start your game with. These chips act as your ‘play money’. Play money can be re purchased only in ‘re-buy’ tournaments. The betting on these tournaments can be of three types: · Structured Betting – bets can only be of a particular amount · Semi structured betting – the bet can vary to some extent and not more than that. · Non structured betting – there is no fixed limit to bet. It is at the discretion of the player to bet as much he desires. Then there are two basic strategies to decide upon who will be the winner – Fixed Winnings and Proportional Winnings. The former are those where the organization holding the tournament beforehand decides upon the winner. While in the latter the winner is calculated proportionally. These are split between the players left at the end proportional to the amounts of play money each has accumulated during the game. The escalating popularity of the game and the increasing number of tournaments have attracted players from all over the world. It is due to the fascinating and mouth watering amount that one gets on winning the tournaments that women as well as celebrities too want to try their luck. So, do you want to be a part of the Poker world! About the Author: Mansi gupta writes about poker tournaments topics. Learn more at http://www.findpokertourneys.com . Read more articles by: Mansi Aggarwal Article Source: www.iSnare.com

MSNBC launches poll on new U.S. anti-online gambling moves

The MSNBC website launched a poll Wednesday to assess opinions on the weekend legislative moves to disrupt financial flows from American players to online gambling sites. Under the heading "Should Online Gambling Be Illegal?" the poll provides the following three options for visitors: * Yes, Internet gambling fuels betting addictions. * No, people should have the freedom to wager any way they choose. * It doesn't matter what Congress passes, there will always be ways to gamble online. As of 9:05 am EST when I voted only 2.5% wanted internet gambling to be illegal and a whopping 93% said that people should be allowed to wager any way they choose. It seems congress may be a little out of touch with what the people want. No news there. Readers can find the poll and vote at http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15119408/

Online Poker Industry Responds to Law Change

Some Are Leaving, Others Are Playing Wait and See Game Several online poker sites released responses to the passage of the anti-online gambling legislation. The following is a collection of those responses and more will be added as they come through. Click here to read about Congress's actions and click here to read about how it will effect online players. Read the full article at here...

This from 888.com and Pacific Poker

In light of these considerations, the 888.com group has concluded that it is appropriate to suspend participation by U.S. based customers in our online poker and online casino products. As of today, we will not allow real money registrations of new U.S. based customers.

Online gaming in crisis over U.S. ban

LONDON (Reuters) - Online gambling firms faced their biggest-ever crisis on Monday after U.S. Congress passed legislation to end Internet gaming there, threatening jobs and wiping 3.5 billion pounds ($6.5 billion) off company values. Read article here...

PartyGaming poised to suspend US business

PartyGaming, the parent company of PartyPoker.com, warned today that if an anti-gaming measure is signed into law in the US, as expected, then it will suspend its US operations. Read More Here...

Poker Player's Alliance Action Plan and What You Can Do

1. What is the PPA going to do now? PPA President: Poker Players Alliance Action Plan (Oct.) [pdf version] excerpt: "This is no time to panic, but rather we must learn and build from this loss. The Poker Players Alliance is not leaving the fight, although now it is going to take an even greater effort from poker players and our organization to achieve our objectives. What do we want to do now?..." click here for more [source: Poker Players Alliance] 2. How does the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act affect me? PPA President: Analysis of Internet Gambling Prohibition Act excerpt: "First the bill does not make poker playing illegal on the Internet at a Federal Level, although it will make it much more difficult to enjoy “your game” on-line. As we have mentioned before we are immediately working on your behalf to obtain an exemption for Poker prior to the financial enforcement provisions are finalized (estimated between 3 to 9 months). This is the most important thing that the Poker Players Alliance and its members can do in the short term...." click here for more [source: Poker Players Alliance] 3. PPA Press Release Press Release: Poker Players Alliance - Congress Ignores Public Sentiment, Approves Internet Poker Prohibition excerpt: "Washington, DC (September 30, 2006) – In a Congressional back room deal, opponents of Internet gambling have added language to port security legislation that would prohibit online wagering. The port security bill with the Internet gambling prohibition language included was approved by the U.S House and Senate late on Friday evening and will be sent to the President to be signed into law..." click here for more [source: Poker Players Alliance] 4. Current Action: Poker Vote "Here is a list of members that voted in favor of a poker ban (aye) ,and who voted to protect poker (nay). Additionally we have listed those that supported a study commission into internet gaming and for good public policy. Please review and vote appropriately." [source: Poker Players Alliance]

Current Issues and History of Internet Gambling

Here is a fantastic article about internet gambling.

What Kind of Computer Should I Buy for On-Line Poker?

Almost any computer that is connected to the internet will do to play poker online. The most important considerations are that your system is secure and that it runs smoothly. I've lost a hand because my computer froze momentarily. Things like that can cost you a pot or knock you out of a tournament. The minimum specifications I suggest are as follows: Windows XP with all service packs 1 GHz CPU 256 MB RAM At least 25% free hard drive space Reliable internet connection recommended system specs: Windows XP with all service packs 2 GHz or faster 1 GB RAM 19 inch or bigger LCD monitor DSL or Cable Internet At least 25% free hard drive space If you don't even have the minimum suggested specs don't use it as an excuse not to play poker on-line . If you can surf for photos of Pamela Anderson or Paris Hilton and pimp out your MySpace page you can play poker online. Just plan on being a little more patient, playing a safer levels and putting aside some of your winnings to buy or build a new system. Even more important than the system itself is the security and maintenance of your system. First and foremost you need to be generally aware of security and avoid opening suspicious emails, clicking on pop ups or allowing any unknown software or active-x controls to be installed. Microsoft regularly fixes security and stability issues and makes them available through Windows Update. Make sure you use it. Make sure that you have a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware programs installed and keep them updated and do regular system scans. Regularly clean your and defragment your hard drives. Play Online Poker

Internet gamblers lose big in U.S. Senate

Internet gamblers lose big in U.S. Senate Secreted into H.R. 4954, the Safe Port Act, the U.S. Senate attached and voted to approve an amendment that now makes it illegal for banks to fund Internet gambling sites, as well as, the money brokers, like Neteller, Firepay and Click2Pay that act as a go-between from U.S. banks and offshore gambling sites... Click here for the full article