Online Poker Directory

Posts Tagged ‘Players’

Ben Affleck

Since the poker boom that accompanied Chris Moneymaker’s victory at the Main Event of the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP), throngs of fans have taken to card rooms and online poker rooms in the hopes of capturing their own moments of glory. The dream has inspired tons of amateurs to take up the game over the years, and among these would-be card sharks are a number of famous faces. Indeed, celebrities from around the globe are hoping for their own “Moneymaker moment,” and we here at Titan Poker salute those actors, athletes and rock stars who regularly hit the felt. We’re listing some of our favorite celebrity poker players seen at the tables.

Oscar Winning Performances

Some of the biggest names in Hollywood can be seen at major poker tournaments across the globe, including a few actors who have been recognized by the Academy Awards in recent years. This year’s winner for Best Picture, “Argo,” is a compelling action-drama that detailed the story of a CIA agent who pretends to be part of a film crew to rescue American officials trapped in Iran. It also features a number of famous faces regularly spied around the poker table. Ben Affleck, the film’s star and director, is a fairly accomplished poker player, having won the 2004 California State Poker Championship and racking up more than $ 350,000 in tournament winnings. Though less accomplished, Affleck’s costar, Bryan Cranston, is also a fixture at minor poker tournaments along the West Coast. 

Though he has never captured an Oscar, actor Don Cheadle was nominated for a statuette for his role in 2004′s “Hotel Rwanda” and starred in the best picture of 2005, Crash. Cheadle has also found success at the card table, besting superstar Phil Ivey in the 2007 National Heads-Up Poker tournament. In that same year, the actor teamed up with seasoned professional Annie Duke to host the “Ante Up for Africa” tournament at the WSOP, a charity event that raised money for humanitarian organizations like the International Rescue Committee and the Enough Project.

Screen Sirens

Recent years have seen female players come to the forefront of the game, thanks to impressive performances by players like Annette Obrestad and Vanessa Rousso. One player that can be added to that list is Jennifer Tilly, who, in addition to being an Academy Award Nominee, is also a WSOP champion, having bested a field of 600 to win the Ladies’ No Limit Hold ‘Em event in 2005. Since her bracelet win, Tilly has proven to be a force at the poker table, racking up nearly $ 600,000 in tournament winnings, writing a monthly column for Bluff.com and even starring alongside boyfriend (and fellow poker pro) Phil Laak in the WSOP Tournament of Champions 2007 Edition video game.

Another actress making a name for herself at the poker table is Shannon Elizabeth. The “American Pie” star has had a solid run of cards at several poker tournaments in recent years, cashing in six major tournaments and earning more than $ 212,000 in the process. Elizabeth also found success in the National Heads-up Poker Challenge, where she advanced to the semi-finals, and even represented Team Lebanon in the World Team Poker Championship.

Musical Mavens

It’s not just actors who have made a splash in the poker world, as a number of musicians have also found success on the felt. Sully Erna, the lead singer of American heavy metal band Godsmack, has recently returned to the game after a successful run in 2007 that earned him more than $ 320,000 in tournament winnings. In a recent interview with ESPN, Erna claimed that he wasn’t ready to commit to poker in the past, but with his band on a self-imposed hiatus, the rocker believes he’s ready to give it a second chance.

“I was finding that I was very impatient and playing crappy hands. I was losing patience every time I was playing. I had to take a break,” Erna told the news provider, as reported by Loudwire.com. “[But] I’m making a comeback! I’ve studied the game. I’m getting the itch to play poker again. In fact, I’m in Los Angeles today and I’ll be playing tonight. I need to shake the rust off. I’m ready to go deep and win a lot of money!”

Star Athletes

Though there has long been debate as to whether or not poker can be described as a sport, that doesn’t mean a number of athletes haven’t found success in both live and online poker. Take Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, for example. The swimmer, whose 22 gold medals make him the most decorated Olympian of all time, has expressed interest in taking up the game now that he’s retired from swimming – and with a final table already to his name, he’s off to a great start.

Elsewhere pro tennis player Vince Van Patten has made a name for himself both as a player, whose two WSOP cashes netted him $ 34,276, and as a commentator, thanks to his work alongside Mike Sexton on the World Poker Tour.

In recent years, few technologies have made as significant an impact on everyday life as the smartphone. Whether you’re an Android user or you swear by your iPhone, odds are good that you have one of these portable micro computers nearby as you read this. Key to the success of this young technology has been the wealth of specialized or apps that has allowed these handheld devices to become one of the most versatile and useful items in a professional’s arsenal. While most are aware of the business and social benefits of owning a smartphone, these mobile devices have also become indispensable tools for the modern poker player. 

From the online poker providers offering gaming software to the stats trackers that allow players to tighten their game, there is a lot of variety to be found when hunting for the best poker apps. We here at Titan Poker would like to help you sift through the clutter and find the best programs to improve your game. Here are some of the best pieces of poker software currently residing in the Apple App Store.

Poker Postgame
One of the newer poker apps on the market, Poker Postgame is an iOS app that looks to help you track your performance from table to table. This app features an in-game setup that resembles most online poker tables, which allows you to more realistically recreate memorable hands. Users can input the number of players at the table, count their chip stacks and record their cards to recreate a hand after it has played out. Drop down menus allow players to indicate the nuances of the hand, such as position, the order of betting, who called/folded and more. This lets players keep an eye on their opponents, and get a better sense of both who they’re playing against and how they play themselves.

Tourney Cruncher
If you fancy yourself a whiz at poker tournaments, then you may want to invest in a poker tournament calculator app. One of the best on the market is the Tourney Cruncher, an independent chip model (ICM) calculator that also computes M&Q ratios (which measure the strength of your stack against the field and blinds of your tournament) and analyzes the viability of decisions made once all cards have been dealt. One of the app’s most useful features is the bubble factor calculator, which measures your ICM effect against the player field of the tournament in order to calculate how likely a player is to pass the bubble (the point at which players begin to actually win money for their play). The program is available on the iPhone App Store.

Poker DealMaker ICM
Playing in sit-n-go tournaments is a great way to hone your skills and make some money when you’re just starting to make it as a professional poker player. Yet while these poker tournaments can go a long way to improving your game, the final table can often run for hours on end. As such, many players growing weary of the grind that is heads up action will often suggest that the remaining players chop (i.e. share) the pot. Though many treat a chop as a show of good sportsmanship, these deals can often feel unbalanced – particularly when players’ stacks are uneven. That’s where the Poker DealMaker ICM comes in, as this unique calculator can weigh the stacks of remaining players and provide a proper payout based on their totals. This poker app is an iPhone exclusive, and a must-have for tournaments and home games.

Poker Timer Dealer Button
This app, another available only for iPhone users, is a lifesaver for those casual home games where players easily lose track of time. Users can set a blinds schedule on this timer and let the app do the rest. The program will set off an alarm when it is time for the blinds to increase, will track what the minimum bets should be, and can even be programmed to include breaks should the game run long into the night. You can also use the software to clock an opponent’s call time, providing a less abrasive alternative to counting the seconds it takes for a player to call or fold aloud.

Poker Pocket Knife
Players on the fence about a call can check their odds with the Poker Pocket Knife app, a must-have for mathematically-minded players. Using High Stakes Technologies’ much lauded odds calculator, the poker app will allow users to know precisely where they stand in a hand, and with a separate pot odds calculator, players can deduce whether it’s worth their while to risk additional chips or if they’re flirting with an all-in scenario. Using the Sklansky-Chubukov tables, the app has even added a small blind profitability calculation, which will show players the chances that defending their small blinds will pay off.

Here’s a post we saw on a poker forum the other day: “I play on a site that has really active Speed Poker tables which I tried many times, but no matter what, I can’t win at Speed Poker. Even at the lowest levels over time I lose.”

How is it that good poker players, those who rack up winnings while multi-tabling the cash games, can’t seem to do the same at Titan Poker’s Speed Poker tables? Isn’t Speed Poker essentially the same game as regular online poker? Or, do you need a special skill set to win when you play Speed Poker?

First of all, what is Speed Poker, and how is it different from regular play? Speed Poker is a fast-paced poker variation, which pools players into large groups and allows them to instantly fold their cards and be immediately placed into a new hand with other players from their group. This essentially keeps players in the action at all times.

First let’s state the obvious. To win in Speed Poker, you need to make adjustments to your regular play. You won’t be able to take notes on your opponents; you will not have the luxury to seriously calculate every single card situation.

You need to fully understand what you’re getting into when you sit down at the Speed Poker tables. Check out Titan Poker’s Speed Poker Infographic, which gives you simple instructions how to play the game.

Titan Poker’s guide How to Win at Speed Poker provides a number of tips how to come out ahead in the game.

Maybe the best advice we can give on how to win at Speed Poker is to make sure not to lose. Plan to walk away from the Speed Poker tables before you blow your entire bankroll, as this can happen quite quickly in such a fast format.

Titan Poker’s free Hall of Hands poker app, which enables players to re-enact their most memorable hands at the Hold’em tables as professionally produced poker TV shows, has become very popular with players. Shares and likes on Facebook walls are allowing friends and family members to enjoy the excitement felt by players from all over the world at Titan Poker’s tables and tournaments.

Titan Poker is the first real money poker room to offer its players the patent-pending Hall of Hands Studio, an application that is quickly downloaded and installed. Hall of Hands attaches itself to the Titan Poker software and runs in the background during online play. Players’ hands are recorded, and with the click of a button, they can become poker TV shows that can be shared with friends.

Watching a Hall of Hands video is like watching a real life poker television broadcast. There are actors who portray the players at the table, running commentary of the cards dealt and the bets made, and more important, hole cards cameras that give viewers and insight to the players’ gaming strategy.

To fully understand the amazing shows produced for players, let’s take a look at a sample hand.

In a 10-player Tallinn sit ‘n’ go tourney, Titan Poker’s “UtterGUFF8t9” from the United Kingdom had pocket threes. His hand improved to a set on the flop, but he didn’t know that his opponent had just hit a set of eights. Nonetheless, “UtterGUFF8t9” pushed all-in on the turn.

How did the hand turn out? Take a look:

Want to share your own poker hands? Download the free Hall of Hands at Titan Poker and let the fun begin.

Professional poker player Nick DiVella has launched an online petition to ban Howard Lederer, former director of Full Tilt Poker, from the poker room in the Aria Casino.

In the petition, DiVella and others expressed their “concern with Howard Lederer playing poker in the Aria casino while currently under investigation by the Department of Justice and named as a co-conspirator in an amended civil indictment filed by the Department of Justice in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York.”

The petition further stated that “according to the allegations in the above referenced amended civil indictment, [Lederer] knowingly conspired to commit acts of fraud and money laundering with regards to Full Tilt online poker players money.”

The petition comes in the wake of reports that compensation to Full Tilt Poker’s former players from the United States is still “a long way away,” according to John Pappas, Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance.

Lederer, along with poker pro Chris Ferguson, has been seen as the villain of the Black Friday crackdown on PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker in April, 2011. Lederer, Ferguson and two other Full Tilt Poker directors allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme that paid out $ 444 million of poker players’ money to themselves and to the company’s owners.

Known as “the Poker Professor” and winner of two WSOP bracelets, Lederer had been absent from the poker scene in the aftermath of Black Friday. Recently he has resumed poker play at the Ivey Room at the Aria, and at Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio. According to media reports, both casinos employed extra security guards while Lederer was playing.

According to an interview with PokerFuse, DiVella believes Lederer’s return to live poker threatens the integrity of the game.

“In some aspects poker has a bad reputation and there are no repercussions for those who tarnish that reputation,” DiVella said.

DiVella wasn’t sure whether his online petition would convince the Aria Casino to ban Lederer from its tables.

Earlier this week, Federal Judge Jack Weinstein from New York ruled that poker is not gambling because it’s primarily a game of skill (this is something poker players have always known). The ruling resulted in a dismissal of a Federal indictment against a man convicted of operating an underground poker club.

Archaic laws on the books

This ruling is hugely significant in the lives of poker players in the U.S. because most states have similar archaic laws on the books that essentially say it’s illegal to play any games for money with “cards or dice” because they’re games of chance. Poker has now been blessed by a Federal judge and I’m expecting many states to change their archaic laws and agree with Judge Weinstein’s 120 page opinion that poker is a game of skill and not a game of chance.

No Fear

As a game of skill, poker will no longer be deemed illegal, meaning people will be able to play in their homes without fear of legal repercussions. And this will apply to home poker games as well as to internet poker.

A couple of years ago I testified as an expert witness in a similar court case in South Carolina and that judge also ruled poker was a game of skill (something I was quite proud of) but it was a local judge, not a Federal judge. I’m scheduled to again testify as an expert witness in an upcoming Federal case this fall in Norfolk, VA (that guy is being indicted like the guy was in NY for running a poker game). This NY ruling will certainly help, not only for the upcoming case in VA, but for any other similar cases coming up in any state.

This ruling is a GREAT day for poker players and online poker sites!

Mad Marvins Back to Back Wins!

On another note, the poker world is still buzzing about PartyPoker team pro “Mad Marvin” Rettenmaier’s back to back WPT wins. He won the Season X WPT World Championship at Bellagio and followed that up with a win in Cyprus in the kick-off WPT event of Season XI. In the eleven year history of the World Poker Tour, no one has ever accomplished that feat – back to back wins. “Congratulations, Marvin!”

And special kudos to Mad Marvin for trying to make it three in a row. The day after winning in Cyprus, although very tired, he made arrangements to take the long flight to Philadelphia, PA for our WPT event at PARX casino. He entered on Day 1b (meaning he had just one bullet and couldn’t re-enter) but went out early there. Still, just the effort he made to get to Philly to try for the hat-trick is worth noting. So, what do you say about his early elimination? How about, “Welcome back to earth, Marvin.”

Dracula Poker

Titanpoker.com is the biggest and most innovative poker room on the iPoker Network, with offers, bonuses, promotions, and tournaments that just can’t be found anywhere else. Players at smaller rooms on the iPoker Network enjoy much of the same activity, such as participation in network-run competitions and satellite events to major land-based tournaments around the world, but they can never fully enjoy the exciting world of online poker offered by Titan Poker.

Dracula Poker, one of the many rooms on the network running the software developed and maintained by Playtech, has recently come to a decision to send its players to play at Titan Poker. This will ensure that they receive the best possible first deposit bonus, promotions suitable for beginner players, and an unbeatable VIP Loyalty program. Many veteran players from Dracula Poker have already begun playing cash games and tournaments at Titan Poker.

Existing Dracula Poker players are still able to play in the Dracula Poker software, but new players wishing to sign up at Dracula Poker are instead invited to sign up at Titan Poker. As new Titan Poker players they are entitled to the full range of benefits and offers, including the 200% up to $ 2,000 First Deposit Bonus, participation in exclusive freeroll tournaments, and use of Titan Poker’s free poker tools, including the Titan Poker Mentor Calculator and the Titan Poker Guru.

Dracula Poker players wishing to begin play at Titan Poker are invited to download the free poker software and register their new account. Within minutes they’ll be playing at their favorite and familiar tables, joining the Speed Poker action, or participating in sit ‘n’ go and/or multi-table tournaments. As they begin earning Titan Poker Points, they’ll become eligible for the many benefits offered by Titan Rewards, which includes offers suitable for casual and recreational players.

Dracula Poker players will be glad to bite into the full poker action at Titan Poker.

Preet Bharara

The United States entered settlement agreements with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker yesterday which will result in PokerStars acquiring all of Full Tilt Poker’s assets and refunding all of its players. In announcing the settlement, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said that it would allow the U.S. Department of Justice “to quickly get significant compensation into the victim players’ hands.” 

As part of the deal, PokerStars will forfeit $ 547 million to the U.S. government over the next three years. Full Tilt Poker will be reopened as an independent brand and foreign players will have access to their balances totaling $ 184 million. Players from the United States, owed approximately $ 150 million, will be compensated separately. 

Coming fifteen months after Black Friday, when the U.S. government shut down PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker and indicted their founders and chief executives on charges of bank fraud and money laundering, the settlement is being welcomed by the affected players although the reimbursement process has not yet been announced. 

Full Tilt Poker suspended its operations in June last year when it lost its license with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC). Although PokerStars refunded all of its American players and continued operations overseas, Full Tilt Poker did not have sufficient cash to make refunds. 

Earlier this month, Full Tilt Poker CEO Raymond Bitar was arrested. Bitar was charged last year with gambling, bank fraud, and money laundering offenses in connection with the operation of Full Tilt Poker. 

Bharara said at the time, “With today’s arrest and the new charges brought against him, Raymond Bitar will now be held criminally responsible for the alleged fraud he perpetrated on his U.S. customers that cost them hundreds of millions of dollars. The indictment alleges how Bitar bluffed his player-customers and fixed the game against them as part of an international Ponzi scheme that left players empty-handed.” 

Despite yesterday’s settlement, the criminal and civil cases against the individuals indicted on Black Friday are ongoing and many of the individuals are barred from employment at PokerStars and/or Full Tilt Poker.

Main Event Action

The big poker names are gone. Only 27 players remain in competition in the 2012 World Series of Poker Event 61: $ 10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, and none of them are well known.

Vanessa Selbst, one of the last remaining professional players, was eliminated in 73rd place on Day 6 of the tournament, while Gavin Smith busted in 96th place.

The last three tables will play down to the final table on Day 7. Canadian Marc Ladouceur currently leads the pack, but anything could happen. A double-up or a bad beat would be enough to change the standings around totally. Two women, one of them an amateur player, are among the final 27 players.

The next player to be eliminated from the tournament will receive a $ 294,601 payout. The big money is reserved for the final table, starting from the $ 754,798 guaranteed for 9th place up to the grand prize of $ 8,527,982 which will go the winner of the gold bracelet.

Among the final 27 players are French player Gaelle Baumann and Norwegian amateur Elisabeth Hille. Will one of them become the second woman to make a Main Event final table?

A strong contender for the top prize is American Greg Merson, who won 2012 WSOP Event #57 – 10,000 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed for a prize of $ 1,136,197. Will he win a second bracelet this summer?

Listed below are the 27 remaining players in the event, their chip totals and previous best achievements:

Michael Mizrachi

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi won the 2012 WSOP Poker Players Championship, the second time he has won the prestigious $ 50,000 buy-in bracelet event. The championship tournament, a rival to the WSOP Main Event’s claim as being the most prestigious event of the entire series, mixes up the eight most popular forms of poker. Outlasting a starting field of 108 of the best poker players in the world brought Mizrachi the first place prize of $ 1,451,527. It was the third WSOP gold bracelet of Mizrachi’s career. 

Mizrachi, a 30-year-old poker professional from Florida, has won his three bracelets in three consecutive years. He was one of the November Nine finalists at the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event, finishing in 5th place for a $ 2,332,992 prize. 

Next up for Mizrachi is the $ 1,000,000 buy-in Big One for One Drop event, which kicks off today in Las Vegas. 

Mizrachi’s win in the Poker Players Championship in 2010 brought him a prize of $ 1,559,046. His second gold bracelet was in the €10,400 buy-in Split-Format event at 2011 WSOP Europe, and his prize was €336,008 (about $ 420,000).

According to media sources, Mizrachi is called “the Grinder” due to his never-give-up mentality.

The Poker Players Championship was Event #45 in the 2012 World Series of Poker schedule. The total prize pool for the event was $ 5,184,000 and the top 16 players got paid. Winning the event gave Mizrachi the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy named for the late Chip Reese, who won the inaugural event in 2006. 

Chris Klodnicki finished second in the event for a prize of $ 896,935, and Andy Bloch was third for $ 561,738.