ONLINECASINONEWS.CA

Playtech Announces Live-Cash Play on Italian Poker Network

The number of sites licensed to offer poker to residents of Italy now includes four sites of using Playtech network's software. The member sites approved are Snai s.r.l., Eurobet Italia SpA (a division of Gala Coral), Sisal SpA and Cogetech SpA. Italy was the first major European network to recognize a fully open and regulated market for online poker, which has grown exponential since its launch late last year.

RGA Seeks Support from EU Following US/Dikshit Plea Deal

The Remote Gambling Association, which represents the interests of several large European online gaming firms, has sought the "support and protection" of European officials following the plea deal announced a week ago between PartyGaming co-founder Anurag DikShit and officials from the US Department of Justice. In a statement released by the RGA last week, the RGA condemned the moves of the Bush administration. According to RGA Chief Executive Clive Hawkswood, "These events show that the outgoing US administration and the Department of Justice have demonstrated a total disrespect for the legal rights of European online gaming companies and those associated with them and a complete disregard for US international commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services." The RGA also noted the request made by European Commissioner Peter Mandelson in June requesting a freeze on enforcement actions by the USDoJ, which was ignored by US officials. The RGA termed the US moves a "breach of international law."

Mexico Reportedly Considering Internet Gambling Ban

Details are sketchy at this time, but a small number of published reports indicate that a Mexican Congressional committee has proposed changes in that nation's gambling laws that will legalize slot machines but will also ban internet-based gambling. The proposal is due for further consideration in early 2010, with a possible Congressional vote taking place by April.

Poker Room Review: John Ascuaga's Nugget, Sparks, NV

I've often wondered if there was any room left in the expanding casino world for a first-class, independent casino. So many places I've played in are either run by the super-large corporations or are faltering, especially with the difficult economy these days. Octbe the economic numbers are such that it really is impossible to be a top-tier place without the economies of scale that comes from being enormous.

I'm happy to report that there is a first-class gambling spot in greater Reno that is locally run. That's John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks, Nevada. I played there on a Tuesday night and really enjoyed everything about the poker room and the casino itself.

Sparks is a small city that borders Reno's eastern edge. There are many poker rooms here, but the Nugget is the only one that primSeptembery attracts tourists. For those of us looking for action, that's a huge advantage, as the games tend to be pretty good most of the time, with considerably more action than the other local-dominated rooms in the area.

This is a spacious, seven-table room, with a beautiful wall of windows that overlook Sparks. It is Janorated in an ornate Victorian style. The chairs are the most comfortable I have sat in, with thick padding, wheels on the bottom, and arm rests. Unlike the other places I played in Sparks, management seems to take great care in the physical maintenance of the room. It is well ventilated, very clean, and smoothly run by experienced staff.

It's no wonder that out-of-towners like me enjoy playing here. The dealers are truly first-rate. I found out why. The owner of the casino – no less than John Ascuaga himself – though in his 80s, still treats the place and the staff like the family business that it is. Dealers and floor staff all spoke about how well they were treated – and how long they'd been working there. The staff was as engaging as they were competent. I was treated to one story by the shift manager: he came to the Nugget many years ago from New Jersey where he ran poker games for a Catholic Church. He told me about the incongruous sight of the priests coming by during the games to collect the rake!

The room generally spreads $3/6 and $4/8 limit hold'em – though a $1/2 no-limit game pops up sometimes on the weekends. They open at 10:00 AM each morning with a daily tournament. When I visited on a Tuesday there were three tables going – two $3/6 and a $4/8. I played $4/8 with a bunch of guys in suits who were in town for a convention. They reminded me of the famous Atlantic City scene in Rounders. The professionals at the table eye these obvious conventioneers, still wearing name badges, who sit down to "have a little fun". The conventioneers leave a couple of hours later, leaving their bankrolls behind. The only difference between that scene and the Nugget was that, as far as I could tell, there weren't any pros at the table – just a bunch of tourists, a couple of regulars, and me! Lucky me! I finished up close to a hundred in an hour or so.

It's more expensive to play here than in most of the other poker rooms in the area. In that respect, you get what you pay for, in my opinion. The rake is 10% with a $4 maximum. There's a $1 drop for a bad beat and for bonus hand payouts. Players earn a very modest 50 cents an hour in comps. But, again, the room is excellently maintained and the surroundings are first-rate. Similarly, food tends to be more expensive than in many of the other local rooms – as you might expect in a place that caters to conventions. Burgers are $6 to $7 or so (instead of $2 or $3). A breakfast plate of eggs is $7.25. But there's value here as well. Sandwiches are $7.95 – but they're huge. There's tableside food and beverage service. Players get free drinks. And there's a self-serve coffee and hot chocolate bar.

Rules tend to be more strictly enforced here than in other area poker rooms. There's no talking on cel phones and no smoking. The tables have a "commitment line". If your chips pass over it they are considered to be in the pot. So be careful before you pick up your chips. A handful of chips, idly passing over this line Oct be considered a raise!

In general, the Nugget is a great place to play poker. I'd gladly return. And, unlike most of the other places in the area, this is the kind of place I would proudly bring a guest.

PokerStars 'Guinness World Record' Tourney Entries Capped

PokerStars has announced plenty of promotional extras in conjunction with its latest assault on the Guinness Book of World Records. The record-setting event, which starts at 3:30 pm ET on Sunday, reached its 35,000-player cap early on Saturday, leaving late-arriving hopefuls only the option of watching and waiting to see if already-registered players drop out before the event begins.

The special tourney – with the establishment of the record itself likely now just a formality – is the centerpiece of Stars' ongoing "World Record Week" promotions. Stars will also be adding an extra million dollars to the guaranteed prize pool of tomorrow's Stars Sunday Million, and since the event already features an ongoing $1.5 million guarantee, the special promotion swells the official prize pool to an unprecedented $2.5 million.

Stars has also been running extra qualifiers to tomorrow's Sunday Million since Wednesday. Qualifiers with FPP (Frequent Player Point) buy-ins range from 50-2,500 points, and will run through early Sunday afternoon. Stars has added several other events as well. The $200+15 Sunday Warmup, now one of online poker's most popular weekend events, will have its guarantee raised to $1,000,000 on Sunday as well.

Players without the bankrolls for $200+15 event buy-ins need not despair – Stars is also running special 10,000-player SNGs this weekend, each with buy-ins of only $1, and Stars is adding an extra $10,000 to the prize pool in each. As many as ten of these events will be held by Sunday night, depending on demand.

And of course, Stars is offering some cash giveaways as well. The site has returned with its "Milestone Hand" giveaways as holiday bonuses through the end of the month. Every millionth cash-game hand dealt will result in extra bonuses paid, according to the following:

Limit Winner (Other Players)

Micro $250 ($100)
Low $500 ($200)
Medium $1,000 ($400)
High $2,000 ($800)

The winning amount will then be multiplied by the VIP level for each player. Bronze star players receive the stated amount, while other levels are bumped up according to the following:

SilverStar 15% Bonus
GoldStar 30% Bonus
PlatinumStar 60% Bonus
Supernova 120% Bonus
Supernova Elite 200% Bonus

As can plainly be seen, there's plenty of fun and extra money online this weekend and through end the month at PokerStars

H.O.R.S.E. Poker Strategy: In the Mix -- The Future of Mixed Games?

There were several new events added to the 2010 World Series of Poker. Some of them, like Event #4 "Mixed Hold'em", don't really qualify as mixed games in my book. While it's true that two different variations of poker are being played, it feels a bit gimmicky to me, since the two variations are the same game with different betting styles – fixed-limit and no-limit. However there was one new event this year which was a bona fide mixed game. It was Event #8, which was billed by Harrah's as "World Championship Mixed Event". In other circles it was called "Super Mix" and "Eight-Game Mix" because it comprised eight different games: 2-7 triple draw, limit hold'em, limit omaha hi/lo, razz, seven-card stud, seven-card stud hi/lo, no-limit hold'em, and pot-limit omaha.

With mixed games having taken higher visibility in recent years after the creation of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship in 2006, it's encouraging to see tournament organizers attempting innovation in the mixed-game area. Unfortunately, despite what the number of entrants in the Main Event in recent years might suggest, the $10,000 buy-in is a bit beyond the bankroll of most people, including me.

That's not to say I haven't ever played eight-game mix. PokerStars has rolled it out in both a cash game format and a tournament format. As part of the recent WBCOOP freerolls, I sat down for an eight-game mix tournament. Each game was rotated in order after six minutes; betting limits increased every other game, essentially making the levels twelve minutes long. This differed slightly from the WSOP format, where betting limits were increased after every third game. The WSOP, however, grouped the games in the same format: 2-7 triple draw, limit hold'em and limit Omaha hi/lo (the fixed-limit draw and flop games); razz, seven-card stud, and seven-card stud hi/lo (the stud games); and no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha (the big-bet games).

One of the biggest obstacles to playing eight-game mix should be readily apparent: if you're not a well-rounded player or incredibly lucky, you are at the mercy of the rest of the field. Each game accounts for only 12% of the total hands played; your edge in razz Oct come in handy when the game is razz, but that's six out of every 48 minutes. And really, how many hands are played in six minutes? Even online, not that many.

Eight-game mix requires a well-roundedness beyond even that of H.O.R.S.E. by minimizing the impact the stud games have on the rotation as a whole. In H.O.R.S.E., the razz, stud and stud hi/lo games are at least somewhat similar to each other. Concepts that apply in one game can easily be transplanted to another, so a player who has a solid grounding in one of those games can adequately play 60% of the games in the rotation. In eight-game mix, however, even the stud games account for fewer than half of the games played.

On PokerStars, eight-game mix is played six-handed. This is a big difference from the typical H.O.R.S.E. tournament, which is played eight-handed. The result should be obvious; opening requirements for all of the games are lighter than they would be in H.O.R.S.E. That also means that the variance is going to be higher, since you will have to press thin edges further than you would at a full eight-handed table.

Another adjustment to be made is accounting for the "big bet" games. Variance in the limit games is quite high (for a skilled player, certainly higher than in the big bet games). The two rounds of big bet poker, no-limit hold'em and pot-limit omaha, are the chance to really punish players who are weaker than you, so that you can accumulate enough chips to survive some downward variance in the limit rounds.

For example, playing pot-limit Omaha, I was in the big blind with and took a free three-handed flop of . I had made bottom set on a dangerous board. When the action checked to me, I fired a pot-sized bet of 450, leaving myself 2,790 behind. The player to my left, who had limped in, called my bet. On this type of board, he was probably drawing. Thus I opted to check the that hit the turn. He made it 750 to go, into a pot of 1,350. That bet gave me just less than three-to-one to call with a ten-card draw to what I felt would be the winner. If I missed, I'd be in tough shape with 2,000 chips, but all hope wouldn't be lost. Thus, I called.

The river paired the board. The size of the pot allowed me to move my remaining 2,040 into the middle. My opponent dipped into his time bank before calling with . He had made his straight on the turn and couldn't get away from it. That double-up gave me the cushion I needed later on.

That's not to say I played flawless poker. My bust-out hand came in 2-7 triple draw and was probably a misplay on my part. The hand is a classic demonstration of the importance of position in draw games; look for a discussion of it next week.

With its emphasis on developing skill in eight different variants of poker and balancing the competing aspects of fixed-limit poker and big-bet poker against each other, eight-game mix Oct represent the future of mixed games. Now that players have had some time to become familiar with it, I expect to see a big increase in 2010 over the 192 players that entered the eight-game mix WSOP event in 2010. Who knows? Octbe online poker sites like PokerStars will run satellites to the event just like they did for the $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event.