Betwin-Poker.com enters the very competitive online poker portal space with the release of a new website.

BetWin-Poker.com is an independent online poker information website created by online poker players for people who are interested in online poker whether they are new players just starting to play poker or seasoned poker players.

Highlights of the site include:

Online Poker Room Reviews: The BetWin-Poker.com team have written unbiased and critical online poker room reviews aimed at providing all the information a player needs on a specific room. Play route 66 poker.

Online poker rooms currently reviewed:

Paradise Poker

Titan Poker

VC Poker

Pacific Poker

Full Tilt Poker

Pokerstars

Online Poker Rooms: Ranking each poker room we have reviewed receives a rank based on the following criteria, bonuses, competition, software, Rake, game variation and customer service. Betwin-Poker.com also includes a ranked list of online poker rooms, US Poker Rooms, still accepting US players & women poker players after the signing of the UIGEA.

Poker Games: There many different poker games that can be played at online poker rooms and Betwin-Poker.com sets out to introduce these games and also provide basic poker rules for each game. The poker games range from Texas Holdem, Omaha Poker Tournament and Seven Card Stud to mixed games such as HORSE.

Betwin-Poker.com aims to provide as much information as possible to the online poker player whether they are looking for a new room to play at or want to expand there poker playing resume by trying different poker game variants. Stay tuned to our poker blog for latest updates.

Poker News Source: PR-GB

Full schedule necessitates "re-evaluation of timing"

The Moscow Millions poker tournament scheduled for October 20 to 22 this year suffered a serious blow this week when online poker company Full Tilt Poker withdrew its sponsorship and team appearance due to over-full commitments.

A company spokesman said that Full Tilt would be focusing on other tournament commitments through to 2008, which has obliged it to re-evaluate the timing for the Moscow event. The spokesman cited a full schedule of events such as the World Series of Poker Europe, commitments in Britain, sponsorships in Germany and the 2008 Aussie Millions.

"Recognizing the substantial potential of the Moscow Millions and Russia in general, the company has decided to postpone sponsorship to insure complete dedication to the success of the event," the spokesman said. Play route 66 poker.

Full Tilt has been offering qualifiers for the Moscow Millions for the past two months, offering players & women poker players weekly satellites to win a $15 000 prize package to the televised tournament.

Despite the exit of this major sponsor, the tournament will go ahead said the organisers. Download poker wallpapers.

Poker News Source: Online Casinos

Online money handler and payment processor Neteller ran afoul of the US government last year, and as a result millions of dollars of poker players' funds were frozen in their accounts. Thanks to a new agreement reached with the US prosecutors, Neteller will begin distributing those funds back to their rightful owners on Monday. Play online poker. The company will be retuning "$94 million to hundreds of thousands of U.S. customers" according to a recent statement. Those US customers that can expect their funds should be on the lookout for an email from Neteller.

Poker and Gambling Influence Business

It has been called the Poker Boom, but Gambling Boom might be more appropriate. Online poker rooms and casinos have been popping up all around the globe over the last couple of years, but long established businesses that have nothing to do with poker or gambling are getting in on the act as well. One example is AOL UK, the America Online arm in the United Kingdom, has announced an agreement allowing sports wagering for their customers through JAXX UK, the British subsidiary of FLUXX AG, a German based online lottery and sports wagering company. Women poker.

Washington State Poker Issue Hearing Date Set

In Washington State playing online poker is considered a felony, a change in the law that occurred in 2006 and placed online poker players & women poker players in the same criminal class as other Class C Felons such as child abusers. Renton, WA attorney Lee Rousso has taken action to change the law and requested a hearing to declare the law unconstitutional. Rousso, the Poker Players Alliance's representative for Washington, has recently received a hearing date. He is expected to file his next brief by August 24, giving him about a month before the hearing date of September 21. Stay tuned to our poker blog for latest updates.

Poker News Source: Launch Poker

Jeff Tunkel likes to play poker, and after last week, his interest paid off with big dividends.

The 25-year-old Naperville resident placed 62nd out of 6,358 players in the World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas. His four-and-a-half day run netted him about $154,000.

"Obviously I wanted to go further, but this was by far the biggest event I had entered," Tunkel said.

Tunkel, who graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in finance, went on to attend law school for a year before dropping out. He wanted to make poker his profession. Play $500 match poker bonus.

"I thought that I wanted to become a lawyer, but I felt after a year it wasn't what I wanted to do all my life," he said. "I didn't want to get too much further into it and then realize I really didn't like it."

Tunkel started playing online poker in high school, and while at college, drove to a casino to play. In June he and several friends went to Vegas, and he stayed a month to prepare for the World Series of Poker Tournament. He played at a satellite tournament, and he won $10,500. That was enough to boost his confidence to enter the tournament, which required a $10,000 buy-in.

However, the World Series of Poker Tournament was a wake-up call for Tunkel.

"I started out with $20,000, and within three hours, I was down to $5,000," he said." I thought that was going to be my early exit, but I came back and played four-and-a-half days."

Playing for sometimes 15 hours in a day with the cameras rolling, Tunkel said he enjoyed the experience. His parents surprised him and flew out to watch him on the last day he played.

"It was exciting to have the cameras around," he said. "The pressure really started to be tacked on, and I knew my family was following the event."

The winnings have bolstered Tunkel's confidence, and he plans to use the money to enter higher-stakes games. Play route 66 poker.

"I have a few trips I want to go on," said the Naperville Central High School graduate. "Its kind of like a little validation."

On July 18, Jerry Yang, a 39-year-old psychologist who was born in Laos, claimed the top prize of $8.25 million at the World Series of Poker. Stay tuned to our poker blog for latest updates.

Poker News Source: Chicago News

Bill Gazes is always two steps ahead. That could be why he's so good at poker.

Let your mind wander for a second and you've already fallen behind in any conversation with the pro player who, before he's tackled one topic has already pounced on the next and is segueing into a new story.

This quick thinking came in handy at the 2007 World Series of Poker where Gazes finished second after a brief round of heads-up in the $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. and cashed in the $5,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event.

His talents lie not only on the felt, however, as PokerListings.com learned in an interview with the politically and environmentally minded player Sunday. Gazes also has an aptitude for entertaining others, whether he's in pursuit of learning the latest grooves on the arcade game Dance Dance Revolution or expounding his political views through the 'No War' slogan t-shirt he donned for the WSOP Main Event.

How do you feel about your Series this year?

I feel great. I played to the best of my ability and I stayed tough throughout. All I care about is that I show up and give it my best.

Were you disappointed with how quickly the heads-up went in the H.O.R.S.E?
That was disappointing. If there was one thing in the World Series that was disappointing, that would be it. Partially it's the structures because you get to heads-up, he had me two and a half to one and it took like three hands and I was out. I wish I could have had the chance to play. We you have two and a half to one you should have a little more play in your stack. Download poker wallpapers.

Are you strong in mixed games?
I play everything but Badugi.

You were chosen to do The Nuts on ESPN. How did that come about?
That was a lot of fun. They're really cool people; I like the ESPN crew a lot. They're from New York like me and I spent the day with them which was cool. If The Nuts show was Cirque du Soleil, I was the clown.

Why?

I was extremely talented at making an ass of myself. For me it's all about spreading mirth. I just want to make the world a happier place. Anything to make the world a better place, I will do.

What happened in during the show to make you the clown?

One of the events we were supposed to do is Dance Dance Revolution. They told me that and I thought, 'This isn't about winning; this is about not looking completely moronic.' My goal was to not finish last - to not break my ankle. Dance Dance Revolution is like slipping on banana peels without falling. Play $500 match poker bonus.

I was nervous about that for sure. I said, 'This could get really ugly, really fast.' So I went to practice. I went to a big arcade at the Orleans. I got there and my goal was to practice it, get a little oriented and to really find who was the Dance Dance Revolution master of Las Vegas. That was my goal.

So now on a break from for an hour or two hours (from the WSOP heads-up tournament) we went to get some food and go do Dance Dance Revolution. It turned out it was a bad move. I should have just gone for quiet time. You need quiet time between matches; those are intensive matches, more than I realized. I was intense. It's like two hours really locked in.

I tried Dance Dance Revolution and I couldn't even do the demo. These kids were looking at me and feeling bad. I could see the look on their face, like 'What is this grown man doing on this Dance Dance Revolution thing?'

There was this one guy and I was like, 'Dude, you've gotta save me. You've seen me do it and I'm pathetic.' I'm going to look beyond pathetic on TV. I'm not just going to lose - losing would be okay as long as I save face. Online poker.

I arranged for the kid to meet me the next morning and I was going to take a lesson in Dance Dance Revolution; we were going to practice for like an hour and I was going to pay him $100 to practice with me. He said he was going to have his brother drop him off to meet me.

The next morning, it was just a free-for-all. The brother called me and said, 'My dad has left work and he's on his way here. He's fuming and he's really steamed up.'

They were mad that the brother was in the Orleans by himself; it was nothing I did wrong. I guess they'd lied to the parents and the brother said he'd drop him off which is not what he was supposed to do. So then, he said, 'Can you call my dad?' I was like, 'I'd rather not.'

So I called his dad and his dad starts going off on me like I'm a pedophile or something. I meet the family with the kid - we all converge at the same time in the parking lot and they start yelling at me, 'How could you do this with our son without asking us?'

It just seemed too unbelievable to them that some grown man was doing Dance Dance Revolution. It didn't work for them. So basically I burned rubber out of that parking lot and that was it.

And as it turned out, we never did Dance Dance Revolution (because of the copyrights on the game's songs).

Is what you did still entertaining?

It's going to be the most entertaining thing that's ever been seen in poker. It'll probably be shown during the Main Event and I feel bad for the people who are in that episode because they're going to be overshadowed. It'll probably be the first time that The Nuts piece has ever overshadowed the actual poker. Play route 66 poker.

Any other memorable events at the World Series of Poker?

I was playing the heads-up tournament. I beat Nam Le in my first match. I got a buy the first round, which was nice. It was a good event too, the heads-up. People complained that so many people got buys. I think it was good to have as many people as possible and have random assignments. It was just a great event. There should be more heads-up events; heads-up is really great poker.

Ideally, they should have a best of three - maybe three short matches. Then you could pretty much do two rounds in a row and the next match could almost be those two winners (at one table) face each other instead of having to redraw. Then you could start sooner if you want. So heads-up is cool; there should be more of them.

I was in the zone against Nam Le. I was so in the zone, I had a close friend playing the next table over and when the match was over I looked up and said, 'Are you playing the next round? When did you get there?' and he said, 'I tried to get your attention the whole two hours here.' ...

When I got back (from practicing Dance Dance Revolution), the next match I was all over the place; I didn't have it. Partially because Nam Le is a tough match and my next match was an excellent player too, so it was a tricky thing.

The Main Event is going on now. Have you been following it? Any favorites?

Well, I was rooting for Huck. Is Huck still in?

No.

I don't know of anyone I'm rooting for. I haven't followed it in a while. I generally don't follow it after I'm out unless I have a close friend in it. It's such a big tournament. It blows away anything else.

I played well. You can't help but be disappointed when you're out of the Main Event. I feel like I played well and I did all I could. I got to $55,000 mid-first day and I couldn't make a hand and that was pretty much it. It's mind boggling how so many great players & women poker pros go out. It's just stupefying. It just shows you how random any one event is.

How big of a part of your life is poker?

I've had renewed enthusiasm for poker in the last three years since I've found balance in my life and got involved in more environmental organizing. I'm involved in some other things in life that give me balance.

I've worked hard over the last six months especially to improve my poker game. I'm working hard on the mental side of poker. At the World Series here and just in general, I'm trying to build myself up mentally, physically - just trying the best I can be. These days, to be the best you have to work hard at it. Try not to be satisfied with where I'm at, just working hard at getting better.

What are your plans for after the Series?

I'm going to Europe for the rest of the year.

So you're going to play the European Poker tournaments then?

Yeah, I'm going to Europe for a while. I'm going to play over there, live over there. I have some friends I'm going to visit.

The WSOP Europe?

Yeah, I'm going to play in that. Some EPT events. Just live over there for a while have some fun, read some books.

Poker News Source: Poker Listings

The National Poker League (NPL) is kicking off its 2007 world tour with its first-ever U.K. Open, hosted by the famed Loose Cannon Club in London, England.

Set to begin August 12, the U.K. Open will be all Texas Hold'em, with multiple tiers of open play leading to a final £2,500 buy-in event ending August 18. The prize pool is expected to be about £500,000, with a silver-plated NPL U.K. Open Cup also handed out to the winner. Download poker wallpapers.

The inaugural U.K. Open is also just the first stop on a five-city NPL 2007 World Circuit Tour that will hit Monte Carlo, Manila and Toronto before a big Vegas Open finale in early December 2007. Play route 66 poker.

Along the way, the NPL will be filming the action and producing 26 television episodes to be broadcast in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia and Latin America. All one-hour episodes will be in high definition and will feature player interviews, tips and other useful information for poker players and fans.

"We are extremely pleased that the Loose Cannon Club has partnered with the NPL to host our first international televised poker tournament in Europe," said Sam Riddle, president of NPL's television division.

If you're looking to play in the U.K. Open, you'll have to pre-register, which you can do online poker or at the Loose Cannon Club. English law also requires non-club members to pre-register at least 48 hours prior to participating.

All players, women poker players and VIP guests will also be invited to a charity event at the club to be held on Thursday, August 16. The party will feature a silent auction of NPL and sponsor gifts, with all money raised to go to the London-based Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.

Poker News Source: Poker Listings

From the back deck of his house, Greg Raymer has a view of not only one of the toughest holes at the TPC at Wakefield but an idyllic lake ringed by cattails.

He could have picked anywhere to live, and he picked this. Then again, he has a history of being in the right place at the right time.

In 2004, as the poker boom was approaching new heights, the corporate lawyer-turned-poker player hit the jackpot, winning the $5 million first prize in the main event at the World Series of Poker and the hours upon hours of ESPN airtime that went with it.

His lizard-eye glasses a souvenir from a Walt Disney World gift shop caught the camera's eye, and the fossils he used to protect his cards on the table gave him a made-for-TV nickname: Fossilman.

His well-timed win gave him a new career and new home. Free to choose a new place of residence, Raymer and his wife passed on poker destinations like Las Vegas or Los Angeles and decided to raise their 10-year-old daughter in North Carolina instead.

"We said, let's just forget poker and find the place to live we would enjoy the most," Raymer said. "We settled on Raleigh."

Here, he relaxes, plays poker online and hits the golf course he's a 16 handicap on the rare occasions he's not making a big-money corporate appearance or jetting off to a high-profile poker tournament.

Raymer hit the big time right as poker was hitting the big time. He went from anonymous lawyer to the cover of Cigar Afficionado in no time at all.

"I probably won the main event in the No. 1 year in terms of getting publicity," Raymer said.

The World Series had gotten a bump in interest after the 1998 Matt Damon/Ed Norton movie "Rounders," which featured a video clip from Johnny Chan's main-event win in 1988.

Over the next five years, casino gambling spread across the United States like a rash, and Internet sites replaced smoky card rooms as the place for novices and professionals alike to find a game. Poker, particularly the no-limit Texas hold 'em poker tournament played in the World Series main event, had never been hotter.

ESPN jumped on the craze with saturation programming of the World Series, and the rags-to-riches story of preposterously named Chris Moneymaker only accelerated the boom.

A Tennessee accountant who started playing online for fun, Moneymaker won his seat at the 2003 main event in an online poker tournament, then flew to Las Vegas and won the whole thing.

His unlikely success convinced thousands of would-be pros that certain success awaited them in Las Vegas, all for a $10,000 buy-in. Raymer was there to collect.

A patent lawyer for Pfizer, he turned a $1,000 bankroll and part-time hobby into a second career at the Foxwoods Casino, only six miles from his home in Connecticut. He went to the World Series for the first time in 2001 and took his first run at the main-event title in 2002.

"I had considered myself a part-time professional for half a dozen years before that," Raymer said. "I had known for several years that I could have quit my job and just played poker and I almost certainly would have succeeded and made a living. It was highly unlikely that I would fail and go broke. It was also highly unlikely that I could make more money."

At least until 2004, when Raymer outlasted 2,574 other players & women poker players before going heads-up against David Williams for the title.

After paying off his backers, Raymer cleared about $1.7 million after taxes, quit his job and moved to Raleigh. His five-figure appearance fees and poker-world endorsements pay the bills now.

He came close in 2005 to an improbable title defense in the main event, at one point becoming chip leader before finishing 25th out of 5,619 entrants, a $304,680 surprise. He just missed out on finishing in the money in 2006, within about 100 spots of cashing as impressive a run as anyone has seen in the main event lately.

Although he has been to the final table in five WSOP events and finished in the money in 10, he's still got an itch on his wrist for another one of the coveted World Series bracelets. He's off to a good start this year with a 14th-place finish in the $50,000 buy-in world championship HORSE event (a rotation of various games) and fourth-place and sixth-place finishes in stud tournaments, for $169,034 in winnings. Play $500 match poker bonus.

But the main event, the biggest of them all, begins today.

"It's not important to me in any emotional or psychological sense, but from a business point of view, it's important," Raymer said. "Especially if I could do something like winning a couple bracelets.

"That would be huge business-wise, because then it would tend to strengthen or solidify the opinion of the public that I'm a great poker player." Download poker wallpapers.

That's his game now, selling his reputation and when you've won the World Series main event, that's the strongest starting hand of all.

Poker News Source: Myrtle Beach Online