Vegas Strip Revenues Slip in March

Prevailing wisdom has held that businesses that rely on gambling are recession-proof, and to some extent, that may still be true. But while gamblers are still making their ways to the tables, the economic slowdown is definitely…

Source:Vegas Strip Revenues Slip in March

2008 WSOP: Registration Opens; Satellites, Cash-Game Action Begin

With the first bracelet event of the 2008 World Series of Poker just a couple of days away, the Rio opened its doors today to the first wave of event registrations and an early handful of single-table satellite and cash-game players…

Source:2008 WSOP: Registration Opens; Satellites, Cash-Game Action Begin

PokerStars Opens Live Macau Poker Room, Hosts Earthquake Relief Fundraiser

PokerStars has announced the opening of the first permanent, live poker room in Macau. Dubbed PokerStars Macau, the 25-table room (250 players capacity), will be housed at the prestigious Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in Cotai…

Source:PokerStars Opens Live Macau Poker Room, Hosts Earthquake Relief Fundraiser

The Moneymaker Effect: Five Years Later

Where were you five years ago today? I would love to tell you that I was in Benny’s Bullpen, soaking up what would become a watershed moment in the history of poker’s development. But, alas, I was sick. So, I was sleeping…

Source:The Moneymaker Effect: Five Years Later

Online Poker Rooms

Online poker has recently began to dominate the landscape of the online gaming industry. By offering online games, both tournament and ring/cash games on a 24/7 basis, sites have managed to accomodate timezones and schedules of all players from around the globe. The actual online poker room is simply put, a company or legal gaming organization that facilitates gaming by allowing players to use it’s software to participate in live poker games. These online poker rooms make money by “taking juice”, or taking a rake from players buyins (in tournament play) or from the pot (ring games or cash games). The rakes of most poker rooms is between 5-10%. If you think about it, there is a lot of profit to be made from these larger sites, that have 10,000 to 20,000 players online at given time.

When deciding on which online poker room to play at, make sure to look into their terms and conditions with regards to “disconnect”. If you are to be disconnected during a hand, you want to be sure you are given ample time to re-connect so you don’t lose your money. Be sure to also check into the poker room’s liscence and it’s trusted gaming commission’s approval. The next consideration for you should be whether the room offers differing types and styles of poker, multitable tournaments, cash games etc. Another issue to look into is the number of players live (as mentioned above). You will lilely want to join a site that has an active player base.

Online poker rooms vary in their levels of bonus and signup promotions. You can earn money in  your account by following simple steps, so be sure to consider this when signing up. Do a bit of research at google beforehand, on things like : “poker bonus”, “poker singup bonus codes” etc. When you find a good signup bonus, you can essentially take out some of the risk with your initial bankroll. Reading up on forums or player review sites is a common way to get pointed in the right direction as well.

There are a multitude of online poker rooms to choose from these days, you can go with the trusted and larger networks or you can select a trusted independent network. Rooms that belong to a “conglomerate” of poker sites on a network are simply called skins. Some of the larger conglomerates are the Cryptological Network, iGlobal Media, Prima Poker and the Tribeca Network. Some noteworthy independent networks are Poker Champs, Pacific Poker, Paradise Poker and Full Tilt poker, to name a few.