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Lots of people who follow Online Poker have been concerned about what will happen when the calendar hits December 1, 2010. That is the day the financial services industry in the United States must fall into full compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). In its simplest form the law prohibits the transfer of funds from a financial institution to an illegal Internet gambling site, specifically excluding fantasy sports, online lotteries, and horse/harness racing. The initial passing of this legislation in 2006 was the cause of many Poker sites (and online casino sites) to pull out from the United States market.

So, will Online Poker grind to a halt December 1st? At the moment it does not appear so. The legislation and its implementation are under attack on several fronts, although it seems doubtful any of these attempts will succeed prior to December 1. In any case, Barney Frank (D) Mass, and the Poker Players Alliance have been working hard to prevent the UIGEA from taking effect.

For those wondering what will happen if they are not successful by December 1, the good news is it appears Financial Institutions will not be working hard to universally prohibit your poker transfers. A recent, excellent article titled "U.S. Banks Offer "Due Diligence" as UIGEA Deadline approaches", states that for now the extent most banks are willing to go is to send all Account Holders "due diligence" notices with their bank statements similar to this:

"As a (fill in the blank) customer, we'd like to inform you that in accordance with the requirements of the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 and Regulation GG, certain transactions are prohibited from being processed through your account

Prohibited transactions include those in which a person accepts credit, funds, or other proceeds from another person in connection with unlawful internet gambling. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this regulation, please contact us."

The UIGEA achieved one of its initial objectives of scaring off potential newcomers, along with publicly traded companies who didn't want to challenge the government on the legislation, but in the end the legislation was so poorly thought out that when it came time to write the regulations for it the Treasury threw up its hands and essentially said it wasn't possible, so they wrote a set of rules that demanded that the financial institutions do their dirty work for them.

If poker players are lucky, the initial indications are that banks are going to send out these letters to all customers telling them that the UIGEA is now law and please don't bet online. Anything beyond that isn't the banks problem. We can only hope this is the case, and that all the people fighting for online poker in the United States will eventually allow Americans to play poker online in their own homes.

Posted in Online Poker News

What is it?

Poker rooms take a percentage of every pot that is played (called the "Rake"). This is how they make their revenue. That set percentage of each pot being taken off the table means that decent players can go through long stretches making little or no money even if they win a few pots here and there. In low-limit games, the rake can be high enough in comparison to the stakes to make the game almost unbeatable over the long term.

This is one reason that much of the poker advice available to newcomers idealistically tells them to build up a bankroll quickly and get out of low-limit games ASAP. In the real world that isn't always possible, leaving some players resigned to playing in the low limits much longer than they would like. Luckily for these grinders there's another option: Rebates for Play!! This is more commonly known as RAKEBACK!!!

It's no overstatement to say that RAKEBACK is one of the greatest creations of the online poker boom. In essence, it's a deal between you and the house to recover a portion of the rake you pay and return it to your bankroll. Rake back deals are possible with online poker rooms because the costs of running such rooms are dramatically lower than running a brick-and-mortar (live) poker room. These rooms still take a rake like a brick-and-mortar casino would, but they can afford to pay some of it back in exchange for player loyalty without losing any of their profit margin. While a
handful of small online card rooms pay rakeback directly to players, the majority of rakeback deals are done through sites affiliated with card rooms.

High-limit players can certainly benefit, but it's the low-limit players who have the most to gain from rakeback. Consider that most online poker rooms take a rake of 5% up to a maximum amount, usually around $3-4. If a $2/$4 limit holdem player wins an $80 pot, he's actually paying the house a full 5% of his winnings. If a $100/$200 limit holdem player wins a $2000 pot, he's paying the house less than 1% of his winnings. The low-limit player's rakeback can be the difference between being a break-even player and a winning player; the high-limit player's rakeback is more likely to simply provide spending cash. If you're trying to build a bankroll by playing anything below $5/$10, it's to your advantage to find a rakeback deal.

It is also worth noting that rakeback almost always applies only to cash games -- deals that will also return a portion of your tournament entry fees to you are few and far between, so if you mostly play tournaments you're going to have to add cash games to your repertoire if you want to get value from a rakeback deal.

How Does a Player get Rakeback?-How is it Determined?

Poker RakeBacks are literally a rebate of the poker rake contibuted on each pot. You are paid a specific percentage of the rake that you generate. This rebate is paid to the "RakeBack Provider", who in turn distributes the vast majority of this commission back to you as your Poker RakeBack.

Most poker sites determine the amount of poker rake you generate by taking the actual rake of each pot and dividing it by the number of players that were dealt cards in that hand. For example, if the pot is raked $3 and 10 people were dealt cards, then each person generated $0.30 in rake for that hand. Your Rake Back is a percentage, typically 25% to 50%, of that $0.30, regardless of whether you win or lose the hand. This may sound like a small amount, but it really adds up because of the speed of internet poker. In addition, multi-tabling can exponentially increase the
rake, and therefore your Rake Back.

Whether it covers the cost every month of a case of your favorite beer, dinner out, tickets to see your favorite team, or is enough to pay your entire rent or mortgage, getting a healthy percentage of your money back is better than letting the online poker rooms keep it. And remember, just like comps at your favorite casino, it's free money.

Who Provides RakeBack?

To get a rakeback deal, you must locate and choose a reliable "RakeBack Provider" (an affiliate website who offers rakeback for various online poker rooms). Once you have become a member of the "RakeBack Provider", you follow directions on their site concerning the details for signing up for RakeBack on each individual poker room they represent. Generally, you can only apply for RakeBack for online poker rooms that you do not currently have an account. But that is not always the case, so check the requirements of the RakeBack Provider.

Since these sites handle your rakeback money (that they get from poker sites), it is important to be cautious when joining.

This Poker Resource Site Recommends quality RakeBack Sites

Posted in Online Poker Information

A report on online poker was authorized and ordered by the Florida state legislature this past sping. This report has been completed. It contains a detailed summation of the legal status of online poker on the international, federal and state level, from the government viewpoint.  Everyone should read this report to understand how our lawmakers, both federal and state, view the legal status of online poker (and online gambling).  This report is expected to play a very important role in how legislators on both the federal and states level proceed.

Interesting Excerpts:

Poker is played, legally and illegally, in Florida every day. Legal forms of poker include penny-ante games played by individuals in private homes and authorized games played in regulated cardrooms located in pari-mutuel facilities. Illegal poker includes Internet games and those that occur in sports bars or other venues where unlicensed operators offer poker games.

In the United States, the Department of Justice interprets federal statutes to prohibit all forms of Internet gambling; however, the department’s interpretation relies upon some federal laws that predate the Internet. Florida law does not specifically address Internet poker or other forms of online gambling.

The Nevada Legislature passed legislation in 2001 allowing its gaming commission to adopt regulations governing the licensing and operation of Internet gaming. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Justice advised Nevada that federal law prohibits gambling over the Internet. More recently, the North Dakota Legislature considered bills in 2005 to regulate, license, and tax Internet poker. The state Senate rejected the bill after receipt of a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice indicating that federal law prohibits Internet gambling.

Link to Actual Report

Link to 2+2 Thread Discussion

Posted in Online Poker News

This post is about one of the most interesting characters in poker who has a large online following over the last few years from posting his crazy adventures on several poker forums.  Readers of Tony Bigcharles (aka SevenCard2003) rantings love him, hate him, root for him, bet when he will go busto,  feel sad for him, but they don't stop reading.  It is one of the most unusual circumstances in the poker world.  Tony mostly plays small NL cash games (.50/1, 1/2 sometimes 2/5) so he is not a huge player that people are following.

What makes Tony's story compelling is he is an autistic man of 40+ years old, who is a formerly homeless (several think he may be that way again) beggar who used the money he received on the street to play poker games across the United States.  He has attempted to get his life together by setting a home base in Government Housing in Lyons, Kansas.  Tony's autism was recently judged debilitating enough that he was awarded Government Assistance (SSI).  He has been using the original backpay awarded (Apx $7-9000) about 12 month ago, as his poker bankroll.

While he has had adventures that he has posted in Atlantic City (highlighted by sleeping in bathroom stall story), Los Angeles, and several other locations, his most recent adventures (and blog) have played out in Las Vegas.  His dream is to become a successful Professional Poker Player and remove himself from US Assistance.  His current drawback is that he tilts when he has a losing poker session, and he can not keep himself off Black Jack and Video Poker Machines.  Making things worse is that he is a "martingale" type bettor, meaning he increases his bets even larger when he is on a losing streak.

If you want to get hooked on this character, you can read his current exploits at All Vegas Poker where his blog is at 354 pages and counting.  If you find him interesting enough, you can google some of his best historic postings at 2+2 and PartTimePoker.

Posted in Poker Characters

This is my first post in this blog.  I am an experienced Poker Player (both Online and Live) who also dabbles in Stock Investments.  I will be discussing poker news, poker characters I have come across, my poker experiences and also point out special poker events.

I have played poker for 20 years. I currently play online and I travel to different Casinos around the US and spend a few weeks or months at a time playing cards and taking in the local culture. Online I mostly play No Limit Tournaments, while Live I mostly play Limit Holdem from 3/6 to 40/80. I have experience in all games and will play anything except straight 7 Card Stud.

I also have developed a Website that discuses many facets of both online and live poker. WECpoker It features each months Online Poker Specials and Events, lists recommended poker sites, and offers a comprehensive poker resource for just about anything you need to find of interest in poker