Online Video Poker
Online Video Poker
IL THE NEXT DEADLINE FOR IOWA INTERNET POKER LEGALISATION (Update)
2011-03-14
Still plenty of political activity ahead
The online poker legalisation bill introduced recently to the Iowa Legislature (see previous InfoPowa report) faces a new deadline in its progress through the lawmaking process.
The Sioux City Journal reported over the weekend that both chambers will be focused on meeting a second self-imposed deadline - April 1 – for Senate bills to clear a House committee and House bills to win approval of a Senate committee.
Politicians said that if the online gambling bill reaches the Senate floor the debate is likely to be lively.
Senate Majority Leader and Democrat Mike Gronstal, has not ruled out the possibility of a Senate debate on the bill, although he feels it is unlikely at this stage.
In the coming week, Gronstal and House Speaker Kraig Paulsen have indicated that their program will be largely focused on committees looking at bills the other chamber has sent over, ranging from dove hunting, tax cuts and late abortions to collective bargaining reforms and same sex marriage proposals.
“We’ll bring the good House bills out of committee,” Gronstal said, but he and Paulsen indicated the April Fool’s Day deadline will claim many casualties.
NEW SOFTWARE UPDATE FROM POKERSTARS
2010-12-13
Latest version offers a wealth of features
Online poker giant Pokerstars.com has released its latest software update, which includes new features such as:
- Font Changes for Games - PokerStars changed the fonts for games to be more distinguishable and friendlier to people with various types of color blindness.
- Changes include:
• Ring games players are waitlisted for will be blue, bold and italics.
• Ring games players are seated at will be red, bold and italics.
• Tournaments players are part of will show the "State" column in red, bold and italics.
- Find Seat has been opened as a feature to all real money players after making some back-end adjustments. The changes can make joining 24 tables or swapping tables simple.
- Volume Sliders - for all PokerStars sounds and also individual volume sliders for each sound.
- Bracket for Heads Up Tournaments - PokerStars has developed the ability to display a bracket for Heads Up tournaments from the Tourney Lobby which will show the pairings of opponents and how the tournament has progressed. The feature is in Beta stage and will be slowly added to selected Heads Up tournaments. For now the bracket will only be available after the tournament is down to 64 players.
- Register to Any - past issues resolved and upgraded.
- Font for the text within dialogs was changed to a font that is easier to read in the Windows client.
- Detached Chat minor updates.
- Bet sizing buttons have changed behavior for draw games - the first draw will show the pre-flop shortcuts, while subsequent draws will show the post-flop buttons
- PokerStars has a new mixed game combining two of the most popular game types - No Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha that will become available over the course of December.
ENTREPRENEURIAL STUDENT FOUNDS U.S. COLLEGE POKER CLUB
2010-10-07
Arizona State University finance sophomore defends legality of online poker offering
Chandler Bator, a twenty-one-year-old finance sophomore at Arizona State University, says he carried out both legal research and viability calculations before launching his college student-targeted online poker venture Your College Poker Club, which operates on the subscription club model and offers its members cash prizes in weekly tournaments.
Bator has merged social networking with the subscription club concept in what he is confident will prove to be a rewarding and nationwide commercial enterprise. The site caters for college students over the age of 18 years, connecting its members by promoting intercollegiate interaction.
Bator's ambition was to create a legal, subscription-based internet poker website that would be accessible to students across the United States.
“We are trying to create a U.S.-based company in which students will be able to spend their money in a responsible manner, while gaining opportunities to win cash and prizes,” the young entrepreneur said.
Private funding provided through investors make it possible to obtain prizes and cash incentives, like seats at the World Series of Poker tournament valued at $10,000, Bator said.
Your College Poker Club also received publicity through the National Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization, which is connected with 400 universities nationwide.
Thus far Bator's gambling website has targeted 160 schools across the USA, with three to five representatives hired to promote the growth of the business. Representatives work on commission and receive $3 per member recruited. Members pay a club subscription of $20 a month.
The venture is being publicised by Clearview Marketing LLC of Mesa, Arizona.
CAKE POKER MANAGER APOLOGISES FOR SECURITY BREACH (Update)
2010-07-28
"Somewhere along the software ladder, there was a error of omission, commission, stupidity, documentation or some combination thereof.
Lee Jones, the Cake Poker Network cardroom manager, has 'fessed up to the embarrassing disclosures by Poker Table Ratings Tuesday (see previous InfoPowa report) that the security encryption on the network was not all that it should be.
The PTR sleuths have in the meantime produced video evidence of their ability to successfully steal hole cards as these were dealt, along with passwords and user names from multiple Cake Network skins.
Posting on the respected poker forum 2plus2, where a lengthy thread is running, Jones wrote:
"Sure, when the issue came up in May, I asked our software management team. They told me that we were more secure than Cereus [another network whose security flaws were exposed by PTR]. When this all came to light a few hours ago and they got down into the actual code, it turned out they were wrong (as one of the senior managers just admitted to me).
"Somewhere along the software ladder, there was an error of omission, commission, stupidity, documentation or some combination thereof. I'm not happy about it and neither is the manager to whom I spoke.
"Furthermore, I definitely have to accept some blame here. I could have (and wished I had) pushed further on the response I got, talked to some development people about it (they're in-house), etc.
"I'm going to post an official response shortly, but believe me, I feel crappy about having said in May that we had stronger encryption than Cereus did when we didn't. The lesson I've learned is to ask more harder questions when these sorts of things come up.
"I owe the entire Cake poker community an apology: I am very, very sorry."
NEW SOFTWARE PROVIDER FOR ONLINE POKER SITE
2010-05-13
Dusk Till Dawn engages with GTechG2, drops Cryptologic
The online poker site owned by the UK-based Dusk Till Dawn poker room and hitherto powered by Cryptologic has switched to GTechG2-Boss Media software for both online casino and poker room operations.
Owned by DTD Limited and headed by Rob Yong, Dusk Till Dawn Poker.com is a well established and long running site offering both casino and poker action over the Internet.
The new software arrangement is initially designed to run for three years and will also see GTech G2 provide its Webdollar Cashier payment system, which allows online gamblers to enjoy casino and poker games from a single wallet.
“The new deal with GTech G2 marks the end of a successful three and a half year affiliation with Cryptologic, which started before the [land] Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club venue opened in Nottingham,” said Nick Whiten from Dusk Till Dawn this week.
“Cryptologic has changed its business model to focus on the internet casino sector and, with DTDPokerClub.com continuing to be primarily a poker business, a natural and mutual end to the partnership has transpired.”
DTDPokerClub.com will also join GTech G2’s International Poker Network, which has recently grown to include more than three million active players (see previous InfoPowa report).
GETTING THE POOP ON SCOOP
2010-02-25
Pokerstars releases information on its 2010 Spring Championship Of Online Poker
Online poker provider Pokerstars has released details of the next SCOOP (Spring Championship Of Online Poker) tournament, which is scheduled for May 3 and is to run for two weeks with guaranteed prize-pools totaling $36 million.
The 33 events planned will embrace almost every form of poker, and will each have a choice of three buy-in levels and guaranteed prize pools.
A NLHE six-max competition kicks off the tournament on May 3 with buy-ins of $5.50, $55 and $530. This will be followed three hours later by a fixed-limit Badugi event.
The big money will be in the main event, scheduled for the last two days of SCOOP and guaranteeing prize pools of one, three and five million dollars respectively.
PARTY POKER HITS ON A FAVE
2009-12-23
New $25/$50 PLO virtual tables proving a big hit with players
Party Poker spokesmen this week described the launch of new $25/$50 PLO tables on the website as a significant success...so much so that virtual queues have formed and the company is busy providing more tables.
“Demand meant we recently introduced a new $25/$50 Pot Limit Omaha table but since then we have had to open up more tables for high stakes action," the spokesmen revealed. "We used to have big limit games but this is the biggest game we have had at PartyPoker.com for a long time. The high stakes action has really picked up.”