Obviously, the big story of late has been the earthquake that hit Haiti. My thoughts and prayers go out to those impacted by the tragedy and to their families and loved ones who are coping with their losses.
As usual, many of the poker sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker have come out in full force with all sorts of charity events with the money being donated to aid in this disaster. Poker players aren’t necessarily known for having a heart but as far back as I can remember online poker sites have tried to respond to major disasters in a responsible manner.
Though it sounds a little self-serving it would be nice if the mainstream press took a little more notice of the good poker and poker players bring to the world. People like Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Phil Gordon, Rafe Furst, and many other poker players have given not just money but their time and support to many charities. Combined with the poker rooms themselves getting behind major efforts poker has brought in a lot of help for people and it’s a side of the game that doesn’t get nearly enough attention.
In other general poker-ish news, some of you may have noticed that Chili Poker, home of one of my favorite poker players Liz Lieu, has been kind enough to show Bill’s Poker Blog some love. Right now they’re offering 150% up to $600 sign up bonus so if you don’t already have a Chili Poker account you should sign up and give them a shot.
In personal / Thailand news, I’m very happy to announce that I’ve partnered with my good friend Rob on a site that he has been running for the last few years called ThailandFriends.com. It’s one of the largest and most well-known Thailand social networking sites with over 62,000 farang (western) and Thai members.
I’ve been a member since 2007 and most of my friends here in Thailand, including Rob, are people I’ve met via the site. It’s truly a unique offering as it is one of the only social networking sites that promotes face-to-face meetings. At least once a week members host birthday parties, charity events, book club meetings, sports outings, picnics, etc and invite whoever else is interested to join them.
In some ways, it reminds me a bit of the old WPBT poker blogger events in that you have all of these people who might only know each other online but when you get out there and meet another person face-to-face real bonds start to form.
I know a lot of my regular readers (and even some irregular readers) either live in Thailand or travel here from time to time. In fact, my Taste of Thailand posts and other various mind dumps about Thailand usually generate a lot of emails. A few of you have even pinged me about meeting up while you’re here on holiday and we’ve shared a beer or two.
So if you’re living here, a regular visitor, or even an infrequent (or maybe even first-timer) and you want to meet some really cool people that you can hang out with when you’re in-country, check out the site.
In the news . . .
The WSOP has recently announced their rules for the 2010 WSOP. Amongst the more notable changes coming in 2010 is:
a) In an effort to draw more internet-only players, players will be allowed to play without pants
b) Phil Ivey will be forced to play with no cards in order to give other players a chance to win
c) Dr. Pauly will not be allowed to blog about which poker pros he’s peeing next to during bathroom breaks
d) You may now use email and texting at the table
Full Tilt Poker has filed a lawsuit against former Full Tilt Poker Pro Clonie Gowen. Clonie is being sued for:
a) Recover costs associated with a rock-star inspired destruction of her hotel room
b) Unauthorized expenses which include over $17,000 in hotel porn film rentals
c) Pissing off Howard Lederer
d) Reasons far too complex to explain here but you can check out Pokerati and figure it out yourself.
It’s reported that Phil Ivey made a cool $6,513,580 in 2009. What was his average win per hand played?
a) $6,513,580
b) $1
c) Π
d) $64.50
What’s Going on at Bill’s Poker Blog?
I Could Have Cried – Where are all the women in poker? by Robyn G
One of Those Days
The first time I actually cried at the poker table – Where are all the women in poker? by Robyn G
Breaking News at Gambling911
John Stossel Calls Jon Kyl Freedom-Killing Nanny-State Senator
Luckily my husband funds my online account – Where are all the women in poker? by Robyn G
Good Catches by Pokerati
Poker Product Manager
Poker Affiliates Assistant
Poker Marketing and CRM Executive – German
Head of Promotions
PartyPoker’s Cash Machine Is Back
FTOPS XV Schedule Announced
Paradise Poker €250,000 2 Billionth Hand Promotion
PokerStars VIP Store Sale
2009 WSOP Europe Air Dates Announced
PokerStars Announces North American Poker Tour
Euro Finals of Poker Schedule Announced
Photocred to BodogGirl
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| Site | Rackback | Sign Up Bonus | US |
| Absolute Poker | 30% | 150% up to $500 |  |
| Ultimate Bet | 30% | 111% up to $1100 | |
| Cake Poker | 33% | 110% up to $600 | |
| PKR Poker | 30% | 100% up to $800 | |
| Paradise Poker | 30% | 200% up to €1,000 | |
| Players Only | 33% | 100% up to $650 | |
| Fortune Poker | 30% | 200% up to €1,000 | |
| Betfair | 30% | $1500 | |
| Aced | 30% | 100% up to $500 | |
| Virgin Poker | 30% | 100% up to £300 | |
| Poker Heaven | 30% | 200% up to €1000 | |
| Poker Nordica | 30% | 100% up to $200 | |
| Carbon Poker | 30% | 150% up to $1000 | |
| Red Star Poker | 33% | 110% up to $600 | |
| True Poker | 27% | 100% up to $200 | |
| Action Poker | 35% | 100% up to $2500 | |
| Cellsino Poker | 40% | 500% up to $500 | |
| Minted Poker | 40% | 100% up to $400 | |
| Power Poker | 33% | 110% up to $600 | |
| Interpoker | 30% | 200% up to €1000 | |
| Doyles Room | 33% | 110% up to $600 | |
| Gutshot Poker | 33% | 110% up to $600 | |
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| Site | Rake Race | Rake Chase | Freeroll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doyle's Room | $35,000 | ||
| Cereus Poker Network* | $7,500 | $10,000 | $10,000** |
| Cake Poker | $60,000 | ||
| Party Poker*** | $50,000 | ||
| Red Star | $23,000 | ||
| Eurobet*** | $21,000 | ||
| Players Only | $16,400 | ||
| Tower Gaming*** | $15,000 | ||
| Full Tilt Poker | $10,000 | ||
| Carbon Poker | $12,000 | ||
| Betfair Poker | $12,000 | ||
| Boss Media Network**** | $5,000 | ||
| Cellsino Poker | $5,000 | ||
| Power Poker | $5,000 | ||
| Poker Nordica | $5,000 | ||
| NoIQ | €1,500 |
* Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet (UB) ** May not be available to all players *** Poker Heaven, Fortune Poker, InterPoker, Paradise Poker
Hi, my name is Bill Rini and this is my poker blog. I've been blogging about poker and the poker industry since around 2003-ish. Like most people I started out playing poker as entertainment in home games whenever we wanted to sit around and smoke cigars, drink beer, and eat pizza, and needed a good excuse. I started playing online shortly after the first online card rooms opened and it wasn't long before I was playing 20, 30, or even 40 hours a week or more. One day I received a phone call about a program manager position at Tiltware which was the company that consulted to Full Tilt Poker on software development and marketing. After Tiltware I spent about 2.5 years working at Party Poker where I was the poker room manager.
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