Unfortunately, strippers are not included in these parties… YET.

Are you sick of bad beat stories? Along with the rest of the world, of course. Online poker conglomerate Party Poker, however, has one bad beat story that even the most jaded poker player would want to hear. Particularly, since it involved the biggest bad beat jackpot in history.

Judith75 was playing in a $0.50/$1 Limit table. Yes, those tables where a $20 pot is considered monstrous. Anyway, Judith 75 found herself with two black nines and joined the flop with Shoulderguy (who had two red Kings) and Hiyall who had Ac-Qc. The flop hit Kc-9h-10c. Shoulderguy and Judith75 now had sets while Hiyall had a straight, a nut flush draw and a royal flush draw.

They say anything can happen in poker. And true enough, ANYTHING just happened. If only they were playing for something bigger huh? Like a freakin’ 2008 WSOP bracelet perhaps? Now that will be something.

The turn card brought a Jack of clubs giving Hiyall his royal flush. The river card was a nine of diamonds giving Judith75 quads. Shoulderguy had a King full house but who cares at this point, right? Naturally, the three players started betting like crazy and when the dust settled, the pot stood at a paltry $24 and everyone in the table got richer by thousands of dollars.

When the table was informed that they won the…

Read More » It’s always a Party at Party Poker, even with bad beats

Online poker sure is a tricky business.

Why? A certain Natalie ‘’TheV0id'’ Teltscher thought she was seeing a major payday after her account won $1,228,330.50 for first place in PokerStars’ 2007 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event.

Her dreams were burned to the ground, however, when PokerStars disqualified her after discovering that she never played in the event herself. What’s a girl to do? Why, deny everything and file suit, of course!

Unfortunately for Natalie, who happens to be the sister of 2005 European Poker Tour winner Mark Teltscher, after being faced with overwhelming evidence of her wrong-doing, had no choice but to drop the charges.

Teltscher admitted during court proceedings that she never played in the online poker event but instead hired an ‘’agent'’ to play on her behalf. The agent is said to have used ‘’TheV0id'’ nickname and several other accounts in an all-out multi-accounting effort to clinch the championship.

To add drama and mystery to this already sordid tale, the agent in question was never officially named. (HINT: She is the sister of…)

Read More » Maybe this bitch will think twice before filing a lawsuit against PokerStars from now on eh?

The online world probably has an official representative in the final table of this year’s WSOP.

Craig Marquis is probably representing the online generation at the main event final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker. Even with well known players like David Rheem and Scott Montgomery on the poker table, Marquis now has his own name in poker he can be proud of.

Known as ‘’CraigMarq'’ he has been tearing his opponents in the online world for about a year now. In 2007 he came 34th in the $5,000 PLH for $14,030 as well as 30th in the $1,000 NLH re-buys for $16,133 his biggest cash prize.

The 23-year-old Craig Marquis, from Arlington, Texas, has only been playing poker for about 18 months but has rocketed through the levels from $2/$4 to $200/$400 & beyond on Full Tilt. Given his background on the Internet it is hardly surprising that Marquis has just $35,759 in live winnings to his name, with all 3 of his cashes coming in the WSOP.

When he plays live poker, his signature Oakley sunglasses are firmly on his face to hide his eyes from competitors. During fifteen hour poker sessions, it’s not unusual to see a cup of coffee at his side every two hours. His style of play is much focused and he takes his time when the cards cause a situation that requires deep concentration. Yep, he wants that 2008 WSOP bracelet bad.

Craig Marquis claims that live poker is too slow, making it easy for him to…

Read More » 2008 World Series of Poker Final 9 Part 3: Craig Marquis

UGH. Now that’s one less site we all can earn butt-loads of cash from.

Chan Poker, the once flashy online poker site, is the latest victim of the UIGEA legislation that was passed in late 2006. Chan Poker has announced its closure effective last August 21 but has assured players that withdrawal requests will be honored and processed as quickly as possible.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) banned the transfer of funds from financial institutions to any Internet gambling site with a few notable exceptions (such as horse racing and online lotteries).

Unfortunately, online poker was not named as one of the exceptions and this caused a lot of strain in the industry. A lot of gambling sites, particularly those that are public, have stopped taking in U.S. players and that resulted in tremendous loss of profit.

Poker buffs will remember Chan Poker as being fronted by the legendary Johnny Chan whose claim to fame includes ten World Series of Poker bracelets (and an energy drink aptly named, ‘’All In'’).

The site was launched in 2006 to much excitement but the fervor didn’t…

Read More » Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act cans Chan Poker from your Favorite Online Poker Rooms

How? Beats me, but one thing’s for sure, you don’t have to be an experienced player to have just that.

You read it, while the toughest poker players in the world fight for position in the 2008 World Series of Poker, an inexperienced newbie just won the whole shebang online.

And in case you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m referring to that newbie winning a whopping $250k in an online tournament at Titan Poker. Was it beginner’s luck or sheer skill?

Some random guy named Reimer Koester signed up for an account at online poker site Titan Poker and ended up with thousands of dollars in cash a mere four days after. Sounds like a fairy tale but in poker, anything is possible.

Koester registered for his very first tournament on Titan Poker last August 3 hoping to get a piece of the prize pie at the $250,000 guaranteed tournament. With a tough field of almost 2,000 players, Koester was clearly not a favorite to win. Seven and a half hours later, Koester has defied his odds and was playing heads up.

Koester was well on his way to a win but…

Read More » Titan Poker can Realize your Dreams on a Poker Table

How’s that for making a name for yourself huh?

While the 2008 World Series of Poker gets ready for the final table on November, Jose Miguel Espinar wanted to prove his poker prowess despite being a newbie in the game.

Well, do that he just did. Jose Miguel Espinar came out on top at the end of PokerStars’ Latin America Poker Tour Punte del Este championship. This may have proven that despite starting his poker career only in December 2007, Espinar’s previous cash win at PokerStars’ Caribbean Adventure was not a fluke.

The LAPT Punte del Este, which kicked off last August 7, attracted a total of 351 players. It was a $2,500 buy-in tournament and the total prize pool exceeded $850,000. This meant that the Spaniard Espinar took home a very respectable $241,735.

This guy only started in late 2007? This is the stuff poker dreams are made of.

Espinar was third in chips coming into the final table but he soon emerged on top after eliminating Paulo Cesar Ribeiro and Jose Perez in quick succession. Espinar’s luck seemed unbeatable early in the game when he hit quads to bust Ribeiro and dealt Perez with an ugly bad beat after his A-J won against…

Read More » Espinar wins PokerStars LAPT Punta del Este Title

A contest of endurance.

That’s exactly what poker players not participating in the 2008 World Series of Poker will have once the 36-hour poker cash game gets underway. Some people call it the toughest cash game in the world, obviously because of how long players would have to sit on that table.

A handful of the most-seasoned professional poker players will fight it out in a marathon high-stakes cash game in front of TV cameras. Poker TV doesn’t get any better than this. It’s no wonder Party Poker’s ‘’Poker Den - The Big Game,'’ the entity hosting this poker marathon, is back for a third installment in London’s Poker Den.

The poker pros set to make an appearance are some of the best and most colorful personalities in the game. Scheduled to play are Phil Hellmuth, Dave Ulliot, Tony G, Jamie Gold, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Brian Townsend, Mike ‘’The Mouth'’ Matusow, Jennifer Tilly, Andrew Feldman, Sammy ‘’Any Two'’ George, and Robert Williamson III.

The third game is going to be even more tasking for the seasoned veterans. While the first two Big Games were held for 24 hours, this year, the Big Game will run for 36. ‘’The Poker Den has come a long way since we started back in the summer of 2005,'’ noted Eddie Hearn, head of the online gaming at Matchroom Sport. ‘’The Big Game has been such a huge success, and the two series so far have attracted the best players in the world.'’

You can be sure you’ll see some great poker action since the stakes are…

Read More » Can Poker Players in the 2008 World Series of Poker withstand this 36-Hour Cash Game Marathon?

It’s time to take a closer look who will be competing at the final table.

November 9 is the date as nine poker players converge once again at the Rio to play in the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event final table. Out of the final nine, the chip leader will be Dennis Phillips from St Louis, Missouri. He is 53 years of age, working as an account manager for a trucking firm in St. Louis and has no plans on giving up the job even if he does win the big one.

Dennis Phillips battled some of the toughest poker players in the region when he joined the $200 buy-in to a Satellite tournament at Harrah’s, finally taking down the 2006 WSOP main event finalist Dan Nassif in heads-up action to win a seat in this year’s WSOP main event for a chance to win the 2008 WSOP bracelet.

In his previous WSOP tournaments, Dennis Phillips has only cashed in two events, both being WSOP Circuits held in the nearby city of Robinsonville. On September 7, 2007, Phillips bought into a WSOP Circuit NL Hold’em tournament at the Grand Casino Tunica for $550, finishing in 9th place for $2,386.

Two days later, Dennis reinvested his winnings for another $550 buy-in, this time taking 7th place for $2,192.

Phillips now finds himself having the largest chip stack in the 2008 WSOP tournament. He said that he will just continue what he’s doing right, being calm with his poker face while staring into the eyes of his strong-willed competitors.

According to Phillips, as he went ever deeper into the WSOP main event, he resisted numerous offers from online poker companies, making every effort to get him to don their logos. Full Tilt Poker offered a large sum to Phillips simply to wear a Full Tilt Poker cap backwards, but Phillips declined, preferring the…

Read More » 2008 World Series of Poker Final 9 Part 2: Dennis Phillips

You read it, the final table of the 2008 WSOP is set.

The 2008 World Series of Poker already have its final nine players ready to compete when they resume play on November. And in case you didn’t catch the title of this article, yes, we’ll be introducing who those final nine players are in a series of stories right here on OddJack.

Dubbed as the November Nine, these nine finalists of the 2008 WSOP battled their way through a field of 6,844 entrants, rising to the top of the final 27 players to take their respective positions at the final table.

The final nine of the 2008 WSOP are; Dennis Phillips, Ivan Demidov, Scott Montgomery, Peter Eastgate, Ylon Schwartz, Darus Suharto, David Rheem, Craig Marquis and Kelly Kim. And just because this is the first of ten stories focused on the final nine participants vying for the 2008 WSOP bracelet, we found it only fitting to give ya’ll a glimpse.

Dennis Phillips, one of the oldest players of the ‘’November Nine'’ hails from St. Louis, Mo. and currently is the chip leader. Phillips has some poker success on his resume. He came in ninth place back in 2007 WSOP Circuit Grand Tunica $500 No-Limit Hold’em event.

Ivan Demidov, on the other hand, has…

Read More » 2008 World Series of Poker Final 9 Part 1: Prologue

Everything (or everyone) popular needs a good scandal and poker is certainly no exception.

UltimateBet is still under fire for the cheating that occurred on the vastly popular online poker site and as expected, owners of the site are doing damage control by training their fire extinguishers on a searing blaze trying to extinguish the flames. And all this while the 2008 World Series of Poker is going on.

UltimateBet proprietor Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG has issued an official statement after it turned over to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission its investigative results on the cheating that occurred on the poker site.

It confirmed what we already know, cheaters were able to view other players’ hole cards and that the scheme dates back to at least early 2005.

Can you imagine how much hard-earned money the cheaters milked out of the defenseless poker players in that long period of time? Especially since a total of 19 accounts and 88 screen names were reportedly involved in this grand scheme. Evidence accumulated included IP addresses and withdrawal and transfer histories.

Naturally, Tokwiro is ‘’outraged'’ at the cheating that occurred…

Read More » Bet you don’t have this poker scandal in the 2008 WSOP