Tracking and analyzing close to 20 million hands a month, the MarketPulse section is the most comprehensive statistical overview of online poker on the Web, and subsequently can provide some pretty illuminating numbers.
Case in point: cash-game traffic, which, continuing a strong trend over the last few months, was dominated again by PokerStars in February.
Stars was far and away the cash game leader again this month, with upwards of 21,000 players at peak times and an 18% upswing in traffic volume overall. In total: averaging a massive 13,675 real-money cash players over a 24-hour period.
A distant second overall, but also experiencing a nice upswing of 9% in February, is Full Tilt Poker. which averaged 7,631 players over each 24 hour period - up from 6,976 in January.
Next biggest increase for February goes to the leading room in the iPoker network, Titan Poker, with a 4% increase in cash game traffic bringing it to 5,252 players on average.
Also of particular interest: a significant overall rise in average traffic at both PokerStars and Full Tilt, beginning back in December 2007; both have seen a very strong jump in action, with 2-3,000 more players apiece regularly dropping in for a round at the tables.
Check out the full online traffic report here.
Other numbers of note:
Average pot size (generally indicating looser or more passive games) was up at three rooms last month - Titan Poker, Mansion Poker and Party Poker.
Titan and Mansion in particular experienced fairly big upswings, with the average pot at Titan growing 7% to $26.20 and the average pot at Mansion gaining 6% to $23.10; details here.
On the juiciest games front, Bodog Poker and Pacific Poker still lead the way in low-to-mid stakes No-Limit and Limit Hold'em. Viewed-flop percentages are still hovering around 50-54% for both, although pot sizes on average are much larger at Pacific, topping out at $164 in the mid-stakes games ($1/$2-$3/$6).
#img: phil-ivey_17464.jpg: right: Phil Ivey: Knows how to drag big pots.#
At the highest stakes, Full Tilt, PokerStars and Titan hold down the top spots decidedly, dominating a large percentage of the juicy high-stakes action.
Biggest Hold'em pot won over the last 30 days remains a massive $384,951 pot the one and only Phil Ivey took from online rival seda1 - rumored to be Beverly Hills attorney Shawn Sedaghat - at Full Tilt Feb. 19.
The two had an epic series of high-stakes $500/$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em sessions over the last few weeks, with seda1 decidedly taking the worst of it - esepcially on the 19th, when he came out a mind-noggling $600k lighter in the wallet.
To see a full breakdown of the massive $385k pot, jump to our strategy snapshot here. Or you can check out some of the other huge pots they played in the MarketPulse biggest pots section, where you'll find the biggest Hold'em pots won online over the last day, week and month.
Related Articles:
- Glutton for punishment? seda1 back for more
- Ivey crushes seda1 for $600k
- Ivey takes three $100k pots in last week
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Jesse Jones named WPA chairman emeritus
Jesse Jones established the WPA in 2005, and this step allows him to focus on his broad strategic vision for the organization. He was previously the chairman of the board of directors, and he will remain a part of the board.
Jones' goal is to make the WPA the PGA of poker. The WPA's mission is to promote professionalism in poker worldwide and support the standards of ethical conduct in tournament poker activities.
"The WPA represents the interests of tournament poker players around the world that seek to affect the future of tournament poker, individually and as a group," says the WPA Web site.
To fill Jones' chairman roll, Wendeen Eolis has been moved up from vice chairman to chairman of the Board.
Eolis is the CEO of Eolis International Group, a legal/business consultancy. She had been a longtime advisor to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and later became an advisor to Gov. George Pataki in New York.
Her poker resume includes election to the inaugural World Poker Tour Professional Poker Tour and six cashes in the World Series of Poker. The WSOP has also issued a commemorative chip in her honor.
"Our Board of Directors is pushing forward with its efforts to promote poker as a sport with the highest ethical standards because of Jesse's vision and determination to create this vibrant association," said Eolis in accepting her new role.
"The depth and diversity of talent provided by Ken Adams in tandem with fellow officers Joe Hachem and Harry Thomas, who remain as Secretary and Treasurer respectively, allow[s] us to broaden our vision and has strengthened our leadership."
Ken Adams was recently added to the board of directors, and he will be taking over the vice chairman spot vacated by Eolis.
Related Articles:
- WPA Elects Ken Adams to Board
- WPA Brings Ethics into Tournament Poker
- WPA Lures New Members with Charity WSOP Raffle
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More bounties today at DoylesRoom.com
The DoylesRoom.com Bounty plays every Wednesday and has a $27.50 buy-in. Normally there are three contestants in the game with bounties on their heads, and players win extra money for knocking them out.
In today's game, there will be six, giving players double the chances at the cash. They are:
- TEX_DOLLY: 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Doyle Brunson
- Nicky_Hilton: The Hilton heiress and fashion designer Nicky Hilton
- Jamie-Lynn: Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who played Meadow in The Sopranos
- Mike_Caro: "Mad Genius of Poker" and foremost poker authority Mike Caro
- POKERPRO33: Jim Campbell, a top-ranked online poker pro and longtime DoylesRoom.com player
- AJKHoosier1: Alex Kameris, the online poker champion with multiple big tournament wins
If a player can manage to knock out one of these players, she or he will receive $500. Knock out two for a $5,000 reward, and busting three of the bounty-carriers will net $25,000.
That means $50,000 in bounties could potentially be given out in today's tournament.
Sweetening the deal even more for players is that first-time Bounty Tournament competitors can play risk free. If you're a first-time player, all you have to do is request a refund at the end of the tournament and get your $27.50 buy-in back.
For more information about this and other promotions, visit DoylesRoom.com.
Related Articles:
- Celebs to Play DoylesRoom.com Bounty Tourney
- DoyleRoom.com Offering Easy $25,000
- DoylesRoom.com Opens for U.S. Players
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NBC sued over Deal or No Deal
NBC and two associated companies are being sued in the state of Georgia over claims that their popular game show Deal or No Deal encouraged viewers to participate in a lottery-style drawing that attorneys argue was illegal under Georgia law. That’s according to a story published ��...full article
NBC and two associated companies are being sued in the state of Georgia over claims that their popular game show Deal or No Deal encouraged viewers to participate in a lottery-style drawing that attorneys argue was illegal under Georgia law.
That’s according to a story published today in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Excerpt:
In the past, viewers were invited during each broadcast to play the “Lucky Case Game” by choosing which of six on-screen gold briefcases was the lucky case. Viewers submitted their choice on the Internet for free or through a text message that cost 99 cents. At the end of the program, the winning briefcase was revealed, and the winners were entered into a random drawing. The winner of that drawing received a prize of as much as $10,000.
Buchanan, a Columbus lawyer, called the game an illegal gambling operation. Since the 1760s, he said, Georgia law has allowed losers of such an operation to sue to get their money back.
The court should not turn a blind eye “and let NBC rake in millions of dollars” on illegal gambling, Buchanan said during arguments Tuesday held at Emory University law school.
Possible issues with TridX poker network
A thread on CasinoMeister’s forums raises some concerns about rooms on the TridX network that, if legitimate, should be worrying to any players with funds on rooms connected to that network. The thread details a lack of communication from support, issues with cashouts, and a host ��...full article
A thread on CasinoMeister’s forums raises some concerns about rooms on the TridX network that, if legitimate, should be worrying to any players with funds on rooms connected to that network.
The thread details a lack of communication from support, issues with cashouts, and a host of smaller issues. Excerpt:
Israel MK seeks online gambling censorship
The bill, which was passed in its first reading Wednesday, would automatically block online casinos, online poker sites, online porn sites and more unless customers specifically ask to be allowed to visit those sites.
It will now be sent to the Economic Affairs Committee before returning to the Knesset plenum for second and third readings.
According to YNetNews.com, to implement the censorship, Internet service providers would be required to include filtering software for all new clients. That same software must also be offered free of charge to all clients and service providers may impose the filtering system on all clients.
Clients who don't want the filtering system will have to verify that they are of majority age and submit a personal request to disable the system.
Cohen initiated the bill, claiming that it will protect the 60% of Israeli children who come into contact with these sites.
He said in the YNetNews.com article that he doesn't think the legislation is the most appropriate tool to achieve his goal, but stagnating efforts to reach a settlement with the country's ISPs over the past three years have left him with no other choice.
According to a Haaretz.com article, the Economic Affairs Committee legal adviser said he would find it difficult to defend the bill in the High Court of Justice in light of the refusal of Communications Minister Ariel Atias to provide a list of sites to be blocked for the committee's approval.
Meanwhile, the Economic Affairs Committee has already rejected a bill submitted Tuesday by MK Alex Miller which would have forced ISPs to provide customers with a pamphlet instructing users on how to block Web sites.
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WYDI to sponsor WPT Celebrity tourney
"Estimates show that over 60 million people in the U.S. play poker, with an even larger audience observing the events on television," said Dan Fleyshman, WYDI president.
"With sponsorship of this WPT event, I firmly believe that the Who's Your Daddy brand is entering a new level of name recognition while establishing our drinks in the poker world."
The WPT Celebrity Invitational is a particularly high-profile poker event as it brings stars from the celebrity realm as well as those from the poker firmament together at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles to play for charity.
Last year saw celebrities such as Vince Vaughn, Laura Prepon, Pete Sampras, Paris and Nikki Hilton, Mekhi Phifer, Jason Alexander, Norm MacDonald, Willie Garson, Ricki Lake, Donnie Wahlberg and more in the 420-player field.
Among the poker players who've played in the event before are Phil Laak, Phil Ivey, Jennifer Tilly, Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Vanessa Rousso, Robert Mizrachi, Mike Sexton, Evelyn Ng, Erik Seidel and more.
Last year, the tournament was won by Adam Weinrob, the owner of a safe/security company in Orange County, Calif., who won his seat in a charity auction.
"Texas Hold'em is a worldwide phenomenon that many celebrities love to play, which makes the Invitational the perfect opportunity to bring together entertainment and philanthropy in a fun, yet competitive environment where everyone walks away a winner - and one person walks away with a World Poker Tour title," said Rose Odeh, WPT chief marketing officer.
This year's WPT Celebrity Invitational will take place March 1-3. It will be filmed for broadcast on GSN July 21 at 9 p.m. (EDT).
The winner of the event will receive $100,000 and a $25,000 seat in the WPT World Championship at the Bellagio in April.
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