Here’s an interesting list from the good people at Gambling911.com:
10. Ron Paul - This Republican gained huge support among the Internet gambling sector and for a little while anyway looked like he could make a serious run for the US Presidency. Afterall, the Texas Congressman managed to beat GOP nominee John McCain in a couple of the early campaigns and raised more money than anyone else outside of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Ron Paul even co-sponsored a piece of legislation looking to overturn the current Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act. If only Fox News had paid more attention to him and the economy had fallen apart months earlier.
9. Ivan Demidov - This Russian born poker player didn’t win either the World Series of Poker or its sister event in Europe this past year. He did, however, manage what many would think is close to impossible. Demidov made the final table of both tournaments. He also finished a strong second in the 2008 WSOPE. If you think the folks aren’t embracing poker in Russia the same way those in the US did after Chris Moneymaker’s remarkable WSOP win, think again. And much of this translates into the world of online poker.
8. The Poker Players Alliance - While former New York Senator Alfonse D’Amato is a strong personality, he wasn’t vocal enough to make our Top 10 on his own. And certainly PPA President John Pappas is like the cat that meows outside your window all night long but when you go to feed it, he darts off into the night. The PPA as a collective unit has made an impact on our industry that cannot be denied. To say the leadership here has been outstanding would raise a few eyebrows. To say they have done an above average job of rousing the troops is more a fair statement. They cannot afford in 2009 to drop the ball. Everything they did in 2008 has to be raised at least two notches. This is going to be a crucial year. Changes in the leadership structure might be unavoidable unless this animal is put into overdrive.
7. The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA.org) - Not much was expected of this fledgling trade organization when it came to the forefront earlier this year. Much as the industry reacted when Gambling911.com first started touting a little known online gambling company called Bodog.com in 2002, pundits laughed off iMEGA as some type of opportunists. A few even accused them of being “US government informants” - and still do for that matter. Unlike the PPA, iMEGA was especially aggressive, which eventually helped these newcomer make a fast impact. Like John Pappas, iMEGA founder, Joe Brennan, Jr., is like the cat that meows outside your window all night long, only when you go to feed him, he scratches you. That’s the story of iMEGA. They’ve been scratching and clawing this past year (a lawsuit against the US Government, filling an Appeals case against the commonwealth of Kentucky). In 2009, they will need to deliver… at least on one front. That probability is higher than 50 percent in our opinion - more so in favor of a positive outcome involving Kentucky’s online gambling domain seizure matter. It is also vital that iMEGA remains loyal to those who have supported it early in the game.
6. Joe Norton- The Former Kahnawake Chief who now oversees Absolute Poker and a few dozen other online gambling enterprises has managed to make quite a name for himself, mostly the result of a much publicized cheating scandal involving Absolute Poker he had nothing to do with. But it is his name and the Kahnawakes as a whole who arguably have helped to keep Absolute Poker in business. We’ve covered dozens of similar stories over the past 10 years Different characters, different plots, but the endings were all the same. Said company dissolves. That hasn’t happened with Absolute Poker. Joe and his crew have done well here despite what many perceived to be a “flawed” first audit of the company.
5. Barack Obama - Thoughout his long winding campaign in 2008, much of the online gambling industry rooted for the Illinois Senator to become the next President of the United States. After all, he was touted as “the poker playing President”. His runningmate’s son lobbied for PartyGaming. Whether we see a change in policy remains to be seen but in the i-Gaming sector Obama’s message of “hope” perhaps resonates more so than anywhere else.
4. Anurag Dikshit and Ruth Parasol - The two billionaire co-founders of PartyGaming, Parasol’s lobbying efforts for the online gambling industry are often unappreciated. There are many convinced that without her, the Poker Players Alliance would not exist today. Of course, Dikshit made news in recent weeks after he entered into a plea agreement with the US Government whereby one of the wealthiest men in the world must forfeit $300 million to US authorities. To put this in perspective, for Dikshit it’s like tipping the waiter a little extra in a fancy restaurant. There is plenty of anger being lodged at him by those in the poker community.
3. Spencer Bachus - Now assuming the role of arch nemesis to the online gambling sector, this Alabama Republican Congressman came up with one of the better quotes of the year: “One click of the mouse and you lose your house”. He was referring to Web gambling. Bachus has a mostly, but not totally, conservative voting record. And it shows in his tireless efforts to obliterate Internet gambling. Just how dangerous is Bachus to the industry? Here is another of his more famous quotes:
“All of these (studies) say the younger someone starts gambling, the more likelihood that they become a compulsive gambler. Addicted to gambling, just like addicted to drugs. So there is a correlation between drug dealers and gambling sites.”
2. Barney Frank - Maybe he should be first on our list. Barney - unlike our top choice - hasn’t quite brought the industry to its knees. He is one of the most powerful people in Congress and thankfully a fierce supporter of one’s right to gamble online.
Frank has also partnered with Ron Paul in support of online gambling rights. In 2006, both strongly opposed H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, and H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. To restore online gambling rights, in 2007 Frank sponsored H.R. 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. This bill would have established licensing and regulation of online gaming sites. It provided for age verification and protections for compulsive gamblers. In 2008, he and Paul introduced H.R. 5767, the Payment Systems Protection Act, a bill that sought to place a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act while the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve defined “unlawful Internet gambling”. As a result of these efforts, Frank (who does not gamble) has become a hero to poker players and online gamblers, including many Republicans.
1. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear - Who else could get about two dozen of the most respected attorneys in Kentucky together in a court room defending the online gambling industry….in Kentucky of all places? When news broke in September that Beshear was looking to seize some 140 plus Web gambling domain names, there were folks in the European gaming sector who had never even heard of Kentucky. Why, there were folks in the United States who couldn’t find the state on a map! Then reality hit hard. A state best known for its bourbon, horse racing and - as we later learned - pizza (home to both Pizza Hut and Papa John’s), was about to knock more than 100 websites of the Internet, and that would only be the beginning. What seemed surreal at first quickly became a reality as a Kentucky Circuit Court judge found in favor of the commonwealth (state). Had there not been an appeal filed, all of these domain names would today be in the hands of some maniacal religious zealots whose legal counsel compared online poker room operators to child molesters. Even Spencer Bachus wouldn’t stoop that low. The honorable Judge Thomas Wingate, who ruled in favor of the commonwealth (and got plenty of flack for doing so in the local press) commented: “I’ve never seen so many lawyers in my courtroom”. This was a wake up call like no other for the industry… with ramifications extending well beyond its borders. Ask any of those 140 plus domain owners who the most influential person of online gambling is in 2008 and we seriously doubt they’ll take a moment to pause in naming Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear.
Gambling has existed for literally thousands of years and will probably exist forever. Human nature drives people to gamble; to take risks and to hope to win big.
Gambling took on many forms throughout history, whether it was wagering bets on who would win a war or a battle or chase down a wild boar the fastest. Then came dice games and other forms of relatively primitive games which allowed mankind its much needed outlet for risk taking and later on came cards game, roulette, sports bets and all the other gambling options we have today. All of these games had something in common though: they were all games played in one specific place, by a group of people who could see, hear and sometimes, unfortunately, smell each other.
Casinos were and are often a classy place to gamble in. They offer a glamorous and unique atmosphere in which to play with fellow gamblers.
All this changed with the help of technology and a little thing called the Internet. The Internet has changed our lives in many ways and in practically every aspect of life. Gambling, of course, is no exception. Online gambling caught on like fire and is today one of the most prosperous online industries in the world with billions of dollars in revenue each year, and the numbers just keep growing.
Continue reading.
Here is a great article outlining some tips and strategies for winning at Internet poker from Highroller-Rakeback.com:
Online poker playing has become a favorite past time for many people around the world. The game of online poker is rapidly gaining popularity, and there are thousands of players on most of the major websites at any given time during the day and night. Becoming successful at online poker can also be financially rewarding for many players. To do this, you have to have a good strategy for the game. Several players run into games with no real plan in their head, and not really focused, and many will end up losing their shirts. There are several known errors that online poker players make that could easily be avoided by a good strategy before the game is begun.
One common mistake many online poker players make is that they are afraid to switch tables when needed. If you constantly play at the same table with the same opponents, they are going to learn to read your hands, your bluffs, and will be much harder for you to defeat. Experienced poker players will observe their opponents and pick up on their habits and quirks, giving them a winning advantage. They will also learn your betting habits and be better able to counter you. Staying at one table does give you the advantage of knowing your opponents better, but it is important to keep in mind that while you are learning other players, they are doing the same to you.
One of the most important things to keep in mind in any poker game is that you need to manage your money. Before you ever play, you should have a budgeted amount of disposable income that you can afford to wager, and not allow yourself to go beyond that amount during the game. Disposable income is any money that is left over once all of your other obligations have been met, food, mortgage, utilities, etc. You should also consider your poker playing ability as well when you are setting your betting limit. If you are a fairly new player, you should probably set lower limits, because you are more likely to lose your money than more experienced players. You also have to consider how much risk you want to take, playing in low limit games is pretty safe, but the higher limit games are very risky as these are usually more experienced players and play more aggressively because they place large bets. The best players are always aware of their bankroll and their limits.
Many online poker players are leery of poker tournaments. Players who regularly participate in tournaments however, will tell you that they can be the most fun and a lot of times, the most profitable for the winners. As with any poker game, luck does factor into your success, but luck does not account for skill. If you are considering playing in online poker tournaments, you need to be aware of the buy-in amount, and keep in mind that is money that you may well lose. New players to online poker tournaments will often lose their money quickly, so keep this in mind when you are playing the game and placing your bets. There are also numerous resources that can give you tips and tricks for being successful in online poker tournaments, a little research often will go a long way.
If you are going to be a serious online poker player, it is important that you know when to quit. It is hard for many players to understand this concept. Many players will play and play until they run so far into the red, they create financial problems for themselves and their families. They start to lose, and think they will play one more game to get the money back they lost, and they just continue to lose. By this point, their game is affected, because they are losing their focus, and usually will end up going on tilt, which will make the losing cycle that much harder to break. It is important to recognize that even the best players are human and have good days and bad days at the tables. Great players understand this, and when they see themselves begin a losing streak, or having a bad day, they know it is time to call it quits and come back to play another day. Learning to walk away at the right times, can save you quite a bit of financial hardship. You will find that you are better able to enjoy the game once you learn this valuable skill.
Playing online poker can be a very enjoyable experience, and also can be very profitable. The most important thing that players need to remember is just to play smart. Stay focused on the game, know what your limits are and stay within those. Learn how to manage your money wisely, and know when it is time to walk away. Keeping these things in mind, should help you become a better player.
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