Poker is a Game of Skill finds New Study

Cigital Inc recently conducted a study in conjunction with online poker room PokerStars and they found that poker is, indeed, largely a game of skill. The results, which were released last week were praised by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA).

The study took facts and figures from more than 100 million hands on PokerStars and supports the notion that poker is a game of skill and not a game of chance. It found more than 75% of hands were won with players never seeing more than their own cards and the community cards. 12% went to a shown down, and were won by players with the best hand, while 12% went to a showdown we won by players with the worse hand due to the opponent folding.

Senator Alfonse D’Amato, the Chairman of PPA said, “This study provides the raw data to back up the compelling arguments made by poker players around the world that it’s skill, not pure luck, that determines the outcome of this game.”

John Pappas, Executive director of PPA said, “The question of whether poker is a game of predominant skill or chance is not about the player’s ego, but the nature and legal protections of the game. In courtrooms across the country, judges and juries are finding that poker is a game of skill not chance like lotteries or slot machines, and this study confirms that fact.”

Everest Poker’s New ‘Welcome’

If you haven’t tried out Everest Poker yet then now is a great time to open your new account. The popular European online poker room has recently revamped their deposit bonus for Poker News Headlines readers. Previously the $100 bonus was a great, easy way to boost your online bankroll. Many players were clearing the $100 bonus after just a couple of days. Now the bonus has been DOUBLED to $200.

The bonus is cleared at the rate of 7cents for every Everest Poker Summit Point and is added to your player account immediately. There is NO waiting until the end of the month and NO need to reach 1000 points to get your first payment. Ready to join? Here’s what you need to do:

- Join Everest Poker from any link on Poker News Headlines.
- Create a new account and make a deposit
- In the bonus code area enter code: Welcome
- Start playing to earn your $200 bonus.

That’s all there is to it! New players also get a $1000 freeroll token to freerolls that take place every Monday and Thursday at 19:30 GMT. That’s even more free cash!

Vanessa Rousso Florida Poker Strategy Tour Underway

The 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker runner up, Vanessa Rousso, has begun her Florida Poker Strategy Tour. The tour which has been described in some circles as “The Art of Poker” features a seven-stop, three-casino, poker instruction camp backed by Big Slick Boot Camp LLC.

On each stop of the tour Vanessa will play in local tournaments and hold “game theory” workshops for all interested players. The first stop took place on March 20th and was met warmly by Floridian poker players. There are still 4 stops to go on the tour with the latest taking place today at the Palm Beach Kennel Club.

The remaining stops are:

Saturday, March 28th – The Palm Beach Kennel Club.
Sunday, April 5th – The Isle Casino in Pompano Beach.
Saturday, April 11th – The Jacksonville Orange Park Kennel Club.
Sunday, April 26th – The Palm Beach Kennel Club.

Rousso has been in red hot form of late and has raised her profile by appearing in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition to one of the hottest female properties in world poker. She currently plays at PokerStars – where new players can get an easy $50 bonus by using bonus code: Stars50 after joining via Poker News Headlines.

Tony Hachem’s Home Raided by Aussie Tax Authorities

Tony Hachem, brother of former WSOP champion Joe Hachem, was subject to a police raid on his home in the early hours of Wednesday. Hachem was reported to be shaken by the raid by armed police and quickly hit out at the Tax Office’s “heavy handed” actions.

Hachem claimed officials seized documents which related to a company for which he’d done unpaid bookwork about five years ago.

Hachem said; “”It was a disgrace. Anybody would have thought it was an Underbelly scene. They had three cars, they flashed their badges. Two of the guys announced they were police. They came with a warrant and I was in shock. I live with my mother, who has emphysema. She was in shock.”

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) have yet to comment on the incident.

Hachem concluded; “Their conduct coming to my place was totally wrong. They wasted taxpayers’ money because all it needed was a phone call. The ATO got it wrong. I am an innocent party.”

We’ll have the latest on this, as it happens, here at Poker News Headlines

Bugsy’s Club Closes

Popular online poker room, Bugsy’s Club, has closed citing banking facility problems. Bugsy’s, which promised “The Best Poker Games in Town” and that “We will take care of you personally”, had a small but loyal following in the online poker community.

In a statement released by Bugsy’s Club, management said; “Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control with regards to banking facilities, it is with regret that we have to announce it is no longer viable for the Bugsy’s Club Poker Room to continue our business operations”.

Bugsy’s will be moving their database of players over to PokerStars as the statement continued; “we are delighted to inform you that Bugsy’s Club have
reached an agreement with the world’s largest online poker site, PokerStars.com, to allow all Bugsy’s Club players with real money balances to transfer their account balance over to the PokerStars site and for those
that do not have a balance to establish an account and be eligible for an exciting promotion on PokerStars.”

Whilst Bugsy’s Club wasn’t exactly the largest online poker room operator around it does seem to be a sign of the times, following UIGEA and the global financial crisis, that smaller online poker rooms will merge with bigger networks to stay alive.

FTOPS XII Schedule

FTOPS is back at Full Tilt Poker this May. The 12th season of FTOPS promises to be the biggest and most valuable yet.

Here at PokerNewsHeadlines.com we’ve managed to get our hands on the full tournament schedule for FTOPS XII. A mouth watering list of 25 tournaments and a huge $18,000,000 in guaranteed prize money is on the table. As FTOPS is Full Tilt’s premier online poker festival you can expect all the big name professionals to be taking part in the action.

Here is the full list of regular FTOPS XII tournaments, running from May 6th – 17th:

Wednesday, May 6th

Event 1: $216 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Max. $1 Million Guaranteed

Thursday, May 7th

Event 2: $256 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Knockout. $250,000 Guaranteed

Event 3: $535 buy-in No Limit Hold’em 3x Shootout. $300,000 Guaranteed

Friday, May 8th

Event 4: $216 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Cubed (One Rebuy Plus One Add-On). $500,000 Guaranteed

Event 5: $216 buy-in Stud Eight or Better. $100,000 Guaranteed

Saturday, May 9th

Event 6: $535 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max. $400,000 Guaranteed

Event 7: $109 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Rebuy. $600,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, May 10th

Event 8: $256 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Knockout Six-Max. $750,000 Guaranteed

Event 9: $535 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Heads-Up. $500,000 Guaranteed

Event 10: $322 buy-in No Limit Hold’em. $1.5 Million Guaranteed

Monday, May 11th

Event 11: $216 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better. $200,000 Guaranteed

Event 12: $1,060 buy-in No Limit Hold ‘em Six-Max Ante from Start. $1.5 Million Guaranteed

Tuesday, May 12th

Event 13: $322 buy-in No Limit Hold’em 4x Shootout Six-Max. $300,000 Guaranteed

Event 14: $535 buy-in HEROS. $300,000 Guaranteed

Event 15: $216 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Turbo. $500,000 Guaranteed

Wednesday, May 13th

Event 16: $216 buy-in Half Pot Limit Hold’em, Half Pot Limit Omaha. $200,000 Guaranteed

Event 17: $322 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Max Rebuy. $1 Million Guaranteed

Thursday, May 14th

Event 18: $216 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Heads-Up. $150,000 Guaranteed

Event 19: $322 buy-in Razz. $150,000 Guaranteed

Friday, May 15th

Event 20: $216 buy-in No Limit Hold’em. $400,000 Guaranteed

Event 21: $216 buy-in Mixed Hold’em Six-Max. $150,000 Guaranteed

Saturday, May 16th

Event 22: $2,620 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Two Day Event. $2 Million Guaranteed

Event 23: $109 Rebuy Pot Limit Omaha. $350,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, May 17th

Event 24: $129 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Knockout. $1 Million Guaranteed

Main Event: $535 buy-in No Limit Hold’em. $2.5 Million Guaranteed

Get ready for FTOPS XII by joining Full Tilt Poker today and get a massive $600 deposit bonus.

Freeroll League update: Date change for Freeroll 1

Players registered or planning to register for Freeroll 1 in The Freeroll League please note that the event will now take place on May 1st 2009 at 19:30 GMT. If you have already registered for Freeroll 1 then there is no need to worry, you have already been moved across to the new event on May 1st.

If you haven’t yet registered then what are you waiting for? There is $3000 in free cash on the table for joining the league and the chance of winning a 2010 Aussie Millions seat.

Get involved today:

- Join William Hill Poker
- Create a new account and make a deposit
- Wait 24 – 48hrs then register for the $500 PNH Freeroll League in the Freerolls area on William Hill Poker.
- Join in the action on May 1st at 19:30 GMT.

All new players at William Hill Poker get a 100% deposit bonus up to $600!

Johnny Lodden joins Team PokerStars

PokerStars have announced the signing of top Norwegian poker pro Johnny Lodden. His first appearance as a Team PokerStars Pro player will be at the Norwegian Poker Championships this weekend, followed by the PokerStars EPT San Remo event in April and the PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo Season Five Finale.

At the age of 18, Lodden was rated one of the best online poker players in the world. A few years later he broke into the live tournament scene winning his first big international live poker tournament – cashing $26,430 at the 2004 St Maarten Open. Since his first cash on the PokerStars EPT circuit in 2006, Lodden has cashed another seven times and taken home a combined total of more than $245,000, over the three years – making him one of the most recognisable and feared faces on the tour.

Last September he finished 11th place in the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event and in January 2009 he was awarded the title of Norway’s best poker player.

Johnny joins the Team PokerStars Pro roster as the first Norwegian player “This signing is fantastic for PokerStars.com, Johnny Lodden and the Norwegian Poker community. Since his breakthrough in 2004 Johnny has played on a really high level, and deserves the title as the first Norwegian Team PokerStars Pro.” says Thomas Udness, Marketing Manager for PokerStars.com in Norway.

Freeroll League, Freeroll 1 – Just one week away

Time is running out to get registered for the $3000 Freeroll League here at Poker News Headlines. If you’ve been living in a cave for the last month then you may have missed all the news and buzz surrounding the league.

We’ve teamed up with William Hill Poker to provide our readers with SIX exclusive $500 cash freerolls. That’s $3000 in free money and the best thing is you don’t have to spend a penny of your own cash! There are no wagering requirements to play in any of the freerolls. However, you MUST follow these steps carefully if you are to become eligible for this promotion:

- Join William Hill Poker
- After creating a new account make a deposit (this is to prove you are of legal age to take part)
- After 24 – 48 hours you will be eligible to register for the first freeroll on April 1st at 19:30 GMT
- Load the William Hill Poker software, go to Scheduled Tournaments and select Freerolls.
- Register for the PNH $500 Freeroll League event.

There is only a week left to register for Freeroll 1. Don’t miss out on any of the freerolls in this series because by playing and finishing in the top 8 of any freeroll you will earn league points. At the end of the Freeroll League the winner of the league will get a free 2010 Aussie Millions qualifier seat on William Hill Poker. 2nd place will win a Nintendo DS and 3rd place will get a $100 cash prize.

Join William Hill Poker today and get ready for Freeroll 1 on April 1st.