Caribbean Poker

002.09.10 Caribbean Poker Strategy

A true poker player will probably tell you that the best strategy for Caribbean Stud Poker is to play something else. I’m tempted to agree with them. Often Caribbean Poker seems to be an exercise in watching my bankroll slowly dwindle down to nothing. But a novice poker player will probably see their bankroll vanish even faster in a high-stakes poker game. Though the odds are for the house in Caribbean poker, it does offer players an easy play and who knows where luck will fall on any given day.

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While I’ve never discovered a strategy that will truly shift the odds in your favor in Caribbean stud poker, there are some tips and strategies that can help keep you in the game longer and perhaps allow Lady Luck to find you.

Ante up

When you sit down at the table for Caribbean Poker, you first have to decide how much to ante. The typical range is between $5 and $500 dollars. But keep in mind that your bet must be double your ante. So, an ante of $5 means a $10 bet, or $15 total on the hand. This can add up quickly, so check your bankroll and decide how much you can afford to bet.

Know when to fold ‘um

The first tip is to always fold when you hold nothing. If your cards wouldn’t even be a qualifying hand for the dealer with at least an ace and a king sitting in it, then your best bet is not to bet.

This would seem a simple tip, but keep in mind that it can be tempting to bet because if the dealer doesn’t qualify, you’ll at least get your money back. But in the long run, the house will prevail.

Know when to raise ‘um

Always bet (raise) if you have a pair or higher in your hand.

For Caribbean Poker, you don’t have to remember the ranks and odds for all the poker hands. You aren’t playing against the table, just against the house. So your hand only has to beat the house’s hand.

The Ace/King conundrum

You can win if you have an Ace and King sitting in your hand, but only if the dealer doesn’t have a better hand. So should you raise or fold?

General strategy advice is to look at the card the dealer has turned over. If that card matches one of the cards in your hand, the chance of a dealer having a pair is less. So the odds swing slightly in your favor. If none of your cards match the dealer’s cards, the odds are in the house’s favor. So, many players bet if they have an Ace/King and a card matching the dealer’s up card but fold otherwise.

Do you feel lucky? Betting the Progressive

The experts generally recommend against making a bet for the progressive jackpot because the house edge is just too high. They do allow for some leeway if the jackpot is larger. But for me, betting the progressive is part of the fun of Caribbean poker. It’s only a dollar and though the odds are bad, the pay off can be huge. While I’ve never won the big jackpot, I have hit on smaller hands that pay off a fixed amount.

So, while a serious player may not bet the progressive, if you’re making low wagers on each hand and playing more for fun, you might want to consider it part of the fun.

005.12.13 iPOPS Coming Later this Month

Joanne to Gambling News,May 2013

Titan Poker presents the iPoker Online Poker Series with a guaranteed prize of $1.2 million. There will be fifteen different events for players to choose from and to be expected all throughout the tourney. iPOPS IV will conclude with a buy in of $215 that features the $500,000 worth of prizes during the main event scheduled for the beginning of next month. This is another event that must not be missed by Caribbean poker enthusiasts. There are events specially prepared for the high and low rollers. Major tables come with high buy ins while side events are for the smaller ones.

Side events or the lower buy ins will open and run until the end of the month. Participants will be welcomed with a $55 buy in with $40,000 guaranteed prize. Players who are able to make it to the final tables of any of these mini events will get the chance to get a free entry to the main event. Meanwhile, the major events will start first for players to take part in. There are three events to be expected in the big event. This includes the $135 buy in with $200,000 guaranteed prize, and then there is where players will be participating in the high roller event with $370 buy in and guaranteed $100,000. The final event will happen where they feature the $109 buy in and guaranteed $100,000. This event is a deep stack tourney with one re-buy allowed.

Satellite poker tourneys are already happening on the iPoker with buy ins from $0.10+0.01. These small events will go on until the end of the iPOPS series. Other networks participating in this event includes major brands like the Everest Poker, BetClic, Poker770, Mansion Poker, Paddy Power Poker, bet365, Betfair and William Hill. The iPOPS event is one of the most awaited, generous and exciting events in the Internet poker world. With this, it has made the iPoker network as among the third largest network in the world based on the reported survey from the Poker Scout. The network follows the Party Poker that landed second. iPOPS is expected to be participated by amateur and professional pokers alike including the low and high rollers.

004.28.13 Online Poker may Soon Come to Illinois

Joanne to April 2013,Gambling News

Online casino and Caribbean poker fans would be happy to know that the state of Illinois is including online poker to its gambling expansion bill. This is the second time that the state has considered full Internet gambling on its expansion. It was approved recently by the state senate committee. A few hours prior to the passing of the bill by a 10 to 4 margin through the Senate Executive Committee, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn delivered his statement concerning the state budget saying that about $400 million will be cut from the state’s budget for education. He further explained that revenues coming from the gambling expansion in the state will be geared towards the funding for education. He emphasized that he welcomed gambling in proper conditions.

In addition, the governor reiterates that there must be firm ethical standards and that there must be no loopholes for mobsters. It could be remembered that the governor vetoed two attempts by state lawmakers to expand gambling. The second one happened just recently. This is because the governor sees it as a bad bill for the residents of Illinois. He pointed out that any gambling expansion without the ethical standards, dedicated resources for education and comprehensive oversight does not deserve his approval. The latest Internet gambling expansion that included Caribbean poker and other forms of interactive real money gaming included procedural guidelines and restrictions aimed at eliminating corruption and earmarking significant funds for education. Lawmakers’ main goal of including these procedural guidelines is to please the governor to win his approval.

The bill covers the expansion of the state’s brick and mortar casinos, including the ones in Chicago, the horse racing tracks and the slot machines at the airport. Moreover, the state is the very first state to offer Internet based lottery tickets after it has received a favorable response from the US Department of Justice. The DoJ revised its stance on Internet gambling in December 2011 saying the 1961 law only restricted it to sports betting. In March 2012, Illinois started selling lottery tickets over the Internet. Only two months after, it added Internet gambling, including Caribbean poker and other casino offerings. Unfortunately, it did not succeed although it gained strong support from the legislation.

004.14.13 DTD Backs Up ISPT

Joanne to April 2013,Gambling News

Dusk Till Dawn, a UK based casino, recently organized a Caribbean Poker Party in St Kitts. The event was truly successful as it drives the company to create more adventures outside of its four walls. With this, DTD has recently announced that it will be paying a guaranteed prize of at least one million Euros to the lucky player of the International Stadiums Poker Tour Wembley Event. This is again another poker event to look forward to by online and offline poker enthusiasts. DTD’s announcement was released on its online forum, the BlondePoker.com.

Dusk Till Dawn certainly knows how to revive its players’ confidence. Right after the Caribbean Poker Party, the poker forums were again alive with discussions about the event. The casino is known for its amazing innovative poker offerings in Nottingham. However, some French organizers Prosper Masquelier and Laurent Tapie overreached and over promised as the event was originally advertised to give out €20 million. This has led to more criticisms among media and players. Nevertheless, with DTD’s name backing up the event, everyone believes that it will be a success even if it falls far short of the initial plans of the promoters.

DTD’s owner Rob Yong believes that the ISPT could be replicated in other iconic venues all across the globe and could generate prize pools that will give poker enthusiasts a lot more exciting mainstream exposure. This is especially true if Wembley succeeds. He pointed out on the Wembley’s office website saying that the ISPT was alongside the Bruce Springsteen Concert and the FA Cup Final. He also revealed that the recent enormous success of the Caribbean Poker Party drove DTD to provide more adventure to poker players. Rob is confident that his involvement will be a sure fire winner. It is going to be a win-win situation for the entire UK poker community. Two things are being expected in the event. There could either be a massive overlay or torrents of poker players coming. The event will kick off through online satellites with qualifiers moving to play live at the live phase on June 1. It will be held in the Wembley Stadium.

003.24.13 Should the Caribbean Nation Move on with the Piracy Plan?

Joanne to Gambling News,March 2013

The real pirates of the Caribbean poker and online casino industry are about to come. The small nation of Antigua and Barbuda is threatening the US government that they will be setting up a website that will sell pirated US products. With this, even followers of twitter.com/onlinepokerco can’t wait for it to happen. This is because some of them had also been affected by the US government’s ban of all bank transactions involving online gambling in 2006 that led to the shutting down of many casino and poker operators in the Caribbean nation. Many jobs were lost back then, profits massively dropped and even some of the operators landed behind bars.

While Antigua won the support of the World Trade Organization, the US continuously ignored the demand of the small Caribbean nation to pay the losses since the ban. With this, the WTO gave the authority to the Antiguan government to collect what was due to them from the US government by whatever means necessary. Antigua sees piracy as the fastest method to do that. As of now, Antigua has not yet revealed its final plans on how to seek compensation from the US. However, there have already been circulating issues that the nation will be selling US patented and copyrighted products at low prices and even for free. This will certainly hurt the US entertainment industry and bring money to the small nation instead. Antiguan supporters have even named the small nation as the real pirates of the Caribbean. Poker fanatics from all over the globe seem to agree with this title as well.

However, the opposition sees this as a negative means to collect payment. According to them, the retaliatory measure should at least be related to the original violation. Antigua is focusing on the intellectual property where infringement is such as serious problem. There have been objections as it involves piracy and that it should not be promoted in such way. Although the website is not yet running, many have already opposed the move. The US has already expressed its concern over this move. However, the most interesting part is what the US plans to do about this. That remains to be seen in the coming months. The Caribbean poker industry lost millions of dollars since the crackdown. This could equate to thousands of American movies, art pieces and other patented products being affected should the retaliatory measures move forward.

003.10.13 Dan Shak Tops the GPI but Kurganov May Take the Lead

Joanne to Gambling News,March 2013

The Caribbean Poker Adventure 2013 and Aussie Millions completely distracted the Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year. The recent report suggests that Dan Shak ended up grabbing the top spot. Primarily, the pro landed on the fourth rank during the $10,600 main event of the Aussie Millions and the $100,000 challenge while he ranked 8^th during the PCA Super High Roller that earned him 207 places. Meanwhile, Igor Kurganov follow Shak closely as he started 2013 very well garnering fourth place in the $5,000 No Limit Hold ’em Turbo of the PCA. He also ended up in the second place at the $100,000 Aussie Millions and a champion in the $25,000 challenge of the same tournament. This makes him go up to 279 seats. However, with his $250,000 fourth place, Igor Kurganov could have gone much higher and taken the lead. This is what fans at onlinepoker.co/winning-online-poker are waiting for. His winning has not been taken into account yet. Once it does, it would smash Shak’s winnings.

Another poker Caribbeanprominent name Mike Teller also lost his seat although he had a good performance at the PCA 2013. It could be remembered that Teller grabbed the title of the $5,000 No Limit Hold ’em Turbo and got the 7^th place in the $5,000 No Limit Hold ’em along with the $25,000 No Limit Hold ’em 15^th place. On the other hand, Ty Reiman and Vladimir Troyanovskiy earned the fourth and fifth place. Good news though that Dimitar Danchev who was the PCA 2013 champion moved up on his position at sixth place. Unfortunately, other players go three places down on the 7^th and 8^th position. They are Ole Schemion and Christian Harder. Completing the top ten are the members Mervin Chan and Shannon Shorr.

Caribbean Poker Adventure and Aussie Millions are among the major venues where these poker pros meet. When they do, the tension gets even higher between them. However, it appears like no one has ever secured their places very well. Those who are at the bottom suddenly get up while those from the top massively go down. Nevertheless, this makes the event more exciting and fun especially to the Caribbean poker fanatics.

002.24.13 Bulgarian Dimitar Danchev Wins the Caribbean Poker Game Adventure

Joanne to February 2013,Gambling News

Who is the latest Caribbean poker game winner? Bulgaria must be so proud of Dimitar Danchev after winning the 2013 PCA Main Event. He went home with a prize of $1,859,000 and was tagged as the first Bulgarian to win a major poker tournament. Dimitar Danchev is a 26 year old professional Bulgarian poker player who has been playing for three years now and is already at the top of the Bulgarian all time money list. He became famous when he was a runner up bagging €600,000 at the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Sanremo tournament in 2011.

During the game, he played head to head against Joel Micka, an American professional poker player, where he led two races away from the opponent. Danchev saw his luck hit when he won a flip with pocket twos against Micka’s ace king. He then won the title when his AQ beat the pocket fours of Micka on a 6s As 2c 10c 7s board. Micka finished second in the Caribbean poker game winning $1,190,000. This is not bad for a runner up for this is a huge amount of money. Danchev commented that Bulgaria poker is developing really well and will be top level very soon.

Congratulations to Dimitar Danchev for winning first in this much awaited poker tournament and for being the first Bulgarian to win a major poker tournament. It is for sure that more Bulgarian poker players will be encouraged to join international poker tournaments to give their country such honor and prestige The Poker Stars Caribbean Poker Adventure Final Table Result reflects as follows: For the first prize winner, Dimitar Danchev, Bulgaria. PokerStars qualifier, $1,859,000; landed on the second spot is Joel Micka, USA, $1,190,000; Jerry Wong, USA, PokerStars player, $725,000 got the third spot. Fourth rank goes to Jonathan Roy, Canada , Poker Stars player, $560,000; Fifth placer is Owen Crowe, Canada, Poker Stars player, $435,000; Sixth is Andrey Shatilov, Russia, Poker Stars player, 325,000 ; Yann Dion, Canada, Poker Stars qualifier, $230,000 lands 7th place. 8th placer is Joao Nogueira, Portugal, Poker Stars qualifier, $165,900. Now you know which professional poker player you will bet on in the next prestigious poker tournament.

002.10.13 Flaws in the “Zoom” Promotion during the Caribbean Poker Game Adventure

Joanne to February 2013,Gambling News

A new product called “Zoom Poker” was introduced in the 2013 Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure to promote the site’s new game design. The promotion became twisted when the players realized that they were playing in an uneven playing field when multiple simultaneous players were allowed to join the game as the promotion neared its conclusion. Other games have been introduced before in the Caribbean poker game adventure, but this time was different as Stars staffers had erroneously allowed five participants to play at once as the game concludes. The promotion’s initial goal is to provide participants with 20 thousand in play chips. The participants will have to make a large stack in only 12 minutes of play. The participants were given the chance to enter as many times as they can.

The players and other attendants of the event have noticed that when the administrators allowed more players to enter as the promotion is nearing its conclusion; the number of chips has increased significantly. It falsely increased the available chips in play because it created occasions for chip dumping and all in jams by multiple players. The Caribbean poker game adventure attendees have brought the issue up before the company. Tremainis, a participant who won a small satellite event at the PCA had brought forward his complaints and allegations at pokerfraudalert.com. The complaints and allegations were backed up by two other PCA participants namely, Michael “Timex” McDonald and Andrew Chen. Both of them have already spoken to Stars’ executive Lee Jones regarding the promotion’s flaws.

The players who had participated in the promotion of Zoom Poker greatly believe that they have won a disproportionate share of the promotion’s prize. David Williams, who won the first prize, believes otherwise as he is happy with the result of the game. The promotion of Zoom Poker became unsuccessful when the flaws were revealed making the participants feel as though they had been had. Lee Jones had announced that they will look into the issue of the promotions and may distribute partial refunds or credits to the Caribbean poker game adventure participants who were unsatisfied with the poorly administrated event of Zoom Poker promotions.

001.27.13 Ben Sulsky is 2012 Highest Poker Earner

Joanne to Gambling News,January 2013

The news has revealed that Ben Sulsky ends up as the biggest stake winner in online poker for 2012. This prodigy got about $4 million making him the top earner in the Caribbean poker world. Unfortunately, the previous champ Gus Hansen ended as the biggest loser with $3.1 million losses. Other players are going to need to beat Sulsky up on the tables in order to get his title for the year 2013. He did a great job on both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Sulsky earned more than $3.5 million while he got $367,000 from Full Tilt Poker at the time it was re-launched in November.

Ben Sulsky is only twenty five years old and from New Hampshire. His very first big stake winning took place at the PokerStars in November. He played for Omaha tables with $200 to $400 pot limit, and he won about $265,000. With this, he is hailed as the most profitable player of the year. This is another record to keep for Caribbean poker enthusiasts. Ben Sulsky only proved that he is better than anyone in the online gambling world. He must have perfected all poker strategies that you can find on sites like http://www.wikihow.com/. On the other hand, 2012 has never been so kind to Gus Hansen. The High Stakes DB reported that he lost the $3.1 million after he received his money back from the FTP account. Analysts say that Hansen must have been overwhelmed with the money he got back or it was really just a bad year for him. Either way, he ended 2012 breaking his bank.

Meanwhile, the other pros who made it to the top are Jens Kyllonen with $2.4 million and Ben Tollerene at $1.9 million. Additionally, a $1.6 million recorded earning goes to Sven Heinecker making him land in the fourth highest spot. These pros have too much money in their bank accounts now. However, they may soon be the subject of the authorities for taxes. The Caribbean poker players and enthusiasts will be looking forward to these issues. The year 2013 has just started, and it will be a long way to go to see who among the pros will excel and fail. Better watch out for it.

001.20.13 IRGC Gears Up for Online Poker Legalization

Joanne to Gambling News,January 2013

Iowan politicians seem to be considering Caribbean poker and its other forms to be regulated in the state. According to the head of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, the state regulators want to let it known that they are interested in the task. Chairman Jeff Lamberti revealed that if ever the regulators take this action further, the IRGC is ready. He pointed out that online poker is actually where the gaming plans are heading to. There have already been some states that approved the legislation and are moving into the same direction. The results are quite desirable as of now and that Iowa wants to do the same.

Should Iowa politicians implement this plan, it will be opening the floodgates for Caribbean poker sites like onlinepoker.co/poker-games. It was just last March when the Iowa Senate File passed on a 29-20 vote. However, the state’s Republican dominated State House did not allow it to come up for a vote. This prior bill could have already started operation in partnership with the state’s brick and mortar casinos. Iowa presently has 20 gambling establishments. Unfortunately, the bill ended on the back burner. Today, the tables have turned. The latest push for the bill is believed to have been initiated by the Iowa state casinos. Similar to Nevada, Iowa wants to legalize only intrastate poker.

Also, the executive director of Iowa Gaming Association Wes Ehrecke, the Racing and Gaming Commission will be regulating online Caribbean poker offered in the casino website portals. With this, players can ensure that minors will never be allowed. This will all happen should the state government allow its implementation. For now, there is no timetable yet as to when online poker will be introduced in the state. If it happens, the biggest hurdle would be the state’s Governor Terry Branstad who has been vocal about his doubts with the proposed bill. Nevertheless, IRGC expressing its interest in Internet-based poker is apparently the result of other state’s adoption of the same legislation. 2013 could be the year of online poker as opposed to other expert predictions that it will be outperformed by slots.

001.12.13 Will Online Poker Make It?

Joanne to Gambling News,January 2013

According to the news released by Financial Mail, experts have contrasting opinions about the future of Caribbean poker and its other online forms in the coming year. There were comments saying that poker was once a fad, and now it is over. These statements were released following the recent meeting of major companies in the UK including William Hill, Ladbrokes, Betfair and Bwin.party. The report further explains that there are only a few large companies that offer this form of online gambling, and the rest are looking at the viability of the games.

Smaller companies operating sites like onlinepoker.co may have to consolidate. Otherwise, they will be scooped up by the big players. This is apparently in reference to the Caribbean poker giant Poker Stars that takes up about 60 percent of the market. The company has now more than 50 million players. It has also bought Full Tilt Poker that was once its major competitor. Basically, it has increased its market share between 70 to 90 percent. This is obviously not good for companies that have to bolster their poker offerings like Betfair, William Hill and Ladbrokes that only get about 6 percent of its revenues from poker.

Meanwhile, other comments went around the possibility of online poker legalization in the US. According to some experts, although it is getting there, the progress is incredibly very slow. The report pointed out that it has already been a long time since the US has opened their doors to online gambling like Caribbean poker, and they expect it will e a long time before they do again. However, those for and against the idea are still battling against each other now. In fact, some strong proponents like Reid and Kyl seemed to have already lost their hope with the failure of their last bill to get passed. The report concluded that Internet-based poker can never be in the forefront of any legalization unlike slots. This is because slots can be played through mobile devices and smartphones. This means it has all the potential to grow rapidly in popularity. With this, the question remains whether or not poker can make it in 2013 or the years to come. Experts are quite skeptical about this. On the other hand, they are positive when it comes to slots.

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Caribbean PokerBe a true poker player!

002.09.10 Caribbean Poker Strategy

005.12.13 iPOPS Coming Later this Month

004.28.13 Online Poker may Soon Come to Illinois

004.14.13 DTD Backs Up ISPT

003.24.13 Should the Caribbean Nation Move on with the Piracy Plan?

003.10.13 Dan Shak Tops the GPI but Kurganov May Take the Lead

002.24.13 Bulgarian Dimitar Danchev Wins the Caribbean Poker Game Adventure

002.10.13 Flaws in the “Zoom” Promotion during the Caribbean Poker Game Adventure

001.27.13 Ben Sulsky is 2012 Highest Poker Earner

001.20.13 IRGC Gears Up for Online Poker Legalization

001.12.13 Will Online Poker Make It?