Poker Player Dan Smith posted by Poker Player

Born February 23, 1989, Dan Smith is considered the best professional poker player at present and is nicknamed King Dan. He plays for Team Ivey Poker and is their sponsored member. Smith was initially a good chess player, but by the time he was in college, he was proficient in playing poker both online and in live tournaments. In 2007, Smith left college, as he wanted to devote all his time playing poker.

Very soon in 2008, Smith won his first victory and cash of $101,960 at the Heartland Poker Tour Main Event held at New York in the Turning Stone Resort and Casino. Smith's biggest win was in June 2014, at the Bellagio Super High Roller buy-in event, where he won $2,044,766. He was also given the no. one rank in September 2014 by the Global Poker Index. In August 2014, Smith's total winnings in live tournaments were over $8,800,000.

Dan Smith started his poker circuit travel in 2008, and by 2010, he had managed to participate and win cash in two events of World Series of Poker. When he got his first WSOP cash, Smith was 383rd in the No-limit Hold'em event. However, after that he managed to score eleven more cash finishes. In 2011, he was able to score his initial money finish with WPT and won four WSOP cashes as well. In 2012, Smith finished the World Series No-Limit Hold'em event in third place and took away $370,000 prize money.

In the World Poker Tour event of 2011, Smith was able to cash only once and finished in 22nd place, taking away $25,800 cash. In 2012, Smith attended the Aussie Millions, which is the biggest poker festival of Australia, and managed to win $1,012,000 in the $100,000 Challenge, which was the second largest win in his career.

February Hearing Scheduled for Intrastate Online Poker in California posted by Paul

“I think it is workable as well as a potential source of new income,” said fellow State Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter). “How you structure it is the key.”

California — the cash-strapped state that has shown willingness historically to be a trendsetter when it comes to legislative action — is ready to hold a hearing on the merits of regulating online poker. Michigan State Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood) told the LA Times this week that the state legislature is planning on holding a hearing on the issue in February.

“About two million Californians are playing poker offshore right now,” said Patrick Dorinson, a spokesperson for Morongo, referencing the popularity of current online poker sites that serve American players.

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians & the Commerce Casino are two entities in a group of gaming-associated groups who are calling for regulation. Both the Morongo tribe & Commerce hope to operate online poker web-sites if the legislation became law.

However, not all groups support the proposal.

Lawmakers are hesitant to predict how much intrastate online poker training could bring in to the state in terms of revenue, but the LA Times said that if the state operated poker like it does its Indian-run slot machines, over $250 million could be raised per year.

“Card game betting on the Web would take business away from brick-and-mortar casinos,” said Robert Smith, the chairman of the Michigan Tribal Business Alliance.

Anti-gambling advocates have also voiced concern on the issue.
Continue reading "February Hearing Scheduled for Intrastate ..."

The 1500 chip straight flush posted by Chase Park

i was on full tilt poker at a table where the blinds are 500/1000 and everybody folds to me(big blind), except little blind. i look down to find 5 4 of hearts and check. the flop is A,2,3 of hearts and LB checks and i check, then on the turn is a K of clubs. LB checks and i bet the blind and he folds. what a waste.
Continue reading "The 1500 chip straight flush"

I'm at a Crossroads in my Weekly Hold 'em Game, What do I do? posted by Jerry Evanoff

I have been playing a weekly to semi-weekly game of Texas Hold'em with a rotating group of friends now for about five years.  I believe we started on New Year's Day 2004 with just five of us in someone's living room.  Only one of us (not me) had really had much experience playing hold'em at a casino while the rest of us just watched on on TV and occasionally called it out in the semi-weekly dealer's choice game we had been playing for years before that.

So one day we decided to just play tournaments.  We each put $10 (or sometimes $20) in and played for a first or second place prize.  We did this for a few years and it was a blast.  We all started to learn each other's tendencies.  We would make casino trips together and sit at the same table so two, three, four of us would have fun playing with the strangers who would sit down.  We would never cheat but we knew each other so well that we could anticipate each other better and it would make for a more fun game.  Throughout that time, we would have people who would only show up every now and then and give us games of 10-20 people but was the same five or six of us would always show up.  We never really did it to try to win lots of money.  We just liked getting together every week on a Friday night and having some fun. 

At some point about a year and a half ago, it switched from being a tournament to just a game.  There was a maximum buy in of $25 at a time.  If you went out, you could rebuy.  The blinds were 25 cents/50 cents and it was a no limit game.  And this was also fun.  It was nice to switch and do something else.

Old Friends Retirement posted by Jan Hoadley

Many people campaign for better treatment of race horses, and still more campaigned to end slaughter. How many actually put their money up to support these horses?When a 10 year old bay gelding was found in a feedlot in the northwest he looked like he had a "story." Indeed he did. Approaching the mandatory retirement age for Thoroughbreds he made his last known start at a small Oregon track, far from the crowds just months earlier in California. Without a stud career to look forward to like his famous brother, the gelding landed in a feedlot. Someone put the pieces together - he was Cappucino Kid, a respected race horse. A racing fan fronted the money to get him out of the feedlot, and funds were raised to send him to a retirement home in Kentucky. Home to other famous and not so famous horses, Best Friends is the only Thoroughbred retirement center to take stallions.The star of Seabiscuit is here. His break came when he broke from the gate, literally. The movie shots of "Seabiscuit" breaking from the gate was actually Popcorn Deelites. Classy old stallions Ogygian, Creator and Sunshine Forever were shipped back from Japan, insuring they will not meet the same fate of Ferdinand. Bonnie's Poker, dam of Silver Charm, lives here. It's slated to be the retirement home of champion Lava Man.Of course housing and caring for these horses takes money and plenty of it. There are sponsorships at various levels available and for those who feed certain feeds the seals from those feedbacks can be donated to benefit the horses. Those involved in racing often are criticContinue reading "Old Friends Retirement"

3 yrs ago today- Championship Sunday taken over by Kobe posted by Curt James

Three years ago today I was sitting in a poker room watching some football and then it started filtering in.  Kobe had 40 pts, well that's good are they winning?  No they are down and its early third quarter and I was like wow, but realize that Kobe had scored 56 in 3 quarters against Memphis a year earlier or so.  Then it was 50 and we are still not through with the third and we all started paying attention.  Then in the fourth quarter Kobe went into a gear that has never been seen and has not since.  Forget MJ, even forget Wilt (making 4 foot finger rolls over guys you are 4 inches taller than doesn't count) and simply sit back and wacth offensive greatness that not be surpassed for 30, 50, or even a 100 years.  MJ could never shoot this well so before this gets personal its a comparison, when you think that MJ's highest scoring game was 69 in an overtime game and Kobe finished with 55 points in a half?!  This was after they were down big double figures before he went off.    Kobe likes to be a facilitator early in games much like Michael did later in his career so let's just think what if for a moment.  100 would have been feasible maybe even 110 or would he have run out of juice in the second half and started missing jumpers?  Fun isn't it?  Michael would have benefitted greatly from the restrictions on hand checking in today's game, but can you imagine Kobe being guarded by the likes of Craig  Ehlo, Danny Ainge, Byron Scott?  Kobe would simply rise above them and shoot jumpers all day long. Continue reading "3 yrs ago today- Championship Sunday ..."

No LUCK in poker posted by Scott T. Yeattes

 Poker is a game of chance (wait im not finished), yes skill is required but no matter how much skill you have you can
not just make that king magicly come up on the river to make your gutshot straight draw. With that said I love taking chances, there is nothing better than sitting down at a table with eight other people wondering the whole time who will get the cards tonight.
There is no luck in poker, ill say it again, there is no LUCK in poker. Stop looking at your computer screen funny,
im going to explain...People go on rushes, they get good cards, they play the cards they get really well, or by some chancenthat king of clubs does come up on the river. Then you have the bad beats such as your aces full of 9's get crushed by quad 9's, yes that happened to me just a few days ago), or you get outplayed or someone else catches that elusive king on the river. Either way its not luck, no my friends its not luck, the cards fall the way they are shuffled and actually the game is decided before the cards are even dealt out.Now im sure i'll get some E-mails on that, but guess what...Thats exactly what I want, E-mail me, let me know what you think, im an open minded guy.

 Now for a little about me, after all you have to know a little about the person who's blog youll be reading right?
I am an avid poker player, I play two weekly live tournaments in the BTR world poker league (but more on them later)
I play online on Pokerstars.com almost constantly when im at home and not reading or sleeping. I love Suited cards, give me9 queen of hearts and ill play it 95 percent of the time. I hate pocket aces, im sure alot of you do, they get cracked

I'm on the Fence about where Poker is Going- World Series of Poker posted by Jonathan Flanagan

I was watching ESPN's 2008 World Series of Poker final table preview show on election night and they showed where the final table will be played. It will not be in the Rio card room, or even a different casino. Contrary to tradition, it will be held in the Rio's Pen and Teller theatre. I wouldn't have thought much of it until they showed the theatre itself. This theatre looks like it seats hundreds of spectators, if not more. If you're like me at all then you like to see the player run over to his family and friends to be embraced after catching that ace on the river or seeing his kings hold up. But what now? Are we going to see "Chino" Rheem sprint up a flight of stairs to be congratulated by his cheering section? However, all of this is irrelevant compared to the bigger picture and the question I have for any of you reading this blog. Do you like or dislike the scale on which poker is being displayed? For example: the stadium-like setting, the American Idol like preview show, and the straight to super star status the nine finalists have received, in some cases just for catching cards. Now, if I were one of the last nine I'm sure I'd revel in it. But due to the fact that I am on my comfy couch and not an uncomfortable casino chair I dare to ask the question. I'd love to hear what you have to say. So I pass the keys to you, America, or the few eyes that may be reading this. Do you love or hate what you're seeing at this year's Main Event? Thanks for lookin- "Flanders"Continue reading "I'm on the Fence about where Poker ..."

Inbound link contest winner announced! posted by Earn Money Blogging

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

The whole purpose of this contest was to get our bloggers networking with other webmasters and to start to build up their inbound links which will help their traffic.  Even a few links can help you with the search engines as they will see you as more of an authority on your topic the more inbound links you have.

To learn more about marketing your blog check out this post: http://www.nbabasketballonline.com/sports_content-rev_share_faq.html#my_faq_2971

Marija's blog can be found here.  If you're a Knicks fan, check it out: http://www.newyorkknicksnews.com/marijak

The original post announcing the contest can be found here: http://www.nbabasketballonline.com/bloggers/weblog/2984.html

And if you're not already signed up with Google AdSense and making money from your blog, check out our Revenue Share FAQ page: http://www.nbabasketballonline.com/sports_content-rev_share_faq.html

How to Host a Successful Poker Night posted by Chris Humpherys

Poker, specifically No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, is a craze that is currently sweeping the nation.  With the constant television coverage of the World Series of Poker and its rise in popularity, everyone and their mother has suddenly become a poker player.  Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Doyle Brunson are becoming household names.  Poker rooms continue to pop up in casinos, dog tracks and jai alai frontons around Florida and local poker games are becoming easier and easier to find.

But hosting a poker night is not as easy as it sounds.  Establishing a well thought out poker night, requires dedication, commitment, the proper equipment, a good core of friends and a variety of other intangibles.  Any one can have people over to play some cards, but in order to set up a steady batch of players, it is crucial to do it right if you want it to become a regular gig.

Accordingly, here’s a beginner’s guide to setting up a happy and healthy poker night.  Oh, and may you always be dealt aces.

Rules:  Have you ever played a game of pick-up basketball where one person complains about a foul call or another argues about an out-of-bounds line?  Suddenly, conflict ensues and the game goes to muck.  Similarly, a poker game without well-established rules and guidelines can easily go astray.  While posting the rules on the wall might be a bit excessive, standard poker and house rules should always take precedent.  For example, what happens if a dealer turns over the wrong card or someone places an improper, string bet.  Rules should be established at the outset and agreed upon and all players should respect those rules.  Additionally, all players should be aware that all verbal bets are binding and act accordingly.