Toronto Police Conduct Raids on Underground Poker Games

Over the past week, police in Toronto, Canada conducted raids on private poker games. The raids were targeted at locations which were suspected of being illegal gaming houses. Although the term "gaming houses" was used, none of the locations were private residences. Instead, all of the raids (there were four in total) took place at business locations. According to details provided by the Toronto police, one of the raids was conducted at a location called Garden of Eden, which is a sports bar and grill. The other three police raids were conducted at locations inside of industrial units. One of the police raids took place in Pickering (which is approximately a thirty-five minute drive from Toronto), while the remaining three police raids took place in the city of Toronto itself.

During the course of the raids, police reported that they seized equipment (chair, chips, tables and more) worth twenty-three thousand dollars, and also seized twelve thousand dollars in paper money from the players that were present during the raids.

In total, this series of four police raids brought charges against forty-five different adults and two juveniles. Nine of the adults caught in the raid were charged with keeping a common gaming house. The remaining thirty-eight adults and two juveniles were all charged with being found in a common gaming house. According to Canadian law, all of the adults (whether charged with keeping a common gaming house or being found in a common gaming house) can be charged as follows:

If it is their first time being charged with this crime, they can be imprisoned for up to two years

If it is their second time, they must be imprisoned for at least fourteen days but no longer than two years

If it is a third or more time, they must be imprisoned for at least three months but no longer than two years.

This police raid was conducted by three different police organizations, including the Durham Regional Police Force, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Toronto Police Service. All three groups of police officers were coordinated and organized under the "Organized Crime Section Illegal Gambling Unit." According to statements from this group, their efforts only impacted a small percentage of a poker operation run by organized crime that generates millions of dollars for the people running the illegal operation.

Kahnawake Addresses Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet

In case you have not heard of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (commonly abbreviated as KGC), it is the committee responsible for overseeing online poker websites that are based in the Kahnawake territory of Canada. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission has been regulating online poker websites in their territory for over nine years, which is longer than most other jurisdictions. Given the length of time the committee has been regulating online poker websites and the number of websites that they are responsible for overseeing, they have had a very good track record.

However, like almost every other industry, there is always the potential for abuse. Despite their best efforts and intentions, it seems that the Kahnawake Gaming Commission has had two websites within its jurisdiction take part in a scheme to rip off the members of those websites. It just so happened that both of these cases of fraud happened to take place within a few months of each other.

The first case that the Kahnawake Gaming Commission had to deal with was Absolute Poker. Several months ago, online poker players discovered that significant cheating was taking place within games on the Absolute Poker website. The online poker playing community then launched its own investigation into the issue, and through the use of forums and poker news websites, they were able to strengthen their case. The turning point came in the form of a data leak, which allowed an independent auditing company to confirm that Absolute Poker had engaged in a fraudulent scheme against its players. Although Absolute Poker was only fined half a million dollars by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, the majority of the online poker community allowed this issue to rest.

Fast forward to several months after the Absolute Poker scandal, and Ultimate Bet was now involved in their own scandal. After conducting an internal investigation, Ultimate Bet admitted that some of its largest player accounts had an unfair advantage over other competitors. The accounts were found to belong to individuals who had worked for the previous management of Ultimate Bet, and the company began issuing refunds to players who had been affected by this unfair advantage.

In the Kahnawake Gaming Commission's statement about these two cases, they emphasized that their main concern has been to ensure that any players who were cheated out of money received a full reimbursement. They also stressed that they are working to ensure these incidents do not repeat themselves in the future.

Counting Cards in Blackjack?

There are several levels of action the casinos will take if they suspect you of cheating.

The first thing they will do is have the pit bosses stare you down and/or make comments to try and screw you up. This is really more of a feeler move to see how much you are actually paying attention to the cards coming out.

Next, they'll back you off the table. A couple of guys will come over and say something nice like, "Hello sir. We think you're a little too good at blackjack. Feel free to enjoy any of the other games offered in the casino."

The next move if actually kicking you out of the casino. 3 or 4 security guys will come over to your table, and ask you to leave the property. This, or the next step is actually pretty rare unless you're cleaning up with black chips.

The final move is the most severe. They will walk you to the door, then read to you the Trespassing Act. This is official notice that if you ever come back, they will have you arrested for trespassing.

Some tips if you're going to take a professional level counting system to the casinos:

1.) If you're kicked off the table in any capacity, do NOT cash out that day. Come back some other time, or send someone else to cash out for you. They may or may have a good picture of you from the table, but they'll definitely have a nice clear picture of your face if you walk up to the cage and cash out.

2.) Don't use a fake id like in the movie. Counting cards is not a crime, but using a fake id certainly is. If you don't do anything illegal, you're not going to get into any actual trouble.

3.) If they ask you to go to a back room or try to detain you in any other way, refuse to go with them. If they ask you to go somewhere, just say they can talk to you where you stand, or you'll be leaving through the front door. If they say they think you're cheating, tell them you'll stand right where you are until the police arrive, otherwise you're leaving. This doesn't really happen anymore, but just in case, be aware that you do not need to go anywhere with them that you don't want to go. All they would really do is take you somewhere to "sweat" you (make you sit around for awhile and ask you some stupid questions). They're not going to beat you up like in the movie.

At the end of the day, these aren't really things you should worry too much about. Don't splash around too much cash, and don't be too obvious and you can get away with counting. If you're actually planning to attempt to become a professional blackjack player there are a lot of things to consider, but that's not something I can go into here.

BTW, The "Black Book" is a list of actual casino cheats who have been convicted of a crime and can be arrested if stepping into a casino. There are known counters who are banned pretty much everywhere, but that's not what the real "Black Book" is for.

WSOP Guide to the November Nine (Part Three)

Seat Five: Darus Suharto
Chip Count: 12,520,000

Born in 1969, Darus Suharto is the other playing that will be representing Canada at the final table. A resident of Toronto, Canada, Suharto made it into this year's World Series of Poker through a six hundred and fifty dollar satellite.

Suharto has been playing poker on a consistent and serious basis since 2005. Although he didn't take home any money from the WSOP last year, in 2006, Suharto earned just over twenty-six thousand dollars by finishing four hundred and forty-eighth in the tournament.

Seat Six: David "Chino" Rheem
Chip Count: 10,230,000

Nicknamed Chino, David Rheem has had quite a lucrative poker career since his first major tournament in 2005. Over the last three years, Rheem has taken home just short of six hundred thousand dollars in prize money.

As a result of a warrant for his arrest that was issued several years ago, there is some speculation that Rheem could be arrested during the final of the WSOP. However, the man from Miami, Florida doesn't seem to be letting any of these potential issues interfere with his trip to the final table in November.

Seat Seven: Ivan Demidov
Chip Count: 24,400,000

Born in 1981, when Ivan Demidov arrives at the final table in November, he will have the second largest amount of chips in front of him. Demidov, who is from Moscow, Russia, began playing poker at the beginning of 2006. In addition to skiing and scuba diving, Demidov found time to place 11th at a WSOP event several weeks ago and earn himself just under forty thousand dollars.

Seat Eight: Kelly Kim
Chip Count: 2,620,000

With just over two and a half million chips, Kelly Kim will sit down at the final table with the shortest stack of chips. However, with over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in career winnings, this California resident may have enough skill to outlast his opponents, regardless of their larger stacks.

Seat Nine: Peter Eastgate
Chip Count: 18,375,000

A resident of Odense, Denmark, Peter Eastgate was the man responsible for knocking Tiffany Michelle (the last woman in the tournament) out of the Main Event in seventeenth place. Although he's young, Eastgate pocketed over eighty thousand dollars during the Scandinavian Open in February of this year.

Now that you have been introduced to the nine men who will sit down at the WSOP Final Table, all you have to do is wait until November comes around and the action resumes!

WSOP Guide to the November Nine (Part Two)

Seat Two: Craig Marquis
Chip Count: 10,210,000

Although he is the second seat at the final table, Craig Marquis has the second lowest chip count. However, Craig was the player that eliminated twenty-five year old Dean Hamrick's hopes of having a seat at the Main Event's final table.

While twenty-five may seem like an extremely young age for someone to make it all the way to the final ten, Marquis has made it all the way to the final table and is only twenty-three! Yes, that's correct: he's only twenty-three. Craig has actually taken time off from college to pursue his poker dreams, and judging by his performance so far, it's paying off extremely well. While he probably received quite a bit of criticism for his decision to take time off from college, it's hard to say anything negative about it now that he will be taking home a minimum of just under one million dollars.

According to a quote in USA Today, in response to his next plans, Marquis said, "I'm going to take it easy and relax. These last several days have been pretty stressful and grinding."

Seat Three: Ylon Schwartz
Chip Count: 12,525,000

Although Ylon Schwartz has won over $250,000 during the course of poker career, he is just as excited as anyone to have made it to the final table of the biggest event in poker. According to several interviews, Schwartz said he was able to make it all the way to the final table by playing conservative. Instead of going for the huge wins, he focused on picking up small pots by waiting for people to make mistakes. Schwartz picked up his first tournament prize of just under nine thousand dollars back in 2004, and four years later, will be picking up a minimum of nine hundred thousand dollars!

Seat Four: Scott Montgomery
Chip Count: 19,690,000

As the third largest chip leader, Scott Montgomery is one of two Canadians that will be present at the final table. Although this will obviously be his biggest achievement of the year, 2008 has treated Montgomery quite well. The twenty-six year old from Perth, Ontario finished fifth at the LA Poker Classic, which earned him close to three hundred thousand dollars. He has also finished quite well in a handful of other notable poker tournaments.

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WSOP Guide to the November Nine (Part One)

...And then there were nine.

What began with six thousand, eight hundred and forty-four entrants has now been narrowed down to nine men. After days and days of nothing but poker, the field of entrants was slowly narrowed down to just ten players. After the last ten players battled it out for close to three hours, Dean Hamrick was finally knocked out of the World Series of Poker. Although he played a great tournament, Hamrick (who is from Plymouth, Michigan) just missed making it to the final table of Poker's biggest event. At a little before three thirty on Tuesday morning, the only remaining players in the WSOP were the nine players that will sit around the final table in November.

Although you will most likely begin to hear a lot about these players over the next one hundred and seventeen days, over this and the next two parts of this series, you will receive an up close look at each of the coveted nine. So, even though you won't get to see them play against each other until November, you can get the scoop on each player right now:

Seat One: Dennis Phillips
Chip Count: 26,295,000

Going into the final event in November, Dennis Phillips has a dominant chip lead over at least half of his competitors. However, as the game of Texas Hold'em has demonstrated time and time again, going into a major event as the chip leader is not even close to guaranteeing finishing on top. Phillips will be just as nervous as his competitors when he sits down at the final table (if not more nervous).

Dennis Phillips, who lives in Cottage Hills, Illinois and works as a truck salesman, is not a novice to the game of poker. Phillips plays in tournaments hosted by his local casino three to four times per week. In 2007, he earned $2,386 by placing ninth in a No Limit Hold'em WSOP Circuit Event. He added an additional $2,192 two days later at another No Limit Hold'em Circuit Event, which brings his lifetime tournament earnings to $4,578. Obviously, this total is going to get a huge bump after the final table. Even if Phillips is the first to be eliminated from the final table, he will take home a staggering $900,670!

World Series of Poker 2008

The world series of poker, held annually in Las Vegas, comprises the largest set of poker tournaments in the world. Each year thousands of the world's best players attend to try their hand at winning the large jackpot. This year the event attracted about 6, 844 persons from which the final nine who triumphed through the fifty five events now await the main event later this year. Each person in the final nine is guaranteed over $900, 000. The winner of the event will take home more than $9 million. Many others who did not make it this far did not go home empty handed however. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been won since the start of the tournament. Now all poker fans await the main event in November.

In the meantime players among the final nine are given the chance to promote themselves and build up anticipation for the main event. The final table this year at the world series of poker will coincide with the television broadcast of the event. This time will also benefit the players by giving them the chance to study their opponents and get prepared for the final tournament. This break marks a change in how the series is usually done. The main event will be broadcasted on ESPN on November 9.

This years final nine does not include any former world series of poker winners. However, six of the nine are PokerStars players. PokerStars is the world's largest online poker room. It has millions of poker players from around the world and is rated as the top poker tournament site. PokerStar players have won the World Series of Poker several times and these six each hope to do so this year again. Among the many professional poker players that entered the tournament, many amateurs paid to enter and compete alongside them. As this years final nine shows amateurs can come out on top. Most of the nine finalists are not well known poker players or have ever been a part of the final nine. Bets have begun to surface over who will win the final tournament.

Excitement builds about the final table at the world series this November. More information about the players will come as they are interviewed over the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned to ESPN for details about the event as well as broadcasts of the tournament this year. The twenty six episodes which last about one hour each are in the process of being filmed.

The Poker World Tour goes to the Fox Network

World Poker Tour Enterprises Inc. came to an agreement with the Fox Sports Network recently to have the seventh season of the World Poker Tour exclusively broadcasted on that station. The World Poker Tour was previously broadcasted on the Travel Channel as well as the Game Show Network. However, the discussions surrounding this season long agreement seems to indicate that there will be no further channel changes anytime soon.

The Fox Sports Network has a viewer base of over 80 million people across the world. This is quite an advantage for reaching a wide audience. The episodes are currently being filmed in several locations as the table events take place. The first couple of events were filmed recently in Las Vegas at the Bellagio Cup IV Final table. The details regarding the schedule for showing the series is no doubt being decided by the World Poker Tour and the Fox Sports Network but has not yet been released to the public. The move is hoped to attract a wider audience to televised poker as Fox is renowned for quality content and is available on many more cable networks than other channels.

Aside from this change the World Poker Tour televised series should remain the same. Fans can expect the same quality programming brought to you by the same hosts. This series has always been a favorite among poker fans despite the numerous other televised poker events that have begun to air in recent years. Fox Sports Network itself has been home to several other televised poker series as well. However, the World Poker Tour is the most rated poker series to be aired on the channel yet. It features several international poker tournaments with some of the world's most professional players. It first started airing in late 2002.

Televised poker has become increasingly popular over the years and has attracted a number of players to the game. It continues to be a great marketing tool for the game and individual tournament holders but also it provides a medium for getting to know the players. It is a form of publicity for them as well. Other televised poker games including the World Series of Poker on ESPN have also had a hand in this. Features of the World Poker Tour televised series such as being able to see the player's hole cards has made watching the game more meaningful for those who wish to watch for fun or to learn about the game.

Why does Phil Hellmuth always cry when he gets beat at poker?

Hellmuth is a brilliant man, like his style of play/personality or not he is undeniably the most brilliant man in poker. To keep up the "poker brat" personality as well as the tight passive play and continue to win most times he plays cash games is very impressive.

He owns or is sponsored by UB, proplayer energy drink, He sells hats, t shirts, and other gear as well as the black belt poker series and other training videos. Every time you see a fit, sponsors see a billboard screaming look at me. The man is like every one else on the face of the earth, he is coin operated and hes one of the best.

From a poker enthusiasts point of view, I do enjoy the blow ups.Its fun to see what hes going to do or say next. Its entertainment. If you have the poker after dark with Phil and Sam Grizzle, its some of the funniest poker on TV.

Tiffany Michelle: The Woman to Watch

Last week, I profiled some of the women to watch during the World Series of Poker. Although I listed many of the women that experts were predicting to go the farthest in the WSOP, it seems one woman has come from under the radar and is poised to make a big splash during this year's event.

If the name Tiffany Michelle sounds familiar, it's because she is a video interviewer for Poker News. However, during this year's event, Tiffany is doing much more than just talking to other players about their performances. With only twenty-seven players left in the pursuit for the coveted Main Event bracelet, Tiffany has a chance to become the second woman of all time to make it to the final table of the Main Event. The first woman to accomplish this feat was Barbara Enright, who made it to the final table way back in 1995.

Tiffany became the last woman in the tournament early on Day Six, after Lisa Parsons was eliminated in the seventy-sixth spot. Fortunately for Tiffany, she survived the rest of the day, and will begin Day Seven with 9,755,000 in chips.

Even if luck decides to turn its back on Tiffany during her last push towards the final table, she is still guaranteed to take home at least $257,334! However, she may be able to get to the final table without luck, thanks to the strong position she has established. Tiffany will be entering Day Seven in third place, behind only Craig Marquis and the current leader, Dennis Phillips.

Although you are probably used to seeing Tiffany on the interviewing side of the microphone, thanks to her many years of practice and strong performance, you will be seeing her on the interviewee side of the mic over the next few days.

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Texas holdem - what's considered a decent preflop?

A decent preflop hand has more to do with position and action than what you hold. Your rule of thumb is going to get you busted quite a bit with decent players. I see more rookie players get busted overplaying A rags (9 or less) than any other hand. And don't raise with two royals unless paired or suited. These are nothing more than drawing hands, unless paired, and should be pitched if you miss the flop in the face of aggression. As a general rule, you can split how you play into hands that you play cheap and hands that you raise with or call a raise with, all preflop of course and assuming a 9 player table.

Cheap hands:
1) All pocket pairs
2) Two "royals"
3) Suited connectors (like 9 and 8 of spades).
Raise hands:
1) Pocket JJ through AA
2) AQ-AK and KQ, especially if suited.

Situationally, other hands are ok. But A rags is a rookie hand (I see more people get busted playing garbage like A8 and losing the batlle of kickers when the Ace pairs, but someone else has AJ) and K rags is ridiculous. Q8 is ridiculously bad, too. .

If you are New player follow This instruction, you will do good in online poker.

A: Only raise with a pocket pair 10 or better.
B: With two royal cards, I'd only bet/raise if they are suited.
C: If you have a straight draw suited, check or bluff.
Anything like 8-3 or worse you most likely want to fold unless you can check.
NEVER LIMP IN if you only have two off-suit number cards that are not part of the same straight.

If You're a Beginner, Avoid Making these Mistakes!

Not being able to fold good hands

If you got a confused look on your face when you read "not being able to fold good hands," you just proved that you are a beginning poker player. For beginning poker players, if they are dealt a pair of Queens, they will bet big and go all the way to the end with their hand. Although a pair of Queens may be a good hand, you have to also take into account the flop. If the flop contains Kings or Aces, you may not be holding that great a hand. A mature poker player is able to analyze the situation in front of them, without letting the excitement of being dealt a potentially strong hand cloud their judgment.

Being overly timid

In many cases, beginners perform poorly because they are overly excited to play a strong hand, which results in them being wiped out by a more experienced opponent. However, there are situations where a beginner may feel overly timid, and as a result, you will be unable to maintain the strength it takes to finish and win a difficult hand.

Bluffing too often

For the novice poker player, bluffing can seem like a fun way to take money from your opponents even when you are not holding a good hand. Unfortunately, there is more to bluffing than simply tricking your opponent and winning a huge hand. Bluffing takes experience, knowledge and skill, and if you are lacking any of these, not only will you end up ruining hands through your bluffing, but you will also become an easy target for your opponents.

Playing every hand

If you are dealt a bad hand, just fold it. You can waste a lot of chips calling blinds before the flop if you refuse to hold hands that shouldn't be played. Although you're excited to play, it's important to use discretion and only play hands worth betting on.

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Poker Table Etiquette 101

Because of the immense popularity of online poker, a large percentage of new poker players get their introduction to poker on the Internet. Although the Internet provides a great environment for learning about the game of the poker, there is one area of your poker education that the Internet is unable to provide: table etiquette.

Before you make the transition from your computer to a real table with other players sitting around it, it is important to understand how you are expected to act while you are sitting at a poker table. Not only will knowing how to act at a poker table ensure that you avoid making a fool of yourself or offending the other players at the table, but it will also maximize your enjoyment of the game since you will feel comfortable sitting among the other players. Here's what you need to know:

-While you probably swear at your computer when you lose a hand, you need to avoid using profanity to express your frustration when you are in the company of other players.

-If you knock another player out of a tournament, don't automatically shake their hand; it's up to them to initiate the hand shake.

-There is no reason to apologize when you win a hand. Even if it's pure luck, everyone is happy when they win a poker hand, and apologizing that you win is simply lying directly to someone's face.

-Don't ask to see a player's cards at the end of a hand. A player can choose to display their cards, but if they choose not to, it's rude to ask them to do otherwise.

-Avoid answering questions directed to other players. Just like any other social situation, it's rude to jump into the middle of a conversation (even if you know the answer to what is being asked).

At the end of the day, if you show respect for your fellow players, they will almost always do the same for you, and everyone will have a great time playing poker together.

The Women of the WSOP

The 2008 WSOP has had more women in its various events than ever before. Whether it's a result of the level of fame poker's best women have achieved or the added exposure poker has received through the mainstream media, one thing is for sure: it's not hard to find at least one lady playing at almost every World Series of Poker event table.

So, what ladies are paving the way this year for other women to make something of themselves in the World Series of Poker? Although there too many to list, some of the most notable women of 2008 include Kristy Gazes, Clonie Gowen, Sabyl Landrum, Kathy Liebert, JJ Liu and Vanessa Selbst.

The women listed above have an impressive list of poker accomplishments under their belt. With seven total WSOP cashes (three from this year alone), most experts have high hopes for Kristy Gazes to make it quite a long way into the Main Event of this year's World Series of Poker. However, of all the women mentioned above, Vanessa Selbst is considered the woman to beat during the WSOP Main Event. At only twenty-three years old, she won her first WSOP gold bracelet this year. Thanks to her aggressive playing style, Vanessa has a very good chance of causing some major upsets when it comes time for the Main Event.

As women become more and more comfortable playing a game that has been traditionally dominated by men, it is only a matter of time before a woman is named the winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event. Thanks to the time and effort so many woman have put into the sport of poker, they have achieved respect from their male counterparts, and when the day comes that a woman wins the World Series of Poker, she will receive nothing but admiration from her male competitors and spectators.

Celebrities and the World Series of Poker

As anyone who has ever watched a poker tournament on television knows, celebrities enjoy the game of poker just as much as an average person. Whether they are a sports figure, actor from your favorite television show or a musician that's at the top of the charts, celebrities are people too, and many of them are fanatical about the game of poker. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that poker's biggest event of the year attracts quite a few celebrities to its tables.

Even though most celebrities really don't need the just over nine million dollar prize for the winner of the WSOP, the thrill of playing poker and competing for that large of a sum of money is enticing to anyone, regardless of the size of their bank account. In the hunt for this prize were two of the most competitive men on earth, UFC fighters Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. Unfortunately for these two, even though they can dominate the world of UFC (Forrest Griffin's face was actually bruised up from his recent victory over Quinton Jackson), neither could last through the first day of the WSOP.

In addition to those hardcore athletes, there were some other very notable celebrities in attendance. Although they don't get paid to pound others into the ground, they are just as competitive as the UFC fighters. This list included Jennifer Tilly, Shannon Elizabeth, Jason Alexander and Sam Simon (who is not only the producer of The Simpsons, but also Tilly's ex-husband). Although they all played their best, the only celebrity out of this group to make it through to the second day was Shannon Elizabeth. Don't let her good looks fool you: Shannon Elizabeth is a serious poker player that wants to make it as far as possible in this year's World Series of Poker!

Poker Success: It's All About the Long-term

Everyone that plays poker wants to win and be successful. Not only do you get to enjoy the thrill and pride of winning, but you also get to add more money to your bank account. Unfortunately, the stress that goes along with playing poker causes many players to lose sight of what's necessary in order to be a successful poker player.

The key to being a great poker player is being able to look at the long-term. While it's important to give every hand you play your full attention and focus, it's important not to let your emotions get the best of you in the short term. Players that obsess over every bad hand they play are not helping themselves. In fact, they are doing quite a bit to sabotage themselves.

When you are playing poker, you have to remember that you are going to lose a LOT of hands. It doesn't matter how good of a player you are; you simply can't win a lot of the hands you play. Every player goes through times when they have a bad session, a bad day, a bad week, a bad month or an even longer streak of bad poker playing. The thing that separates great poker players from average or poor poker players is their ability to persevere, focus on their own playing skills and work their way through a slump. Because great poker players focus on the long-term, they know that if they focus on what they are supposed to be doing, they will eventually come out of their slump and start winning again.

Even though in can be hard to control your emotions when things aren't going your way, just remember that if you don't give up and continue to play your style of poker, you will eventually make your way back to the top!