It has been touch and go for years for some of the best online casinos in the world; what with the American market looking so exciting to operators, and yet it not really being legal to offer these games. Operators argued that UIGEA contained too many grey areas and this is how they justified continuing to accept US players. Bodog is just such a site, but how they escaped US Department of Justice notice, since this authority closed down PokerStars, FullTilt and other gambling sites in the US; I really don’t?!

These sites were closed for business after their domains were seized by the DoJ on the 15th April. Gambling operators and fans alike, have dubbed this day ‘Black Friday’. So far it does not seem as though the best online casinos were affect, but the best poker sites certainly were and now one of the last men standing is getting out of the game. Bodog Europe is a very well-known online brand, and a modicum of their notoriety is garnered by the fact that they still accept US players. Up until now these real money gamblers have not been considered persona non grata. From the end of 2011 however this will change and no longer will any players from this country be allowed to use their accounts. At least they have been given time to close accounts and withdraw funds, unlike member of Full Tilt, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. Bodog has also taken out a brand new license and been granted this by the UK Gambling Commission, and this is unusual in itself, as most operators choose to license offshore to escape the massive tax implications of running a gambling operation in the UK. But that is another story entirely.

Another implication for US players is – they will have to be extremely careful where they play, if they do. It could give rise to a spate of new charlatans coming online, in an attempt to part hard working Americans from their gambling money. Americans want to be able to gamble online, but the Government can’t see the woods for the trees and believe that they know better what residents should be allowed to partake of in the ‘land of the free’. Aaron Burr once said that freedom of speech in the USA was only as free as the politician they are allowed to repeat?!

Anyway – that all said and done, Bodog is on their way to concentrate completely on the UK and European market and US players are losing one of the last best online casinos – at least until these operations go legal, if this ever takes place.

There is a brand new game of poker, and to play it you really need to be able to flex your poker muscles. It encompasses a variety of skills and poker strategies, as well as knowledge of rules across a cross-section of poker games. The game is known as Poker Legs and if you want to find your poker legs, there is a great place to learn many variations of poker; this is to play online poker games. The expected value and degree of knowledge progresses much fast for players of online poker games, than it can ever do in the live poker realm.

Poker legs is a blast to play, it is being played from local pubs to casinos in Vegas, and it’s only a matter of time, till it becomes available online. The global poker craze is still sweeping the globe, and it never takes very long for a new game to take-up online. This is a game of poker for players with balls, regardless of gender. It is the ultimate gamblers game, and we have even heard it called ‘degenerate’, so, true to form it is taking the world by storm! The stakes can be very low, but as the betting continues in frame after frame; these prize pots can mount up into massive amounts of money.

The aim of this game is to collect three “legs”, because apparently three is better than two, especially when you’ve been drinking. There is a specific way to collect the legs while the tension mounts, as round after round and frame after frame of the game takes place. A new game kicks off with Round 1 and 2-card Hold em; where no flop is played, and a two card poker hand is the deal, we all know this is not easy. Round 2 is 3-card low and the next Round is 5-card Holdem. The final round is a 2-7 lowball game; meanwhile during the rounds, there are very specific rules to be adhered to. Bear in mind three legs still need to be collected.

This is a very brief and cobbled together outline of the game, but one can see right away that it is vital to know various poker game strategies. As we said before, the fastest way to pick up on these strategies is to play online poker games. If you receive an invite to play Poker Legs, the biggest favor your could do yourself, it to start playing poker online right away, this will put you a step ahead of the pack (hopefully), which ultimately may mean being in a better position to collect legs and win the prize pot. The game has all kinds of features such as collecting discounts for legs, and is a thrill a minute to play. Let your hair down too, and find out who has the biggest balls. It highly recommended to only play this game amongst very good friends – with 7 players tops.

Despite the fact that playing online poker games in the US is considered by the Department of Justice to be criminal. In the case of Washington State, this is a Class C Felony – not sure what that means; are felonies classed on a scale of A – Z? Online poker games have become kids’ games in a way, and kids are making a fortune by playing. When we say “kids” we are talking about young men aged around 18 – 22 but we do know they are playing online poker even younger. They have to be to get where they are so young, and they are changing the face of the poker EV.

EV means “expected value” and essentially expected value comes about when thousand of hours of poker have been played and experience gained. The thing is that these youngsters are playing thousands of hours of poker games in very short periods of time in multi-tabling situations, so they are getting the experience of the “old-guard” poker player – over very short periods of time. The same poker playing experience which may take one old fashioned player 25 years to get under his belt; the young hotshots can do in a year when they spend 14 hours a day playing; and playing up to 24 tables simultaneously – it is this that is changing EV.

Let’s look at Daniel “Jungleman” Cates as an example, we don’t know how long he has been playing online poker games, but he has always played games online. He is only 21 years old now, and not only does he take on the Phil Ivey’s and Erik Seidel’s of this world when he plays online, he takes them on at the live poker tournament tables too.

Daniel Cates has a lot in common with most of the other young poker bloods; the thing that is different is, that in 2010, he was the highest online poker games earner in the world. Daniel “Jungleman” Cates is a poker phenom; there is only one other young player who can currently lay claim to being a phenom, and this is Viktor Blom, whom we know “Isildur1″. But Viktor Blom is infamous for often losing more than he wins. These kids are out-sharking the poker sharks they are battering them river, turn and flop and are seated at the same tables with experts in this game. In 2010 Daniel Cates earned over $5.5 million playing online poker games!

He is also socially almost reclusive in terms of the real world, and doesn’t think twice about the fact that he lost $1.2 million to Gus Hanson in one week. Games with $30 000 stakes are boring as far as he is concerned and this; this, is the new breed of online poker games player.

Play poker and undoubtedly you will find this is a head game, experts talk about poker psychology all of the time. Some players don’t get this and they believe poker psychology is all about the bluff; nothing could be further from the truth. According to Anthony Holden ~
“Whether he likes it or not, a man’s character is stripped at the poker table; if the other players read him better than he does, he has only himself to blame. Unless he is both able and prepared to see himself as others do, flaws and all, he will be a loser in cards, as in life”.
And this describes poker psychology to the very last chip on the table.

Like any other sport you partake off; just because you win an Olympic Gold at age 18, does not mean you have reached the pinnacle of your success. If you think you are the best at this stage; whether you are swimming a relay or potting a polo puck (is it called a puck?), then your ego will never allow you to improve. Four years later when you return to the Olympics, if you have not improved, you will be at the bottom of the pile. When you play poker exactly the same applies. In order to understand you game better, you have to strip yourself bare, be true to yourself and never cow-tow to an ego

The major difference when you play poker; is you generally don’t have a coach to help you identify holes in your game. Anyone in the whole world can walk up to a WSOP Main Event, as long as they have their $10 000 buy-in! Plunk the money down at the registration table on the day the event starts and participate, so it is every man’s or woman’s game! You have to be 18 to play, but you don’t have to be 70 to stop and this is also what gives people who play poker a psychological edge right away. They know there is no limit of possibility to this game. Age, sex, color, creed, level of disability or ability, does not matter, all you need to be concerned about is – can you play poker?

No Fairy Godmother is going to wave their magic wand and improve a hole in your game – they are all too busy at Disney. This is relative to psychology not skill. If you think you are a really great player and cannot look inside yourself sufficiently to see that you play poker and stink, then you would be better off playing bingo. Play poker and the learning never stops, there is always possibility to improve your game and be realistic about it.

In a nutshell, anyone can play poker and anyone can play successfully, but only the player with the ability to strip down his own character and understand it well, will be a truly winning player.

“Man against the machine” was once a far fetched Asimovian ideal, this is no longer true, we have reached the age of superior technology and playing video poker online could be said to be a matter of man against the poker machine. In Asimovian ideology, this would have been a war of attrition with the machine winning virtually every time, but there is one thing some gamblers still don’t understand regarding playing real money games online for real prizes, and this is the Random Number Generator. While Asimov ideas were once a progenitor of the fictional future, many of these ideas have actually come to pass and been relegated to the past.

What the RNG does is make it fair to play at online casino games, by consistently and fairly emulating, the same conditions as would appear in a live casino, when playing the same games. A random number generator has to be certified by specific licensing and testing authorities and needs to offer measurable results regarding fairness as well as have results regularly and independently audited.

With online video poker, an RNG is a series of software algorithms, in a physical video poker game on a real casino floor, there is – or was a microchip which controls these algorithms. Algorithms are problems solving procedures, or a means to an end if you prefer. RNG’s cannot be manipulated – just like every slot game on the casino floor at the Mirage in Las Vegas; every game from Microgaming (which also designs games for the land casino), has to conform to technical standards. This is why it is so important for the US to pull their finger out of their ass and get regulation and legislation in place for online gambling in this country. The UK has it in place so there is recourse for both players and operators. If an operator is found to be wanting there are arbitration procedures in place and renegades can get their license revoked by the pre-requisite jurisdiction.

Every online gambler knows, or should know, that playing at most UK sites, with a good Gibraltar, Malta, Alderney or at a push Cyprus, licensed site; their interest will be protected, if that online casino wishes to continue operating. There are also online casino watchdogs out in full-force; ready to black list any site for even the smallest of infraction.

But back to video poker; there are various algorithms used, in the old days these were the Knuth or Fisher-Yates shuffle; today the more superior Mersenne twister is used, as this is actually more stable. In a 52 card deck, playing video poker, there are 8.065817517 x 1067 possible unique sequences and this – expressed mathematically, is what the RNG algorithms makes sure takes place. So when you play Video Poker online, this is man against machine, made fair!

This story just stepped off the Hollywood cutting floor – perhaps even written by Quentin Tarentino, only a with lot more money, a lot less violence; and the usual fabulous supporting cast. The Michael Mizrachi story has not ended in 2010, but this starring Texas Hold em Poker player will go down in the history books this year as an unbelievable success.

Texas Hold ‘em Poker is every man’s game, it is also fast becoming every women’s game too, and 2010 has been a good year for the ladies – in particular Vanessa Selbst. In the case of Mizrachi, the whole family plays the game, which includes Michael’s three brothers; Robert, Eric, Donny, and his wife Lily. But picture this…the Hollywood scene …it is July 2010, all four brothers buy-in at $10 000 and take to the felt to play Texas Hold em Poker; it’s the WSOP Main Event – what a start to an epic journey? This has got people talking and avidly, following four poker playing brothers and one huge event.

Day one and two came and went, all four brothers were still in. Then came day three with only Eric below the mark – he yielded to 718th place on day four; took home $19,263 and also took on the role of first cheerleader for his remaining three brothers. The brothers battled it out and on day five Donny cashed in for $36,463 and 345th-place. Michael and Robert returned for day six with 205 players still in the running for this Texas Hold em poker marathon game. Michael in 30th place, true to his nick-name, ground his way into second place with Robert doubling up twice after being left with a very short stack.

At this point in the drama, it must be known that Michael Mizrachi was being called the “best poker player without a bracelet”!

Robert, who has a bracelet, joined the rest of the family on the rail, while Michael continued playing the game. Down to $1.5million his stack went; then back up to $7.5 – the Grinder was in 16th place. Day seven, day eight and his seat in the November Nine was set – $8 million up and thanks to a 10th place exit from Brandon Stevenson.

The hype was tremendous – but he took second place to Duhamel and earned a legendary place in the “best ever to play” Main Event history annals. However there was still the Players’ Championship and Player of the Year to come, and he nearly pulled off a Triple Crown. 2010 was this “Grinders” year and you might be delighted to know this story ahs a happy ending, he earned his bracelet and won the 41st Annual WSOP opening event, a one-off $50,000 Players’ Championship for the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, which he won at the same time.

This is the stuff that dreams, legendary Hollywood movies and Texas Hold em poker are made of!!

One of the most popularly played games online is casino video poker. This game has a lot going for it and appeals to an extremely wide audience. You will find it at all casinos and at all online bingo sites too.

The beauty of playing casino video poker is that you get to play poker – if in a virtual situation and there is no threat to the player. What we mean by this is, in the game of poker, players’ sit around a table and play to take money from each other. In video poker there is none of this confrontation factor involved and the player, plays against the bank. It is a one-on-one game of poker so to speak!

Video poker is not a slots game, it is far from it, although it does represent a merger of the slots concept and the game of poker. In the absolute beginning days of slots machines, it was cards and poker hands which featured as winning symbols!

The element of randomness which is slots and the skill which is poker makes for a perfect playing solution. Each video poker game has a set of skills and strategy which needs to be used to obtain a winning outcome and this is dictated by the pay tables. Read these and you will see clearly what your poker hand needs to consist of in order to get the highest pay-out possible. This is what we mean by skill and strategy.

Playing casino video poker, will improve your understanding of playing poker and the outcomes required in order to win a game. It may even help to get a nervous player onto the poker tables and learning even more about the game.

Most video poker games are based on an outcome of Jacks or Better. In essence this means that just like your two hole cards in Texas Hold ‘em should be good for a starter hand, so too does the video poker game and this has to be Jacks or better. This teaches the player not to play crap hands and to look for a good starter hand.

In the same way as a game of poker often uses Aces or Deuces as a wild card to make up a poker hand, so too does casino video poker. This teachers the player that games with names which contain words such as “Aces” or “Deuces” means they are played with a wild card as a feature – this happens at the poker tables too.

Casino video poker has evolved a long way beyond these examples however and players are able to play multi-hand games as well as many other different options. All of these options are fun to play, help you learn about the value poker hands, and you can win big too!

Did you know that history was made when Chris Moneymaker, became the first online poker player to beat the odds at the 2003 WSOP final table and win $2.4 million. He started out with a bankroll of $39!

This is what online casino poker has done for the poker industry in general and now many players for website teams participate in large prize pot, land based tournaments. Chris Moneymaker was 28 years old when he achieved this feat from his online casino poker room – Poker Stars, and the amateur became a pro!

This is not the only time history has been made during this phenomenal era for online poker. At Full Tilt Poker, on the 17th November 2009 history was made again when the largest pot in an online game of heads-up Pot-limit Omaha ever, was won! This prize totaled $878,959 and the winner was Patrik Antonius, who was playing against “Isildur1″ – obviously a fan of Lord of the Rings. However, just like Isildur lost the ring, so too did “Isildur1″ lose the prize pot.

So you see playing casino poker online really can pay off big time if you know what you are doing in this game of skill and strategy where nerves of steel are a plus.

The game of poker has a reputation for being favored by cowboys in the Wild, Wild West, and has been played for more than 200 years. People believed this game to be a bad game which only people with bad reputations played, when it is really a thinking man’s game where good reputations are made.

The phenomenal growth in the popularity of playing poker world-wide has definitely been inspired by the fact that online casino poker rooms were made available. The first of these was proto-typed by Microgaming in 1994 and was actually a casino, the rest as they say, “is history”.

Other online gambling operations were in existence before poker became available online, and yet none of these facilities – which were mostly sports books, and casinos had the same impact on the gambling world.

Planet Poker was the first established online poker specific room and it was launched in 1998. This site is still active today, and in comparison to some of the big names, it is a relatively small site. This is actually surprising because they did for a time enjoy the status of being the “sole” online poker room on the net.

They introduced a rake structure of 5% up to $3 maximum rake and this structure is still used as a benchmark in the industry. Even though a great many things have changed hugely since 1998, this rake structure is still widely used.

Paradise Poker entered the fray in 1999, then in 2000 came Poker Spot. Party Poker and Poker Stars came online in 2001, and now in 2010, there are 545 sites, with 16 standalones and the majority of these sites are networked. This game has grown exponentially!!

There are so many variations of video poker games, but believe it or not, most of these games have their basis in Jacks or Better. To make the games more interesting, deuces and aces are introduced, as are jokers and other cards which act as wild cards.

This makes the game more fun and definitely more interesting as well as improves the chances of winning. Remember to always consult the pay tables when you are playing video poker because these tell you what strategy is required for you to win.

I once found an online video poker game which told me that I was making a mistake every time I held or discarded the wrong card. Of course this was when I was playing in free mode, but I never added that game to my favorites and I could never find it again.

If you ever manage to find a game like this, hang onto it and use if for practice, it really helps to know what the machine considers to be the best play, because it improves your strategic video poker thinking.

Also, take your time when you play, you are playing against the banker not the clock, there is no one there to rush you! I once watched a video poker player make the wrong move and discard incorrectly (and stupidly) to lose over $10 000, because he was rushing his game. I nearly fainted right there behind him, was he ever kicking himself. He looked back at me and said “I just f*$#ed up, didn’t I?” all I could do was nod my head – speechless!

Pick a video poker game that you know will be fun – today software design companies are coming up with some great innovations for online video poker games. Take for example Real Time Gaming, they have two great new games, one called Pick’em Poker and the other called Mystery Bonus Poker.

Pick’em Poker starts with 9′s or better as its base and the top hands pay out much better than Jacks or Better based games. Because more winning hands are available, the prize money is bigger, but the game is also more difficult to play – check it out if you feel like playing video poker which offers a bit more of a challenge.

Mystery Bonus Poker has a Jacks or Better as a base and the pay tables are much the same. However there has to be something mysterious about this game according to the name and there is.

When the player clicks on the draw button after placing a wager, a mystery bonus wheel spins. It reveals a poker hand and then the cards are dealt. The players final hand has to match with the bonus hand, and if it does the player receives a double payout. So here is an online video poker game that will keep you enthralled for hours – it certainly did me!

Online poker is one of my absolute favourite things to write about – while Julie Andrews may have preferred brown paper packages and whiskers on kittens, poker should have definitely been in her list of favourite things. It is just so interesting; the stories about winners and the game’s on-again, off again, drama’s have become legends.

Players like Chris Moneymaker, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliot and many others are real life poker heroes with tales which read like novels or screen-plays. It is interesting in itself that poker attracts such interesting characters.

After sports betting, online poker was the next real money gaming to take place online and by 2001 PR Newswire claimed that approximately 8 million people had already gambled with real money online. InterCasino was the first to go online in October 1997 and accept the first real money wager, and only a year later Senators from US congress were opposing online gambling, however the first Act against this activity failed to pass.

Despite US opposition and the UIGEA which was enacted into law in 2006, this has not stopped online poker operations and other online gambling activities. However countries such as Canada, China and Turkey were very quick to kiss US ass by also cracking down on internet gambling in their countries too.

Now we see sites such as Poker Stars, which feature more games at every level, more tournaments and more players than many other sites and they are also the home to the World Championship of Online Poker. Titan Poker, Full Tilt Poker, Bodog, Party Poker and about 540 other poker sites offering gambling services to players of this well loved game, but not many sites cater for US players!

Online poker is the most popularly played online game in the history of the internet and although UIGEA saw 2 003 online gaming operators “folding ‘em” in the US industry. This did not stop operators from turning to other markets.

Offshore poker operators such as Bodog, FullTilt and PokerStars did not back down and are still holding ‘em to this day by accepting US players. Not sure how they managed, but it has something to do with World Trade Organization courts and the fact that these companies were licensed in Antigua and Barbuda, and fair trade.

Neteller was forced out of the country, money was left in limbo, other regulators jumped on the bandwagon. But no matter how many unlawful internet gamblers were nipped in the bud, like a three headed dragon, another financial method, ewallet or site was there to replace the one before it. And people want to play online poker, they want to gamble, it is their God given right to play online poker if they want to and I say, let them!