Casino Cash Guide

Millions of players have heard the message that of all the casino table games, blackjack is the one that it is possible to beat. A practical system for counting cards in blackjack to gain an edge over the casino was made available to the public in the early 1960s. As it happened, few players ever really learned to beat the dealer. Furthermore, playing conditions have changed since then. Some tables use more than one deck at a time or cut a percentage of the cards out of play so that a card counter never sees them.

Even though most players don’t have the skill to win consistently, the belief that blackjack can be beaten was enough to spark a boom in the game. Blackjack is by far the most popular casino table game in the United States, with more players than craps, roulette, and baccarat combined.

A lot of people don’t have either the patience, persistence, and concentration necessary for card counting or the bankroll to make it effective. But they can still narrow the house advantage to less than 1 percent in blackjack. The secret is to learn basic strategy for hitting, standing, doubling down, and splitting pairs. A little time spent learning to play well can make your money go a lot farther in the casino. In this article, you will learn the fundamentals of blackjack, as well as some strategies to increase your odds of winning. Let’s get started by winning big at blackjack:

he basics

The object of the blackjack game is to accumulate cards with point totals as close to 21 without going over 21. Face cards (Jacks, Queens and Kings) are worth 10 points. Aces are worth 1 or 11, whichever is preferable. Other cards are represented by their number.

If player and the House tie, it is a push and no one wins. Ace and 10 (Blackjack) on the first two cards dealt is an automatic player win at 1.5 to 1, unless the house ties. A player may stand at any time.

Playing blackjack

To win you need to beat the dealer without busting. You bust when your cards total to more than 21 and you lose automatically. The winner is whoever has closest to a total of 21. You reach 21 by adding up the values of the cards.

The blackjack table seats about 6 players. Either six or eight decks of cards are used and are shuffled together by the dealer and placed in a card dispensing box called ‘Shoe’.

Before receiving any cards players must place a wager. Then the players are dealt two cards face up. The dealer gets one face up, one face down. Each player in turn either stays or takes more cards to try and get closer to 21 without busting. Players who do not bust wait for the dealer’s turn. When all the players are done, the dealer turns up the down card. By rule, on counts of 17 or higher the dealer must stay; on counts of 16 or lower the dealer must draw.

For more information, you can hit this site http://theblackjackmillionaire.blogspot.com.

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Get poker rake And Make More Money

Poker pro Alex Outhred will be on had for instruction at the new WSOP Academy Cash Game events. (Bodog Beat Image)

Everyone knows that poker players don’t make their living from cashing in tournaments, although a nice payday definitely helps, they pay their bills by spending hours grinding it out in cash games. The legendary Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio isn’t a tournament area, it is strictly reserved for high-stakes cash games because that’s how the big boys do it.

So, in recognition of this the WSOP Academy is launching a new style of poker camp, the appropriately-named Cash Game Academy. These two-day events will provide intensive poker training dedicated exclusively to No Limit Hold’em cash game play, giving poker players of all skill levels the foundation and tools needed to become a consistent winning cash game player.

The first such event will take place at Harrah’s Atlantic City on Jan. 24 – 25. Then two weeks later, the WSOP Academy will head to Las Vegas to host a Cash Game Academy at Caesars Palace on Feb. 7 - 8. Both events will feature instruction from poker pros Mark Seif, Paul Wasicka and Alex Outhred among the instructors scheduled for the Atlantic City event and Seif, Outhred and Michael Gracz slated for the Las Vegas event.

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Gavin Smith learned how to play cards by playing cribbage and rummy with his father. He started playing poker at the age of 26, playing mixed games with co-workers. He became a poker dealer in 1996 and set up his own poker club in 1998. He has also worked as a taxi driver and on a golf course.
Smith first came to note by winning tournaments in no limit Texas hold ‘em and seven card stud in the 1999 and 2000 World Poker Finals at Foxwoods Resort Casino.
He first cashed in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2003 and would later make the money in the $10,000 no limit hold’em main event in 2004, finishing 52nd. He went on to cash in 2005 also (471st).

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Introduction to Rakeback

I just want to say thanks to the staff of Community Gaming News for bringing the wonderful world of poker rakeback to my attention. Up until this week I have been giving my hard earned poker money back to Full Tilt Poker, that is until I learned what rakeback is all about.

I joined Cake Poker Rakeback from the Community Gaming News website and started getting 33% of my rake back right away and to make things even better Cake is full of fish and I started to get in the money much more often.

For those of you out there that do not know what rakeback is here is the explanation given by Community Gaming News:

“Rakeback deals are based on the amount of monthly gross revenue (MGR) that you generate for a particular poker room. The amount of monthly rake you bring in will determine how much monthly revenue you create for the poker room.”

You can also watch the video on the home page of Community Gaming News that explains how it all works here: http://www.communitygamingnews.com

I have also adapted a new way of playing that works so well with rakeback that I don’t even have to win to see a profit. It is very easy to do also, Simply put: play tight - that’s the key to making money with rakeback programs, the closest to a sure thing you’ll get at the felt.

If you go to http://poker-lessons.net you can even open a window that shows you what hands to play based on your position. I took this easy to follow course and even tightened it up some and now I am making the most I ever have at the tables.

Understand, you won’t make a killing making all your poker money from the rakeback but with your new playing style gives you increased odds of winning when you do play a hand and with the added poker rake money you will be very pleased.

Best of luck to everyone trying this method, I know it worked for me and I am sure with some discipline it will work for you too.

Michael Johnston

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Canadian Casino News November 22, 2008

harrahs

B.C.’s casino operators choose to play it safe in a risky economy

If Las Vegas is any kind of barometer, B.C. gambling operators should brace themselves for slower growth.

The U.S. recession has cut visitation to Sin City by an estimated 15 to 20 per cent and the fire sales are on. Rooms at the ultra-luxurious Bellagio — normally $300 and up — have been slashed to $149.

Harrah’s recently scrapped plans to build a $500-million resort in Kansas and casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. avoided bankruptcy this month with a share offering that raised $2.1 billion in badly needed capital.

B.C. gambling officials say Metro Vancouver casinos won’t automatically feel the same pain because they depend largely on the local market, not national and international visitation like Las Vegas.

But B.C. Lottery Corp. vice-president Kevin Gass said they’re not immune from economic realities either.

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Vancouver Canucks team up with River Rock Casino

The River Rock Casino in Richmond will become “the official casino of the Vancouver Canucks and General Motors Place” under a new partnership announced Thursday between the Canucks and Great Canadian Casinos.

The deal will also see the club section of GM Place becoming “the River Rock Club.”

Great Canadian said in a news release that River Rock will host “two VIP road trips and VIP hosting nights” as part of their promotions this season.

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Canada Eyes Legalized Sports Betting

The Toronto Star reported that the federal and Ontario governments in Canada are quickly moving towards legalizing Las Vegas style sports betting. Revenues in Canadian casinos have declined as they have in the US casinos and the casinos are looking for ways to increase business. Legalized sports betting would be especially beneficial in the casinos that border the US in Niagara Falls which attracts players from New York and Windsor which attract players from Detroit.

Currently the Canadian casinos offer a government run sports lottery called Pro-Line which is similar to the parlay cards where you must choose three or more teams. The new proposal will let players bet on individual sporting events.

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Global Payments Announces Agreements With Nine Casinos Throughout the U.S. and Canada

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:
GPN), a leader in both payment processing and gaming cash access services,
today announced agreements to provide nine U.S. and Canadian casinos with
its comprehensive suite of cash access products and services.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010221/ATW031LOGO )

The gaming establishments have signed contracts to utilize a number of
Global’s innovative VIP LightSpeed(R) products including: PlayerCash
@dvantage(R) credit and debit card cash advance services, VIP Preferred(R)
check-cashing services, and ATM Cash @dvantage(R), which allows patrons to
initiate electronic check transactions at ATMs without casino cage
assistance.

Global will provide services to the following U.S. casinos: Mardi Gras
Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado; Player’s Club Casino in Ventura,
California; Running Aces Harness Park in Forrest Lake, Minnesota; Hoosier
Park Racing & Casino in Anderson, Indiana; 7th Street Casino in Kansas
City, Kansas; Bodine’s Casino in Carson City, Nevada; and Wind River Casino
in Riverton, Wyoming. Services in Canada will be provided to Flamboro Downs
in Hamilton, Ontario and Georgian Downs in Innisfil, Ontario.

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Poker News November 15th, 2008

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Winner of 623.000 Euro at Grand Final of Master Classics of Poker

Jan Sorensen Wins Grand Final at Master Classics of Poker

Jan Sorensen won the grand final of the main event at the Master Classics of Poker in Holland Casino Amsterdam. He won 623.000 euro. In the exciting final Gustav Ekerot came in second. The Master Classics of Poker is one of the biggest and best-known international poker tournaments in Europe.

This year poker players from a.o. America, Canada, Russia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Slovakia, England, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, etc. attended the Master Classics of Poker.
About Master Classics of Poker
The main tournament in the Holland Casino Master Classics of Poker is the Lido Poker Tournament. This tournament takes place from Tuesday 11th to Friday 14th November inclusive and has a buy-in of 6,000 Euros plus 200 Euros entry fee. The Master Classics of Poker comprises seven different tournaments where the types of poker played are Texas Hold’em and Omaha. The buy-in plus entry fee for each tournament varies between 330 and 6,200 Euros. The level of the prize pot for these tournaments is, of course, dependent on the number of participants. Each day the tournaments start at 2 pm except for the Lido Tournament that starts at 3 pm. More information on the MCOP and the full tournament schedule is available at www.masterclassicsofpoker.com.

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‘Poker Wizards’ Reap More than $4,000,000 in Tournament Earnings in 08

‘Poker Wizards’ book contributors: Chris Ferguson, Daniel Negreanu, T.J. Cloutier, Kathy Liebert, Marcel Luske, Dan Harrington and Mike Sexton unable able to defeat the overwhelming odds in 2008 to make the recently televised WSOP final table, but as a group, they have been paid in excess of $4,000,000 for tournament winnings in 2008 even without cracking the Main Event.

In one of the years best new books, ‘Poker Wizards’, the best known names in poker explain how they make large sums of money year after year. An exclusive compilation of strategies, insights and winning tactics from some of the worlds best poker players combined in one book. Well known No-limit Hold’em champions Daniel Negreanu, Chris Ferguson, Dan Harrington, T.J Cloutier, Marcel Luske, Mel Judah, Mike Sexton and Kathy Liebert, reveal the tactics and attitudes that have enabled them to make millions of dollars playing poker. The book also contains a bonus chapter on body language by world renowned body language expert Marc Salem.

Poke Wizards author available for media interviews.

Author Warwick Dunnett
Cardoza Publishing
Distributed by Simon & Schuster and available at:
www.pokerwizards.net

Century Casinos Announces Polish Open 2008 Poker Tournament

Century Casinos, Inc. announced today that its subsidiary Casinos Poland Ltd. will present the grand Polish Open 2008, a four-day Texas Hold’em No Limit tournament, hosted as part of the fifth EPT European Poker Tour Season at its casino in the Hyatt Hotel in Warsaw from November 15 to November 19, 2008.

The tournament will be capped at 400 players who will play for a total prize pool of up to PLN 8,000,000 or approx. $2,700,000. The buy-in for the tournament amounts to PLN 21,000 or approx. $7,000. According to the official website of the EPT a lot of stars are heading to Warsaw for the next stop on the Pokerstars.com European Poker Tour. Among the top players set to compete at the four-day event are Team PokerStars Pros Gavin Griffin, the EPT Grand Final winner in Season 4, EPT Player of the Year Luca Pagano, PCA Champion Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, William Thorson, Season 3 Warsaw finalist Katja Thater, EPT London finalist Marcin Horecki, Dario Minieri, Alex Kravchenko and Isabelle Mercier.

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Online Poker News and Rakebacks

November 11, 2008

learn poker

Poker Sites Block Balance of US States

Online poker rooms Poker Host and Eurolinx had already established that residents of certain states from the USA would not be allowed to play on their sites in keeping with local laws on poker’s legality, and now have made the announcement that all of the US is banned from play on their sites. It is believed that this action as taken in response to the actions of the Governor of one of those states, Kentucky, who sought to gain ownership of poker room domain names in an effort to shut them down.

Overlay Poker Tournaments: Gaining buy-in Advantage in a Guaranteed Tournament - CelebPoker.com

Poker players don’t get this opportunity often, but sometimes a poker player can make a financial advantage just by registrating for a Multi Table Poker Tournament

How is this possible? The answer is within the overlays given by guaranteed prizepools offered for some guaranteed poker tournaments

An example: On Sunday the 02/11/2008 the 250.000 Guaranteed Tournament at CelebPoker had a 320 Buy-In. 613 players registered for this tournament. Now the calculation fun begins!

First a player has to divide the offered Prizemoney with the number of players who registered. In this example: 250,000 / 613 players = 407.

This means that a players ticket is worth than 407. As your ticket costs 320, you are automatically gaining the equivilent of an extra 87 to pay for your entry (407-320 = 87). Ok, players don’t get the cash in the bank, but poker players do get it as an advantage for the buy-in as a player have less players to compete for the prizepool with.

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More students betting future at online casinos

Addiction comes in many forms, and while alcohol and drugs get most of the attention, university and college students are not immune to one of the fastest growing and expensive vices– gambling.

According to the Responsible Gambling Council’s Poker Poll and 2005 Prevalence Study, 6.9 per cent of young adults in Ontario have a moderate to severe gambling problem.

Online poker playing by young adults has grown by nearly 300 per cent, and 16 per cent of Ontarians between the ages of 18 and 34 believe that online poker is a good way to earn extra money.

Amanda Stokes, project co-ordinator for Know the Score, the Responsible Gambling Council’s travelling gambling awareness exhibit, said her organization’s goal is to educate students about the risks of gambling.

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Poker News November 11th, 2008

November 11, 2008

World Series of Poker has youngest champ ever

A 22-year-old Danish poker professional won the World Series of Poker early Tuesday, turning a wheel straight on the last hand to become the youngest champion in the history of the no-limit Texas Hold ‘em main event.

Peter Eastgate hit an ace-to-five straight on the turn and instantly called an all-in bet from Ivan Demidov on the river to win the title and $9,152,416. Demidov held two pair, twos and fours.

The previous youngest champion was 11-time gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who was 24 when he won the tournament in 1989.

“It feels good to beat Phil’s record,” Eastgate said after taking pictures with stacks of $100 bills and his new gold bracelet. “I was not focused on the record that I could break, I was just focused on the game.”

Eastgate said he got a call from Hellmuth wishing him luck before the more than three-hour session.

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Perth player misses making poker final

The final of the World Series of Poker, with its $9.15-million U.S. first prize, will be televised tonight with Scott Montgomery no more than a spectator.

The 27-year-old professional player from Perth reached what organizers labeled the “November Nine” in Las Vegas, but he bowed out Sunday night and missed last night’s final, which was taped for broadcast tonight (TSN, 10 p.m.).

“I certainly wanted to finish better than fifth,” Montgomery told reporters later.

This year has been referred to as his “breakout year” as a poker player, with more than $1.3 million in tournament earnings heading into the World Series, and he more than doubled that with his $3.1-million prize for placing fifth.

Montgomery started playing poker about four years ago, while teaching English in Japan, using his down time to play and study the game.

His great 2008 run began in February at the World Poker Tour’s Los Angeles Poker Classic $990,000 No-Limit Hold ‘em championship. He made it to the final table, which included eventual winner Phil Ivey, and won $296,000 for finishing fifth.

poker club

You gotta know when to Texas hold’em at UMSL

Are you good at card games?

If you are (or even if you are not), the University of Missouri-St. Louis holds annual poker games and this year was the “Texas Hold ‘em Tournament!”

The tournament is usually played with a 52-card deck, and needs at least two players with no more than 11 players.

The Texas Hold ‘em Tournament was held on South Campus in the Provincial Hall from 7 -11 p.m. on Thursday night and officially started at 7:15 p.m.

The event drew in 46 players.

Charlotte Caeys, graduate student, business administration, came here from France and said she learned to play poker here, and has loved it from the first time she played. “I found out [how to play poker] on the Internet,” Caeys said.

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It was quite common to see people all in pre-flop with a huge range of hands. Now that the poker boom has slowed down a bit, you should be finding that most players are playing a better game than they were four or five years ago.

In this article you will learn a few core tips on what can make you one of the toughest opponents at the table. If you are an advanced player, then feel free to skip the first three topics in this article.

Let’s first go over what makes a short-handed opponent a force to be reckoned with:

1. Position

2. Pre-Flop Aggression

3. Post-Flop Aggression

4. Details

5. Table Adjustment

Position - The bottom line is that you want to be raising a wider range of hands from the later positions and tightening up in the small blind and big blind. This is really basic advice but to be good at short-handed poker you need to use this to your advantage.

Pre-Flop Aggression - One of the reasons short-handed poker is so fun is because you should be raising a wide range of hands pre-flop. The plan of attack is to first find out the table texture, whether tight or loose, and figure out what range you will be raising pre-flop. You want to be aggressive pre-flop and also post-flop. As long as you are in there raising pre-flop and betting the flop almost every time, you will be a force at a short-handed table. A good tip I picked up from Phil Gordon was varying my raise amounts by position.

Post-Flop Aggression - The real key to short-handed poker is betting the flop. First, you will take down most of the pots on the flop. You have to remember that if two players have unpaired hole cards pre-flop, that they will both miss the flop 2/3 of the time. Second, when you bet the flop, many opponents will be inclined to trap you and just call. This gives you a free card and can be deadly if you hold a pocket pair or a draw. Occasionally you bet the flop and turn the best hand. This makes betting the flop even more profitable. Lastly, it creates an aggressive image and frustrates opponents. You will find that they will be playing out of their element when they are doing all the calling.

Details - When you first sit down, you should always be looking for hands that go to a showdown. Most sites should have a last hand button and you should use that constantly. Figuring out how your opponents are playing is a good chunk of the battle on a short-handed table.

When you arrive at a short-handed table, you want to figure out what everyone’s general range is. When I say range, I am talking about what they are raising with, what they are limping with, and even what they fold pre-flop (if they show). You should first start taking notes on EVERY PLAYER. I see a lot of newer players ignoring this and they are missing out on a ton of valuable information that could make them better. For instance, let’s say we just noticed a hand where a guy limped on 10-10 from the button.

This seems like simple advice, but knowing someone’s range gives you a huge edge.

Figure out how your opponents are playing their strong hands. Make notes on how they play a set or straight. Does your opponent bet it out, or slow-play it? If you see that he has slow-played all of his monster hands, and taken notes on that, then the next time he bets into you, you can be more inclined to re-raise him with just about any two cards.

The second thing you should do is find out who is multi-tabling in the lobby. This provides a small edge for us since it gives us an idea of who the good players are. Usually, someone who is playing a bunch of tables is an auto pilot. So as soon as you pick your tables, scan that lobby. What we will do next is re-raise these players with very marginal holdings until they respond to us. Do NOT take this overboard.

In that case you will run their jacks or queens right into the dirt. You should be re-popping these tight multi-tablers a lot. There are some good players who re-raise donks and it just doesn’t work well. They tend to call way too much and make it an unprofitable situation.

The last thing you should do is pay attention to the speed of your betting. It is pretty scary when a player bets that quick without really even taking much time to assess the flop. The quick check is another good move. A quick check is generally weakness. So when I do hit a flush or flop a set and I choose to slow play a big pot, I will check as fast as humanly possible.

Another good tip is betting the turn when someone quick-calls your flop bet. I almost always bet the turn when a player calls my flop bet without thinking. 90% of the time they are on a draw or even middle pair.

Through your short-handed experience, you will notice that little details such as the ones I provided will lead to more and more profit over the long run. There are plenty more small tips like these that I will be including in future articles, aimed at the more advanced players looking to pick up a few good habits to make a little bit more per hour.

Table Adjustment- It is important to adjust your range based on the type of table you are at. Generally, on most medium-to-tight tables, I am raising A-9 and up, suited connectors of 5-6 and up, any pair, and any two face cards from any position. This seems loose but I find it works for me. If you choose to play like this you must possess really good post-flop skills. On a looser table, I tend to tighten up and only raise AJ+, 77+, and even 910s and up.

Learning the basics is great, but you need to keep improving and playing your hands in a way that most people don’t. A good example is betting out trips when most people would check. Maybe even checking the turn after that. Feel free to trap in a short-handed game as well. Just mix it up.

Read about texas hold em poker online game, poker ranking of hands and free five card poker.

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Poker News November 10th, 2008

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November 10, 2008

It’s down to Russia’s Demidov vs. Denmark’s Eastgate for $9.15M WSOP title

Ivan Demidov and Peter Eastgate emerged from a marathon session early Monday morning at the World Series of Poker and will meet later in the night to settle the $9.15 million title.

Eastgate, a 22-year-old poker professional from Odense, Denmark, eliminated the last American in the field with a set of threes. Dennis Phillips, who tried to bluff Eastgate with a 10 high, shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head when Eastgate made the call that eliminated him.

“I just want to be alive on the river,” Phillips said before an ace came on the turn, officially eliminating the 53-year-old trucking account manager who started the final table with the chip lead.

Phillips, of Cottage Hills, Ill., won $4,517,773 for third place.

Eastgate held 79.5 million chips, nearly 22 million chips more than Demidov, a 27-year-old semiprofessional poker player from Moscow.

“My hands held up all the time — that’s the key factor,” Eastgate said.

Those big hands, including two full houses and a set, helped Eastgate end the tournament for four players.

Ylon Schwartz finished fourth and won $3,774,974 after failing on a bluff, giving Eastgate a lead over Demidov. Scott Montgomery watched Eastgate hit a full house on the river, after Montgomery picked up three aces on the turn.

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One Day Fundraiser for Poker Players Alliance

Poker author Mitchell Cogert has decided to donate the proceeds from one day of sales of his poker book, “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves”. The book is for sale online at Amazon.com, and everyone who buys a copy on November 11 will be sure the proceeds from the purchase will go towards the fight to keep online poker legal via support of the grassroots organization the Poker Players Alliance. The date was picked to run along side the airing of the World Series of Poker main event final table on ESPN, an event months in the making.

Amsterdam Poker Capital of the World

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, November 8 — Yesterday, November 7th, the 17th edition of the Master Classics of Poker started in Amsterdam. The Master Classics of Poker is one of the biggest and best-known international poker tournaments in Europe. Last year the total prize pot added up to more than 3.7 million Euros. This year the total prize pot will add up to almost 5 million euro. Between Friday 7th and Saturday 15th November the best poker players from all over the world will be pitted against each other. Amsterdam will be the poker capital of the world this week.

ANP news video with feeds live from Amsterdam:

http://pubstr.datiq.net/perssupport/HCPokerINT.wmv

Last year poker players from a.o. America, Canada, Russia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Slovakia, England, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, Pakistan, Netherlands, Belgium, etc. attended the Master Classics of Poker.

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