If you’re playing most of your poker online, consider yourself warned.

Thanks to the thousands of dollars that can be stored in online poker accounts, it is no wonder that the poker community is now the target of high-technology crimes. Still, despite the stories you’ve heard about stolen passwords and account hackings, you never really think it could happen to you. Well, this story about notable pro Peter ‘’Zupp'’ Jepsen may instill caution in your mind.

Danish pro Peter ‘’Zupp'’ Jepsen was sent an e-mail by a fraudster who pretended to be employed by OTW Media, a Swedish production company that filmed the highly-popular poker show, ‘’The Game.'’ Jepsen’s interest was naturally aroused by the show’s interest in him (after all, the best way to get someone’s attention is to appeal to his vanity) and this resulted in an exchange of e-mails.

In one e-mail, Jepsen was asked to visit OTWMedia.com and open a file that was supposed to be in pdf format. Well, Jepson’s momma didn’t raise no fool because upon seeing that it was an .exe file, Jepsen scanned the program and found out it was a Trojan virus that could very well steal his passwords.

A series of investigations determined that the OTWMedia.com domain is not owned by the production company. Furthermore, OTW (who hosts its actual website) has denied that it has contacted Jepsen at all. The plot thickens because a second domain was found which is believed to be an attempt to duplicate the Unibet site.

Why Jepsen? It looks like these wanna-be Ocean’s Eleven thieves…

Read More » Fuck! Somebody’s Hacking Into Your Poker Account!

Yes, this guy is definitely having one heckuva’ year.

When PokerStars’ EPT Barcelona ended, one thing was certain, professional poker player Sebastian Ruthenberg is having a great poker year. He won a 2008 World Series of Poker bracelet already and he now has an EPT trophy to go with it. Aside from bragging rights, the young German also takes home €1,361,000 in prize money. Not bad eh?

Sebastian Ruthenberg started the final table just shy of the chip lead (1,204,000) coming in second after Martin Nielsen (1,229,000). But anything can happen in poker and true enough, it was Nielsen who ended up being eliminated first when Jason Mercier flipped open a better two pair. Samuel Chartier followed Nielsen to the exits just moments later in seventh place after he was eliminated by Fintan Gavin.

EPT San Remo champion Jason Mercier ran out of luck when he pushed with a pair of sevens against Fintan Gavin’s pocket queens.

The board didn’t help and Mercier was eliminated in sixth place. Gavin continued his winning streak by taking out Dren Ukella who failed to make his nut flush draw. Urkella had to be content with a fifth place finish.

Daniele Mazzia’s two pair was no match to Sebastian Ruthenberg’s straight after Ruthenberg and Davidi Kitai both called his all-in and checked down the board. Mazzia’s fourth place finish earned him €351,000.

Ruthenberg then took Davidi Kitai out when his pocket fours held up against A,Q of diamonds. Kitai won €455,000 for third place.

When the dust cleared, it was Ruthenberg against…

Read More » Sebastian Ruthenberg adds another achievement after winning a 2008 World Series of Poker Bracelet

No, we ain’t quite sure if this poker pro really is a cat lover.

As the battle for online poker Sunday domination continues, FullTilt poker found itself having to add a whopping $21,400 to meet the $750,000 guarantee in the popular site’s Sunday tournament.

Don’t think this makes the tournament any easier. A total of 3,643 poker players aspired for the top prize, building the prize pool to $728,600. So even when the site doesn’t meet its guarantee, you can be sure you’ll find yourself against thousands of rabid poker players hoping to snag first place and $133,788.

The final three players were absolute6, nounet, and eventual winner, acatlover. Absolute6 found himself in trouble when he raised from the button and was called by acatlover. When the flop hit 4h 9s 9c, acatlover checked and absolute6 countered by pushing all in for 1,280,476 in chips. Acatlover called, flipping over a pair of aces to absolute6’s dismay. The turn and river were of no help and absolute6 soon found himself on the rail with $52,500 in winnings.

Heads up play started with nounet in chip lead despite acatlover’s win against absolute6. Still, acatlover weathered the chip disadvantage and ended up way ahead through a mixture of aggressive play, a run of good cards and some luck. As every poker player in the world knows, the three factors enumerated makes anyone unbeatable.

On the final hand, acatlover opened with a raise and was countered with a…

Read More » A Cat Lover wins the Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guaranteed Tournament that goes every Sunday

Well, they’re hoping him to become a star anyway.

And although it’s quite a bit late for him to be a part of the 2008 World Series of Poker, this guy definitely has what it takes to make a name for himself in this game. After all, those guys from PokerStars won’t recruit him if he doesn’t have shit now right?

Who is it? A dude that goes by the name of Alexander Kravchenko. And although that name sounds more like a guy who plays football for Chelsea FC, he is the new member of Team PokerStars.

A former business investor, Alexander Kravchenko started playing poker in 1997 and I guess you can say he’s made a good use of his time on the felt. He made a name of himself when he made it in the money a more-than-impressive six times during the 2007 World Series of Poker.

Kravchenko even went so far as winning a World Series of Poker bracelet at the $1,500 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event on that same year. He also finished fourth at the Main Event ensuring television time and instant worldwide recognition.

It was only natural for PokerStars to train its sights on Kravchenko. He holds the distinction of being the first Russian citizen to win a…

Read More » PokerStars added another er… Poker Star to maybe win a WSOP Bracelet in the 2008 World Series of Poker

Unfortunately, strippers are not included in these parties… YET.

Are you sick of bad beat stories? Along with the rest of the world, of course. Online poker conglomerate Party Poker, however, has one bad beat story that even the most jaded poker player would want to hear. Particularly, since it involved the biggest bad beat jackpot in history.

Judith75 was playing in a $0.50/$1 Limit table. Yes, those tables where a $20 pot is considered monstrous. Anyway, Judith 75 found herself with two black nines and joined the flop with Shoulderguy (who had two red Kings) and Hiyall who had Ac-Qc. The flop hit Kc-9h-10c. Shoulderguy and Judith75 now had sets while Hiyall had a straight, a nut flush draw and a royal flush draw.

They say anything can happen in poker. And true enough, ANYTHING just happened. If only they were playing for something bigger huh? Like a freakin’ 2008 WSOP bracelet perhaps? Now that will be something.

The turn card brought a Jack of clubs giving Hiyall his royal flush. The river card was a nine of diamonds giving Judith75 quads. Shoulderguy had a King full house but who cares at this point, right? Naturally, the three players started betting like crazy and when the dust settled, the pot stood at a paltry $24 and everyone in the table got richer by thousands of dollars.

When the table was informed that they won the…

Read More » It’s always a Party at Party Poker, even with bad beats

Online poker sure is a tricky business.

Why? A certain Natalie ‘’TheV0id'’ Teltscher thought she was seeing a major payday after her account won $1,228,330.50 for first place in PokerStars’ 2007 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event.

Her dreams were burned to the ground, however, when PokerStars disqualified her after discovering that she never played in the event herself. What’s a girl to do? Why, deny everything and file suit, of course!

Unfortunately for Natalie, who happens to be the sister of 2005 European Poker Tour winner Mark Teltscher, after being faced with overwhelming evidence of her wrong-doing, had no choice but to drop the charges.

Teltscher admitted during court proceedings that she never played in the online poker event but instead hired an ‘’agent'’ to play on her behalf. The agent is said to have used ‘’TheV0id'’ nickname and several other accounts in an all-out multi-accounting effort to clinch the championship.

To add drama and mystery to this already sordid tale, the agent in question was never officially named. (HINT: She is the sister of…)

Read More » Maybe this bitch will think twice before filing a lawsuit against PokerStars from now on eh?

The online world probably has an official representative in the final table of this year’s WSOP.

Craig Marquis is probably representing the online generation at the main event final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker. Even with well known players like David Rheem and Scott Montgomery on the poker table, Marquis now has his own name in poker he can be proud of.

Known as ‘’CraigMarq'’ he has been tearing his opponents in the online world for about a year now. In 2007 he came 34th in the $5,000 PLH for $14,030 as well as 30th in the $1,000 NLH re-buys for $16,133 his biggest cash prize.

The 23-year-old Craig Marquis, from Arlington, Texas, has only been playing poker for about 18 months but has rocketed through the levels from $2/$4 to $200/$400 & beyond on Full Tilt. Given his background on the Internet it is hardly surprising that Marquis has just $35,759 in live winnings to his name, with all 3 of his cashes coming in the WSOP.

When he plays live poker, his signature Oakley sunglasses are firmly on his face to hide his eyes from competitors. During fifteen hour poker sessions, it’s not unusual to see a cup of coffee at his side every two hours. His style of play is much focused and he takes his time when the cards cause a situation that requires deep concentration. Yep, he wants that 2008 WSOP bracelet bad.

Craig Marquis claims that live poker is too slow, making it easy for him to…

Read More » 2008 World Series of Poker Final 9 Part 3: Craig Marquis

UGH. Now that’s one less site we all can earn butt-loads of cash from.

Chan Poker, the once flashy online poker site, is the latest victim of the UIGEA legislation that was passed in late 2006. Chan Poker has announced its closure effective last August 21 but has assured players that withdrawal requests will be honored and processed as quickly as possible.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) banned the transfer of funds from financial institutions to any Internet gambling site with a few notable exceptions (such as horse racing and online lotteries).

Unfortunately, online poker was not named as one of the exceptions and this caused a lot of strain in the industry. A lot of gambling sites, particularly those that are public, have stopped taking in U.S. players and that resulted in tremendous loss of profit.

Poker buffs will remember Chan Poker as being fronted by the legendary Johnny Chan whose claim to fame includes ten World Series of Poker bracelets (and an energy drink aptly named, ‘’All In'’).

The site was launched in 2006 to much excitement but the fervor didn’t…

Read More » Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act cans Chan Poker from your Favorite Online Poker Rooms

How? Beats me, but one thing’s for sure, you don’t have to be an experienced player to have just that.

You read it, while the toughest poker players in the world fight for position in the 2008 World Series of Poker, an inexperienced newbie just won the whole shebang online.

And in case you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m referring to that newbie winning a whopping $250k in an online tournament at Titan Poker. Was it beginner’s luck or sheer skill?

Some random guy named Reimer Koester signed up for an account at online poker site Titan Poker and ended up with thousands of dollars in cash a mere four days after. Sounds like a fairy tale but in poker, anything is possible.

Koester registered for his very first tournament on Titan Poker last August 3 hoping to get a piece of the prize pie at the $250,000 guaranteed tournament. With a tough field of almost 2,000 players, Koester was clearly not a favorite to win. Seven and a half hours later, Koester has defied his odds and was playing heads up.

Koester was well on his way to a win but…

Read More » Titan Poker can Realize your Dreams on a Poker Table

How’s that for making a name for yourself huh?

While the 2008 World Series of Poker gets ready for the final table on November, Jose Miguel Espinar wanted to prove his poker prowess despite being a newbie in the game.

Well, do that he just did. Jose Miguel Espinar came out on top at the end of PokerStars’ Latin America Poker Tour Punte del Este championship. This may have proven that despite starting his poker career only in December 2007, Espinar’s previous cash win at PokerStars’ Caribbean Adventure was not a fluke.

The LAPT Punte del Este, which kicked off last August 7, attracted a total of 351 players. It was a $2,500 buy-in tournament and the total prize pool exceeded $850,000. This meant that the Spaniard Espinar took home a very respectable $241,735.

This guy only started in late 2007? This is the stuff poker dreams are made of.

Espinar was third in chips coming into the final table but he soon emerged on top after eliminating Paulo Cesar Ribeiro and Jose Perez in quick succession. Espinar’s luck seemed unbeatable early in the game when he hit quads to bust Ribeiro and dealt Perez with an ugly bad beat after his A-J won against…

Read More » Espinar wins PokerStars LAPT Punta del Este Title