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If you’ve been watching ESPN’s 2013 World Series of Poker coverage you’ve likely noticed the slew of IveyPoker.com patches being worn by tournament players, and if you’re like most people you’re probably still not quite sure what IveyPoker is. Hopefully this column will be able to explain it to you.

The Beginning of Ivey Poker

Before IveyPoker.com had a product (pretty much before they had anything but a homepage on the Internet) they did have a sizable roster of poker pros sporting IveyPoker.com patches. The roster continued to grow as the site started announcing its “Mission Statement” which essentially said that it would become an online poker client where you could receive training pros from the Ivey Poker pros.

Ivey Poker the Game

Earlier this week on Facebook and Twitter Phil Ivey (or the person who posts on the IveyPoker.com social media accounts) announced, “I will be launching the mobile apps in a few weeks… Apple and Android,” signaling the next step in the IveyPoker.com client, which to this point was a social media game.

While the poker client itself is likely to be hemorrhaging money at this point, it’s also the backbone of what the site and company could become down the road.

Ivey Poker the Training Site

The only area of the site that is likely to be bringing in any revenue is the online training site Ivey League. Ivey League came about when established online poker training site Leggo Poker was purchased by Ivey Poker (which seems to have some very deep-pocketed investors) and rebranded.

Like Leggo Poker before them, and their current peers in the online poker training site industry, Ivey League charges a monthly fee for access to their content which is focused on video training.

The Future of Ivey Poker

Like most US-friendly online poker products the chances are pretty high that the current versions of Ivey Poker (social media and now an app) were developed as precursors to real-money online poker clients as more and more states legalize and regulate online poker and gambling.

My assumption is that everything the company is doing at this time is an effort to build their brand and potentially develop a loyal player base through the Ivey League training site arm of the company.

Will it Work?

And here of course is the million-dollar question; a question I don’t have the answer to.

You could easily point to the failed attempts by sites like Zynga or even the Epic Poker League as companies that assumed they could patiently wait for online poker to be legalized in the US, but Ivey Poker is a bit different. Ivey Poker appears to be taking what works from across the online poker world and combining it all into a single product –I’m surprised they haven’t released their own tracking software to be honest.

Ivey Poker is using a bastardized version Full Tilt Poker’s old mantra of “Learn, play and chat with the pros” and upping the ante with a legit online training site. The sponsored pros would also seem to be more along the lines of affiliates who will really be put into action if the site becomes a real-money online poker room.

Over the past week, as the FTOPS XXIII came to a finish, Full Tilt Poker has announced two new promotions running at the site. The first promotion is called “Build Your Bonus” where players can earn up to $400 in a mixture of an instant bonus and a clearable deposit bonus. The second promotion is the “Satellite Hero” promotion where players can earn free entries into mini-FTOPS XXIII tournaments.

Build Your Bonus Promotion

There is still another week to go if you want to opt-in to Full Tilt Poker’s Build Your Bonus promotion. Here is how it works:

• Step 1: Opt in

Starting on Friday, August 9th, players were able to opt-in to the Build Your Bonus promotion via your My Promotions page. The last day to opt in is Saturday, August 24th.

• Step 2: Build Your Bonus

Once you have opted-in you must earn at least one Full Tilt Point on five days or more during the Build Your Bonus qualifying period –Monday, August 19^th  through Wednesday, August 28^th

The amount of bonus money you will be eligible is determined by the number of points you earn during qualification:

From here it gets a little tricky, so I’ll let the FTP website take over:

At the end of the qualifying period, 40% of your total bonus will be automatically credited to your account in cash, with the remaining bonus released in three equal chunks as your earn Full Tilt Points during the bonus clearing period.

For every day you earn a Full Tilt Point during the qualifying period you will have a day to clear your bonus money. For example, if you earn one or more Full Tilt Point(s) on eight separate days you will have the first eight days of the bonus clearing period – taking place between Thursday, August 29th and Saturday, September 7th – to release your full bonus.

• Step 3: Release Your Bonus

The 60% that was turned into bonus dollars will have to be cleared by playing at the Full Tilt Poker tables.

http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/promotions/build-your-bonus

Satellite Hero Promotion

From August 19^th through September 1^st players at Full Tilt Poker can take part in the Satellite Hero promotion, which will reward any player who wins a satellite into any tournament on the site with a buy-in of $1 or more, and then goes on to win said tournament.

So what is the prize? Every person accomplishing the above detailed feat will win an entry into the Satellite Hero Freeroll Tournament that will be held on Full Tilt Poker on September 7^th. Players accomplishing this feat multiple times will receive larger starting stacks in the Satellite Hero Freeroll Tournament.

The Top 126 players in the Satellite Hero Freeroll Tournament will win an entry into a mini-FTOPS XXIII –the total prize-pool of these tickets is estimated to be around $3,000. Additionally, the winner of the tournament will get a crack at Full Tilt Poker Pro Gus Hansen in a heads-up match. The Satellite Hero winner will receive a 2:1 chip advantage over the Great Dane and if they are able to beat Hansen they will receive an entry into every mini-FTOPS XXIII tournament on the schedule.

http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/promotions/satellite-hero

After completing their field test and receiving the go-ahead from the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) to unveil their updated version 2.0 software, Ultimate Poker players are still awaiting the launch of the updated software, which Ultimate Poker has promised will be a major improvement over their current product.

As PokerFuse.com reported last week, during a Bloomberg interview the background happened to show what appeared to be the yet-to-be-launched Ultimate Poker version 2.0 software. The software itself looks eerily similar to Full Tilt Poker, especially the avatars, which is a strange coincidence for Ultimate Poker considering their entire brand is sounds eerily similar to the now defunct Ultimate Bet –Perhaps someone working at Ultimate Poker is nostalgic for mid-2000’s online poker rooms and we’ll see side tables with customizable drinks like Paradise Poker next?

Some of the changes seen in the screen-captures included tons of new 3-D avatars (no longer pictures within squares) as well as what appeared to be resizable table options. We also know that the site will be launching a VIP Program with version 2.0, known as Color Up. What we know about “Color Up” at this point is scant, with Ultimate Poker revealing only the different monthly levels (without any of the requirements to attain each level, although it appears to be based on the chip’s real casino value) as well the yearly levels.

Monthly Levels:

• Tier 1: White Chip
• Tier 2: Red Chip
• Tier 3: Green Chip
• Tier 4: Black Chip
• Tier 5: Purple Chip
• Tier 6: Yellow Chip
• Tier 7: Orange Chip
• Tier 8: Cranberry Chip

Yearly Levels:

• Gold Plaque: $10,000 in total rake
• Platinum Plaque: $100,000 in total rake

We also know that Ultimate Poker will be using a “Winner Take All” rake method, where the winner of the hand is credited with the entirety of the rake contributed to the pot. Ultimate Poker is the first room to my knowledge to attempt this method, as most rooms have historically used a “Dealt”, a “Contributed” or a “Weighted” method – each method progressively awarding looser play, with Ultimate Poker’s “Winner Take All” method the most extreme.

Since their launch Ultimate Poker has done very little to attract new players or build a loyal player base, considering anytime rumblings of the launch of South Point or Caesars has poker players saying things like “thank god” and “finally.” So far it appears that Ultimate Poker has squandered its nearly four-month head-start in Nevada, and if they are unable to bring version 2.0 to bear before other rooms launch they may find themselves relegated to a second-tier poker room.

The Macau Poker Cup tournament series is known for two things: First and foremost it’s the best looking trophy not only in poker, but perhaps in all of sports and gaming: And Secondly the tournament series is known for Celina Lin, who has absolutely owned the Macau Poker Cup since 2008, winning four tournaments including two Red Dragon (Main Events) in 2009 and 2012.

In addition to her two Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon victories, and four wins overall, since 2009, Lin a Team PokerStars Pro, has made 20 final tables in “Asia Player of the Year” tournaments, far and away the most of any player in that time frame.

Dom Choi, the Team PokerStars Manager for Asia, tried to put Lin’s accomplishments in perspective, telling the PokerStars blog, “Those 20 final tables are an impressive number and doesn’t even count the final tables she’s made before the APOY scoring system was introduced in 2009. It’s a credit to her consistency and hard work.”

Here is a look at her latest victory at the Macau Poker Cup and here previous Red Dragon wins:

$260 Deepstack Tournament (2013 Macau Poker Cup: 205 entries)

1. Celina Lin Pei Fei — $11,061
2. Hazel Chui — $7,606
3. Ming Ip — $4,615
4. Yen Liu — $3,455
5. Xin Yin — $2,759
6. Daniel Sing — $2,308
7. William Hsu — $1,844
8. Tsung-hui Lee — $1,379
9. Georgy Belyanin — $1,147

2012 Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon Tournament (391 entries)

1. Celina Lin Pei Fei — $110,077
2. Qi Fan — $75,932
3. Chul Park — $45,268
4. Chang Choi — $35,872
5. Richard Hu — $28,447
6. Daniel Sing — $23,253
7. Jordan Westmorland — $18,058
8. Yu Liang — $13,354
9. Zhengwei Ni — $10,879

2009 Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon Tournament (168 entries)

1. Celina Lin Pei Fei — $50,932
2. Xiuming Huang — $34,634
3. Kwok Lau — $20,373
4. Hangbing Wang — $17,317
5. Neel Chudasama — $14,261
6. Huan Wang — $10,186
7. Nali Kaselias — $8,149
8. Zhengye Yao — $6,112

In addition to her Asian tournament dominance Lin has also seen some success at the Aussie Millions, finishing in 24^th place in the Main Event at the 2013 running of the tournament series, as well as at the online poker tables where she has won over $100,000 lifetime. In all, Lin has some $500k in career tournament earnings when you combine her Hendon Mob numbers and online stats.

Over the past week or so there has been no shortage of rumor, innuendo, and conjecture regarding a federal online poker bill. There has also been plenty of flip-flopping and flop-flipping as well, as different sources have had Las Vegas Sands Owner Sheldon Adelson (the most vocal critic when it comes to legalizing online gaming) assuming more positions than a Stop & Frisk suspect in New York City. So let’s all pump the brakes and take a look at what we know to be true, and what is being guessed at.

Sheldon Adelson’s flip-flop that never happened

Back in June Sheldon Adelson appeared in an interview with Bloomberg Business, where he blasted online gaming, basically calling it a cancer to society and vowing to fight it every step of the way (which is strong language coming from a man who spent a rumored $150 million on Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney during the 2012 Presidential campaign). Adelson’s remarks were so acerbic that the Poker Players Alliance and others fired back, with the backlash culminating with Nolan Dalla’s proposed week-long boycott of the Venetian poker room.

But then a funny thing happened this past week, when PokerNews.com Managing Editor Brett Collson tweeted the following on Friday:

Adelson has supposedly switched his position on internet poker and is now backing a federal bill with Sen. Harry Reid.

Even though Collson is not one to play loose with the facts or go off on a rumor, and while some outlets were quick to run with the story, a number of people were quick to shoot-down the claim, including Jon Ralston, who is as plugged into Nevada politics as anyone, who said:

Yes, people often get stuff wrong on the Internet. Adelson folks tell me he is as committed as ever vs. web poker: http://www.pokerupdate.com/news/law-and-legislation/adelson-changes-mind-gives-new-hope-to-federal-online-poker-in-us/ …

On  Monday, Andy Abboud, LVS Vice President of Government Relations & Community Development, posted on the Facebook page of PokerUpdate.com: “This article is not accurate. Sheldon Adelson has not changed his position.”

Harry Reid and Federal Online Poker Legislation

The Adelson rumors were going on at the same time that news of a new federal online poker push from US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was also in the works –which may have bolstered the initial Adelson gossip.  However, there has been no legislation introduced or even whispered in the Senate –all of the gossip seems to be of a second and third hand nature with little substance.

It’s hard to find the right word to describe the current situation at the Revolution Gaming Network: Chaos, disorder, turmoil, disarray, confusion, anxiety panic, and hysteria, all come to mind, as the network has watched their withdrawal times grind to a near-halt, causing Lock Poker funds to trade for about $.30 on the dollar, while the network hemorrhages players. Another word that is a fitting descriptive for the network right now is in-fighting, considering there has been some serious allegations leveled by a number of the network’s poker rooms at one another.

At the center of the controversy is Lock Poker.  The site has been a lightning rod for controversies in their short-term in the online poker industry, and their reluctance to communicate openly and honestly with the poker community has led to one of the worst reputations in online poker. The site is notorious for vague explanations, half-truths, and sometimes outright falsehoods. Even their announced purchase of the Cake Poker Network wasn’t an honest assessment of the situation; as we later learned they only purchased a percentage (still unknown) of the network, and not as was first reported the entire network.

Without rehashing older scandals/debates regarding the site and network, the latest issues are between Intertops Poker and Lock Poker. Intertops –long considered one of the best US-facing poker rooms for withdrawal times—has decided to segregate all of its mid-stakes and higher games (cash-games, S&G’s, and tournaments) from the rest of the network, in a move apparently meant to cut-down on chip-dumping from other Revolution skins. Several possibilities as to why they took this extraordinary step include:

1)      Lock Poker and other Revolution skins may have asked for audits on certain Intertops accounts to look for chip-dumping, which Intertops recently performed.

2)      Revolution Gaming may have fallen behind on reconciliation payments to Intertops.

An Intertops representative wrote the following on the 2+2 forums regarding the segregation:

Dear 2+2 members and Intertops users!

Ever since Intertops accepted the world’s first ever online sports bet in 1996 we have built a reputation as a dependable and serious partner for all types of online gaming. We can already look back upon a long tradition of integrity and satisfied customers around the world.

We want to keep our reputation and continue providing our customers with the service and support that they deserve. Furthermore, we want to be able to continue to guarantee our players their funds and remain one of the most trusted and safe places to play.

In order to achieve the above we have been forced, due to circumstances beyond our control, to make some changes to our segregation.

We know we haven’t been very open with various segregation changes in the past, but this will now change.

So what kind of segregation is in place now? Well, for Intertops the following applies:

Cash Games: All cash games, including and above $2/$4, are segregated from the rest of the network.

Sit n Gos: All Sit n Gos above a $20 buy-in are segregated from the rest of the network, this also includes the double up SnGs.

MTTs: From this weekend on we have also been forced to opt out from all guaranteed tournaments higher than $1000.

We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause. We hope we can clear up a few of the issues over the next coming weeks and get back to where we know we can be. One thing is for sure – we have finished paying for the mistakes of others.

It is important for you to keep in mind that we are in this for the long-run and we will not abandon our players! This will allow us to continue paying your winnings in a very timely manner as we have been doing for the past 17 years!

Best regards,

The Intertops Poker Team

Whatever the reason, it doesn’t appear that Lock Poker was behind the Intertops decision, considering they slashed their tournament guarantees in direct response to the segregation by Intertops:

The network has advised us that starting from this Sunday the guaranteed prize pools of the two major Sunday tournaments have been reduced. The network took this step despite our protests after another network partner asked to have their players excluded from these events.

Starting this Sunday the guaranteed prize for the the Superstack will change from $25,000 to $20,000 and the $75,000 Guaranteed will change to become the $60,000 Guaranteed.

We fought both these changes but were unable to sway the networks mind, we will continue to support these tournaments hard including continuing our 50 Seats freeroll for the $60,0000 GTD and we will continue to lobby the network to raise the guaranteed prizes of both of these tournaments.

This week Bodog announced the launch of Zone Poker, a fast/fold poker game modeled on Full Tilt Poker’s highly successful Rush Poker, which was launched back in 2011. The game is currently available at the low limit, No Limit Holdem, tables at the site, and like all Bodog poker games, Zone Poker is played on anonymous tables.

Since the advent of Rush Poker a number of other poker sites have added fast/fold games to their repertoire. At first Full Tilt Poker threatened to sue any company developing a fast/fold game, claiming the game was patent pending, but when the site ran afoul after Black Friday other online poker operators seized the opportunity and launched their own versions of Rush Poker.

Here is a quick look at some of the major players in the online poker world and their version of fast/fold poker:

• OnGame Network = Strobe Poker
• Full Tilt Poker = Rush Poker
• PokerStars = Zoom Poker
• Party Poker = FastForward Poker
• Microgaming Poker Network (MPN) = Blaze Poker
• iPoker Network = Sprint Poker
• Bodog = Zone Poker

This week’s announcement by Bodog that they have joined the ranks of Fast/Fold poker providers may not seem like a very big deal on the surface (considering most major online poker operators have their own versions of fast/fold poker) but it’s definitely a bigger deal than you may first think.

If you take a good look at the above list you’ll notice that one of these things is not like the others, considering Bodog is the only US-facing online poker site that offers fast/fold poker, which could put even more space between themselves and the pack (the Revolution Poker Network, the Merge Gaming Network, and the Winning Poker Network) in the US traffic rankings.

Bodog’s Zone Poker works in the same way as the multitude of other online poker sites, with players joining a player pool and instantly taken to a new table (for the start of a new hand) once their cards are folded.

Since players always have a live hand in front of them (once you fold you are immediately brought to a new table for the start of a new hand), Fast/fold poker eliminates any boredom that players may experience at an online poker table, which makes it extremely popular among casual poker players.

Fast/Fold poker also allows players to triple or even quadruple the number of hands per table they can play, which has made the game very popular among online grinders as well.

Imagine you receive a phone call telling you that you’ve just been selected to receive two free flights and hotel stays across Europe for the next four weeks. Pretty sweet phone call right! While, most of us would jump at the chance to go on a four week European vacation, imagine if you are afraid of flying? This dream vacation is more of a nightmare if that’s the case. Furthermore, if you were without the financial means to go on the trip (or the ability to take time off from work, or find someone to watch the kids) then the free flight and free hotels are meaningless to you, it’s like having a fork but nothing to eat.

For some of us it’s a dream scenario, for others it’s an absolute nightmare, and for the vast majority the issue itself is met with utter indifference. And so it is with the current debate on the possibility of a casino in Milford. There are two smallish groups that are on opposite sides of the divide, while the vast majority of residents fall into the indifferent crowd –they might have an opinion one way or the other, but either outcome will not cause them to lose any sleep.

What I’m getting at is that most issues in life boil down to our individual perspective, and are not simply a case of I’m right and you’re wrong, or vice versa. My new job could be your pink slip; my new driveway could mean your flooded basement; a casino in Milford could mean a new job for Peter and a drop in Paul’s property values.

Truth be told, there are many things that concern me about a casino on the outskirts of my town, despite the fact that for the past decade or so poker and the poker industry have been my primary source of income. So full disclosure; I’m somewhere between wanting a casino and being indifferent to it. Yes, I have my concerns, but in addition to the negative outcomes I can also see the possibilities. I don’t feel losing the casino would spell the end for Milford, or even impact the town in any meaningful way. But I also don’t feel the other way about it either. A casino in Milford doesn’t mean the end of Milford, and as a gambling man I’m willing to take the chance that the positives will outweigh the negatives in the long-run.

I’ve seen the vast majority of German’s walk by slot parlors in downtown Berlin without giving them a second look (they are for degenerates I was told); I’ve been in the collared shirt and pants required casinos in Austria, Germany, Holland and elsewhere; I’ve had incredible nights at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods WITHOUT ever putting down a bet –and I’ve had some great nights when I have put down bets too!  I’ve been to Vegas and Atlantic City, and I’ve been to illegal cardrooms as well. The point is, I’ve seen it all, and I’ve seen and experienced the good and the bad, so I’m under no illusions what a casino means.

The reason I say this is that most of the information is being peddled by people with agendas, people who are trying to turn some of these indifferent residents into partisans. But the issue will always boil down to one thing: Perspective. These pointless facts about crime increasing (studies show that crime increases more when you build a shopping mall than a casino), or outdated or anecdotal evidence about Atlantic City or shuttered buildings leading to Foxwoods are simply ways to bolster the conclusion you have already drawn: Casinos are bad; now let me go find the evidence that backs up my opinion. It’s a problem of causal fallacy, or unknown variables.

Opponents of casinos see Foxwoods as the problem for local businesses or specific unemployment rates, where proponents will point to the economic collapse of 2008 as the main cause.  The anti-casino crowd will show you P&L’s where Foxwoods is hemorrhaging money, while the pro-casino crowd will again call out “2008” and show P&L’s from the 2005 when the casino was making money hand over fist.

The question each of us has to ask ourselves is what is the trade-off we are willing to live with? Are we willing to deal with more traffic, more water and sewer issues, and the potential for petty crime to spillover, in exchange for more jobs and better economic stability in the area? Where does a casino fall in your moral hierarchy? What benefits will you gain and at what cost, because make no mistake about it; nothing is free in this world.

The truth is we simply don’t know what putting a casino in Milford will do. What if the economy booms and unemployment in the area dips to 3%? Chances are most of the earlier anti-casino advocates will be singing its praises. What if the town slips into a decline and never recovers? There will be plenty of I told you so’s and excuses like, the economy was already free-falling, and there is too much competition with Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York.

I have no problem with people that are against gambling on ideological grounds, and I have no issue with people who are concerned about their property values or their business –these are absolutely valid concerns. Where I do have a problem is when we are inundated with hyperbolic arguments with a lot of words and phrases like “possibly”, “sometimes”, and “could lead to.” And on the other side we get words and phrases such as “up to”, “if”, and “potential.”

More so, I really have an issue with a small group of citizens trying to upset the legislative process. Why are they so concerned about letting this matter go before the (right-leaning) citizens of Milford on a ballot referendum? Why are they trying to decide the outcome of the casino proposal before the selectmen have even voted on it –which happened when someone tried to force a vote a meeting some months ago?

My feeling on government is that it’s hardly ever perfect, but even if some candidate I absolutely deplore was elected, or some bill were to pass that I completely disagreed with, I still want the process. I want the vote to go to the people (or to the elected representatives), even if they do not hold the same views as me.

If ground is broken for a casino in Milford I’d be fairly happy about it; if the citizens of the Milford voted it down, or it was awarded to Everett or Suffolk Downs instead, then so be it. Nobody is right or wrong concerning the casino, we just have different perspectives.

Major online tournament series aren’t the sole domain of sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker anymore, virtually every serious player in the online poker industry now runs their own version of the PokerStars WCOOP, or the Full Tilt Poker FTOPS. One of the newer entrants in the online poker tournament series business is Carbon Poker (from the Merge Gaming Network) which is now prepping the launch of the sixth installment of their Poker Maximus tournament series.

Poker Maximus VI will feature an incredible 85 tournaments, with some $3 million in guaranteed prize-money up for grabs. Poker Maximus VI will begin on September 8^th, and will come to a close with the Main Event on September 22^nd.  Buy-ins for Poker Maximus tournament series will range from just $1 up to $500 (two events), with a number of tournaments featuring buy-ins of $200; truly something for everyone. The series will feature four Main Event tournaments, with buy-ins of $20, $30, $100, and $500.

Here is a look at the complete schedule from the Carbon Poker website:

We are just a week away from the start of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open tournament series which will not only see a $10,000,000 guarantee for the series’ Main Event tournament, but will also see the launch of the WPT Alpha8 Super-High-Roller series which is a major part of the 33-event schedule.

The Main Event

The Main Event of the tournament series features a $10 million guarantee, which could usher in a new era of live tournaments although it presents a major risk for tournament organizers if the field size doesn’t reach the guarantee and an overlay is given.

The $5,300 Main Event will feature three separate starting flights on Wednesday August 22, Thursday August 23, and Friday August 24. Players eliminated on either Wednesday or Thursday will have the option to reenter on any of the other starting days.

The Alpha8 Super-High-Roller

On August 26^th the inaugural tournament of the WPT Alpha8 series will kick-off, with the best of the best in the poker world testing their skills against one another in a $100,000 buy-in, Super-High-Roller tournament. The Alpha8 tournament series is set to begin airing on FOX Sports 1 in early 2014, with host Lynn Gilmartin and commentators Ali Nejad and Olivier Busquet.

The Preliminary Events

Here is a look at the complete schedule from the Seminole Hard Rock website: