WSOP Evaluating Merits of Rebuy Tournaments, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 16th December 2008

Heading into the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the major change handed down by tournament officials was the introduction of a 117 day break prior to the start of the Main Event final table, which occurred in November. The move was considered by many to be a resounding success, as television ratings and interest in poker boomed as a result. Heading into 2009, rebuy tournaments may become a distant memory.

Poker News Daily has confirmed a rumor that WSOP officials are considering doing away with rebuy events for the 2009 tournament series. There were five rebuy contests held during the 2008 schedule:

Event #5: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys
Event #18: $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball with Rebuys
Event #28: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys
Event #34: $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys
Event #44: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys

World Series of Poker Communications Director Seth Palansky told Poker News Daily, “For rebuys, we are simply in discussions on the benefits and drawbacks of having these events as bracelet events. We like rebuys and think they are a fun and exciting game for poker players, but at the same time, we are questioning their place in the World Series of Poker.”

In many cases, the rebuy period ends after the first two levels of play in a tournament. However, players can often play very loosely during this time and, if their bankroll allows for it, simply rebuy if they are eliminated. However, this has raised eyebrows as to whether a bracelet is warranted for potentially just having the deepest pockets. For example, during Event #5, Suk Song re-bought 23 times. In 2006, PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu reloaded an amazing 46 times and added on twice during a rebuy tournament.

In Event #18, Todd Brunson invested a whopping $140,000. To put that number in perspective, Brunson would have had to finish fourth in order to break even; he ultimately did not make the money. Negreanu invested $85,000 in Event #28. This time, however, his gamble paid off, as he finished seventh and cashed for $129,000.

In Event #34, the number of rebuys was up a remarkable 53% in 2009 in comparison to 2008, causing the total prize pool to balloon by 43%. Layne Flack invested $33,000 in the tournament, which meant that he needed to place 12th or better out of 320 entrants in order to make his money back. Luckily, Flack ended up winning the entire tournament and taking home $577,000, or 17 times his buy-in, for his sixth WSOP bracelet.

The $1,000 rebuy tournament first became a part of the WSOP in 2004. In 2005, two $1,000 No Limit Hold’em rebuy tournaments were held, a trend that has existed ever since. One player re-bought 17 times in Event #44 in 2008, although WSOP officials declined to name who he or she was. The top 27 players received $18,000 or more.

Palansky elaborated further, “The bracelet and its prestige are of paramount importance to us and we want to ensure that anyone who does win a bracelet does so because they played the best poker throughout an event.” In 2007, there were six rebuy events held as part of the WSOP festivities. In 2006, there were four, which was one fewer than in 2005. The 2008 WSOP featured 54 bracelet events in total, meaning that rebuys accounted for roughly 9% of the tournaments. The Main Event is a $10,000 buy-in freeze out.

WSOP and Harrah’s officials will likely take into account views from its Players Advisory Council when making a decision. The discussion may focus on whether rebuy tournaments favor deep-pocketed poker players and whether the merits of having a portion of the WSOP schedule devoted to rebuys jeopardizes the esteem of a bracelet.

No timeline has been set for an announcement one way or another and the 2009 WSOP schedule has not been released. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Exclusive Canadian Poker Tour Finals Qualifiers On PartyPoker.com - Win CPT Sponsorship For One Year!

17th December 2008

Warm up the winter by joining the http://www.partypoker.com exclusive qualifiers for the 2009 Canadian Poker Tour Finals, which take place in the Dominican Republic between January 20 -22 2009! What’s more, the winner of this tournament will also receive a one year sponsorship deal with the Canadian Poker Tour which has an estimated value of $100,000. The prestigious event sees Canada’s top poker players battle it out for a $500,000 prize pool and the big bonus of the CPT deal!

All you have to do is win a luxury tournament package worth $8,500 and PartyPoker.com is the only online poker site offering qualifiers. The 2009 CPT Finals will be held in the Ocean World Casino Resort, a fantastic adventure park, marina, and casino entertainment complex near Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. You’ll enjoy seven nights all-inclusive luxury in the breathtaking Sun Village Resort and Spa in nearby Cofresi – the ideal place to relax and get yourself in the mood for your game. The weather is also sure to help!

Online qualifiers for the event are exclusive to PartyPoker.com and start from as little as $2. They run until January 4, 2009. Each $8,500 package includes your buy-in, accommodation, and spending money. The main $425 + $35 runs every Sunday at 20.10 ET, with one package given away for every 20 players participating but as ever PartyPoker.com provides a diverse qualifying structure.

Full details can be found at:

http://www.partypoker.com/news/items/canadian_poker_tour.html

http://www.partypoker.com/news/items/canadian_poker_structure.html

The Canadian Poker Tour is committed to the development of grassroots poker and has held numerous events in 2008 with an estimated total prize pool this year alone of over $2,700,000! More details on the tour can be found at: http://www.canadianchampionshippoker.com/Events/08CPTfinals.html

PartyPoker.com is also offering other winter warmers this December with online qualifiers for the PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship, Asian Poker Tour Philippines and the World Poker Showdown in the Dominican Republic. Details on all the qualifiers can be found here:

http://www.partypoker.com/news/items/irish_poker_championship.html

http://www.partypoker.com/news/items/apt_manila.html

http://www.partypoker.com/news/items/wpshowdown.html

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Poker News Media Top 5 Online Poker Websites

Media Man Australia Australia top 5 online poker websites, based on a combination of usability, customer service, affiliate experience and overall experience, starting from the top:

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Europe's First Major Poker Tournament Of 2009 – The PartyPoker Irish Poker Championship

The first major European tournament of 2009 will take place from January 2-5. The €2,000 buy-in PartyPoker Irish Poker Championship will be hosted at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Galway, Ireland. Coverage of the main event will be televised and distributed internationally.

A wealth of big Irish poker names have already signed up for the event including Noel Furlong, Donnacha O'Dea, Marty Smyth, Padraig Parkinson, Ciaran O'Leary, Premier League II winner Andy Black, Liam Flood and last year's champion Jude Ainsworth. From overseas expect to see Mike Sexton, Kenna James, Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott, Surinder Sunar and 2008 Irish Open Champion Neil Channing.

Ian Langstaff of Winmedia Ireland Ltd, an industry leader in poker tournament coverage, said: "We are delighted to be producing and transmitting coverage of the PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship on RTÉ again this year. The fact that RTÉ are transmitting eight episodes of coverage rather than the six they did last year shows the popularity of the IPC."

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Poker Staking Sites Grow in Popularity, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 13th December 2008

The perception of poker staking has evolved considerably over time. Previously being associated with those who needed money or were generally unsuccessful, staking has now become commonplace, even among the world’s best players. Recently, Poker News Daily sat down with Jim Leitner from ProPokerExchange and Chris Grove from PartTimePoker to unearth some of the challenges the industry still faces.

Leitner’s site allows prospective backers to buy a piece of four of the world’s most recognizable tournament poker pros, including 1983 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Tom McEvoy. The former champ owns four WSOP bracelets in total, including hardware in Limit Razz and Limit Omaha. According to the staking site, McEvoy owns over $2.6 million in lifetime tournament winnings. Also on Pro Poker Exchange’s roster are 2005 World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker runner up “Cowboy” Kenna James, Card Player Magazine contributor and editor Mark Gregorich, and WPT Gold Rush Season I winner and WSOP bracelet holder Paul Darden.

Leitner told Poker News Daily, “None of them need money, but staking is a big part of the tradition of poker and has value to them as well. It reduces variance and can put them in more tournaments than they were planning to play.” Buyers wishing to purchase a piece of McEvoy’s, Gregorich’s, or Darden’s action will receive their share of 70% of the pro’s earnings in the tournament. For James, 60% is returned to backers. Shares are issued at $5 each and current opportunities on the site focus on the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, which is ongoing at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Backing allows players not to have to risk all of their own money when entering an event, which reduces variance in returns. Many players tend to become less risk averse when being staked, as the pressure of needing to finish in the money in order to make a living is also reduced. Finally, backing allows the casual poker fan to be linked to some of the industry’s high-profile stars.

One of the difficulties of backing is the assurance that pros will receive money from their investors and, in return, share a portion of their winnings. Pro Poker Exchange solves this potential stumbling block by requiring its pros to sign a contract, a sample of which is available on its website. Part Time Poker utilizes a full-fledged forum which identifies crooked individuals. Leitner described the process of “rolling,” which involves rising online poker players taking off with cash generated from backers. He stated that $17,000 was recently rolled, which prompted his site to create a contract.

On rolling, Grove told Poker News Daily, “Far and away, the biggest concern is a player running off with a stake. While this does happen, we’re always surprised at how minuscule of a percentage of overall staking activity results in fraud.” Online poker sites will often help staking sites identify problematic individuals. However, no money is held in escrow. In live tournaments, Pro Poker Exchange sends a representative to each event to track its four brand name pros. The staff member will accompany the player to the cage after they have busted out in order to enforce the contract.

Collusion is another setback that staking sites face in their operations. After all, what would stop two players who have a piece of each other from agreeing not to play in hands against one another or worse, telling each other what cards they have and sharing strategy? Leitner commented, “What we’ve done is require players to keep a solid piece of themselves so that their interests are aligned with investors’. If you have Tom and Mark at the same table, they have no common interest in each other.” Grove told Poker News Daily that he does not believe collusion is a big obstacle to the legitimacy of staking online, where fields are often much larger. In addition, players do not know who the backers are on Pro Poker Exchange.

Over time, staking has grown in both popularity and prestige. Grove noted, “Backing is becoming far more common among top players, reducing any negative stereotype once associated with it. We have a number of well-known, winning players that use our site frequently and their presence signals to other members that backing can be part of a successful, profitable, and professional player’s career plan for poker.” Players who have used Part Time Poker in order to be staked include Aaron Bartley (GambleAB), jonrubs, tarheelkid, eppy, mattdogg2443, mossified, TwinMSU, max_pot, Quadducks, mx4ever, Johnny36, and TerrellK11, who took home $232,000 in a WSOP event this year.

Leitner claimed that the way to overcome the perception that staking is for the poor is to make its purposes clear to prospective customers: “The reality is that there is a lot of staking going on. Online, there’s a breakthrough because people see the value of staking and making it transparent. We make sure people understand the reasons behind it.”

In February, the World Poker Tour will host the L.A. Poker Classic at the Commerce Casino. Leitner is looking to expand his roster of pros from four to at least 15 by the time the tournament starts. The minimum buy-in is $25 for investors. The company is owned partly by Poker News Daily contributor Linda Johnson, co-founder of the Tournament Directors Association and inaugural member of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. On Part Time Poker, “Buy a Piece” threads are sold based on the amount of the tournament’s buy-in, ranging from $3 to $10.

In general, the transparency of the poker industry has helped the staking industry grow in legitimacy. The use of programs like Sharkscope, which displays the results of online poker players for the entire world to see, has allowed backers to research past performances. Investors can also hop online and watch their sponsored player compete on the virtual felts. Sites like Card Player offer live tournament coverage and results for Pro Poker Exchange’s stable of players as well as other event entrants.

Finally, in the case of Part Time Poker, the site actually places an asterisk next to the names of individuals who have a staking ban. Players who have opted out of Sharkscope or Online Poker Rankings (OPR) are not eligible to be staked. Database programs such as PokerTracker and Hold’em Manager also record a player’s tendencies on online poker tournaments. Each comes with an accompanying Heads-Up Display (HUD), which shows these stats in real-time. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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