News & Promotions Blog

Poker Test to Job Candidates

by Simon Dexter Thursday, June 12, 2008

Las Vegas still buzzes with the name of Eric Brooks who caused a major upset by winning a WSOP* bracelet at his first attempt this week and then shocked everyone by announcing he would donate every cent of his 5,856 to a Californian-based charity. Clearly not one to have his head turned by the city's glitz and glamour, Brooks went on to say he couldn't hang around for the post world title party as he had to fly up to Oregon for his father's 85th birthday. As stylish, if brief, appearances go, Brooks' effort takes some beating.
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New phrases for politicos

by Simon Dexter Thursday, June 12, 2008

Well done to Conservative MP Edward Leigh, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) who this week showed a rare, but nonetheless welcome understanding of how the cards can sometimes fall. Speaking of a deal to privatise defence company Qinetiq which resulted in the value of the company’s management holdings soaring from £537,000 to £107 million, Mr Leigh said the “Ministry of Defence conducted the deal like an innocent at a table of cardsharps, with the taxpayer the fall guy.

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Worth his weight in gold

by Simon Dexter Thursday, June 12, 2008

We were delighted to see big Duncan Pumper Bell win in Vegas during the week and so too were WSOP* organisers who were equally pleased we were not witnessing the 40th world series, merely the 39th. You see, whenever �special' anniversary dates are celebrated (20th, 25th, 30th, 40th etc) the WSOP* has a habit of adding one or two unique prizes to their sought-after bracelet. A number of these are planned for next year, but there were sighs of relief after the big man's success; organisers were reportedly �delighted' they were not offering any additional bounty which could have cost them a small fortune.
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Learn from Euro 08 incompetence

by Simon Dexter Thursday, June 12, 2008

Many of us will have been alternating between playing online poker while watching part or all of this week’s Euro 08 matches, although on some occasions it’s been difficult to stay awake watching the footy – Holland v Italy excepted.

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book-review-million-dollar-hold-em-by-johnny-chan-mark-karowe

by Simon Dexter Thursday, June 12, 2008

Such is the relentless, production line-nature of new poker-related titles that you might by now expect to see two-year-old books as giveaways on the front of corn flakes boxes. This rule does not apply to Million Dollar Hold 'Em, published in 2006 and written by Johnny Chan and Mark Karowe. The reasons for this are simple: the content is excellent, the book is well written and its advice remains relevant.
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French kick-start online reforms

by Simon Dexter Thursday, June 5, 2008

Vive la France! In Brussels on Wednesday, French Budget Minister Eric Woerth met with the EU's 'Internal Market Commissioner' Charlie McCreevy to discuss an outline mechanism for opening the French online gambling market to competition. It was considered to be the first step in ending the French state's gaming-related monopoly.
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Medic to plaster field?

by Simon Dexter Thursday, June 5, 2008

As the MTV movie awards were taking place a few miles down the road last week, Yugoslav-born Nenad Medic was the centre of attention (sans red carpet), becoming the first person to be awarded a 2008 WSOP* bracelet after winning a heads-up battle against Andy Bloch. On an appropriately star-studded final table which included players such as Phil Laak, Mike Sexton and Kathy Liebert, Medic was perhaps the least well-known, but he’s a guy worth keeping an eye on as this season’s tourney progresses.

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Yorkshire pragmatism shows Vegas the way

by Simon Dexter Thursday, June 5, 2008

While Melbourne-based organisation Crown, Australia's biggest casino operator, was announcing they were scrapping plans to build a casino in Las Vegas, matters in Yorkshire appeared considerably more positive.
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book-review-great-poker-hands-by-nick-berry

by Simon Dexter Thursday, June 5, 2008

It was Country & Western singer Kenny Rogers who once sang the famous lines: "You got to know when to hold them / Know when to fold them" and as every successful poker player appreciates, this is fantastic advice whatever level of the game you play at. But how do you know what to fold?
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