On Sunday, June 6th, the best online players will compete in the final event of the European Championship of Online Poker (ECOOP). The game is a $1,580 No Limit Hold’em tournament with $1.5 million guaranteed, and satellites are still running. If you are a European player, don’t miss this amazing event.

Players can enter the tournament through most of the iPoker skins, including Titan Poker, VC Poker and Paddy Power Poker.

For only $1.10, players can compete in a big tournament and stand to win lots of money. The Twitter Poker League has also added a bonus of $25,000 in prizes to the best players. The tournament runs every week for eight weeks, and the bonus prizes are awarded at the end of that time to the top players. After that, the bi-monthly leaderboard resets. At the end of the year, the top players from the annual leaderboard get a part of a $17,000 bonus prize fund.

The tournaments run every Sunday at 14:00 under the name “Twitter Poker League” (in light blue text). With relatively big prize pools every game and with plenty of bonus cash, this is a great weekly event for low stakes players.

The Twitter League also has bonuses for the top live tweeters, so you can make money just by spreading the word.

In the third level of play of a $1,000 NLHE tournament, a man tried to enhance a pot by putting in extra chips from his neighbor’s stack. He was somehow detected, and left the Amazon Room with a permanent ban and no hopes of ever winning a gold bracelet. The story was first reported on Michael Craig’s Full Tilt blog.

Tournament director Jack Effel described the situation to curious players as the perpetrator was thrown out of the game. The unknown man, a gray haired person around fifty years old with a baseball cap, tried to steal chips from the player to his side while he was away. He made a clever attempt, but was spotted.

The grab happened during a hand where the thief was heads-up against another opponent. The director signaled for a 20 minute break and, thinking their stacks were safe, the players not involved in the hand got up and left. The thief won the pot and made his move while he was raking in the chips. He gathered the chips with one hand while he put his other hand on the table, appearing to support himself so that he could lean forward. The off-hand was actually on top of another players chips. As soon as he saw the dealer glance away, he swept those chips into the pot, appearing to rake them in with the rest.

It is unknown how his attempt was detected. Perhaps the player noticed the missing chips or perhaps a security camera or an observer saw the move. Regardless, the unknown player’s swipe was caught on tape and the theft was confirmed.

According to Jack Effel, “He’ll be banned from the World Series forever.”

As a result of the ruling, the only legal way to play poker in Switzerland now is either in a casino or in a private home. Online poker and the popular tournaments hosted by hotels and bars are banned. The Supreme Court’s decision reversed the decision of a lower court and cannot be appealed. Poker players and supporters say that the ruling greatly benefits the casino industry by stifling competition and benefits the government, which taxes casino profits by 50%.

The question before the court was about which is more important in a game of poker: the strategy and psychology or sheer luck. After hearing both sides, the court ruled that luck outweighed skills like calculating odds, betting and bluffing.

Mark Friedrich, head of the Swiss Federation of Casinos, claimed that poker games outside of casinos allowed for crime, debt, and gambling addiction. Because Swiss casinos identify players and work to stop these acts, he claimed that poker providers without these restrictions were a form of unfair competition. Before the ruling, there were an estimated 100 unlicensed poker tournaments every weekend, presenting a major threat to casino business.

The ruling is contrary to a 2009 study by Cigital Inc. and PokerStars, which analyzed 100 million hands over a month. They found that less than one quarter of hands went to showdown and that the best hand won only 28% of the time. This data strongly suggests that skill is more important than luck. In another famous example, poker pro Annette Obrestad won a 180-person Sit & Go without ever looking at her hole cards – that is, playing blind.

As Matt Damon’s character famously says in the movie Rounders: “Why does this still seem like gambling to you? I mean, why do you think the same five guys make it to the final table of the World Series of Poker EVERY SINGLE YEAR? What, are they the luckiest guys in Las Vegas? It’s a skill game, Jo.”

There are currently cases in US courts debating the same issue. Hopefully, more research will surface so that these courts can make an informed decision on the issue.

The official enforcement of the act beginning on Tuesday, June 1st, has drawn wide speculation from poker players. This speculation ranges from no major impact at all to a complete lockdown of US accounts. What will actually happen is unclear, but there are very good reasons to suspect that UIGEA’s enforcement will only be a minor inconvenience to players. The act’s controversial ideas, vague wording and limited reach leave the issue open to debate. Meanwhile, strong opposition from major poker networks, the thousands of active online players and several congressmen threaten its effectiveness. This article explains what June 1st will mean to players, poker sites and banks.

UIGEA History Makes Enforcement Likely to Flop

One of the biggest reasons to suspect that UIGEA will not result in blocking online poker comes from the act itself.

For those unfamiliar with the story, UIGEA was passed in October of 2006 as part of the SAFE Port Act, a bill designed to improve the security of US harbors. Harbor security and online gambling are, of course, completely unrelated. They are only connected by the UIGEA, which was attached to the SAFE Port Act as a provision just before the bill was passed by a nearly unanimous vote. The UIGEA immediately became controversial because it was passed without the chance for debate.

Since 2006, the deadline for enforcement has been pushed farther and farther back until now, when the legislation will finally go into effect. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl set this deadline through a deal with the Obama administration. As the act’s biggest supporter, Kyl fought for the deadline by blocking US Treasury nominees from being allowed to take office. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner promised not to delay enforcement if Kyl would let the nominees take office, leading to Tuesday’s deadline.

Advocates for internet gambling believe that all the politics required to enforce the bill suggest that it is unpopular and that enforcement may be limited.

The wording of the UIGEA also leaves room for online poker to continue to function. One big issue is that the act does not define what activities are considered gambling and does not officially name poker. If the status of poker were changed to a game of skill, like the Poker Players Alliance wants, it would be exempted from the act.

The UIGEA also does not make internet gambling illegal. Instead, it makes it illegal for a bank to allow a transfer to an online gambling site. It does not include guidelines on how to prevent transfers. In fact, the June 1st deadline is actually the date when banks must implement their own policies to do this, and poker networks could still find a way around it. With these problems, the bill may be impossible to enforce.

The biggest problems come to poker networks that operate within the US because poker accounts are considered by some as online bank accounts. The Department of Justice does not have jurisdiction outside the US, but can potentially seize poker accounts on US based sites. However, there are other legal issues that make this action questionable. See the section on specific sites below for more information.

What UIGEA Means For Players

In short, the UIGEA most likely will have only a small impact on players.

The UIGEA does not make online poker illegal, nor does it make playing poker an illegal activity. It also cannot charge people who make a deposit to or withdrawal from an online poker site. Really, the UIGEA is only concerned with banks and poker sites. As far as policy goes, that is up to banks. Banks want to keep customers, so it is very unlikely that they will do anything with these transactions besides denying the transfer and sending the funds back.

For making deposits, the UIGEA may make things generally difficult. However, poker sites are likely to find another method to get around the issue. With withdrawals, banks would have to track every single paper check they receive to prevent payouts, so enforcement is nearly impossible.

As for online accounts, there is no simple answer. If the government is able to seize accounts on poker sites, it will involve a difficult legal battle.

Regardless of these factors, the UIGEA effects players in one other way. Anyone who enjoys playing poker and recognizes it as a game of skill has an obligation to try to stop the UIGEA. Players can do this most easily by continuing to play poker, which will show the act as a flop. Those more engaged in the debate can support the Poker Players Alliance or write Congress members to show their support for the issue.

Response From Poker Sites

Most of the most popular sites have not given a clear final response on the UIGEA, but seem ready to resist the act.

One site, PokerTime, has already announced that it will no longer accept US players after June 1st. Anyone using this site will automatically have all funds withdrawn before then.

Meanwhile, Bodog Poker announced that it will stay open. In an email posted on a 2+2 forum, a representative wrote, “We are confident that we can sustain our partnership with US players for a long time.” The site stated that after the act was passed in 2006, “We adjusted our business model to accept those changes and if there are further negative additions to the Act we will adapt again.” Because Bodog is not based in the US, they can easily evade enforcement.

The two largest US sites, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, have an unclear future. Because they are so popular, it is unlikely that they will willingly stop accepting US players. They are poised for a legal battle, and claim that providing peer-to-peer poker games does not violate UIGEA or US law. They do not consider themselves a bank and argue that UIGEA can only effect banks, and therefore cannot seize the accounts on their sites. Whether these sites withstand the regulation or not remains to be seen, but it seems clear that many sites that allow US players will continue to function.

Ending UIGEA

There are a number of possible ways to end enforcement of the UIGEA for online poker.

One solution could come from Congress, where there are currently bills in both the House and Senate that would overturn the act. The main opponent of the act, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), is working on gambling regulation and consumer protection acts to overturn the law as well. It is also possible that financial reform could allow the government to regulate and tax online poker, effectively ending the UIGEA. Organizations like the Poker Players Alliance are working to make the opinion of poker players heard in Congress.

Another possibility would be through the courts. If a court case declares that the UIGEA is illegal or if a case determines that poker is in fact a game of skill, the act would no longer apply. Also, individual states can still regulate online poker or gambling within the state and allow networks that only state citizens could play on.

Perhaps the best way to bust the UIGEA is simply to allow the act to flop. With so many challenges, enforcing the act might not be possible. And based on the constant delays and opposition to the act, it seems that the government may not be committed to fully enforcing the bill. The best thing an individual player can do to stop the UIGEA is the same thing he or she does every day: continue to play online poker.

With ratings going up and up, and with the start of the 2010 World Series of Poker today, watching poker is more popular than ever before. Starting next week, GSN will move its popular poker block to Saturday nights and introduce two new shows: “Aussie Millions” and “Doubles Poker Championship.” Every week, these series along with “High Stakes Poker” will combine to form a nine hour poker marathon from 6pm ET to 3am ET (3-12pm PT).

GSN decided to make the move because of the dramatic increase in ratings for “High Stakes Poker” last season. David Schiff, the Vice President of Programming for GSN, said he hopes that “Saturday nights on GSN will be the go-to destination for serious poker fans.”

The first new series, “Aussie Millions Presented by Full Tilt Poker.net” is a 10-episode coverage of the three biggest events at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship, one of the largest tournament series in the world. All three events attract many of the biggest names in poker, including Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Gus Hansen, Tony G, Barry Greenstein, Tony Bloom, Tom Dwan, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Erick Lindgren and Jeffrey Lisandro.

Coverage starts with the $100K Challenge, a major tournament with a $100,000 AUD buy-in. Next, the series shows the Heads Up Championship, an intensely competitive event where each match goes to the best of three winner. Finally, the series shows the Main Event, with a $10K buy-in and $7.46 million prize pool.

The next new series, “Doubles Poker Championship Presented by Full Tilt Poker.net,” is a 13-part series covering an unusual event at the Golden Nugget Casino in Vegas. In this tournament, thirty two of the world’s best players competed as two-person teams that shared each hand. With so many big names in such a strange format, the event is sure to be filled with great plays. This series begins on August 14.

There is a reason that ratings for professional poker games continue to climb: the skill and intensity of the world’s best players is amazing. If you want to see these players in action, GSN on Saturdays is the place to be.

The series kicks off with the $50,000 Poker Players’ Championship, an event designed for true masters of the game. With its sky-high buy in and Mixed Games format, only the best all-around players stand a chance. While it is a great event itself, the Poker Players’ Championship is only the start of the 57-event series, ending with the Main Event on July 3.

Winning this first event requires expert play in eight different games: Limit Hold’em, No Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Low, Pot Limit Omaha, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. However, the final table will only play No Limit Hold’em to make a more exciting game for TV audiences. The audience is important here because with such a high buy in, players want the prestige as well as the money, so the size of the audience directly effects the number of players in the field.

This event will be broadcast on ESPN on July 27th. With this and all the other big events in WSOP, the next few weeks are sure to be packed with awesome games and big action.

After the French parliament passed a law in April that legalized and regulated online gambling, UK based Winamax saw a big opportunity to expand. So did AGF, the French private equity firm that made the investment. With the potential to acquire many new customers now that poker is legal, Winamax hopes to become one of the top two poker clients in France.

Most of the money will be spent on marketing, perhaps including sponsoring pros, though WSOP bracelet winner Patrick Bruel is already a shareholder. With a recently legalized market, lots of new customers and mostly French players, Winamax is sure to be teeming with fish and soft tables. Along with their 100% first deposit bonus up to $1,000, this means the potential for big profit. However, note that the site does not accept US players.

Winamax Poker is still a very small site, but has the potential to grow quickly. Now is a better time than ever to check it out.

Since its release for Xbox 360 last week by Rockstar Games, Red Dead Redemption has drawn incredible ratings and praises from critics and players alike, who love its moody atmosphere, awesome realistic graphics and Grand Theft Auto style gameplay. But along with the game itself, fans are raving about the Texas Hold’em mini game, which may be the greatest virtual poker game ever.

There are no cartoon avatars here. When you walk into the back of a dusty saloon to play against computer opponents, you face a wide array of characters including stone-faced cowboys, reckless old gamblers and dirty young ranch hands. Characters move around realistically and chat with each other as they play. They speak their actions, crack jokes and react to wins or losses with a huge supply of emotional responses. For example, one player caught bluffing says “You won’t believe anything I say because I’m white!” to his Mexican opponent.

Since the game is made by Rockstar, you can even cheat if you are dealing. But be careful, because if another player suspects you of cheating you will be faced with a duel.

With such interesting opponents, a great Western theme including old looking cards and the fun of playing poker in general, Red Dead Redemption’s Hold’em game has become a fan favorite. It may be the most fun you’ll have playing poker without using real money.

Poker Game in Red Dead Redemption

Since the start of 2010, Townsend has lost $1 million playing Omaha and $1.8 million playing HORSE, adding up to a massive deficit that has entirely erased his profits from 2009. This downswing follows his one month suspension as a Full Tilt Pro in December due to accusations of datamining and colluding against Isildur1. When he was reinstated as a pro in January and his name turned red, so did his bankroll.

Huge wins and losses are the nature of high stakes poker. As a professional player and a regular at the Bellagio’s Big Game, Townsend is used to swings like this, including a $3.5 million downswing in 2007. Other professional players, such as Isildur1 and Patrik Antonius, have faced far larger downswings in a year and sometimes even bounced back to net a profit.

Townsend’s biggest losses occurred in February of this year, where he lost $1.3 million in just over 22,000 hands. The last two weeks have been particularly bad as well, with $620,000 lost to Ilari Sahamies, Gus Hansen, and David Oppenheim. During these sessions, Townsend lost a staggering $482,000 to Sahamies in only a 90 minute 240 hand game.

In the past, Townsend has reacted drastically to downswings, including removing most of his funds from Full Tilt and quitting high stakes games. As this downswing continues, his presence on the tables and tentative status as a Full Tilt Pro may be at risk.