Darusha’s Network

The WPT Teams up with Non Profit

• March 10th, 2010

World Poker Tour (WPT) and non-profit organization Chrysalis have teamed up to roll out the red carpet on Saturday, February 20 at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles for the 8th Annual WPT Invitational. Every year, the exclusive invite-only event gives Hollywood stars a chance to put their best poker faces forward against the game’s top pros and compete in a three-day tournament for charity, cash prizes and a place in poker history. Red carpet arrivals and an exclusive cocktail party will kick off the action, giving invited guests the chance to mingle with their favorite stars or brush up their poker skills with WPT Boot Camp tutorial. “Shuffle Up and Deal” will immediately follow when approximately 500 participants will take their seat in the battle for a piece of the $200,000 prize poolincluding a $25,500 seat to the WPT World Championship in Aprildonated by Commerce Casino. Every participant will have the opportunity during the first two hours of play to do a one-time $200 “re-buy” to receive an extra $10,000 in chips and get back in the game. One hundred percent of the re-buy proceeds will benefit Chrysalis, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities. Additionally, WPT has made tickets available to Chrysalis to help boost critical fundraising support. Starting today, there will be a limited time auction. For all the details and a link to the auction, visit the poker website at : www.changelives.org/poker.

Wedding Players: Five Tips before You Book

• February 6th, 2010

Arrangements for live wedding music is just one of about a millionprojects facing brides and grooms and wedding planners. Between flowers, photos, locales, dresses, parties, rings, video recording, and more, even a tiny and quiet wedding demands a great amount of preparation. It can be a stressful time because if even one of these areas falls through the cracks, your big day can end up being a big disappointment.

Here are five tips to hiring live wedding instrumentalists for your service and reception:

1. Make sure you hire a band with a tested track record of professionalism. Does the manager return your telephone calls promptly? Does the band have a internet site? Business cards? Other marketing materials? Or do you get the impression you’re speaking to a guy practicing in his garage with his pals? The way the band shows itself as you begin talking with them is a great indicator of how they’ll turn up (or not!) on your special day.

2. Promptness is key. When you set an date to connect in person or on the phone, it’s like a mini-contract. If the band director is tardy to meet with you, it’s a discouraging sign that they don’t take their agreements seriously. If they can’t come through on time in the preparation stage, what other understandings will they fail with you on your wedding day? This carries on to you, too – being punctual is just one way you can live a life that shows that you honor your promises.

3. Make certain the dance band is easy-going rather than being a bunch of divas. By now you’ve probably heard a million Bridezilla jokes, even if you’re not hard to please or unreasonable. Imagine renting the equivalent in flakiness for your wedding dance band. The last thing you want on your wedding day is to have to wait on your musicians hand and foot, fetching them food and beverage, having the thermostat adjusted for them, or catering to other hard to please wants. The greatest band for you is one that can take care of itself, one that’s easy to get along with, and one that does all it can to make sure your day is easy and fun for you.

4. Charter a wedding band that’s fun. Getting hitched is one of the biggest choices you’ll ever make. It’s important business. The music on your wedding day should be splendid and fun. You don’t want to see your invitees oblivious, listless, and wishing the day was over. You want them up, dancing, singing, and grinning. If you choose a live wedding music band well, your selection will do much to make your wedding day unforgettable in a great way. This is the big day you’ve been waiting for, and music is such a important part of it. Make sure you engage a musician that makes the day ideal – gratifying for you and your guests.

George Pollis is the managing director and a player with Reel Ting Steel Drum Band. For a professional, timely, easy-going, talented, and fun live wedding music band, look into Reel Ting at http://www.reelting.com.

Will Average Poker Playing Get Casino Comps?

• January 21st, 2010

The biggest draw of playing poker in a brick and mortar casino is the casino comps. It is basically free money that a frequent player can earn by using their player account whenever they plug into their machine. Many of the players who hold casino accounts are video poker players, who use the game to earn points to their account. These accounts can then be exchanged for free perks from the casino, like complimentary rooms at the hotel, or discounts at the food court.

In theory, the amount of points you earn on your player account is linked to the amount of money you spend at the table. However, this does not hold true for video poker. Video poker has a lower house edge than other casino games, so the casino will seek those few points out to you very slowly. The video poker players who get the good comps are either really good players who funnel a lot of money into the casino, or really bad players who don’t take anything out. The average player is left out in the cod.

If you are a decidedly average online poker player, you need to wrap your head around the idea that you will not get a high amount of casino comps. Console yourself with the idea that you can walk away with money from the pot, which is way better than a discount on the buffet anyway. Remember this when you play poker online.

Not Far away Now

• December 30th, 2009

The 2006 piece of legislation known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is set to go into effect Dec. 1 2009. This is big news for the American online poker player, as it will effectively shut down the ability for U.S. banks (the few remaining ones that do so) to fund transactions to online poker sites.

But there has been some argument about the enforcement date. The Poker Players’ Alliance and its 1.2 million strong lobbying base has written letters to both the Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, as well as to the Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, asking for a postponement of the regulatory effect of the bill.

All of this comes in the middle of a raging debate over healthcare that has dominated the legislative bodies of the United States, effectively clouding any chance of something like internet gaming to be brought up and voted on.

But all hope is not lost. Even within the legislative bodies themselves, there are dissenting opinions. Barney Frank (D-MA) and 18 other members of the House Financial Services Committee have issued a letter to Bernanke and Geithner also petitioning for the delay of enforcement.

On the opposing side, however, Representative Bauchus, and Senator Kyl have reached out to Geithner, arguing that there is no justification in denying the enforcment of the UIGEA.

It will be interesting to see which side Geithner and Bernanke end up siding with, seeing as enforcement is less than two weeks away. Although in the end it may not even matter, as Frank has drafted two bills that will eventually reach the house floor. HB 2267 and HB 2266 both of which are friendly pieces of legislation to the poker online playing community. Hr 2266 calls for the delay of the UIGEA until Dec 1st 2010, while 2267 calls for a licensing and regulation of entities that wish to operate within the US as online gaming sites.

In the coming weeks, we’ll find out how this issue will be resolved, but as it stands now, Health Care Reform will take center stage, so the US poker online playing community may be out of commission for a few months. Only time will tell.

Straight Defined

• November 30th, 2009

A straight is a poker hand refers to five cards not all of the same suit that join together in sequential ranking. A straight beats three of a kind and two pair, but loses to a flush, a full house, and higher. Competing straights are resolved depending on which hand has the highest high card, wherein a 4 5 6 7 8 sequence (or 8 high straight) would lose to a 5 6 7 8 9 sequence (or 9 high straight). In the event that two players have the same high card in their straight, they have a tied hand.

The highest possible straight, 10 J Q K A, is known as Broadway and would defeat any other straights except in the event of a tie.

The lowest possible straight, A 2 3 4 5, is known as a wheel, and in variations of poker such as razz is considered the nuts.

Though the ace in these instances can be played both high and low, a straight may not be formed by wrapping around the order with the ace as a high or low card, i.e. K A 2 3 4 is not a straight.

The probability of being dealt a straight in a five card poker hand is 0.39%. Keep this in mind when you play poker online.

Grinding it out

• July 10th, 2009

A ‘grinder’ in the world of poker is classically known as a player who makes a living, or at least (hopefully) a profit, by playing long slow hours at the poker en ligne table, in essence “grinding out” a living. Though recently glorified in movies like ‘Rounders’ and by famous players such as Mike ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi, the position of grinding out a living in gambling is clearly one that goes way, way back. Even before the now highly touted early days of no limit Texas hold em going on in the back rooms of Texas bars by the likes of now legendary Doyle Brunson, T.J. Cloutier, and their ilk, grinding a living at the poker table has been around since the deck of cards. A perhaps unwarranted profession by many strands of small to medium sized players, it has since then become a method ridden out by scads of men in every casino across the world. Though the idea of making a living playing poker can sound to outsiders like a dream job, sitting hours at the poker table hoping to catch hands and make sure they hold up is much less a glory job than one requiring great patience and fortitude, if also a bit of gluttony for punishment, as we all know how cruel those poker gods can be.