The legendary Men Nguyen has taken the 2005 Poker Player Of The Year title. Men, nicknamed "The Master", barely edged out John Phan, squeaking past him with a mere 176 point lead. This is Men's first Player Of The Year award since 2002. We here at Bodog Poker want to congratulate Men on a fantastic year!
Clear your mantle to make room for that 2006 Player Of The Year Award; Win your way to the World Poker Tour with Bodog!
A recent survey showed some interesting statistics about online poker players. More than half of the surveyed players admitted to playing in nothing but their underwear or in some cases, completely nude.
Recently I've been investigating the gap between what's considered acceptable in online poker and what's acceptable in live games. What can you do at a live game that's considered impolite in an online game, and vice versa. So I decided to steal a page from this study and run a little 'scientific experiment' of my own at the local poker room.
I'd really rather not go into what happened with that one, apparently "It's for science!" doesn't work as an excuse anymore. I would, however, like to take a moment to thank Officers Jameson & Trent for not pressing indecent exposure charges. That was a close one…
I've decided to stick to safer things, like trying to guess what my opponents are wearing as well as their hole cards. Speaking of keeping the mind occupied, Shannon Elizabeth is quite the poker aficionado; I wonder what she's playing in…
Strip down and heat things up this winter in the Bodog Poker Room!
Congratulations to the player 'BillBinLV' from North Las Vegas, NV for winning Christmas Day's $100,000 Guaranteed event. For taking top spot 'BillBinLV' won himself $25,000. Finishing in second place out of a field of 555 was the player 'urbancamo21′ from Fargo, ND who took home $15,000. Congratulations to both of you.
Is there a better way to spend your Sunday afternoons than playing online poker and winning your share of $100,000+ Prize Pool? The $100K Guaranteed Tournament will payout the $100,000 no matter how many people register and play. With two levels of qualifying tournaments to compete in during the week, the Sunday Final is a great way for poker players of all skill sets to get their chance at a large money prize.
Twas the night before Christmas and everyone was online
Playing poker at Bodog and drinking moonshine
The blinds had been posted and the antes all paid
Ace / king in my hand both of them spades
I made a big bet from under the gun
And 3 players called me, the games just begun
The first caller plays tight and not too aggressive
The second one loose and not too impressive
I've got no read on the third as he's a new player
But his screen name is McCheese, he must be the mayor
So with four of us in we wait for the flop
I'm hoping all spades soon will be dropped
Much to my surprise the flop went my way
Three spades fell, nine, ten and a trey
With nut flush in hand and 3 more still playing
I'm thinking I'll slow play and they all will be paying
So I check the first action and the tight player does the same
The loose guy then folds and I think what a shame
The actions to McCheese and he's taking his time
If he held a smaller flush that would be sublime
He finally bets, it's 4 times the big blind
To him as well the flop must have been kind
I casually call so I don't cause suspicion
Taking his money is the goal of my mission
The tight player fold and says "too rich for my blood
I've had enough of hold'em I'm switching to stud"
So now its heads up and I'm still looking fine
Not too long now and his bankroll is mine
The turn is a diamond it's number a three
No help for him and no use to me
I check once again and hope that he bets
He pushes all in, a move he'll regret
I push my chips in and show him my flush
I'm gonna win big, oh man what a rush
He flips his cards over and shows a ten and a nine
A possible boat is all that will beat mine
I get a little nervous while we wait for 5th street
If it's a nine or a ten my flush will be beat
The river gets dealt and it looks like a ten
A ten, what the heck! I got screwed!
Forget this stupid poem, I hate Christmas!
Merry Christmas from Bodog Poker. We wish you the nuts in the new year and hope that the beats stay on the radio where they belong.
World Series of Poker Champion Joe Hachem has lucked out once again. The Australian Tax Office ruled that he would not have to pay tax on his $10 million dollar win. Their reasoning behind it was that the money was derived from a hobby and not a business. That's fair.
I'd also like to use this opportunity to announce my entirely coincidental, and in no way related to the information in the preceding paragraph, retirement. I will no longer be working for Bodog, but I will continue to perform all of my regular duties as a hobby to fill up time. We aging 21-year-old men need to enjoy our twilight years, too. Oh, and I may still get a paycheck every two weeks or so, it's just not work.
Aw, who am I kidding. I'm just jealous that he thought of it first. And the whole "winning the WSOP" thing, I'm a bit jealous over that too. Wish we all had stacks of poker chips that big.
The holidays are a time for family and friends. But after you've spent several hours staring at the Christmas Tree, or watching It's A Wonderful Life for the zillionth time, what's left to do? Why, deck the halls with a deck o' cards, of course!
At least this goes over well with my mother, who has an inexplicable interest in the game of poker. It's my elder brother who gets in the way of holiday card playing fun. "Poker," he grumbles, almost Grinch-like, "I hate poker." I could ask why, but I already know the story and try to harness my mother's enthusiasm to get my brother into the game, as it were. It turns out that my bro once played poker for money (yes, once, in like 1975). He ended up losing money, which is not unusual for newcomers. What he resents to this day is that he was playing penny-ante poker, and still managed to lose twenty bucks!
So if there was ever a candidate for free online poker, it's my brother. Perhaps then he would understand that it is possible to play poker without getting taken to the cleaners. Until them I guess my best bet is to stiffen his eggnog with a liberal portion of rum before hauling out the chip set, and remind him that the clay discs have no cash value in a family game. C'mon bro … consider a few hands of poker a Christmas present to our dear ole gambling mom!
New York City's commuters are having a bit of a rough couple of days. The city's transit workers have gone on strike over pension benefits, forcing millions of New Yorkers to find their own ways to work or school. The city has really come together, in much the way that only New Yorkers can. Those guys are badass. You just don't mess with people who have accents that think. Unless they're Swedish, because what are they going to do? Assemble an Ikea desk at you?
Okay, maybe that is kind of scary.
Only at Bodog can you bet on when the New York transit strike will end. Lord knows that all you New Yorkers out there reading this are praying for 'Soon!'
Get all your entertainment betting needs, and my Sinatra impression, in the Bodog Sportsbook!
Congratulations to the player 'bottsky' from Rexburg, ID for winning Sunday's $100,000 Guaranteed tournament. 'bottsky' ended up taking home a cool $25,000 for taking the top spot. Finishing in second place out of a field of 770 was the player 'beardown34′ from Downer's Grove, IL who walked away with $14,300. Congratulations to both of you.
Is there a better way to spend your Sunday afternoons than playing online poker and winning your share of $100,000+ Prize Pool? The $100K Guaranteed Tournament will payout the $100,000 no matter how many people register and play. With two levels of qualifying tournaments to compete in during the week, the Sunday Final is a great way for poker players of all skill sets to get their chance at a large money prize.
It's time once again for yet another fabulous poker related entry by yours truly. Doing a little bit of poker searching around the web, I came across a great little article by Bill Epps over at iForge about making your own fireplace poker. Completely illustrated and very in depth, it's everything you could want to know about making your own poker. You just have to be careful, these things aren't fragile but when your poker chips it's a bit of an expensive cosmetic fix.
Twas The Night Before WSOP And All Through The Bellagio…
So I'm sitting around the Bodog offices, perched atop my Thinking Chair, trying to come up with a great idea for a new blog entry that somehow relates to all the hubbub about this 'Chr-ist-mas' thing. It was already enough that I'd torn myself from the loving embrace of the felt to write another blog entry. But now it had to relate to something other than poker? I was confused.
My boss spent a couple hours explaining to me that yes, there are things out there other than poker. It took a while for this to sink in, so I retired to my Thinking Chair. I asked the Bodog Girls that were fanning me, feeding me grapes, and in general attending to my every whim for an idea; they couldn't come up with anything either.
So, after hours of intense pondering, I have come up with something. Since I am a benevolent-ish dictator, I have chosen to help you (that's right, *you*) get your last minute Christmas shopping done. I was originally going to take each and every one of you shopping, but the boss thought that was just a tad excessive.
Therefore, I give you the Top Ten Christmas Gifts For Online Poker Players. Not only is it important enough to be capitalized, but I bet no one has ever done this before. Not even those clever late night TV hosts could possibly ever think of doing a top ten list.
10. Bad Beat Stress Ball - Gotta have something to help you get through those tough times and your pillow isn't always within punching range. This is more of a stocking stuffer, unless you don't really like the person you're getting this for and you're getting them a small gift out of guilt. I've got one around here somewhere for that once-a-year occasion where I lose a hand.
9. New Underwear - I don't know about any of the rest of you, but lucky poker underwear is starting to look a bit shabby. So why not give the gift of new underwear! That way they can look good as well as play online poker without any pants. These ones are my personal favourite, it just doesn't get any better than dogs playing poker. They're so easy to beat, too. Except for this one collie, that bastard stole all my money on a lucky river card. Damn you, Lassie!
8. Jesus Poker Chips - For those who want to check, convert, and call their way up to that big no limit tournament in the sky. If nothing else, they're great for a laugh when you organize your next poker game at home. Just don't invite the Pope, that guy cannot play to save his life. Open your poker dictionary to the word "Maniac" and you'll find a picture of him there. Trust me.
7. Microblimp - Never get put on auto-fold again! Any time you need to leave your chair, just send this handy blimp for food, drinks, or anythign else you need. This blimp is also useful for dive bombing annoying neighbours and re-enacting the fate of the Hindenburg with Lego men.
6. Magnetic Poetry - This may seem kind of kitschy, but trust me on this one. You can attach it to your fridge or somewhere near your computer, it'll give you something to do between hands, and your girlfriend can't claim you never do anything artsy anymore. Next time you're in the middle of getting an earful over how much poker you play, just show her the poem you made for her and everything will be alright.
5. Your own personal poker dome! - Why play around the kitchen table when you can play in one of these babies? All you need is a friend or relative willing to cough up the multimillion dollar price tag for one as your Christmas present. Comes complete with hole cameras, instant fame and fortune, and probably some Fox Sports Network coverage on any tournaments you run. Just don't let Pauly Shore in, I heard he's had some bad experience with domes.
4. Gold WPT bracelet - What better way to say 'Merry Christmas' to an online poker player than a $22,000 gold WPT bracelet that has 'WPT' embedded in diamonds? Well I'm going to list three more, since this is number 4 on my list. I don't go in much for the bling, but I guarantee you that if you get this gift for Mr. T for Christmas, you will most definitely not be a pitied fool.
3. Let Team Bodog player Kido Pham use your account for a week and keep the winnings! - Not only is this going to do wonders for your reputation at the tables, but imagine how much money a reigning WSOP champion could make! This also comes in handy if you've recently gone in over your head and publically challenged Joe Hachem to a hundred thousand dollar heads up tournament.
2. WPT/WSOP Entry Fee - Give the gift of competition, stress, and live poker. Well, the stress bit isn't so great but this would still be a dream come true for so many Bodog players out there. We've got our qualifying tournaments running all the time, but if you wanna buy someone in directly as a Christmas present that's sure to make them smile. Let us know if you do and maybe we can get them some stylish Bodog gear to wear at the tables.
Just remember, if you decide to get this for an online poker player you have to remind them that it's a live game; They can't dance around the table when they've got a full house like at home. At the WSOP, you have to dance *on* the table if you're dancin' anywhere. These are the rules.
And finally…
1. A romantic evening, including a candlelit dinner for two at the Quay restaurant in Vancouver with Bodog Founder & CEO, Calvin Ayre.
…What? Why are you looking at me like that? Women play online poker too.
Besides, he's dreamy…
Your Christmas wishes may yet come true on Christmas morning, but ya gotta have something to do in the meantime; Come play in the Bodog Poker Room and enjoy the thrill of online poker.
The Fox Sports Network is set to televise the one of the world's largest jackpot winner-take-all poker events with a purse of $60 million dollars. The final event of the 'Poker Dome' series will feature six of the world's richest players, including Phil Ivey, to buy in with $10 million of their own money. Anyone willing to get together the $10 million entry fee can be considered to be a participant into the tournament, so if anyone wants to lend me a couple of bucks, much appreciated.
The tournament is scheduled for July 12 in a giant high-tech bubble to be built called the 'Poker Dome' overlooking the Strip. I've got my own glass window that I look at the strip through, but mine costs 25 cents a minute for some strange reason. I just can't put my finger on it…
Enjoy a good game of online poker in the Bodog Poker Room from the comfort of your own dome.
Sunday was yet another exciting day in the land of Bodog Poker. The $100,000 Guaranteed no limit Hold'em event was eventually won by the player 'catfish4U' from Troy, IL. For taking the top spot 'catfish4U' took home $25,000. Finishing in second place out of a field of 860 was the player 'zacamusss' form Unity, ME who earned himself $14,000. Congratulations to both of you.
Is there a better way to spend your Sunday afternoons than playing online poker and winning your share of $100,000+ Prize Pool? The $100K Guaranteed Tournament will payout the $100,000 no matter how many people register and play. With two levels of qualifying tournaments to compete in during the week, the Sunday Final is a great way for poker players of all skill sets to get their chance at a large money prize.
Looks like the infamous (or unfamous) 'Armed Old Man Bandit' has finally run out of luck. Edmond Sykes, 54, was a known gambler who also happened to be wanted for armed robbery. Unable to find him at his house, the FBI began going to the local casinos to hand out flyers with his face on them when one of the agents happened to notice him sitting at a poker table and arrested him during a hand. How's that for a bad beat? Oh well, no matter how many news articles I look at, not one of them says what his hole cards were. Priorities, people!
I have this fantastic image in my brain of Sykes, also known as the 'Fedora Bandit', frantically trying to buy some getaway time on one of those little motorized wheelchairs by throwing his poker chips at the FBI agent, bouncing 'em off his forehead. It was probably way more boring than that though. I bet he just had a regular wheelchair.
Don't break the bank, fill that sucker up! Come play online poker with Bodog.
Those of you lucky enough to have the GSN Network on your satellite dishes can tune in to the latest poker TV show, High Stakes Poker, this coming January. Rather than the tournament style of every other poker TV show out there, High Stakes Poker is focusing on the art of the cash game.
The biggest and baddest of the cash games, with a $100,000 minimum buy-in of the player's own money. Stars include Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth, and Johnny Chan. I'd be on the list too, but my vast fortune is currently financing a very private enterprise. I can't provide too many details, all I can say is that it involves 200 feet of bubble wrap, 14 midgets, and a very perky Paris Hilton.
The original premise of the show was a poker celebrity strip poker game, however that was canned. Not because it was deemed to racy for TV, but because the producers realized that nobody wants to see Doyle Brunson naked. The first episode of High Stakes Poker will be aired wrinkle-free on January 16th.
The mighty state of Alabama might be a new paradise for live poker games, bringing in a boatload of cash for the state's native reserves. The National Indian Game Commission is currently in the process of deciding whether or not to allow live poker action in reserve casino's in Alabama.
Being a poker player myself, I can assure you that I am totally unbiased in my opinion that this shining beacon of hope for Alabama poker players is quite possibly even better than sliced bread. I mean really, it's bread! You can just tear it into pieces with no effort. Compared to this astonishing achievement (which, I might add is possibly worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize nomination), slicing bread is nothing.
Enjoy some online poker and an Alabama Slammer from the comfort of your own home with Bodog Poker.
Self made millionaire Dominic Marrocco bought Mike Tyson's Las Vegas home and is planning on giving it away as the top prize in a reality TV poker tournament. Mr. Tyson himself will be one of the players competing for the $4 million home. It has not yet been decided whether Marrocco will keep the TV rights for himself or if he will sell them to a major television network. Either way, Mike Tyson will be on reality TV. A lot of things in life are meant to go together; football and beer, pizza and beer, beer and more beer, but this one takes the cake. It's about time!
I can hear Tyson crying already, "If it wasn't for poker knowledge, math skills, luck, and the ability to contol one's own emotions I'd win every tournament."
If you're interested in a poker game where there is no chance of getting your ear bitten off, try playing online poker at Bodog.
It was a back and forth battle between the players 'MizzouMadMan' and 'The Cream' in Sunday's $100,000 Guaranteed event. In the end 'MizzouMadMan' from Columbia, MO ended up taking the top spot and earned himself $25,000. 'The Cream' from Chelmsford, AL didn't walk away empty handed; he took home a cool $14,300. Congratulations to both of you!
Is there a better way to spend your Sunday afternoons than playing online poker and winning your share of $100,000+ Prize Pool? The $100K Guaranteed Tournament will payout the $100,000 no matter how many people register and play. With two levels of qualifying tournaments to compete in during the week, the Sunday Final is a great way for poker players of all skill sets to get their chance at a large money prize.
