Man vs machine update

July 26, 2007

The fourth and final session of the man vs machine contest which pitched top poker pros against a research robot ended in Vancouver yesterday with a victory for the humans – but only just. And Polaris was praised as a tough, hard to beat opponent by both Laak and Eslami. The first match saw a […]

Man vs. machine (update)

July 25, 2007

With one more 500 hand session to be played, the issue of whether human poker players are better than bots has yet to be decided. Thus far, three of the four scheduled sessions have been played, with a technical tie called for the first session played Monday afternoon, Polaris winning the second session Monday and […]

Atlantic City poker dealers under threat?

July 24, 2007

Following approval to test by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, 11 Atlantic City casinos may now move ahead with plans to test electronic poker and roulette tables, a controversial initiative that could cut down on the number of human dealers necessary. “I think it adds a new element to the Atlantic City market,” Casino […]

Man vs. Robot poker

July 24, 2007

Attracting hundreds of column inches in the mainstream press around the world this week is the unusual University of Alberta project to pit man against its Polaris poker-playing research robot. So far the results are not exactly conclusive, with Polaris pulling a draw in the first match Monday against poker pros Phil “Unabomber” Laak and […]

WSOP bracelet champs lines up for inaugural European poker extravaganza

July 23, 2007

Pre-registration for the World Series of Poker Europe presented by Betfair.com has been open for only two weeks and already some of the biggest names in poker have paid the GBP10 000 entry fee to the main event, a company spokesman announced this week. Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Roland de Wolfe, […]

Top women poker players head for London

July 22, 2007

The first televised Party Poker.com $3 000 buy-in Women’s World Open poker tournament is imminent, starting in London on August 7 and running through to August 10, with 36 top women players vying for a prizepool worth $108 000, with a $50 000 main prize. American competitors flying in from the United States include Jennifer […]

A matter of personal freedom

July 22, 2007

The online poker news and information portal Poker News this week carried an interesting interview with Florida Democrat and Congressman Robert Wexler, who is one of four US politicians who have introduced seperate legislative proposals seeking to ameliorate the effects of the prohibitionary Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Wexler’s Bill is entitled “The Skill Game […]

Betfair gearing up for European WSOP

July 20, 2007

The World Series of Poker action in Vegas may have been centre stage in the media last week, but for UK gambling group Betfair the focus was probably on gearing up for the inaugural European version of the poker epic later this year Betfair has been selected as the presenter for the first WSOP outside […]

PPA membership now over 600 000

July 20, 2007

With a claimed 500 percent increase in membership since the beginning of 2007, the Poker Players’ Alliance pressure group for the legalisation of online poker and gambling in the United States appears to be reaching the sort of critical mass that motivates politicians to sit up and take notice. And the organisation isn’t stopping there, […]

Another online poker room

July 19, 2007

Latest arrival on the Internet poker scene is a Boss Media powered online poker room branded GPC Poker Room.com, a subsidiary of Universal Gaming Concepts Inc, a firm with 7 years industry experience which includes Global Player.com among its managed gaming properties. The new venue will operate on Boss Media’s IPN network, offering players access […]