online-poker

Michigan Board Greenlights Online Poker Shared Liquidity

The state of Michigan has just become a party to a multijurisdictional poker agreement. This paves the way for residents of the state who play poker online to compete against players from other states. Poker fans in the state will compete against players in Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey.

One of Michigan’s top gaming regulators, Henry Williams, was on hand to sign the document granting his state permission to take part in the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement. The announcement of the state’s participation was initially made public a month ago, but it had to be completed before Michigan could join.

All of this started back in December 2020, when the Michigan Legislature approved a measure that would enable the MGCB to become a member of a multijurisdictional poker compact. Sen. Curtis Hertel, a Democrat who represents East Lansing, was the primary sponsor of bill PA 327, and on December 29, 2020, Governor Gretchen Whitmer gave her signature on the legislation.

“I am happy to announce Michigan has joined the multistate poker compact, and much of the increased tax revenue from multistate poker will go to support K-12 education in Michigan. By joining, Michigan will almost double the potential pool of participants in multistate poker games.”

Michigan Gaming Control Board Executive Director Henry Williams

The initial online gambling law (PA 152) that went into force in December 2019 lacked wording that would have enabled players to participate in several jurisdictions. Now, just one game has been exempted from the restriction, and that is poker.

New Requirements for Operators

The Michigan Gaming Control Board notes that licensed operators and related platform providers must fulfill several processes to obtain MGCB clearance to start multistate poker. Guidance on participation criteria for interested parties was published by the organization in April.

The multijurisdictional agreement stipulates that the operators must fulfill all criteria and regulations before starting multistate poker operations, including the need that only states included in the agreement participate. Additionally, they must get clearance for new platforms or platform updates, new remote gaming systems, and new game software.

Multistate poker providers must also seek internet gaming supplier licenses for any new suppliers utilized in conjunction with the poker game, as well as the MGCB registration for any new vendors. The Gaming Control Board may also issue occupational licenses to new multistate poker operators and platform providers.

At the moment, there are three licensed operators and providers that offer online poker in the state of Michigan. These include the MGM Grand Detroit with its partner site BetMGM, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians with its partner site World Series of Poker, and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians with its partner site PokerStars.

ggpoker-logo

GGPoker Unveils New Ask Fedor Feature

Want to get better at your poker game? How about getting a chance to learn from a poker pro? That is exactly what GGPoker is offering with its new, powerful, and innovative Ask Fedor feature. This is essentially a unique tailor-made deep learning system that was built in consultation with Fedor Holz, one of the best poker players alive.

The German poker pro has built up quite a reputation in the poker sector. Over the course of his career, he has earned over $32.5 million in live poker events and millions more from online poker gaming. That said, it is very exciting to get the opportunity to pick his brain.

How It Works

Ask Fedor is powered by Prometheus AI which not only analyzes your hand history but also gives detailed feedback on how you play a specific hand. To begin, you will be given feedback in the form of a one- to five-star rating. Five stars indicate that you played the hand in the same way or manner as Ask Fedor would.

“The perfect poker player doesn’t exist, and every one of us is curious about the best way to play a hand. This is why we have created Ask Fedor. Your hand is analyzed in real-time and the advice provided will help bring your game to the next level. It helps bridge the gap between casual players and professionals…”

Fedor Holz, GGPoker Ambassador

After the rating is then, the players then get recommendations on how to play the hand differently. In the long term, making the changes suggested by Ask Fedor should yield better outcomes for all the players that choose to participate.

The Ask Fedor feature currently only works in No-Limit Hold’em cash games and tournaments. However, there are plans in the works to introduce more varieties, so stay tuned.

Is It Free?

Well, it is possible to try out the feature without paying anything extra. Every player at GGPoker has been awarded five free asks. They may use these the next time they log into their account. You may choose from three membership tiers if you want additional requests to assist you in your game.

To make it more enticing, if you sign up for any of the subscription packages, GGPoker will give you a 50% discount on your first month. It is worth noting that VIP games can only be analyzed with the Ask Fedor Premium package. Cash games with stakes of $25/$50 or above, as well as tournaments with buy-ins of $5,000 or more, are classified as VIP games.

online-poker

Online Poker Finally Arrives in Ontario

Ontario’s online gambling market is finally a reality and this represents a lot of renewed optimism about Canada’s gambling sector. Being the very first jurisdiction in the country to take bets within the context of a legal and private online gaming market, it sets the pace for what we can expect in the future.

Going forward, residents of Ontario will be able to wager on casino games as well as sporting events. Other forms of gambling products and services will also be offered online on both mobile apps and web-based platforms. These will, of course, have to be from licensed and regulated operators.

So far, iGaming Ontario has registered an impressive 25 operators. More are expected to be added in the long run but this is certainly a great start. Thankfully, there is a decent number of online poker options. Poker enthusiasts in the jurisdiction now have another amazing option when it comes to enjoying their favorite online poker titles.

Offshore Operations

Now, even though online gaming is now available in Ontario, some of the online poker options will still be offered from offshore sites. Players will not need to worry about the lack of localized content though as the poker operators are taking the new market very seriously.

PokerStars, for instance, will strive to ensure that its customers in Ontario have access to the global poker market as well as its massive player pool. 888poker and GGPoker who are always big brands in the online poker sector also have their sights set on the newly-launched market. There is talk of even more operators coming in.

Two-Tiered System

The launch of online gambling today (Monday, April 4, 2022) came with the creation of a de-factor two-tiered system. As it stands, there are no long-term plans for the system but it is expected to have some far-reaching impacts, especially on poker players.

Commissioned by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), the two-tiered system is intended to help with avoiding a blackout period. This means that licensed online poker operators will be operating alongside rivals that have just started the licensing process.

On the bright side, this could help eliminate the possibility of black market operators stepping in where the players have no viable options. The main disadvantage of this is that it might lead to the market having some arguably inferior products and services. Still, this is all work in progress and we will have to wait and see how it all pans out over the coming months.

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Poker Problems Amid Sanctions on Russian Banks

With the war on Ukraine, a lot of things have certainly been affected. Global tension aside, there have been lots of casualties. At the same time, many aspects of both Ukraine’s and Russia’s operations have taken a hit.

In the case of Russia, the country’s banking systems have since taken a nosedive primarily because of interventions from other countries. Most notably, the United Kingdom, European Union and the United States agreed to remove Russia’s banks from SWIFT, the global international payment system.

As a result of these sanctions, the assets of the Russian central bank were essentially frozen. The stock exchange was forced to close something that ended up spurring a surge in ATM withdrawals across the country. Consequently, Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, moved to ban international bank transfers.

The Impact on Poker

Poker is probably the last thing on many people’s minds but it would not be surprising to find that people are using the games to cope with all that’s going on. For people who may fall into this category, there is another complication. As it stands, the only options they have available to them when it comes to making deposits and withdrawals are offshore payment services. To that effect, even some of the most popular online poker operators have had to make some changes.

PokerStars, for instance, transferred its Russian players from its EU network in November 2021. This is not directly linked to the ongoing situation. The state of poker in the country was already a bit shaky in the country. Similarly, partypoker chose to let go of its operations in the Russian market. That was after trying and failing to run its online operations from Sochi like PokerStars.

The Alternatives

All in all, it seems like Russian players will not even have access to unlicensed offshore online poker sites. Aside from international payment options some of which are also likely to stop working in Russia, the remaining option is digital currencies like Bitcoin.

In addition to using crypto to play online, Russian players can also use crypto to contribute to relief efforts in Ukraine. Members of the poker and gambling community at large are already doing this thanks to the decentralization of crypto. We can therefore all chip in one way or the other.

Even though poker is definitely not even close to a priority considering what is happening right now, the impact on the sector is proof of the far-reaching effects of the attacks on Ukraine.

2022-poker

Online Poker Wish List for 2022

The past couple of years have been quite challenging, to say the least. This was especially true for the land-based gambling sector which had to deal with the measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Online gambling, on the other hand, did not suffer quite as much as, something that is easily proven by the stellar performance of various iGaming sectors.

Online poker is quite mature now but this does not mean that it has stopped growing. The vertical still benefits from several innovations and technological advancements as operators rush to meet the growing market demand. Crypto and blockchain stand out for being some of the most notable technologies that have been pushing poker forward.

However, they are not the only aspects that we are paying attention to in 2022. Here are some of the things that we are hoping for in the world of poker this year:

Interstate Poker in the United States

Traffic sharing is a pretty big deal in the world of online poker. Not only does it open the doors for soma amazing possibilities for the players but it also creates room for more growth for the poker operators. In the United States, the best way of achieving traffic sharing has been interstate poker.

As it stands, only WSOP (World Series of Poker) can share traffic in the country. Unfortunately, this is limited to Delaware New Jersey and Nevada which happen to be the smallest regulated online poker markets in the United States.

Keeping that in mind, it would be amazing if Michigan and Pennsylvania could also be part of this online poker network. These two have massive poker markets and their inclusion would be a big step for online poker in the country. Moreover, it would even be better if other operators other than WSOP could launch their networks. The top contenders in this regard would be PokerStars, partypoker and BetMGM Poker.

2022 might not be the year all this is achieved but, hopefully, even a single step in the right direction could begin the journey towards the online poker market of our dreams.

An Expanded Poker Market Maybe?

When it comes to legal online poker, we have made tremendous strides towards an expanded regulated market. Even so, only a handful of states have actually come on board. Poker enthusiasts in many other states have had to stick to offshore betting sites or even underground poker sites which come with their own set of cons.

For state authorities, one of the things we hope will be a key consideration will be the introduction of regulated, safe and reliable poker offerings in their states. Some discussions had already begun and we will be following closely to see how far they go.

All in all, 2022 will certainly be quite a year. Nothing is cast in stone and there are lots of possibilities. Happy new year!

pokerfi-logo

PokerFi.Finance to Unite Crypto and Poker Users

The utilization of crypto and related technologies in the world of gambling is not an entirely new thing. Still, there is so much to be discovered in the sector. New entrants debut innovative technologies and products regularly and this is what keeps it going. For poker players, it is now more apparent than ever that crypto is a huge part of the industry.

As part of an ambitious plan to further unite poker players and crypto enthusiasts, PokerFi.Finance has come up with an innovative approach for financial transactions in live and online poker. The main goal of this is to bring more awareness about crypto to poker players. It further provides this group of people with an incredible system through which they can earn some passive income. This should further give more people more reason to be a part of it.

How It Works

PokerFi.Finance which is also referred to as Poker Finance token is essentially a digital currency. It is linked to BEP-20 on the Binance Smart Chain and is built on a foundation of three ideas. That is to improve Decentralized Finance (DeFi), offer great poker games and deliver a deflationary system.

The deflationary nature of the system will likely be the most eye-catching thing for many people. That is because it means that the token holders will be able to earn in dollars with dividends and they will not have to sell their coins to make that possible. As for the actual figures, PokerFi.Finance token holders will have the chance to earn a 6 percent fee for every transaction. A 3 percent share is automatically distributed every 12 hours to everyone with over 35,000 coins in their token wallets.

More Perks

When it comes to actual poker gaming, the users of the PokerFi.Finance platform also have a lot to look forward to. The players will get the chance to rake back up to 70 percent of their spend on the site. This is paid out weekly in $BUSD. In addition to that, the side features an amazing loyalty program. Referred to as the PointFi rewards program, it is made to cater to all users with accounts on the site. Once registered, the players get 1FP for every $1 wagered.

The total rake of the site will contribute to growing the value of the PokerFi.Finance token. 2 percent of the total rake is dedicated to that goal. Players still can get to reap the benefits of this too. Qualifying players will receive a 5 percent share of the total rake.

coop-2021

PokerStars COOP Series Coming to Three Different States in September

Poker lovers in the United States who may be feeling left out of all the action in PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) have something to smile about. While they are still not able to access the dot come version of the poker room and participate in the tournament, the operator has found a way to cater to them. The company has recently announced that it will be running Champions of Online Poker (COOPs) in three different states.

That said, poker lovers in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the three states, will be able to simultaneously enjoy some special tournament action. This will run from September 10 through September 27. But that is not the only great news that the players should look forward to.

Amazing Prize Pools

According to the operator, the total guaranteed prize pools across the three states will be a whopping $4.5 million. Players who will be participating in the Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker (PACOOP) will take the biggest share of the prize pool. That is $2 million in guaranteed prizes which will be won across a total of 69 events.

Coming in second will be the Michigan Championship of Online Poker (MICOOP). This is promising $1.5 million in guaranteed prize pools for its 68 events. The New Jersey Championship of Online Poker (NJCOOP) will be offering $1 million in guaranteed prizes that will be won over a total of 60 events.

All the Main Event winners during the tournament will receive a PokerStars trophy. In addition to that, there are a few special COOP events whose winners will also receive trophies. The guarantees for these Main Events are as follows:

  • $200,000 for PACOOP
  • $150,000 for MICOOP
  • $100,000 for NJCOOP

How To Get In

If you are looking to participate in any of the state poker events, you will be happy to know that the buy-ins for most events will be quite reasonable. Most of them will be below $100. However, they could range from as low as $10 to as high as $100. All the Main Events will have buy-ins of $300. That’s not too bad. They will also be running for two days starting from September 26.

To help their customers get in on the poker action, PokerStars is also hosting several promotions till September 26. All that the players need to do is participate in the operator’s special $3 Spin & Go’s. With that, they stand a chance of winning the $300 COOP Main Event tickets.

funtoken

FUNToken.io and Intertops Organize Crypto Poker Freeroll Event

This holiday weekend has been filled with lots of niceties, especially for gamers. For crypto and casino game enthusiasts, it has been even more fun. Poker players have been treated to quite an amazing experience thanks to the largest cryptocurrency poker freeroll event that comes to an end today, July 4.

Intertops, one of the biggest online gambling platforms on the planet, has recently partnered with FUNTokem.io, and together they have made history with the freeroll event. Hosted by Intertops, the tournament featured daily satellites all leading up to the July 4 final table.

“We’re very excited to have our first poker freeroll for FUN tokens hosted by one of the longest established i-gaming sites, Intertops.eu. And we’re working with Intertops to explore further integration with the Fun token on their site in the future,” FunToken.io Adriaan Brink commented.

For many poker lovers who also have interests in crypto, this was a great opportunity for them to claim thousands of free FUN tokens. These are very lucrative to own and are tradeable in major digital currency exchanges like Binance, BitFinex, HitBTC, and Changelly among others.

Huge Win for Gambling and Crypto

As mentioned earlier, Intertops is no stranger to the world of gambling. The operator already boasts of offering up to 4,000 daily wagers to customers from all around the globe. It also has a solid reputation having paid out over $500 million in winnings to its customers. The opportunity to host a crypto poler freeroll event thus presents it with a unique opportunity to tap into that market.

For FUNToken, partnering with Intertops is a great way of reaching even more gambling enthusiasts. The digital asset is already an established one-stop gaming token that makes online gambling much easier to finance and integrate. Its best traits are that it provides a clear and provably fair method of funding. This has enabled the token to revolutionize the way that online casino operators hand important operations like deposits, withdrawals, transactions, and even loyalty points or rewards.

The crypto sector continues to prove that it is more than ready for mainstream adoption. While it has certainly come a long way, it is not where we all want it to get to. At least not yet. With such collaborations and events, more people will be able to see the viability of digital currencies as ways of funding gambling activities and modern means of exchange. This is just the beginning.

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Virtue Poker to Hold Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament

Renowned blockchain-powered poker platform Virtue Poker is looking to deliver yet another win to the crypto-ecosystem thanks to an upcoming poker tournament. The company will be celebrating its recent launch and developments through the poker tournament which is expected to go down sometime in early June. Having been under development for five years, the Phil Ivey-led online poker operation has so much going for it and it is all about to get even better.

Lots to Look Forward To

Virtue Poker did not seem to have much of a problem pushing its upcoming celebrity poker tournament. Backing the venture are some very well-known industry investors including Pantera Capital, ConsenSys, and DFG Group among others, all of whom could further help solidify its credibility. That said, the no-limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament will be a great launchpad for the company’s ambitious plan for the industry.

Already there is a solid lineup of people that are expected to attend. These include celebrities, influencers, and many poker industry leaders. Most notably, Phil Ivey who also happens to be a Poker Hall of Famer will be among the people that will grace the poker tournament. Other notable figures that will be participating in the tournament include the Virtue Poker Pro team, Ethereum Co-Founder Joe Lubin, Founder and CEO of Ethernity Chain Nick Rose, and NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce.

“Virtue Poker is excited to take this next step to drive awareness and adoption of the world’s first blockchain-based P2P poker platform. Through our partnership with SuperStarter and our execution of our Celebrity Poker Charity event, Virtue Poker will be able to grow our community’s foundation as well as showcase the platform to a broad audience,” Virtue Poker CEO Ryan Gittleson.

The winner of the planned tournament will get to decide on a charitable organization that will receive the proceeds from the event. Virtue Poker will also issue all of the celebrity participants with NFTs and these will act as bounties of sorts during the tournament.

Where to Catch the Action

For anyone that will be interested in watching all the action that will go down during Virtue Poker’s tournament, look no further. The operator will be broadcasting the even as it unfolds on Twitch. In addition to that, fans of the participants will also be able to watch on the channels of these players.

Crypto giving back to the community is certainly a good thing but this is also bound to mark yet another huge leap for crypto and blockchain as they move towards mainstream adoption.

atari-casino

Atari Launches Crypto Casino on Decentraland

Atari is arguably one of the most iconic and most recognizable brands in the world of gaming. However, the company has had some ups and downs over the past decade or so, a situation that has forced it to find other ways of keeping the business going. A few years ago, crypto and blockchain would seem to be the most unlikely of places for the company to venture into but that is no longer the case. Now, it is full steam ahead for Atari’s new blockchain division.

In early March, Atari announced its plans for an Ethereum blockchain casino in partnership with Decentral Games. For this venture, the video game-turned-casino company planned to feature a range of nostalgic games and Atari non-fungible tokens (NFTs), both of which its users can be leveraged to earn more digital currency. This, they projected, would bring over $150 million in 2021 and $400 million over two years.

Last Thursday, all those plans finally paid off when Atari finally held a virtual launch party for its new crypto casino project. The branded casino launch party featured DJ and Produce Dillon Francis who played a live set and went to participate in a huge sale.

The NFT Sale

One of the biggest highlights of the launch party was the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) which, as mentioned above, Dillon Francis also participated in. The special NFTs that the DJ sold was a collaboration between him and renowned visual artist MERDA. All three NFTs that they collaborated in creating were inspired by Gerald the Pinata which, as it turns out, contributed to their value immensely.

The auctioning of the NFT was done on OpenSea as well as other platforms where they fetched thousands of dollars in crypto. The “3D Pixel Gerald,” for instance, sold for 6.42 ether (ETH), the equivalent of $17,788.

What Next for Atari?

While this is an exciting new venture for the Japanese video game company, it has no plans to abandon its roots. According to its officials, Atari will continue to operate and develop its successful free-to-play mobile games. They will, however, be shifting new development to console and PC, with “an emphasis on revitalizing classic Atari intellectual property for the modern era.”

That said, it will also leverage the unique position of its brand name in both gaming and non-gaming-related fields (including hotels and casinos). If the success in licensing the Atari-related brands for use in NFTs over the recent past is anything to go by, this might just work.