POKER NEWS for August 2009

August promises to be a fun month for online poker enthusiasts. We have some awesome upgrades to our favorite poker rooms, fantastic promotions and events, plus a kickass freeroll to tell you about!


FULLTILT POKER UPGRADES
Full Tilt has made some major changes to their software.

Improved Navigation
Now you have 3 choices of lobby views making it much easier to find a game and manage your preferences. They've also added advanced filters to help you find the exact games and tables you want to join and now you can add them to your favorites so you never have to search for a table again.

Tournament Deals
This is a unique feature where players have the chance to cut a deal once they reach the final table. You get three different options to split all or part of the pot. I love this feature! WTG FullTilt!

FTP Hand Replayer
Replay and review each hand you’ve played at every table during your current session with Full Tilt Poker’s new FTP Hand Replayer. Improve your game by analyzing each play and evaluating your strategy at your own pace.

FTOPS XIII kicks off in August with 25 new chances to take home FTOPS gold. With more than $16 Million in guaranteed prize money, this is the biggest FTOPS yet. Action begins on August 5th and culminates with a $2.5 Million Main Event.

Full Tilt Poker Academy
The FullTilt Poker Academy is a free online poker school. Tapping the expertise of over 100 of the game's greatest players, the Academy offers a unique mix of video and interactive content that will quickly bring your game to the next level. No strings attached, membership is absolutely free! To gain full access to the Academy, all you need is a Full Tilt Poker account.

Read our FullTilt Poker review.



SUN POKER
SunPoker $1 Million Guaranteed Tournaments September 13th & October 11th 2009!

SunPoker is thrilled to announce that they will be hosting two, $1 MILLION GUARANTEED tournaments on September 13th and October 11th at 18:00 GMT.

More details will be announced next week but in the meantime we can let you know there will be an incredible number of satellite tournaments running throughout August and September.

Never played at SunPoker?
Read our complete Sun Poker review to find out what you've been missing.
Sun Poker does not accept American players.


MERGE POKER NETWORK UPGRADES

Double Up SnGs (NLHE & PLO)
Half of the field wins double the buy-in and half wins nothing. These tournaments have proven popular on other networks. It's great to see Merge is adding them. Because the game ends once half the field is eliminated, these games usually conclude within half an hour.

All-In or Fold No Limit Texas Hold'em SnGs
Each hand brings two choices: All-In or Fold. Feel like a gamble? While I'm not a fan of this tournament format, the tables appear to be well populated so there are obviously a lot of players who like flipaments. The games are quick and you do have a 50-50 chance of winning.... buy-ins are $2. $5 and $10.

New Half Pot Limit Cash Games from $0.02/$0.04 - $10/$20
Players are limited to maximum bets/raises of only half the pot, a great feature for those who love PL but are short-stacked or playing on a limited budget.

Merge Poker Network is home to several of the best online poker rooms.
We recommend Aced Poker for those who love bonuses and rakeback. Aced offers a 100% initial deposit bonus plus a 100% reload bonus. Aced also offers 30% rakeback, paid daily. Aced also has one of the most competitive loyalty programs in the industry.
Bonus Code: ACED100
Reload Bonus Code: RELOADED
Aced Poker is US friendly.
Read more about Aced Poker Rakeback here.


COOL HAND POKER
Survivor Tournaments are the newest addition to Cool Hand Poker.
With the lowest chipstacks being eliminated at the end of
each level, these tournaments reward participation and
add an exciting twist to the game.

The Following survivor tournaments take place daily at
Cool Hand Poker:

16.30 BST - €5 + €0.50 Buy in Tournament

18:30 BST - $10 Practice Freeroll

20.30 BST - €10 + €1 Buy in Tournament

Other cool things happening at CoolHand Poker....
The $500 Added Cool Points Tournament is happening this Sunday and every Sunday at 18.30 BST. A Buy-in of 100 Cool Points gets you 1,000 chips, and with unlimited re-buys and one Add-on (50 Cool Points – 1,000 chips) in the first 60 minutes you have the chance to accumulate a big stack before the final table.

The value of all Cool Points will be added to the prize pool.

The feeders to this tournament run from the Wednesday at 17:00 BST through to that Sunday 16.00 BST every week.

* One entry only for every 10 players.
* Additional points will be converted to cents and given to the next player on the list.
* 1000 starting chips and 5 minute levels.
* Only one entry can be won.

Take note: you may use your Cool Points to enter ANY of the $500 Added Cool Points Tournaments.

$300 Added Tournaments are taking place this Wednesday and every Wednesday at 18.30 BST. Check the lobby for the feeders to these tournaments running from the Sunday 17.00 BST to Wednesday 16.00 BST.

Cool Hand Poker does not accept American players.
Read our Cool Hand Poker review.


REEFER POKER $2500 COMMUNITY FREEROLL
Join us each month for a free tournament for all members of the Reefer Poker Community. Not a member yet? Simply click on the "Forums" Tab at top of the Reefer Poker home page and sign up for a new account. Once you are a member you will get a special coupon for entry into this tournament each and every month.
*Note that this is a different registration to the one that you complete to play poker on Reefer's game client.
This tournament increases by $500 a month - August is $2,500, September will be $3,000, etc.
Check the Reefer Forum for dates and times. Reefer Poker is US friendly.


OFF TOPIC
The November 9
The WSOP Main Event final table will play out in November and includes a couple of well known pros. Easily the most recognizable name on the list is Phil Ivey. Phil will have to make some moves early since he's one of the short stacks. Jeff Shulman is in slightly better shape than Ivey but he's still only got about one third the number of chips as the big stack at the table.
These are the November 9:
Seat 1: Darvin Moon - 58,930,000
Seat 2: James Akenhead - 6,800,000
Seat 3: Phil Ivey - 9,765,000
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel - 12,390,000
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter - 29,885,000
Seat 6: Eric Buchman - 34,800,000
Seat 7: Joe Cada - 13,215,000
Seat 8: Antoine Saout - 9,500,000
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman - 19,580,000

Interestingly, the 2 shortest stacks are from France and the UK, everyone else is from the USA. It seems likely that the bracelet will go to an American this year. In 2008, the first year where a change in the WSOP Main Event structure would put the final table in the month of November, Peter Eastgate of Denmark defeated the 27 year old Russian, Ivan Demidov, to become the WSOP Main Event champion.


Want a chuckle?
Watch this Bud commercial.....

"Animal Lovers" Charity Tournament this Weekend

Full Tilt Poker Pro Jennifer Harman Hosts International "Animal Lovers" Charity Online Poker Tournament

Poker Pros Howard "The Professor" Lederer, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen and Others Join to Support the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) on March 16th

LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwire - March 10, 2008) - On Sunday, March 16, at 9PM EDT, Team Full Tilt Pro Jennifer Harman will host the "Animal Lovers" charity poker tournament on FullTiltPoker.com. The $5 + $5 no-limit hold'em event will benefit the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) no-kill animal shelter in Las Vegas. The Nevada SPCA animal sanctuary is desperately in need of immediate funding and Harman is encouraging anyone to join her in the "Animal Lovers" fundraising effort.

Also participating in the "Animal Lovers" online event are professional snowboarder and world halfpipe champion Jeff Brushie (SMAKEbreak), Olympic medalist and two-time X-Games champion Ross Powers, professional snowboarder Kris Swierz (WheatSApuff), X-Games gold medalist and five-time wakeboard world champion Parks Bonifay (pbpbpb), X-Games and Gravity Games wakeboard medalist Shane Bonifay (jeanyes407), four-time X-Games wakeboard gold medalist Danny Harf (d9bigtime), and professional motocross champion Jimmy Button (BTNFLY) and friends.

Other Full Tilt Poker pros have also promised their support to Harman on March 16, by participating in the "Animal Lovers" online event at 9PM EDT, including recent Aussie Millions winner Howard "The Professor" Lederer and NBC National Heads Up Champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. Also slated to participate are John Juanda, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Clonie Gowen, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham, Kristy Gazes, and dozens of other Full Tilt pros.

Go to FullTiltPoker.com and register today. New members should download the free software and enter referral code "ANIMALLOVERS" to ensure the Nevada SPCA no-kill animal shelter receives continued funding. Look for the "Animal Lovers" tournament located in the "tournaments" tab of the online lobby and register. The cost is $10 to enter. Fifty percent of all revenue will benefit the Nevada SPCA. The remaining money will be awarded to participants who qualify for cash prizes.

Harman, a professional poker player and member of Team Full Tilt, has been a Nevada SPCA friend and supporter for several years. She and husband Marco Traniello actively seek out potential homes and guardians for dozens of animals every year. Last Spring, the nation witnessed the Lied's Animal Shelter (located across town from the Nevada SPCA) euthanize nearly 1,000 animals. Though Nevada SPCA representatives fought against time to save the animals from eradication, they lacked the facilities and resources to house and protect the large number of victims.

Weeks later, the professional poker player hosted her own First Annual Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament in Las Vegas, a fundraiser that awarded the Nevada SPCA over $130,000. The funds allowed the no-kill animal shelter to expand their facilities and services, thus protecting hundreds more animals of several species.

"We're making a difference," said Harman about her efforts to support the Nevada SPCA. "The people at the Nevada SPCA are amazing. They have so much heart. Every penny counts and these fundraisers really work."

If you are unable to participate in the Full Tilt Poker "Animal Lovers" online $10 tournament on March 16 at 9PM EDT, you can still help the Nevada SPCA by visiting www.nevadaspca.org and making a private donation. For more information and ways to help the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, contact Nevada SPCA Executive Director Doug Duke at (702) 873-7722 or write the Nevada SPCA at nevadaspca@aol.com.

Professional poker player Jennifer Harman is an original member of FullTiltPoker.com's Team Full Tilt and is the only woman with two WSOP bracelets in open events. She took a year off due to a surgery to replace her kidney, and then returned to the poker circuit where she's finished fourth at the World Poker Tour Five-Diamond World Poker Classic, fifth in the inaugural Professional Poker Tour event, and second in the WSOP Circuit Championship Event at the Rio. During her time off, she wrote the Limit Hold'em chapter for Super System 2. When she's not playing in tournaments, Harman can be found at the Bellagio participating in the highest limit cash games in the world, or at FullTiltPoker.com. Harman is also one of the first professional poker players to become a member of PokerPlayersSocialNetwork.

About the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The Nevada SPCA, a nonprofit organization, operates a no-kill animal sanctuary, promotes humane education, makes referrals for lower-cost spay/neuter and vaccination services, and challenges people to be the best possible guardians for the companion animals in their care.

Mark your calendar now:
Sunday - March 16 - 9 pm ET
FullTilt Poker