Top Rated Poker Casinos

It was a long, tedious, and monumentally lucrative year for some FullTilt Poker players, especially those taking on the incredibly expensive nosebleed cash tables. After 365 days of online poker mayhem, the year has come to a close, and none could be happier than Full Tilt Pro Phil Ivey.

The 5-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Bracelet winner has earned more than $9 million in live poker tournaments over the course of his sensational career, but in the last year, Ivey has raked in an astounding $7.54 million on Full Tilt Poker. These incredible profits place Phil Ivey at the very top of the Full Tilt Poker Profits list for 2008.

Coming in a close second is Phil “OMGClayAiken” Glafond, whos online poker exploits have earned him more than $6.97 million at Full Tilt Poker. It would be interesting to discover just how much of those winnings came from the 3rd place finisher, Tom “Durrrr” Dwan, with an impressive $5.36 million finish.

Claiming the 4th spot is Di “Urindanger” Dang, cashing in for a little over $3.68 million, followed closely by his brother Hac “trex313” Dang, finishing 5th with $3.45 million. In the 6th position comes ex-Full Tilt Pro David Benyamine at $2.93 million.

Rounding out the top ten finishers of 2008 are “howsitfeellike” in 7th with $2.66 million, the UK’s Richard “CHUFTY” Ashby in 8th with $2.36 million, “La Key U” in 9th at $2.14 million and finally FullTilt.net Pro Patrik Antonius bringing up the rear in 10th place with $1.9 million.

Full Tilt Poker Biggest Winners of 2008

Phil Ivey – $7.54m
OMGClayAiken – $6.97m
durrrr – $5.36m
Urindanger – $3.68m
trex313 – $3.45m
David Benyamine – $2.93m
howisitfeellike – $2.66m
CHUFTY – $2.36m
La Key U – $2.14m
Patrik Antonius – $1.90m

There is a flip side to every coin, and in this case, it is the biggest losers at Full Tilt Poker in 2008. The interesting story here is that 5 of the top 10 losing accounts are rumored to belong to the same person – the not-so-frugal billionaire Guy Laliberte. The 5 suspect accounts are “lady marmelade”, “patatino”, “elmariachimacho”, “Bleachbum” and “noataima”, amounting to a grand total of more than $17 million in losses. These same 5 accounts racked up a $24.8 million loss on Full Tilt Poker in the previous year.

Full Tilt Poker Biggest Losers of 2008

lady marmelade – $6.6m
patatino – $4.32m
elmariachimacho – $4.16m
Bleachbum – $1.09m
SteveSung – $1.01m
PostFlopAction – $999k
noataima – $990k
John Juanda – $988k
MSampoerna – $945k
ahtata – $926k

Last week, in a torrential blow to the online poker community, the US government at last completed and declared implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), originally passed in 2006. While many questions float in the air about the future of the online poker industry, hundreds of thousands are pondering whether PokerStars.com will relinquish its presence from the US market.

PokerStar.com is currently the world’s largest online pocker room, in part due to its unwavering commitment to US player acceptance.  According to the guidelines of the UIGEA, however, it is unclear what exactly the effect will be on playing online poker for real money over the Internet from within the United States.

The UIGEA guidelines state that all online gambling operations, as well as financial institutions that facilitate monetary transfers to/from online gambling sites, have until December 1, 2009 to comply with the newly implemented regulations.

Does this mean PokerStars will exit stage left by the end of next year, leaving behind a substantial number of its clientele; those being US online poker players? No statement has been released from any of the major online poker brands – PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, etc. – but thousands upon thousands of Americans are left with the burning, as yet unanswered, question.

There’s a lot of online poker rooms out there, each with their own shining nitch in the online poker industry; the truly successful ones, anyway. For PokerStars.com, it’s massive guaranteed prize pools each weekend. For FullTiltPoker.com, it’s the most impressive line-up of contracted poker pros. For BodogPoker.com, however, it seems to be the most in-depth poker tutorial guide in the industry.

Bodog Poker players are privileged to some of the most interesting, well thought-out and perfectly expressed poker guides on the Internet. Click over to Bodog Poker’s “How To Play Poker” section, and even if you’re not a member of the online poker room, you’ll discover not just how to play each poker game, but extremely detailed strategies and advice on how to win your way to professional status.

The Bodog ‘Poker Guide’ starts out with the most basic, but irrevocably important ‘Table Selection’, where poker players learn how to pick the most suitable (and profitable) table by examining their bankroll, all aspects of the game and the gaming style players you’ll be competing against.

The next step is to teach players the importance of ‘Position’ – early, middle and late – and the advantages/disadvantages of being the blind. Bodog Poker details exactly what hands a player should go into such a position with. Folding, Checking and Calling are detailed carefully, directly relating to a player’s starting hand and position.

With the modern technologies of online poker came the ability to actually take notes on your opposition while playing poker; something a poker player would be laughed out of the casino for in a land-based game! Can you imagine the Legend Doyle Brunson pulling out a little tablet, putting a star by Gus Hansen’s name every time he Raised on the Button, licking his fingers to flip through the pages before deciding whether to call an all-in? Certainly not! But such is the world of online poker.

Bodog Poker dedicated a complete chapter to observing the behavior of your opponents, along with these exceptional note taking abilities and how to use them to your advantage. Bodog Poker goes over what to look for and how to read online poker tells to make the most of each and every chip you toss into a pot.

Most novice poker players assume that poker is a game of “highest hand wins”. You’d have to be very lucky to get the best hand often enough to actually win the table, right? Bodog Poker explains how poker is not just a game of getting the best hand, but making everyone else think you’ve got the best hand – known globally as ‘Bluffing’. The ability to pull off a successful bluff is imperative in any successful poker strategy.

Last but not least, Bodog.net explains proper online poker etiquette. Maybe you can sit around with the guys at home and exchange various 4-letter words, become overly emotional after a few too many and make lewd jokes about each other’s significant other, but Bodog Poker expects a little more maturity from its members. While it’s not exactly a poker strategy, it is a very important aspect to the integrity of online poker community. By quickly learning the right way to behave at online poker tables, players can avoid embarrassing removals and ensure a much more enjoyable experience for everyone at Bodog Poker.

As poker continues to increase in popularity, many players are venturing into the poker rooms to play in live games. Playing casino poker is quite different from playing in a home game. There are certain procedures and protocols you will need to understand before you sit down to play.

In a casino, you don’t just walk up to a table and sit down. When you enter the poker room, you must sign in at the desk. You tell the host what game you are interested in playing. If there is an opening, you will be seated immediately. If the table is full, they will take your initials and call you when there is an opening. Some casinos have a large board where they will write your name or initials or they will write your name on a list. Either way you will be called when it is your turn.

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