Team USA, now captained by the Texas Dolly himself, is one of the competing teams in World Team Poker, in which country is pitted against country for an international title and worldwide bragging rights. A worldwide poker league, World Team Poker features a variety of international teams, each representing a country, with each team composed of 4 poker pros plus one alternate, and of course the captain. Wearing the red, white, and blue at the year’s World Poker League events will be Captain Doyle Brunson of Team USA.

As teams battle it out during regular season league poker tournaments, the Captain has the perogative of substituting out players at any time.

The kickoff event of the 2010 World Poker League season takes place at the Golden Nugget on May 19. The tournament has a $50,000 buy-in and play will shift from Limit to Pot Limit to No Limit Hold’em. At each transition, Captain Doyle can switch out players as he sees fit. That makes Captaining a World Team Poker league game a whole new strategic experience in and of itself.

Meanwhile, on Doyle Brunson’s continuing quest to fill all the slots in his Brunson 10, the hand-selected team of online poker sensations represnting Doyles Room Poker in various major tournaments, online and off, there are currently 6 members and counting, with 4 left out there still to find. Doyle claims he’ll have all ten spots in the Brunson 10 filled by the end of 2010. I wonder if Doyle will recruit sponsored players from some of the other top poker sites online or if he will stick to his closer knit circle of poker playing friends?

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Carbon Poker is giving its players all 4 shots at getting in on the $100K Freeroll action:

The first option is through one of CarbonPoker’s five Daily Freeroll Qualifiers running through May 28. These are considered Step 1 Qualifiers that seed the top performing players into a Step 2 Qualifier taking place on Saturday, May 29 in which the top 500 performing players will move on to the $100K Freeroll Main Event.

The second option is to make a cash depsosit before May 29 using bonus code “100MAYPK” and receive, on top of a 100% match/reload bonus up to $500 you also get a free seat in a $100K Depositor Qualifier running May 29 from which the top 500 players will advance to the $100K Freeroll Main Event.

The third option are the $100K Player Qualifiers running til May 29. These are Turbo MTTs with VIP Points as buy-ins (either 500 VIP Points to buy-in directly or 150 VIP Points for each of two consecutive days) running three times daily, capping the player pool at 2,250 and advancing, depending on the qualifier, from 10 – 25 players to the $100K Freeroll Main Event.

Or you can skip all that and go the fourth route which is to simply earn 45,000 VIP Points between April 15 and May 29 to get your $100K Freeroll Main Event seat. The $100K Freeroll Main Event takes place on Sunday, May 30 and there is absolutely no direct buy-in for this event. Just download CarbonPoker.com (it’s on the Merge software which is really good) and create your account, pick one of the four ways to qualify for this event.

This is the biggest of Carbon Poker’s guaranteed tournaments, but far from the only one. CarbonPoker offers an ongoing schedule of multi-table online poker tournaments with a wide range of enticing guaranteed prize pools.

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These are just like they sound, based on the same impatient technology as the Rush Poker cash tables, with a few tournament-friendly tweaks.

Tweak #1: the Quick Fold Button. FullTilt has instituted a Quick Fold button in Rush Poker Tournament play to get you out of a hand you want no part of and off to another hand just being dealt without even having to wait as long as it takes for initial betting to get to you.

Speaking of initial bets, here’s Tweak #2: Blinds. Since moving the button around the table in a clockwise circle won’t work very well (or fairly) when players are constantly table hopping, the players in each hand to be on the small and big blinds are the two players at each table who haven’t been on the small or big blind, as applicable, the longest at their given table.

Tweak #3: Tables in Rush Poker Tournaments go increasingly short-handed as the number of players decreases. Tweak #4: Time to act in Rush Poker Tournaments is shorter, more like a turbo or speed tournament than a standard NL Holdem tournament.

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Given that PokerStars is the most popular USA poker room and PartyPoker was once in that same position, pitting the two against each other in a heads up match is valuable. Both have legions of fans and can boast a long history of evolution within an industry that can be unforgiving to the less adaptable. The key point to remember is that PartyPoker no longer accepts players from the U.S. They closed their doors years ago.

Below, we’ll compare PokerStars versus PartyPoker with regards to their respective software, traffic, bonuses, tournaments, and customer support. If you know very little about either poker room, consider the following comparison a speed course.

PokerStars Vs. PartyPoker: Software

Both poker rooms provide their members with software that is both reliable and intuitive. We’ll describe PokerStars’s download first. The lobby is organized in a way that makes it incredibly easy to find the type of game and stakes you’re looking for. Once you enter a room, you’ll find the tables are clearly rendered; everything is simple to read. Plus, you can resize the table easily as well as multi-table. Another item we liked is that the color scheme was changed awhile back from a black base to more eye-pleasing earth tones.

PartyPoker’s software has also been developed with a keen eye for intuition and readability. Their lobby is organized differently and is a little difficult to navigate. However, once you grow accustomed to it, you’ll be able to find everything easily. The graphics used on the tables are less appealing than those used in PokerStars’s software, but they won’t get in your way.

PokerStars Vs. PartyPoker: Player Traffic And Competition

PokerStars is the leviathan of online poker rooms. They gained the lead in player traffic at the end of 2006 and have aggressively expanded that lead since. There’s also a huge disparity in skill level at PokerStars; the reason is partly due to their promotions. Nationwide television ad campaigns and a growing online presence have attracted waves of new players. However, as a result of the fish, sharks have predictably circled. Join for the fish, but keep your eyes open for lurking sharks.

PartyPoker has a large player base, but it’s smaller than PokerStars and comprised entirely of non-US players. Before abandoning the US market, they enjoyed the distinction of being the largest online poker room (based upon membership levels). Non-US players will find plenty of action at all of the tournaments as well as at the individual ring games. The average competition at PartyPoker is a little stiffer than at PokerStars. But, with a little reconnaissance, you’ll be able to identify the fish and sharks.

In our opinion, PokerStars is a much friendlier place to start.

PokerStars Vs. PartyPoker: Bonuses And Promotions

PokerStars offers one of the easiest-to-clear bonuses when compared to other major poker rooms. It’s a 100% match up to $600 which is par for the course with the major online poker sites today. They also have a perpetually rotating list of promotions in order to keep player activity high. They finally revised their miniscule $50 bonus when Full Tilt Poker started gaining market share.

PartyPoker used to offer a miserly 30% match sign-up bonus up to $150. They have since changed that to a 100% match up to $500. Even though the ceiling on their bonus is much higher than PokerStars’s bonus, it’s more difficult to clear (though you’ll have six months during which to do so). Like PokerStars, PartyPoker has a long list of promotions, including those which rotate and others that are ongoing.

PokerStars Vs. PartyPoker: Tournaments

Tournament selection is definitely an area of strength for PokerStars. Plus, not only is their tournament structure well thought out, but their prize pools are typically enormous. Their regular tourneys include the Sunday Million and Sunday Warm-Up as well as a huge list of ongoing Sit N Go’s, freerolls, and satellites. If you’re planning to play in tournaments, you need to join PokerStars.

PartyPoker also has a strong list of tournaments though their list has less breadth than PokerStars’s schedule. That said, their membership base is large and active in the daily and weekly tourneys, so prize pools for the multi-tables can grow to be reasonably large. Unfortunately, since they don’t allow US players, we no longer participate in the PartyPoker tournaments.

PokerStars Vs. PartyPoker: Customer Support

Both PokerStars and PartyPoker have strong customer support. Their staff is responsive and knowledgeable which means they can actually provide answers in a timely fashion. We’ve played at poker rooms that included a “support” page on their website, but failed to provide anything resembling true support.

At PokerStars, you can contact a representative through email. PartyPoker provides email and phone options through which to contact them.

PokerStars Vs. PartyPoker: Overall Verdict

So, who’s better, PokerStars or PartyPoker? In our book, Pokerstars edges out PartyPoker by a respectable margin. That’s not to say that PartyPoker is not a high-quality poker room. In fact, if they allowed U.S. players, we’d definitely participate. There’s a reason why they were enormously popular in the U.S. a few years ago and why they’re still popular overseas today.

For more information, read our highly popular PokerStars vs Full Tilt Poker article and the in-depth first person online poker reviews we link to from our home page.

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Quick PlayersOnly.com Facts

• USA Players Allowed
• Highest % of Visa and Mastercard Deposits Accepted
• $1000 matched at 110% with PlayersOnly.com Bonus code: KAP1000 *poker only
• Cash Game Texas Holdem from .02/.04 up to $25/50 NL and up to $100/$200FL
• Visit PlayersOnly

Playersonly.com Poker Tournaments

Most poker tournaments are NL Texas holdem, although there are Omaha tourneys as well. Tournaments happen every day, from freerolls, to satellites, to large guarantees with soft fields. Here are some of the promotional tournaments offered at Players Only.com Poker room.

• $150,000 Guaranteed $150+12 – $31,125 1st place prize.
• Lots of satellites to internal tourneys and World Poker Tour events
• $30 rebuy and addon with $20k guaranteed
• $3.30 rebuy with $1,000 guaranteed
• $500 Friday Night Freeroll
• $500 Welcome Player Freeroll (small tourney for new Real money players only).

PlayersOnly.com Poker Table & Lobby

Here are screenshots of the Players Only Poker table and lobby.

The software is very user friendly even if you have not played online poker before. The buttons are easy to read, easy to press and they don’t jump around on you based on whether or not it is your turn to act. There is also a handy betting bar that lets you easily size your bets using your mouse instead of typing in certain amounts.

The lobby is pretty straightforward with easy sorting options. I found it easiest to find a game by clicking on the Texas Hold’Em tab and then sorting by stakes. They do show the amount of players seeing the flop which is a handy feature if you are looking for a tight table to play wild and loose on or if you are looking for a loose table with fishy players calling raises before the flop.

PlayersOnly.com Poker Games Offered

Poker players can enjoy the following poker games at Players Only.

• Texas Holdem (limit, no limit and pot limit)
• Omaha (pot limit and fixed limit)
• Omaha Hi-Lo (pot limit, no limit, fixed limit)
• Seven card stud shows up in the lobby, but currently there are no games running or offered
• Multi-Tournaments
• Sit-N-Go (1 table tournaments)

PlayersOnly Poker Final Thoughts

With the shrinking options for USA poker players, it is nice to find a site that has a quality reputation of that of PlayersOnly.com. They are a medium to small sized poker network, but they are seeing growth as more and more people are taking advantage of the incredible special deposit bonus offered of a 110% up to $1000 and finding out that being at a site that is super easy to deposit at is good for the action.

• MasterCard and Visa Deposits from Americans is a huge plus
• Easy software to use is a plus
• Reasonable traffic is ok
• Huge Deposit Bonus
• USA Players Accepted
• Download Players Only Software

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The Full Tilt Poker FTOPS IX

Here are the lean mean details on the Full Tilt Poker FTOPS IX Series

• Starts August 6th
• 24 Events Total
• $15 Million in Prize Pools Guaranteed
• Largest Buy-ins = $2500
• Smallest Buy-In = $120+9 “Knock Out tourney at the end of the series, most events are $200
• Satellites start at $50+5 to events currently, more expected soon.
• Blind Times range from 10 minutes to 30 minute rounds.

Poker Stars WCOOP

Here are the lean mean details on the Poker Stars WCOOP, aka the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker.

• Starts September 5th
• 33 events total
• $30 Million in prize pools guaranteed
• Largest buy in = $25,000, this is a special high roller Heads up Poker tournament with 1.6 mill guaranteed!  Sick!
• Also a $10,300 NL hold em main event for the non heads up tourney.
• Smallest buy in = $215
• Satellites start at $2.20
• Satellites also from FPP’s.
• Steps satellite system, win a seat through a series of steps sattelites.
• Winners win a WCOOP Bracelet
• 30 minute blinds across the series

PokerStars WCOOP or FullTilt’s FTOPS?

The choice is really up to you, the debate rages constantly about which is the better place to play online poker, PokerStars or Full Tilt Poker, but in this comparison of the FTOPS vs WCOOP I’m going for PokerStars and the WCOOP. That is even with the recent criticism by online poker players about the new tournament payout structure that PokerStars implemented where they award more money to a larger portion of the field and not as top heavy as a typical poker tournament. Argue that as you may, the fact that I was quickly and easily able to find a ton of cheap PokerStars satellites into the WCOOP and the Full Tilt Poker satellites were $50 bucks, a fourth of the initial buy-in itself which doesn’t seem that great of a satellite to me. It is possible that they just do not yet have any satellites listed in the Full Tilt Poker lobby for the FTOPS series yet, but they should have. One other thing is to make sure you use a valid PokerStars.com marketing code if you are going to sign up so you maximize your bonus.

This Comparison Winner goes to: PokerStars.com

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If you are a poker player from the USA, you probably know that your deposit options can be somewhat limited. There has been a move to using e checks to play online poker. This is a list of internet poker rooms accepting e check for instant deposit.

• PokerStars.com echecks is probably the quickest way to deposit online other than a credit card (which is limited to only a few credit card poker sites). If you use echeck to deposit at PokerStars you will get a 100% bonus up to $50 by using the bonus code first2008 (valid through Dec 31st, 2008).
• Bodog Poker – If you already have an account at Bodog you can utilize echecks but they are not yet available for brand new players at Bodog. If you are new and wanting to play at Bodog you are going to have to utilize a credit card, cash transfer, or some other options available in the cashier. Current bodog real account holders can utilize echecks for instant deposit online poker.

Poker Stars is also now proud to have their online poker and mac compatible software.

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Today I would like to talk to you about the no download feature used by some poker sites to cater to people who are looking for online poker no downloads needed. Up until now, I have always downloaded the program from the site I wish to play at and always have the software on my computer.

Absolute Poker No Download - Free & Easy with a 100% Deposit Bonus up to $500

For USA Players, your choices are very limited for a true no download option, you are pretty much able only to play for real at Absolute. You still get the Absolute bonus deposit. Download poker and play or use the no download ‘instant play’ link, the bonus is still good. Of course if you are looking for an absolute poker download software you can do that as well.

The two sites I am comparing today that offer no download poker options are AbsolutePoker.com and 888 poker.com. Both of these sites allow you to play poker online without a download.

Two free no download poker sites

Absolute Poker no download and 888 Pacific Poker Online Poker without download required.

If you are looking for the best two no download poker websites and places to play online poker no downloads needed we recommend Absolute and 888.

Benefits of playing online poker without downloads:

• Play poker on a computer without installing any software.
• Do not risk downloading a virus when finding a poker room to download. We understand that you may be skeptical about downloading programs from the internet and this allows you to play texas holdem without downloading any software.
• If you are using computer that isn’t yours, ie at work, and still want to play poker (on your lunch break of course), you do not have to download software on to the company PC.
• You are on a Macintosh Computer and need a Mac Friendly Option

Since we are compare online poker, we are going to compare the two best known no download poker websites, where you can play poker for free and for real without downloading anything to your computer. For a non download poker room, we’re going to look at 888.com poker and AbsolutePoker.com. Let’s compare look at the two online poker sites that offer a quality no download option and see see what they both have to offer.

I set up an account at both sites (Absolute Poker and 888 Pacific Poker) and gave them a test run to see how the no download interface worked.

I would say that neither site took me longer than 5 minutes to set up my account and start playing mainly because I didn’t have to wait for any software to install.

No Download Poker at AbsolutePoker Room

(USA and International Accepted)

Getting to the no download poker option at AbsolutePoker is easy. You simply go to absolutepoker.com and then select the no download feature which I have shown in the screenshot.

You will need to have Java enabled before you can play.

As with most poker sites, you have the option to play for free or for real money. If you do choose to play for real money, they offer a 100% deposit bonus up to $500.00.

The no download poker interface is pretty classy and I did not notice any hang ups or unusual lagging when I played. The only thing I don’t care for is the fact that you cannot maximize the screen to full size. Other than that, if I had sat down after someone had already loaded the site, I would have never known that it was not a regular poker software download.

There are plenty of rooms and various limits of play so you are sure to find something to suit your particular tastes, as well as multiple $50 freerolls with no requirements to play each and every day. You can also take advantage of multiple tournaments each day!

888 Poker Without Downloading Software

Accessing the no download poker option is easy at 888.com as well. You simply go to the website and there is a link on the front page.

You can play for real money or for fun here as well and they also have a deposit bonus although it is not as nice as Absolute Poker in terms of total amount of bonus.

They only offer you a 25% bonus up to $100.00, but the do offer it as an instant bonus available to use at the tables right away.

The interface here wasn’t quite as enjoyable as AbsolutePoker.com, it didn’t feel as quite as sleek or clean.

I didn’t notice much lagging however I did notice everything taking just a little longer to load up. I also was able to play for fun on this site but U.S.A. players cannot set up real money accounts.

Poker Star Mac Poker Download

PokerStars.com is the largest site on the internet and although they do not have a no download option, they do offer a Mac Poker Stars download. The client is still in beta test, but you are able to go ahead and download your mac poker star client and play at the biggest and arguably the best online poker site on the net.

No Download Poker Final Thoughts

I do like the new no download poker options and I really couldn’t tell the difference from some other poker sites that I have downloaded on my computer. If I was going to have to make a choice between these two sites, I would have to go with Absolute Poker as the best no download poker options. They have the better deposit bonus and I do like the interface better.

I hope this has been informative to you in helping you decide if you want to use the no download poker option.

Other useful sites and pages:
Download Poker Casino Games Online
Mac Friendly Poker
USA Poker Sites
Non Download Poker

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There were tables offering $0.15 / $0.30 blinds.

The cool thing about these tables is that these are a deep stack buy in table, the max buy-in is $60, or 200 times the big blind. Consider that the normal max buy in for the .25/.50c table is $50, or 100 times the big blind, this deep stack table offers something that the other big poker rooms do not offer right now, and that is smaller staked, deep stack no limit texas holdem cash games.

Full Tilt Poker No Limit Holdem

I have only played at these deep tables in the in the 6 man variety, aka short handed play, although they do offer full 9 man tables.

I’ve only been playing at these deep stack no limit tables for a month or so and so far, so good! Weak players, putting in large sums of money on the flop with way bad hands… This lets you take advantage of weak players who will go way to far with top pair on dangerous flops.

They also offer other stakes of these ‘deep stack’ tables including $0.40/$0.80 deep stack, $0.75/$1.5, and up from there. All of these tables offer 200 x the big blind buy-in’s.

Visit FullTiltPoker.com and Play Now (100% match bonus up to $600).
Full Tilt Poker Referral Code: KICKASSPOKER

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Lets take a look at some of our favorite tools for online poker players. Some of these tools are free and some are not.

Poker Tracking and Stat Software and Poker Calculators

Poker Tracker – probably the most widely use poker tracking software. Import your hand histories and you can see where you are winning and loosing money, as well as analyze your play.

HoldemRanger – Display Stats right on your online poker table. This is a free tool where you can get a heads up display that allows you to see a visual record of players at your tables stats in real time. You can see how aggressive someone is, how often they three bet, how often they fold to a pre-flop raise, how often they voluntarily put money into the pot… It’s very useful, plus it’s free.

PokerStove – Got a hand vs hand matchup you want? PokerStove it.

TwoDimes – Hand vs hand stats, online with no downloads.

Poker Schools – Texas Holdem Course

There are a handful of online poker schools springing up where winning online poker players record their online sessions and play them back to you, while explaining why they are doing what they are doing. You get to see their hole cards and they show you exactly how they play. This can be an excellent way to learn for people who just can’t stomach reading another no limit holdem book talking about theory, this puts that theory into practice.

All of the online poker schools have a cost to join and a monthly tuition. Click the links to read more in depth reviews and pro’s and cons of each online poker school.

CardRunners – Expert No Limit Cash Game Players. Our favorite online training school for ring game no limit holdem students. Expert training from no limit texas holdem cash game specialists.

Poker X Factor – Tournament focus plus a sweet hand replayer tool. Sit-N-Go’s and Multi-Table Tournaments are the focus here.

Real Poker Training – Multi Table Tournaments.

*for 10 free poker strategy videos, sign up for the Kick Ass Poker Newsletter and you’ll get them instantly, videos of Spry (successful lower stakes no limit and limit player) playing online poker, free of charge and no strings attached other than signing up to the newsletter.)

Other Useful Poker Websites

Poker Leaderboard - Get a free poker leaderboard you can host on your own website to track tournament results.
Poker Tomorrow is a great content driven site with tips for poker site webmasters as well as players.
Firbolg – Online Poker Strategy
Poker Affiliate World – If you are a poker affiliate, you’re here. Led by Jeremy Enke himself.
Compatible Poker – Great information, well presented.
Poker Players for Ron Paul – 2008 Presidential Candidate.
Strange Online Poker News – the infamous KickAssPoker Blog
Looking for a Full Tilt Referral Code?  Look no farther.
Need a Bookmaker Bonus Code for signup?  This site has all the details.
Want to play at a USA Friendly Online Casino?  This site lists the best of the best.

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