An eight-member panel of judges will meet to debate each of the finalists and determine the winners through a “blind” vote, which will then be sealed and only opened on the 25^th. Here is a look at each of the categories where a European Poker Award is up for grabs:

• Rookie of the Year
• Leading Lady of the Year
• Best Tournament Performance
• Casino Staff Person of the Year
• The Gardner Memorial Award for the Poker Personality of 2011
• Player of the Year
• Internet Player of the Year
• Best Poker Event of the Year
• The Lifetime Achievement Award

There are plenty of players for the judges to choose from among this year’s likely nominees –although the Tournament Performance of the Year seems like a lock for a certain young German—with names like Sam Trickett, Bertrand Grospellier, Jake Cody, and Chris Moorman likely to get some serious consideration. If you wish to be on the list next year why not try gaining fans by and download carbon poker and start kicking butt and taking names.

For the WPT, most of the pieces fell into place perfectly, as they hired the perfect duo for their commentary (indeed, some 10 years later Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten are still doing the commentary for the WPT) and the first WPT champion would go on to be one of the greatest tournament players in the history of the game, Gus Hansen.

Well, 10 years later the World Poker Tour will be back “Where it Began” as Neil Diamond would say, at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada for the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Poker Classic. The Five Diamond Poker Classic is one of the few WPT tournaments that managed to maintain its $10,000 buy-in, making it one of the most coveted titles on the WPT.

The Main Event for the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Poker Classic will begin on December 6^th (the WPT Prague is currently underway in the Czech Republic, wrapping up on December 5^th) with the final table slated for the 11^th. Once again the WPT will stream the final table action live on the Internet, or poker fans wishing to view the condensed version can wait for the television broadcast on FOX Sports.

The first signal that PokerStars would be making a push in Germany came with online poker news sites announcing the signing 2011 WSOP Champ Pius Heinz (before he won the WSOP Main Event), and now comes news that Stars will be sponsoring the stadium of Bundesliga Team VfB Lübeck (in the second division) with the stadium now going by the name PokerStars.de – Stadion and der Lohmühle.

Stars presence in Germany is currently in flux, as Team PokerStars Pros from the country are currently not listed on the site, even though they include some of the biggest names in poker like Sandra Naujoks, the aforementioned Pius Heinz, and Sebastian Ruthenberg.

If you are fluent in German (mine is passable), or if you know how to use the Google Translate button, you can read the press release issued by the team at their website vfb-lubeck.de, where the details of the deal are given.

Amongst the major points addressed in the press release are that PokerStars has pledged to be very active socially with VfB Lübeck, including promoting their youth football leagues (which could make for an interesting site if youngsters are running around with PokerStars patches on their football uniforms).

The release also states that the deal will run through June 30, 2013 and PokerStars has an option to extend the deal through 2016.

The move is part of a larger effort by the site to eradicate data-mining of any kind from Bodog, something Anonymous Tables will most certainly do. As Vice President of the Bodog Poker Network stated in a press release:

“We believe that introducing these features makes the Bodog Recreational Poker Model a pioneer in the online poker world and offers all players of all abilities the fairest place to play. We have shown before that we are not afraid of controversy by changing the way rakeback was viewed and starting to block data mining sites earlier this year and these new features now give players a less biased ‘pure poker’ experience. To my mind the software and Bodog’s Recreational Poker Model is a genuine game changer.”

The move will likely draw applause from recreational players as well as a swath of poker pros who see data-mining as unseemly and time-consuming, but necessary in today’s online poker world; while drawing the ire of the poker pros who make their living by data-mining the tables and then processing the information better than their opponents.

In the end it will come down to what the players decide. As Bodog Founder Calvin Ayre put it: “this is going to create a lot of controversy…but the proof is in the pudding…if bodog is better off after this, the industry will be forced to follow.”

This year with the help of PokerNewsBoy to increase coverage of the event, plus the restrictions on players, or should I say lack of. All that and the fact the the prize this year can’t be compared to any sigle prize been offered in the poker industry before. This year the winner gets: Lock Pro Elite contract for 2 year, WSOP buy-ins, Featured on the cover of the July edition of Bluff Magazine and first years progress cover by PokerNewsBoy, plus alot more.

For more info on the Bluff Pro Chalenge visit the BPC section on PokerNewsBoy. Below is also the official press release from Lock..

Lock Poker and Bluff partner again! This time the world is invited to the Bluff Pro Challenge

The BPC sponsored by Lock Poker is set to kick off on April 1st.  Bluff, Lock and PokerNewsBoy are giving you the chance to show the world who is the best of the best. Time to take your game to the next level.

The prizes include the player being on the July 2011 cover of Bluff Magazine, as well as featured in a 6 month marketing campaign, and signed to a 2 year LockPRO ELITE Sponsorship and a WSOP Main Event Seat.

“The first Bluff Online Poker Challenge was a revolutionary concept in poker to try to find who the best tournament players in the world were, this time Lock Poker and Bluff are stepping it up a notch to try and determine the best poker player… period”  says Eric Rizen Lynch, “one month, one goal, whoever makes the most money wins. I’m looking forward to finding out who emerges from the challenge and getting to know the next big thing in poker!”

“We are so excited to be doing this type of challenge with Lock again. We really are in a new generation of poker where online Pros are the new rockstars,” said Eric Morris, President of Bluff Magazine. “We want to be a part of making the next amazing player really matter. This is a life changing moment for any serious poker player out there and we are excited to be a part of it.”

Each player begins the competition with the bankroll of their choice and has the entire month of April to build their bankroll playing in ring games, multi-table tournaments and SNGs exclusively on LockPoker.com. The winner the player who shows the greatest profit. Players are permitted to reload their account at any time during the 30 days. The minimum weekly play required is 250 SNGs/MTTs or 2000 raked hands.

The BPC begins April 1st and runs through until Midnight on April 30th. Fans can follow all the action through the daily scoreboard and video blogs from the players at www.lockpoker.com/challenge.

BLUFF

BLUFF Magazine is America’s leading poker publication and BluffMagazine.com is the leading website for poker news and player rankings in the world. BLUFF is home to exclusive columnists like WSOP bracelet winners Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly who take readers inside the world of poker’s elite each month.

LOCK

Lock is the world’s most innovative online gaming brand. Lock launched their first masterpiece, Lock Poker, over two years ago and recently launched their ground breaking Casino. They exploded into poker industry by introducing the Bluff Online
Poker challenge, becoming the first company to develop a Mac download casino and hiring Eric Rizen Lynch as their VP of Product development. Lock continues to bring a fresh perspective to this exciting industry and its mandate is to drive innovation through superior design and initiative. http://www.lockpoker.com & http://www.lockcasino.com

POKER NEWS BOY

PokerNewsBoy.com is the Internet’s leading source for poker news, information, and exclusive bonuses and promotional offers. Since its inception, PokerNewsBoy has grown into one of the poker world’s most recognizable brands and has developed into one of the poker industry’s most trusted online poker portals.

As PokerNewsBoy continues to grow you can expect the same level of dedication and expertise from their owners, management and staff. Visit the PokerNewsBoy homepage at www.pokernewsboy.com

The prize pool is expected to reach over 2,300,000 euro, with the winner taking home nearly half of that.

Poker players such as Roland De Wolfe, Brian Townsend, Chris Moorman, Neil Channing, Marty Smyth, Nicky Power, Jude Ainsworth, Kara Scott, Padraig Parkinson, Tony Cascarino, Teddy Sherringham and Stevie Devlin have all turned up for the Irish Open.

Irish Open Live Updates

PokerNewsBoy.com are running a Irish Open Blog so poker fans unable to make it to the event can follow some of the action through the Irish Open Live Updates that they are running.

Irish Open Live Stream

PNB are also running a live stream from the Irish Open. This is thanks to Paddy Power. But if you are looking to watch the action from the Irish Open, you can follow it on the Irish Open Live Steam over at PNB.

So to help players get to the Irish Poker Open, we have searched to see if we can find the best Irish Open Satellites for poker players.We thought that to help all players we would look for a online poker site that offered opportunities for both low stakes players and high stakes players.

Low stakes players can’t afford to play a $300 satellite to the Irish Poker Open and Higher stake players don’t want to play a $1 Satellite to another satellite to then play in the $300 Irish Poker Open Satellite.

So we tried to list as many Irish Open Satellites as possible, with there date, buyin and how much the package is worth.

Also check out SportsBook.com for Irish Open Satellites remember to use a Sportsbook Promo Codes when signing up.

Irish Poker Open Satellites

Just click the Irish Poker Satellite you wish to play.

March 4th – 20:00    -   $300 + $20 Freezeout

March 10th – 17:00   -   $1 + 20c Freezeout
March 10th – 19:00   -   $5 + 50c Freezeout
March 10th – 20:00  -   $30 + $3 Freezeout

March 11th – 19:00    -    $5 + 50c Freezeout
March 11th – 20:00  -    $30 + $3 Freezeout
March 11th – 20:00  -    $300 + $20 Freezeout

March 12th – 17:00  -   $1 + 20c Freezeout
March 12th – 19:00  -   $5 + 50c Freezeout
March 12th – 20:00 –   $30 + $3 Freezeout

March 13th – 17:00  -  $1 + 20c Freezeout
March 13th – 19:00  – $5 + 50c Freezeout
March 13th – 20:00 -  $30 + $3 Freezeout

March 14th – 17:00 –   $1 + 20c Freezeout
March 14th – 19:00 -  $5 + 50c Freezeout
March 14th – 20:00 -  $30 + $3 Freezeout

March 15th – 17:00 –   $1 + 20c Freezeout
March 15th – 19:00 -  $5 + 50c Freezeout
March 15th – 20:00 -  $30 + $3 Freezeout

March 16th – 17:00  -  $1 + 20c Freezeout
March 16th – 19:00 -  $5 + 50c Freezeout
March 16th – 20:00 –   $30 + $3 Freezeout

March 17th – 17:00 -  $1 + 20c Freezeout
March 17th – 17:00 -  $3 + 30c Freezeout
March 17th – 19:00 –   $5 + 50c Freezeout
March 17th – 20:00 –   $30 + $3 Freezeout

March 18th – 17:00 –   $1 + 20c Freezeout
March 18th – 19:00 -  $5 + 50c Freezeout
March 18th – 19:20  -  $25 + $2 Freezeout
March 18th – 20:00  -  $30 + $3 Freezeout
March 18th – 20:00 –   $300 + $20 Freezeout

March 21st – 16:00   -  $250 + $18 Freezeout
March 21st – 19.30   -  €175 + €13 Freezeout
March 21st – 22:00  – $250 + $20 Freezeout

March 22nd – 20:00 –   $10 +  $1 Rebuy

March 23rd – 19:30  -  €60 +  €6 Rebuy

March 24th – 17:00  – $3 + 30c  Freezeout

March 25th – 19:20  – $25 + $2  Freezeout
March 25th – 19:30  – €175 + €13 Freezeout
March 25th – 22:00 -  $250 + $20 Freezeout

March 28th – 16:00   -  $250 + $18 Freezeout
March 28th – 19:05    -  $200 + $15    Freezeout

March 30th – 19:05  -  $40 + $4    Rebuy

This marks the second time MasterCard has taken such action; after the first instance online poker sites changed their codes in order to process MasterCard deposits. However, this time it appears the online poker world is going to press on without MasterCard, as many online sites have removed MasterCard as a deposit option.

Even prior to this decision many MasterCard holders were unable to use their plastic to deposit online, since many banks also block online gaming transactions. The decision by MasterCard removes the option across the board, effectively taking the decision away from individual banks.

Article supplied by Poker News Boy

Rumours that the network is set to lose PlayersOnly and SportsBook.com to networking rivals Merge Gaming Network could see Cake Poker lose a couple of their power sites who will take their members and players with them.

Although the move is been speculated by poker industry insiders, there is no time line that has been placed onto the proposed move and so it seems that Cake Poker Network will be looking to try to convince the sites that their current network is the best place for them to call home.

Cake Poker officials told an interviewer that the sites brought seasonal members to the sites network as the sites main focus was one the sportsbook aspect of the market.

Sportsbook.com joined the network in 2006, where as PlayersOnly has only recently opened up their members base requirements to include players from a number of other countries after lifting their US/Canada based player restriction.

Although the loss of the sites would see the Cake Poker Network fall in size of included sites, officials for the company have stated that they are still expecting for the brand as a whole to continue to grow throughout the year 2010.

The recent addition of Unabomber Poker which has been created and spearheaded by poker professional Phil “The Unabomber” Laak will help the site to remain within the right kind of limelight in terms of attracting players. The site is only one of the eight poker rooms that have recently joined the network and so the future does certainly look bright.

When asked about how Cake Poker Network felt about the news that both sites are looking to move away from their current home with a view to joining a rival, Cake Poker officials said that the loss of the sites would be unfortunate because the sites were great to work with but they are looking to add addition sites to their network so that players have more reason to visit the site, even after SportsBook.com and PlayersOnly head off in a different direction.

It should be remembered that although Cake Poker Network will be losing two of their sites that find their home with them, the brand is still considered to be the tenth largest network within the market, boasting enough traffic to be classed as having ten times the traffic that Merge Gaming currently receives.

Merge Gaming Network currently provides a home to five online poker rooms, their main room being Carbon Poker and New Online Poker Room, GR88 Poker. Recent gaming stats as shown by PokerScout.com shows that the action on the network has seen a fall in activity and so the capture of SportsBook.com and PlayersOnly will be sure to help the network rectify that situation.

News Article supplied by Poker News Boy

Full Tilt Poker seem to be moving faster than any other online poker site at the minute. Full Tilt Poker also seems to be the place to play poker if your a high stakes cash player. If you are to be recognized as one of the best cash players online, you first have to beat the regs on Full Tilt Poker.

In the last year many of the seasoned poker players have made the move from PokerStars to Full Tilt Poker. This because Full tilt Poker has became the site for the serious poker player. With players like Durrrr, Ivey, Antonius and Isildur1 all making Full Tilt Poker there Online Poker Site of choosing.

Full Tilt Poker Bonus

Full Tilt Poker have always been known for giving away plenty of poker bonuses to its players. Many of the bonuses coming once you’ve downloaded and deposited on Full Tilt Poker. However, here at PokerSitesDirect.com we are offering new players who download Full Tilt Poker through us, a monster 100% up to $600 bonus. That means if you deposit the maximin of $600 you will get $600 free. All you have to do is use a Full Tilt referral Code when signing up.

What Full Tilt Referral Code should I use

The easiest way to claim your 100% match bonus upto $600 on Full Tilt Poker is by using Referral Code: PNB . By using Full Tilt Referral Code PNB, you are guarenteed to get the maximin Full tilt Poker Bonus. You should also use this link to download Full Tilt Poker to ensure your tracked to PokerSitesDirect.com.

Use Full Tilt Referral Code PNB to get upto $600 Free

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