Lock Poker Just Keeps Adding Pros

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Lock PokerWhile Lock Poker’s popularity just continues to grow, it seems that they continue to add more and more well-known poker pros each day.  It’s almost getting to the point where we can’t keep up with all of the news that includes the name “Lock Poker” and their “Team LockPRO Elite”!  Lock Poker is a top notch choice for any player who plays the game in the United States, or also for many other countries around the world as well.  Now, they have decided to add two additional professional poker players to their roster to help boost the lineup.

The two new additions include Jason Lee and Tim West, who will now add to an already incredible team that features the likes of Chris Moorman, Leo Margets, Pedro Maia, Melanie Weisner, and Kevin Vandersmissen for starters.  Moorman is probably the most well-know pro on the roster, but Margets is a pro from Spain, Maia is a new addition from Portugal, Vandersmissen is a pro from Belgium, and Weisner actually spent time as a Full Tilt Poker pro.  Lock is simply expanding to all over the world with their many additions lately.

Jason Lee is a huge online poker player, as he has won over $3 million in his career online, but also has hauled in over $400k on the live tournament circuit as well.  Overall, Lee’s game is impressive, but he should be a slam dunk at Lock Poker because online poker is definitely his strongest point.  Tim West on the other hand started off by winning the Wynn Poker Classic back in 2011, and also finished in second place at the World Series of Poker Circuit event’s Regional Championship in San Diego.  He was a hit after that, and overall has pulled in more than $1.6 million in his career on the live tournament circuit.

It’s  hard to put into words exactly what Lock Poker has done in recent months, but one thing that they have definitely done is picked up the pace when it seems that everyone else in the online poker world is relaxing.  Lock Poker started off 2012 with a bang, and we expect them to keep it going through the year.

Pokerstars Up Guarantees

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Poker Stars has upped the guarantees on its current stock of guaranteed tournaments.

Among the highlights in PokerStars’ new guaranteed tournament schedule are the Sunday Majors, with the $$75k Sunday Kickoff now paying out $100k, the $200k Sunday Rebuy now paying out $225k, the $200k Sunday Storm now paying out $300k, the $250k Sunday 500 now paying out $300k as well, the $125k Sunday Second Chance now paying out $175k, the $60k Sunday 6-Max now paying out $100k and the $40k Sunday Supersonic now paying out $125k.

Next is the Saturday Line-up, with the $30k Saturday 6-Max now paying out $35k, the $30k Saturday Micro now paying out $35k as well, the $40k Saturday Eliminator now paying out $75k, the $50k Saturday Splash now paying out $100k, the $10k Saturday Countdown now paying out $15k and the $50k Saturday Speedway now paying out $65k.

Then are the Daily Bigs, with the $5k Big $3.30 now paying out $6k, the $10k Big $16.50 now paying out $$15k, the $15k Big $33 and Big $5.50 now each paying out $20k, the $16k Big $8.80 now paying out $25k, the $25k Big $22 now paying out $50k, the $50k Big $109 now paying out $100k, the $50k Big $11 now paying out $75k, the $100k Big $55 now paying out $125k, the $50k Big $162 now paying out $75k, the $8k Big $4.40 now paying out $15k, and the $7.5k Big $27.50 now paying out $15k.

These are just some of the highlights. Visit your Pokerstars software to see the increases in the guaranteed prize pools in some of your favorite tournaments.

Carbon Poker Holds Poker Maximus Satellites

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Earlier in the month we told you about the upcoming Poker Maximus tournament and the satellites that Lock Poker was holding into that $1.5 million online poker tournament series. But Lock Poker isn’t the only satellite holdind a satellite series qualifying players for the various Poker Maximus events. Carbon Poker is holidng Poker Maximus satellites as well.

The Poker Maximus starts on March 4, 2012 and satellites in No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha are running now through the end of the 2012 Poker Maximus on March 25. That’s the day of the $10,000 Mini Main Event. There are 67 events in the Poker Maximus in all. Ticket prices range from $11 on up, and players can win coupons worth various ticket amounts at diferent Carbon Poker satellites for buy-ins as small as $1.10. Some qualifiers offer more than one coupon while some are rebuy / add-on events.

Players can use existing tournament tickets in their accounts for Poker Maximus events. However, any tickets specific to the Poker Maximus won in this particular satellite series must be used at the Poker Maximus between March 4 and March 25 or be forfeited.

The kickoff event of the 2012 Poker Maximus is a $7,500 NLH Freezeout on March 4, for an $11 buy-in. That day also sees 3 other Poker Maximus events: #2, a $175,000 NLH freezeout for a $109 buy-in; #3, a $15,000 NLH freezeout for a $33 buy-in; and #4, a $75,000 High Roller event for a $215 buy-in.

Whether you win them at Lock Poker or Carbon Poker, the Poker Maximus is the same.

Wall Street Analysis Bodes Poorly For Legal Online Poker in the U.S.

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Last Friday, a Wall Street analyst stated that, based on current events, he saw little likelihood that the U.S. Congress would address the issue of legalizing online poker and other forms of online gambling in the United States until at least next year, 2013. If true, this is sobering news for poker activists and players alike in the U.S., as this year, 2012, is only just getting started.

But is it true? What is his analysis based on? According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s report on February 17, 2012, the analyst, one Chad Benyon of Macquarie Securities, says that if online poker were on the table in Washington, it would very likely have appeared as a bill tacked onto the recently passed extension of the payroll tax cut. But it was not. In fact, it was specifically addressed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada in a press statement, when he stated that it definitely would not be attached in the bill presented for a vote (and passing) the following day.

This doesn’t rule out the possibilities that online poker could cross Congress’s desk some other way, including by a bill all its own, like the ones spearheaded by now retired Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank.

It also doesn’t rule out the possibilities of individual states legalizing and regulating online poker on their own, without the support of the federal government. Take Harry Reid’s own Nevada, for example, which just put the final touches on legislation to loosen the restrictions on online gaming in the state to minimum enforcement standards. That may go into effect as early as next month.

Carbon Poker & 888 Poker Updates: Free Training and $3,000 Mardi Gras Celebration

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Carbon Poker now offers its players a brand new feature that gives them a unique opportunity to up their game. It’s a new membership club in cooperation with Carbon Poker that grants its members poker training by over 30 coaches, professional poker players all of them, as well as more than 40 new poker vidoes per month added to a library that already contains over 1,000 poker educational videos. Members also get to participate in active user forums.

Membership at Drag The Bar usually costs $30 per month, but as a Carbon Poker player you can get it for free, simply by meeting certain rake requirements. All you have to do is pay $1 in rake while playing online poker at Carbon Poker and you’ll not only earn membership for the remainder of the current month for free, but membership for the successive month as well. To get a third free month of Drag The Bar, just rake $500 in that second month ends.

You will not lose any points in redeeming this offer, nor are there any playthrough requirements as there are with many bonuses.

In other online poker news, 888 Poker is celebrating this year’s Rio Carnival taking place Feb 18 – 21 by offering its players a $10 Samba Bonus. Just deposit at least $30 by February 21 using the promo code SAMBA888. What’s more, make that deadline and you also get a ticket in a $3,000 Rio Rumble tournament taking place February 22. That’s an exclusive $3,000 guaranteed tournament with no other way to enter.

Pokerstars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker 2012 Coming Up

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Coming February 23rd and running through March 4th, Pokerstars is holding the 2012 World Blogger Championship of Online Poker, or WBCOOP for short, which awards prizes in the form of cash, Spring Championship of Online Poker tickets, or SCOOP for short, and live event tickets, to name a few, all by simply blogging about poker.

Here’s how it works: Simply publish a post on your own blog explaining what you’d do with $5k if you were named the WBCOOP 2012 Best Blogger. Posts must be approximately 500 words. After it’s live on your blog, submit the permalink to Poker Stars. There’s also a checkbox to tick if you want your post shared with co-sponsor Poker News.

The next step is to share the link for each post with all your friends. Every blogger’s entry earns them 10 tickets into exclusive WBCOOP online poker tournament events. There are 31 events in all in the 2012 WBCOOP, with 3 events per day, running at 10:00, 14:00 and 18:00, except on the last day, March 4, when the final, Main Event is scheduled. The WBCOOP 2012 schedule includes events in No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, Stud and Triple Stud, 8-Game Mix, HORSE and more. There is an equally wide variety in tournament structure as well, including 6-max, turbo, big ante, hi/lo, deepstack, heads-up and more.

Poker Stars will also be keeping a leader board for WBCOOP with big cash prizes up for grabs for the highest finishers. There are also large cash rewards for the series’ Best Live Tweeter and Best Blogger overall.

Lock Poker Continues to Boost Team LockPro Elite Roster

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Lock PokerLock Poker has struck again.  This site seems to consistently keep popping up in the poker news these days, and it’s consistently for good things.  After bringing in some big signings to their Team LockPRO Elite roster like Chris Moorman, Leo Margets, Nicky Evans, Melanie Weisner, and Kevin Vandersmissen, they decided that they weren’t done just yet.  The site has decided to add another professional player in Pedro “pls3betme” Maia.  Maia is a pro from Portugal, who began playing back in 2007 and it only took two years for him to quit his job to begin playing poker full time.

Lock Poker already has a strong roster overall, and they are definitely one of the most talked about online poker sites in the United States these days as well.  Overall, Lock ranks first in the US for online poker for many different reasons.  They are a part of the Merge Network, and teamed with Carbon Poker they have turned into a fan favorite for US players.

To look at Maia and his play to this point, you’ll see that he is a huge multi-tabler, and brings in an absurdly large amount of rake back consistently as well.  He’s a very strong tournament player and has brought in impressive results in Portugal in recent years.  Lock Poker’s addition of Maia is a proving point that they are hoping to get strong talent from all over the world as well, and expand world wide.  Maia is the second pro on the roster from Portugal also, as the other is a good friend of his in Francisco “yuranpt” Santos.  Santos said he’s incredibly excited to have Maia added to the roster, and hopes that one of the two of them can be the first Portugese players to take down a bracelet as well.

On top of the many names listed above, Lock Poker also has strong pros including Matt Stout, Brett Jungblut, Casey Jarzabek, and Eric Lynch as well, just to name a few.  Lock Poker offers a great range of poker tournaments and constant running cash games, so if you are searching for a site regardless of if you are a United States player or not, don’t overlook Lock Poker!

Qualify Now for Party Poker Premier League Poker 5

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From February 6 to March 18, 2012 Party Poker will be holding qualifiers into the Premier League 5 Poker event, the headlining live event produced by Party Poker as part of the official World Poker Tour Special Events.

The PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker 5 is coming to Vienna, Austria on March 31, 2012 and runs through April 10, 2012. This fifth incarnation of PartyPoker’s flagship WPT Special Event sees 14 top poker pros from around the world sitting in with 9 amateur qualifiers all vying for the biggest share of a $2 million guaranteed prize pool.

There are nine PartyPoker Premier League 5 prize packages up for grabs. Every winner of one gets a $10,450 seat at the playoffs, four nights of accommodations while in Vienna for the event and $1,350 to spend as you like. All totaled it’s a value of $13k per prize package. In addition, two of the prize package winners will receive a $125,000 entry into the Premier League Poker V final event.

The PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker 5 satellite series includes freerolls and subqualifier speed tournaments that lead into the satellite qualifiers that seed players into the final Premier League 5 satellite at which the actual prize packages will be given away. Over the course of the series, Party Poker will run six satellites total.

Both the Premier League 5 playoffs and the final will be broadcast on live television. Party Poker is offering no cash redemption on the $13,000 prize packages, so if you win one and cannot attend, you lose out.

Bovada Adds $15,000 in Freerolls to Monthly Calendar

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Players at Bovada Poker now have a chance to win a share of $7,500 twice each month. And more, that opportunity comes free of charge. It’s all part of Bovada Poker’s newest ongoing promotion, aptly titled: 15k in Monthly Freerolls

In recent posts, we’ve alerted you to numerous big money-winning opportunities at Bovada Poker, including the Cash PerSuit for the site’s cash ring game players and the $750,000 Guaranteed Bovada Black Diamond Poker Open, running now through April 1, 2012. Now we’ve got another one for you: this a new regular on the Bovada Poker calendar, a pair of monthly freeroll tournaments each promising $7.5k guaranteed in prize money, for a total of $15k in monthly freeroll tournaments.

Rather than accepting cash to buy into the monthly freerolls or the qualifiers awarding seats in them, BovadaPoker is taking Poker Points, or PTS for short. Each $7.5k freeroll has a 1k PTS buy-in. But players can win seats in a $7.5k freeroll for much less. Pay just 25 PTS and enter a daily turbo qualifier, from which the best 15 will advance to the $7.5k freeroll. For 150 PTS, you can play in a sit and go freeroll qualifier, running around the clock, with 6 players per event. Or pay 200 PTS and enter a turbo qualifier, also from which the best 15 players will advance.

The $7.5k freerolls themselves take place on the second and last Saturdays of the month and twenty percent of the playing field gets paid out.

Bovada Poker Hosts $750,000 Black Diamond Poker Open Satellites

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Bovada Poker introduces a brand new online poker tournament series, this one with a $750,000 prize purse. It’s called Bovada Black Diamond Poker Open (BDPO) and it’s comprised of 52 online poker events in Hold’em, 7 Card Stud and more. It includes shootouts, knockouts, and a wide assortment of other poker and tournament variants.

There are two series’ making up the Bovada Black Diamond Poker Open. Between March 5 and 18 there’s the $100k Guaranteed, lo-to-mid stakes Contender Series and between March 19 and April 1 there’s the $600k Guaranteed mid-to-hi stakes Championship Series. Each series has its own main event: the Contender Series Main Event offers $25k guaranteed and the Championship Series Main Event offers $250k guaranteed. Win the Championship Series Main Event and you’re guaranteed $50,000 cash, at least.

It all starts on March 4, 2012 with a $20k Guaranteed Kick-Off event.

Players can either buy-in directly to these events or win themselves seats through Bovada Poker’s Black Diamond Poker Open Satellite Tournament Series, made up of more than 2,000 satellite qualifiers for BDPO events.

Each BDPO tournament has a path of satellites starting with buy-ins as low as $1 and increasing gradually as the path to the BDPO event shortens.

The complete calendar of all fifty-two Bovada Black Diamond Poker Open tourneys can be found at the Bovada Poker website, while the full satellite calendar can be found in Bovada Poker’s Scheduled Tournament lobby under the Special tab.

Stay tuned later this week for information on another new offering at Bovada Poker, $15k in Monthly Freerolls.