Team Full Tilt had announced
that Patrik Antonius is its newest
member during a press
conference of the World
Series of Poker last Sunday,
June 1st.

Representing Full Tilt Poker,
the second largest site Online
Poker site and online Poker
Room in the world, Patrik
Antonius will now join the elite
club of Team Full Tilt
which includes fellow Pokerluminaries; Chris Ferguson,
Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer,
Jennifer Harman, Erick Lindgren,
Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Phil
Gordon, John Juanda, Mike
Matusow, Gus Hansen, and Allen
Cunningham who have collectively won 32 WSOP bracelets said Full Tilt in a recent statement.

According to the statement, at 27 years of age, Antonius is the youngest Poker pro to be invited to join Team Full Tilt The EPT winner and Poker icon already boasts career tournament earnings of nearly $2.7 million and is widely considered to be one of the best all-around players, whether it be large tournaments, live cash games, or online.

Team Full Tilt has been uncontrollable on the tournament circuit this year and the addition of Antonius will only add to this threat.

The Team’s 2008 momentum began in January with Howard Lederer winning the $100K No Limit Texas Hold’em event at the Aussie Millions for a first place prize of AU$ 1.25 million, followed by Erik Seidel’s second place finish at the main event where in took home AU$ 1 million.

Not to be outdone, in February, Phil Ivey added a World Poker Tour title to his already impressive resume by winning the $10,000 No Limit Texas Hold’em Championship Event at the Los Angeles Poker Classic, taking home $1.59 million.

And in March, fellow Team Full Tilt member Chris “Jesus” Ferguson established himself as the world’s premier heads-up Poker player by winning the $20,000 buy-in National Heads Up Poker Championship at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, claiming the title and $500,000 in prize money.

According to a Poker Review Patrick Antonius is a model, and a tennis coach, but most importantly is one of the best high stakes cash game Poker players out there in live games and online as well.

Does the live and Online
Poker community have its luck
candidate? According to some
Poker Review sites that candidate may just be Barack Obama.

Obama just won the democratic nomination. Should we vote for him or should we opt for McCain? A Poker Review site points us in the direction of a Telegraph article that details Mr. Obama’s Online Poker background.

Toby Harnden writes:

“When he was a young state politician in Illinois, Barack Obama played his cards right. “He had the stone face,” said Senator Terry Links, who hosted weekly Online Poker games at his home. ‘He didn’t stay in hands if he didn’t think he had a chance of winning.’

Links told Harnden:

“Barack wasn’t one of those foolish gamblers who just thought all of a sudden that card in the middle was going to show up mysteriously. He’s as competitive in politics as he is in Online Poker. It’s not like he’s going to go into something without a course of action mapped out.”

So would Barack Obama rally behind the Online Poker playing community who today feel like castaways thanks to a few choice politicians? Probably not. But we cannot help but wonder if Mr. Obama would have requested the removal of an attached measurement to curb Online Poker attached to that port security bill.

Anyway, i have read in Doyle Brunson’s blog that that he’s backing Sen. Barack Obama:

“I have come to the conclusion that poker players have to support Obama. We cannot possibly let McCain be our President because he supports most of George W. Bush’s views. Hillary has lots of experience but I do not think she is ready to lead our nation. Imagine her trying to talk to the leaders of the Islamic world? I wish we could have her husband back, but we cannot. Jennifer Harman and I have emailed Obama and asked what his position is on internet gaming. Hopefully we will get a response from his camp.”

You can also count CardPlayer columnist and poker author Bob Ciaffone as an Obama backer.

Hmmm. Whether or not i will vote for him, the real question that really intrigues me is, How does Obama play his cards? Earlier in the campaign several journalists looked into that.

Aside from Harnden’s report, Christopher Wills also filed a report for the AP in September about Obama’s poker playing as a state legislator in Springfield, Illinois:

Obama was a regular at the low-stakes games – sometimes stud poker, sometimes draw – designed to break up the tedium of long legislative sessions. poker, beer and cigars were staples; Democrats and Republicans, lawmakers and even the lobbyists who Obama sometimes rails against dealt the cards and placed their bets.

The traits Obama displayed around the card table those many nights are ones he brings to his presidential bid and are certain to be evident — and analyzed — if he wins the White House.

By his poker buddies’ accounts, Obama is careful and focused. He is not easily distracted and doesn’t give away his intentions unless it’s to his advantage. He’s not prone to taking risky chances, preferring to play it safe. But he’s also serious and competitive: When he plays, he plays to win.

“It’s a fun way for people to relax and share stories and give each other a hard time over friendly competition,” Obama said by e-mail. “In Springfield, it was a way to get to know other senators — including Republicans.” …

Though Obama is one a strong presidential candidate, i am still thinking if he will look back and help the poker industry if in case he wins.

Son of Rep. Jim Moran, Congressman of Virginia, is reportedly addicted to Online Poker.

Congressman’s son, 39-year-old Jim Jr., is said to be a Washington, D.C. area regional manager for Dominos Pizza and an Online Poker aficionado.

According to some Poker Reviews site and Poker News site, Moran’s pal, Bruce Ryan, had posted posted a YouTube video of him screaming, “I had the nuts the whole time!”

The nuts he was referring to were reportedly a pair of queens; the term is used in poker to refer to an unbeatable hand.

Reports said that Ryan posted the clip as a publicity stunt to attract attention — and hopefully funding — for his planned documentary on poker.

Ryan, a real estate agent and aspiring filmmaker, reportedly worked on a documentary on adult kickball that did not receive wide exposure.

The three-and-a-half minute YouTube video, unsubtly titled, “Congressman’s Son Goes Crazy Playing,”poker could fare better.

The video features Moran Jr. variously screaming, pointing at his computer screen, whooping and hollering, “I worked you!” while advancing in an poker tournament.

Despite obtaining a top ranking, Moran eventually lost the competition, Ryan told ABC News.

“I worked that guy!” the lawmaker’s offspring shouts after winning a key hand. Then he turns to his computer screen. “I worked you! I worked you! I worked you! You thought I was being a wuss, but I had the nuts the whole time! That’s what time it is! You got a watch?” — he points energetically to his wrist — “Cuz that’s what time it is!”

Congressional office of Moran’s father declined to comment for this story.

“He’s probably, IQ-wise, a genius,” Ryan said of his friend Jim, “at least on paper.”

“I’m really good at math, and I know when people are lying to me,” said Moran, explaining his skills as a poker player.

Moran told ABC News that when he first saw Ryan’s video he thought, “‘That makes me look like an idiot,’” but Ryan assured him when people watched it online, they would think it was “cool.”

The video has reportedly attracted the attention of Roll Call, a D.C. newspaper which covers Congress.

Despite his Ryan’s hope for publicity, however, Moran said he refused to talk to the paper’s reporter, because he said another Roll Call scribe had misquoted him several years ago in comments he made about former Rep. Stan Parris, R-Va., whom his father defeated to win his seat in Congress.

“[Parris] made fun of me on a school trip when I was in third grade, and got the whole class to laugh at me, and I’ve hated him with a passion ever since,” Moran Jr. explained. When Roll Call ran his quote about the man, Moran said, they added an adjective which made his words sound harsher. “I got in trouble.”

Reports said that Eighty one Poker players took part in the first charity Holdem tournament to be held under New Brunswick’s new gaming laws – including the province’s justice minister.

Avid Poker fan, Justice Minister T.J. Burke, said New Brunswick’s gaming laws have developed to provide charitable groups access to a new source of revenue.

“Today’s craze is Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo… and these are types of tournaments that players are coming out to participate in, so that we help and assist with charitable organizations that need to off-set some of their overhead by generating revenue,” he told CTV Atlantic.

Under New Brunswick’s laws, players will pay to play in the tournament and at least 45 per cent of the pot must go to a charitable organization. Only 35 per cent of the pot can be given out as prize money.

Paul Wentzell’s group of United Commercial Travelers, a service club, last held a poker tournament almost four years ago and during that time they were told it was illegal and they have since rallied for changes.

“We’ve been patiently waiting and things have finally worked their way through the government process,” he said. “The regulations came out early last month and we’re pleased to be hosting the first charity tournament in the province.”

The tournament was said to be under close watch by the government, although that was as much about learning how it works as it was about enforcement of the rules.

The Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Paraplegic Association are among the charities benefiting from the tournament, and they say they are pleased with the new laws.

“I think they took their time and did a good job in terms of investigating and making sure that when they did make the announcement and come out with the regulations that they had covered everything,” John O’Toole of the Canadian Paraplegic Association said.

Note: Though there are numerous Poker Reviews written about the legality of playing poker whether online or not, none of them had really mentioned or suggested that it should be legalized for a good cause. I really like this new agreement between the government of Canada and the poker industry. The law will not only work for both concerned parties but it will also work for the advantage of the less privileged and the sick. Since the poker Industry generates huge amount of profit, it is just right that they shift their attention from making money to a commitment of helping. After all what they are donating or giving out is just a small amount of money compared to what the poker earn. But this small amount of money from them may mean the biggest thing to the less privileged people.

Owing it to World Poker events, Gus Hansen is one of the known faces in the Poker world. His contradictory calm and aggressive style matched with his Poker calculated approach contributed to his recent win at the Aussie Millions and tournament winnings of $4m. Last year, he joined the FullTilt Big Game, on the High Stakes Poker TV show, he proved everyone that a calm river can be indeed a dangerous one.

In a not so long ago interview, Hansen said that he is really happy being part of the FullTilt team.

After his small career with Pokerchamps, it became apparent that continuing working in a site is better. We did not have the money or the number of persons to run a big time organization, so we decided to sell the site at the perfect timing. I was workning by myself for a while and Full Tilt approached me with a great offer. They said they have got some great players who are close to me. I came from Scandinavia, so I built quite a handful of good connections as I compose articles for newspapers. I hope Full Tilt will be venturing in the European market soon because it will be beneficial for both parties.

He also said even though there are fluctuations in the Poker world, you have to make sure that you can control it.

When asked if being a reckless player has without a doubt helped Hansen gained popularity in the Poker industry, Hansen said that it has definitely helped his different images in the table, because he has a good grasp of how people he had met before perceived him, they had an idea of how Gunsen get on with the game, even if it’s not really the right idea.

Apart from Poker Hansen is also doing modeling work, and advertisements for FullTilt.

People magazine even voted him to be the one of the sexiest men alive. But when asked if he loves this side of the business, or if he accepts that it is just part of the job requirement demanded of the celebrity Poker player, he said that people should not make a big deal out of it.