November 30 2011, Brett Collson

If you missed the biggest news stories today, you’ve come to the right place. It was a busy Wednesday in the poker world as Epic Poker signed a content deal with a major nationwide publication, Facebook is planning to offer real-money gambling in the United Kingdom, and much more.

In Case You Missed It

Poker players are always looks for easy, quick snacks to consume during their daily grind. Lynn Gilmartin reveals some popular recipes in the latest Stay Stacked piece.

It was a bad week for casino operators in Las Vegas. Get the latest on the Hooters and Hilton properties in Inside Gaming.

Need a new book to read at the tables? Check out our review of Andrew Seidman’s Easy Game 3rd Edition.

The Rise and Fall of Ray Bitar

As you already know by now, Ray Bitar was the one of the key figures behind the operations at Full Tilt Poker for many years. He helped guide the startup online poker room into a billion-dollar gambling giant and signed some of the most famous pros in the game to represent his budding brand.

However, even still to this day, not much is known about Bitar. He worked behind the scenes at Full Tilt and, unlike fellow board members Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer, always shied away from the spotlight.

On Tuesday, Wicked Chops Poker published a lengthy feature story about Bitar called In Other’s Words: The Rise and Fall of Ray Bitar. The story, written by Dave “F-Train” Behr, includes anonymous interviews with former Full Tilt employees, sponsored pros and associates who had business relationships with Bitar.

The feature takes some time to get through, but it is certainly worth your time if you’re even a little interested in the inner workings of the Full Tilt business model. Here’s one interesting excerpt from a former employee of Full Tilt Poker:

“Ray Bitar was not an especially impressive executive. When Howard Lederer was president of Tiltware, it was hard to tell that Ray was CEO [for early hires like myself] as most people assumed that Howard was in charge and Ray took his orders from Howard. At the very least, Ray seemed careful not to make any decision, no matter how trivial, without getting Howard’s input and buy-in. Part of this is that Howard was far more technically oriented than Ray, and in a company that is primarily a software development company, Howard was able to better understand the technology.”

You can find the full story in the Insider section of Wicked Chops Poker.

Epic Poker Partners with USA Today

On Wednesday, Epic Poker announced a content partnership with the USA Today Sports Media Group and Big Lead Sports that will see the Global Poker Index (GPI) published weekly in both the print and online editions of USA Today.

The GPI, which ranks the top 300 live tournament players in the world on a weekly basis, will be presented to readers as the “USA Today Global Poker Index.” In addition, Epic Poker will be the exclusive content provider for Big Lead Sports.

“Our work with the USA Today Sports Media Group and Big Lead Sports will help drive poker deeper into the mainstream news cycle and further position the game right alongside other professional sports content,” said Jeffrey Pollack, executive chairman of the Epic Poker and Federated Sports + Gaming.

The first season of the Epic Poker League has crowned two Main Event champions thus far, with the third event beginning on Dec. 14, 2011, at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. David “Chino” Rheem won the first event in August for $1,000,000, and Mike “Timex” McDonald took down the second event in September for $782,410.

Read the full Epic Poker press release at marketwatch.com.

Facebook Considers Real-Money Gambling

According to a report by eGamingReview, social media giant Facebook is developing plans to offer real-money gambling in the United Kingdom as early as 2012.

Facebook, which hosts the free-to-play Zynga Poker, has already begun exploratory talks with U.K. operators to launch real-money online gambling and is already in discussions with 888poker and Gamesys. EGR says the plan is for Facebook to offer eight licenses to U.K. operators who want to offer their gambling platform on Facebook.

PokerNews contacted Facebook for a comment and received a response from a company spokesperson. “We’re always in discussions with companies about lots of different ideas, but we don’t comment on future plans or speculation.”

Read more at PokerNews.com.

Bodog Unveils Anonymous Tables

Earlier this year, Bodog announced plans to “bring the fun back to poker” for the casual player by implementing a Recreational Poker Model. The growing poker room took a major step in that direction this week by introducing new poker software that will, among other things, prevent players from accessing any data on how opponents play.

Bodog’s all-site anonymous tables will protect the casual player from opponents picking up information via the use of HUDs and other data mining sites. The software change comes two months after Bodog began removing full tables from the lobby and thus stopping data sites from accessing statistical information on players.

Among the other features included in the new software are a rabbit cam, several new tournament formats, and the ability to play up to 20 tables at the same time.

“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,” said Bodog VP Jonas Ödman. “To my mind the software and Bodog’s Recreational Poker Model is a genuine game changer.”

Read more about Bodog’s new software at CalvinAyre.com.

Martin Staszko Signs with PokerStars

2011 World Series of Poker runner-up Martin Staszko is the newest member of Team PokerStars. Staszko, 35, joins Martin Hruby as the only players from the Czech Republic on the PokerStars roster.

“I’m really happy to sign for PokerStars and join such a talented team of poker players, said Staszko, whose contract will officially begin on Dec. 1. “I’m playing in my home country at EPT Prague as a Team PokerStars Pro and looking forward to playing many big live and online tournaments in 2012 like the PCA and WCOOP. My main focus is to win a mixed-game event at the next WSOP, becoming the first Czech player to win a bracelet.”

PokerStars will officially introduce Staszko as part of the team on Dec. 4, 2011, at the Prague Hilton Hotel as part of the 10th Anniversary Guinness World Record celebration. His first tournament as a PokerStars Pro will come the following day, Dec. 5, at the European Poker Tour Prague Main Event.

More on this story can be found right here at PokerNews.com.

Qualify for the 2012 Aussie Millions

Looking for a way to qualify for the 2012 Aussie Millions? Crown Poker and several online poker rooms are offering a wide variety of satellites into the $10,000 Main Event on Jan. 22, 2012.

Crown Poker, which hosts the Aussie Millions each year, is offering a handful of different avenues to the Main Event: a direct entry event, a “Fast Track Satellite, a $550 Deepstack qualifier, or a Phase 3 Supershot Satellite. With the Phase 3 qualifiers, players can parlay a $65 Phase 1 buy-in into a Main Event seat by advancing through each of the steps.

Each qualifier will run daily at Crown from the end of November, and online players can also win Main Event seats at PokerStars, PartyPoker, 888poker, Titan Poker, Mansion Poker, Winner Poker, and Poker770.

Learn more about the satellites to the 2012 Aussie Millions at PokerNews.com.

Lederer, Furst File Claims for Seized Bank Accounts

On Wednesday, PokerNews discovered that Full Tilt Poker board members Howard Lederer and Rafe Furst had filed claims with the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York asserting title and interest to various seized bank accounts.

In September, the FBI was authorized to seize assets belonging to Chris Ferguson, Ray Bitar, Lederer and Furst for their involvement in the fraud and money-laundering allegations in the amended civil complaint originally unsealed on Black Friday. Bitar and Ferguson had already filed claims with the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, and Lederer and Furst followed suit this week.

The amount of money in the bank accounts was not revealed, but each claim lists the names of the bank accounts that were seized. The account belonging to Furst was held in Switzerland, while Lederer’s claim listed an account with Wells Fargo Bank and another in the Isle of Mann.

Get the full story at PokerNews.com.

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Follow Brett Collson on Twitter – @brettcollson

November 30 2011, Chad Holloway

I’d like to preface my latest book review by recognizing that my previous reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. I’m happy the books I’ve read have proven worthwhile, but I eagerly look forward to reading my first lackluster book and writing a scalding review. I thought I may have found that book with Andrew Seidman’s Easy Game 3rd Edition, but alas, I stumbled upon yet another great poker book.

Admittedly, I had not read either of Seidman’s first two books before picking up the third edition, which was released on Oct. 24. The latest installment covers the same material as Volumes 1 and 2, with the exception of Matt Colletta’s Heads-Up section and Steve Cesaro’s Playing Against Short Stacks section.

“I wanted full ownership of the book, and I felt more comfortable publicly criticizing my own work than that of my friends,” Seidman explained on TwoPlusTwo.

With Easy Game 3rd Edition, you get all of the information found in previous editions, plus some new material. As Seidman explains: “What I had thought was a comprehensive guide to all elements of poker now seems full of gaping holes . . . So, it is with this in mind that I have written more on a number of subjects previously covered, as well as adding new content not originally discussed . . . Additionally, I have added new chapters where they are appropriate (or where a simple comment at the end of a chapter would be insufficient). I don’t want to remove content – even content that is outdated or incorrect – because above all else, I want to demonstrate the process of how I arrived at each new level of thought.”

Before reading Seidman’s book, I decided I wasn’t going to like it. I thought no poker book could be worth $900, the price tag for the early editions of Easy Game, so I was ready to lambaste the latest edition. Seidman heeded player requests and lowered the price of the 3rd Edition to $69.99 for the paperback version, which was still a bit high compared to mass-market strategy books. That being the case, I felt there needed to be some high-quality material to justify the outlay.

It didn’t take long for my cynicism to fall by the wayside. As a first-time reader of Seidman, I was hit with a heavy dose of poker theory and advanced concepts. It was a lot to take in, but much like a college textbook, once you understood the material, it was like having an “aha” moment. Not only does he lay out the theories that have come to characterize today’s game, the same theories many pros have had trouble grasping, Seidman discusses how these concepts came to be, how they’ve changed in recent years, and how they’re likely to change in the future.

Here are just a few of the chapters you’ll find in Easy Game 3rd Edition, which spans 216 pages and boasts 52 chapters:

• Preflop Hand-Ranges and Postflop Equities
• Nuts vs. Air Ratios
• Equity Distributions
• Advanced Street Projection and Two-Way Bets
• Game Theory Optimal vs. Practically Optimal
• The Diminishing Medium Value Category

I will admit that my game is stuck in the past and outdated (a hard truth to admit and accept). Like so many people, I miss the days in 2006 when I could sit down at a table, completely dominate it, and cash out several hundred dollars ahead. Unfortunately, the game has changed and become much tougher.

Players like Seidman have figured out the science of the game, and while poker will never be a game of complete information like chess, it is about as close to being solved as it can be. That being said, I didn’t keep up with the game’s evolution. I’ve been trying to bring myself up to speed, and feel Seidman’s book did a great job of doing just that; in fact, I put this on par with Annie Duke and John Vorhaus‘ Decide to Play Great Poker as being the most influential strategy book I’ve read in recent years.

With Easy Game 3rd Edition, I feel much more comfortable understanding equity, game dynamics, and several advanced theories. Not only did I discover a lot of new material in this book, but reading it revealed that I have a lot left to learn. Poker is constantly evolving, and even though Seidman will bring you up to speed, he is quick to point out that you need to continue to learn and adapt to keep pace with an ever-changing game.

I wouldn’t recommend Easy Game 3rd Edition to someone just learning the game. The book assumes the reader knows the rules and basic concepts of poker, so it’s important to have those before trying to tackle the advanced concepts found in its pages. However, if an experienced poker player were to ask me what book they should read if they’re looking to take their game to the next level, I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Seidman’s text. I still don’t think I’d ever pay $900 for a poker book, but I feel the material in this book (and how it improved my game) was worth every cent of the $69.99 price tag. Of course I say that as a first-time reader of Seidman.

Even though I did not read the first two editions of the book, it seems to me that there is enough new material to warrant buying the third edition. Moreover, the game has changed considerably since Seidman released his first book in 2009 (and the subsequent second edition in November of 2009), so the updates in the third edition are crucial for those hoping to survive today’s poker shark tank.

I’m not a big fan of books releasing new editions to encourage people to buy a book considered “the latest and greatest” when, in fact, very little has changed (I was subjected to that with college textbooks each and every year). That is not the case here because Seidman has shown care in crafting an updated and worthwhile book.

The one major disadvantage Seidman faces with his book is name recognition, specifically a lack thereof. He is not nearly as popular as the aforementioned Annie Duke or Phil Gordon, so the average poker player may be weary of paying $69.99 for a book by a relative unknown.

I should note that Seidman is well-known in the poker community, playing online under the screen name “BalugaWhale” (he plays on Pokerstars under “Bwhale28″). He also has a very loyal following in the poker forums. Seidman, a consistent online grinder, most recently outlasted a field of 403 players and winning Full Tilt Poker’s $100,0000 Guarantee on March 26 for $26,598; and also coming in 42nd out of 45,232 in the MiniFTOPS Main Event on March 20, turning a $75 investment into $5,383. However, Seidman’s bread and butter comes from the online cash games — in 2008, he was one of the top winners in the $5/$10 games. To top things off, Seidman has created two training video series for DeucesCracked: “The Coaching Tree” and “Coaching Kristy,” the latter being with PokerNews’ very own Kristy Arnett.

*Click here to listen to Seidman discuss Easy Game 3rd Edition with Arnett.

Seidman’s live results aren’t anything to brag about either; in fact, a quick search on Hendon Mob turns up just two cashes: a fifth-place finish in the 2010 Aussie Millions A$5,000 Heads-Up Challenge for AUD$15,625 and a fourth-place finish in the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $5,000 NAPT Bounty Shootout for $10,000. These facts will make it difficult for Seidman to reach the poker masses and gain a foothold in an already crowded market, but it is not insurmountable, especially considering the quality of the book.

On a final note, I am pleased to see Seidman actively participating in the promotion of his book, as well as his persistence in trying to improve it. He has started a thread in the TwoPlusTwo forums where he actively posts, listening to fan suggestions and answering questions, and taking steps to ensure that he has a quality product. This is refreshing in a time when many players simply pump out a book and hope it makes money. Like his poker game, Seidman is demonstrating commitment and taking the necessary steps to ensure success.

In addition to being available in paperback, Easy Game 3rd Edition is offered in eBook (PDF) for $59.99 and on Kindle for $79.99. To obtain your copy of the book, and to explore coaching and seminar opportunities, visit balugawhale.com.

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Follow Chad Holloway on Twitter – @ChadAHolloway