This is certainly a surprising move as many online poker rooms, online casinos and sports betting operators have been leaving the US market since April 2011 when the DOJ and FBI started to indict some gambling operators and closed some of their online activity by seizing their domains. Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, UB Poker, Doyles’ Room, GoCasino, Absolute Poker and more have stopped their games in America.

Some of the operators that left did so because they were required to, but many others did so as a precaution as it seemed that the online gambling climate was getting less friendly in the USA. Countering the trend, Carbon Poker is the only online gaming company that we know of that is coming back.

This could turn out to be a very smart move as the current landscape is almost empty of offers with a huge demand from millions of American players who like to have some fun playing casino games online. Carbon Poker is expected to see a considerable increase in traffic and to regain the number one spot of US online poker.

What is the risk for Carbon and their players? This is the question you should ask yourself if you are planning on signing up and making a deposit. Remember that the players at full tilt, absolute poker and UB poker have still not regained their bankroll after they were closed. Regarding UB Poker and Absolute Poker which both are part of the Cereus Network, such bankrolls are not expected to ever been seen again as these companies are practically bankrupt with insufficient funding left to help. Concerning Full Tilt there is more hope as this was a bigger brand and they are trying to work on a deal to sell the company.

With respect to Carbon Poker, it seems that this is a well run company. They have no history of having problems with withdrawal, and given that they were not indicted last April, they could be clean with respect to breaking the UIGEA, the law the other operators are accused of breaking. Also the DOJ may not have the focus to investigate them as they already have a lot on their plate with their recent unpopular actions against the main operators.

In one hand example, one player has AKo versus AJo and the board came 6s Jc Qc Ad 4c. So when your AK flops a Broadway QJ-gut shot, you are pretty freaking hosed. His distribution isn’t really bimodal (yet), you are just plain beat. Your ‘back is up against the wall.’ AK beats a lot of aces, until the flop comes QJ-high. Now, the only ace he might have which you can beat is AT, and possibly some suited aces. Of course, 1/4 of the suited aces are gonna jam back at you.

I have been transformed from the Fantastic Four Bettor, back into the wimpy computer geek that is my secret identity. The turned ace is some help. Now your opponents distribution is bimodal. He’s either got you crushed with a better ace (or maybe tied with AK), or he’s just begging for free cards with a hand like 88. You are so accommodating.

Of course, you are going to call his river bet and lose. But compare how little you lost to someone who might blindly pound in this spot. Two over cards plus a Broadway gut shot is a quite attractive hand, and very pound worthy most of the time.

My favorite part of this hand is the little irony that check raise failed in his attempt to check-raise. Buy hand histories if you like to study poker hands and learn more about your opponents by studying their moves and learning their tricks.

Stupid is a strong word. Yes it is, indeed. Look at what is happening with online poker in France. Because of this new law, licensed online poker operators in France can only allow French players to play their games. And French players can only play at these sites. So instead of what used to be an international game where players from all countries in the world (almost all) could sit and battle in card games, we now have websites only for the French players. French online poker players will only play against other Gaulois.

This creates a segmented market, the world without France and France. There is no benefit to that, on the contrary. As this only French traffic will be small in comparison to a global traffic (at any poker room), this will make the games less active and the players weaker. This is a move reminiscent of their latest World Cup prowess, making sure to take the actions to become less competitive.

Also this law is unfair because the friends of the establishment are the first to get these licenses even though some of them have nearly no experience in online poker.

If you want to play online casino games like video poker, this should not be as much of a concern as you play versus the house so it does not really matter what the other players are doing. Consult specialized gambling websites like onlinevideopoker.com to find out more about video poker for example.

But for online poker this new law is certain to make French online poker players worse than the rest of the world as they will be used to play in their small enclosure. The good news is the French do not really care, they have much bigger issues such as cleaning up their budget and managing the regular strikes there.

At least online poker is allowed in France, unlike Turkey. Freedom has prevailed.

Hi you all and welcome to my online website introducting the wonderful world of Backgammon & Poker, the two games i love. If you are already a Poker and a Backagammon player, you dont need to be told the fascinations about two of these games. I know that for me and many others, it was love at first sight. In regards to Backgammon I wondered what those funny diagrams were on the back of the folding chess board and in regards to Poker, the movie I love was Tombstone that made me really want to know what Doc Holliday’s Poker is an honest trade all about.

One day, or in fact, one evening at an all night party, I was introduced to the game on the reverse side of that chess board. I remembered it quite well. After watching and asking questions for an hour or so, I decided I could play. Well, I did sort of, by the time the sun came stealing in to remind us of the hour, I had managed to lose most of the games, a few dollars, and not a little pride.

This ofcourse would never do, and it became clear that the game would have to be learned properly. Unfortunately, as with most games, it must be learned by doing rather than by reading and playing online games. We can read about a game but until we actually play, we cant really become involved. So far, however, reader’s participation has been missing from backgammon publications, and I hope to correct this situation.

Now, just some bits and pieces about what the website has to offer. This first website I made is focused on poker, I have made other sites that are more focused in Backgammon.

This website lays the foundation by discussing an unusual topic, why you play poker. Most poker websites have ignored this subject, because the entire poker culture is uninterested or actively opposed to looking at ourselves.

If you doubt me, just listen to cardroom conversations. You will almost never hear anyone talk about why they play poker (except for macho nonsense such as “I play only for the money”), nor do people discuss how their own drives and attitudes help or hurt them. It just isn’t done.

Instead of looking at ourselves, we talk about specific hands, luck, or strategy. If we discuss psychology, the focus is on other people and the ways to beat them, not on ourselves. However, as Pogo once said, “We have met the enemy, and it is us.” Or, as Roy Cooke put it: “Only in love do I see more self-denial, lack of honesty with oneself, and bad decisions based on emotion than at poker.”

We beat ourselves because we do not know ourselves. We repeat our mistakes because we do not perceive why we made them. We do not objectively assess our own strengths and weaknesses, nor do we understand how our own drives – including irrational ones – affect our entire approach to the game.

The next posts will begin the self-examination process that continues throughout the entire website. First, we will look at the attitudes and skills that separate the winners and losers. Then we will analyze why you play poker and why you have chosen your playing style.