GC shoots Government in the foot...

For a few years now the Labour government has been trying to tempt online poker sites to set-up and be regulated in the UK... obviously they can see that they are missing out on a very lucrative tax income. It would appear that the UK Gambling Commision are not singing from the same hymn sheet...

(Copied from http://www.aworldofpoker.com/news.php?id=218)

UK Gambling Commision Bans UK Operators

UK Gambling Commision Bans UK Operators from Offering Overseas Event Seats. New ruling by the GC will change the face of satellites to overseas events for British Poker players.

UK gambling licensees were told by the UK Gambling Commission that they are no longer allowed to offer seats to tournaments outside of the Commission approved white list areas. The impact is obvious, with any UK-based operators holding satellites to non-UK poker events. The ruling was made as offering prizes outside of the UK advertises non-UK approved events, hence violating the Gambling Act of 2005.

Section 331 of the Act details that a person commits and offence if they “advertise foreign gambling other than a lottery.” Initially the clause was inserted to distinguish which operators were allowed to advertise on television, but it has since become evident it doesn’t apply just to the direct form of advertising referenced.

A release from the Commission said, that 'unless the overseas tournament is based in the European Economic Area, Gibraltar, or in white-listed jurisdictions, the advert is likely to amount to the advertising of 'foreign gambling,' which constitutes an offence under Section 331 of the Gambling Act 2005.”

It is not totally clear how the legislation will affect poker sites offering satellites to events like the WSOP, EPT and Aussie Millions, although most of the online poker rooms are not based in the UK. Statements clarifying the positions of the online firms are expected in coming days.

Brick and mortar venues will certainly be affected though, and for many of the new pub league initiatives which have come about in the last 18 months, this will be a major blow as some offer seats to the WSOP or other events abroad. Those who are found guilty of violating Section 331 could face up to 51 weeks in prison and a fine.

Has it really been a month?

How time flies… apologies to my reader for neglecting this diary for nearly a month.

Since the PokerStars Steps debacle I have officially given up with online poker… twice!! I have deleted all poker client software from my laptop - except Dusk Til Dawn, as you can buy-in to their live tournaments via the online poker room; and Blue Square, for the occasional attempt at an APAT online satellite.

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At the end of November I played in the inaugural Virgin Poker Festival, at the Broadway Casino in Birmingham. The tournament went OK (wheels didn't fall off 'til fairly late in the evening) and the Virgin staff did their best to make it a fun weekend, BUT I'm afraid no amount of effort on their part could gloss over the horrendous mistake that had been made with this choice of venue - NO GUINESS!!! - Come on Virgin, get your act together. :-) (A little bird tells me that the 2nd Virgin Poker Festival is being considered for next springtime, at Aspers in Newcastle… Top venue, believe me).

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The Friday after the Virgin tourney I was due to take part in the 'invite only' Dusk Till Dawn opening weekend £100 freezeout, but in the end decided to leave it until after christmas for my first visit - just too many events one after the other… and the less said about the Pigeons game on Sunday the better!!

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The very next weekend was the APAT UK Championships at the G Casino in Manchester… I had really been looking forward to this one, with Ricky Hatton fighting in Vegas on the Saturday night (Sun morning), I was expecting the atmosphere in the casino to be superb. Well, the weekend started badly and didn't really improve!

About 4.00pm Friday evening my car radiator decided to spring a leak, a few miles from home… after an hours wait in a freezing cold car the breakdown truck turned up and took me home. Since I had it on good authority that the G Casino in Manchester would have Guiness (thanks Dewi), I decided that the car could wait 'til Monday and set about checking the train times for Saturday morning.

So, up at 6.00am on Saturday morning... showered, fed & watered and out the door at 7.00 for the 5 minute walk to the bus stop, followed by a 20 min wait for a bus! Arrive at Oxford Station in good time for the 8.36 train to Manchester Picadilly… at least the train was on time and I eventually got a seat (after Birmingham International). Somewhere around Stockport it started raining - it didn't stop raining until just south of Macclesfield, on the way home, Sunday! Arrived in Manchester, at about the same time as Paul 'the game' and bumped into him at the metro station… 3 stops on the tram to Victoria and then about a mile by taxi and we are at the casino by about 12.30.

For the most part I was pretty happy with the way I played the tournament and the only real error was my last hand, it was about about 10.30pm and I had been up for 18 hours - well that's my excuse… I mis-read a large raise from the cut-off as an attempt to steal my BB, I moved in over the top with A4s… unfortunately matey had AKo and called without too much hesitation… that, as they say, was that!

So a few hours to kill before the Hatton fight, time for beer then… and you'll never guess who I found at the bar? No, not Des Duffy… but none other than young Dewi. It would have been rude not join him wouldn't it?

A 'couple' of beers later I see an empty seat at a £1/£1 PLHE cash game and sit down with £100. The details of the game escape me now but over the next hour or two I remember the following… being down to about £50 and getting another £40 out my wallet… being down to around £30 and getting the last £20 note out of my wallet… being down to exactly £12 and saying, "I won't need much to get this last £12 in the middle!"… next hand getting it all-in pre-flop with J9s and getting 3 callers… a Jack high flop and a 9 on the river, giving me the main pot of about £50… 'the game' appearing at my shoulder (he had just been knocked out of the tourney), getting all-in, for something over £100, on the turn with TPTK and the Nut-Flush draw… catching the flush on the river to beat a flopped straight… and finally cashing-out about £320!! :-) Time for more beer!

Suprisingly, Dewi was nowhere to be seen… apparently he had become overwhelmed with excitement and anticipation (or Guiness) while waiting for the boxing, that he had passed out somewhere and had to be assisted back to his hotel… About 3.30am a few of us decide to take up residence soewhere with a decent view of a TV in good time so as to be assured a good view of the fight, and we wait… and we wait… the bar closes… and we wait… and we wait… and finally, sometime around 5.00am, the fight starts. 10 rounds later and a rather dissappointing fight is over and the whole world and his dog pile out of the casino looking for a taxi… there are none to be had!! Now the hotel is about 3 miles away and I don't fancy that walk through some of the less salubrious areas of Greater Manchester. So I am just about ready to walk the mile or so back to Victoria station when a familiar face emerges from the casino (GiMac), who I know is staying at the same hotel… that's 'andy 'Arry!

And finally to bed at about 6.00am… not a day I want to repeat in a hurry!

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Leg 3 of the APAT Regional Series, Bristol Harbourside, on Saturday 15th Dec, saw both me and 'Golden Delicious' make early exits… we both showed a small profit at BlackJack though so not all bad.

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On Monday I made a half-hearted attempt to win a seat at the APAT Welsh Championships in the $22 satellite on Blue Square, not really bothered about spending a weekend in Cardiff, in January… Remember the saying, "Be careful what you wish for!"… I had a complete maniac seated to my right, he had been making, and showing, outrageous all-in bluffs as well as simply overbetting real hands… "Your time will come", I think to myself… and so it comes to pass, a few limpers including Dr Maniac, I raise it up 10xBB with QQ… just one caller, you can guess who… flop 223 rainbow… Dr Maniac checks, I bet the pot, he calls… "Great", I think… turn 3… "Excellent, please let him have an Ace", I think, as I push all-in. Hoping that he will put me on an Ace and think he's calling to split the pot. Call he does, with A4o… Get in there!... River 5. And that's all I have to say about that!

At least I'm good at 'clickfests'. :-)

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So there we are bang upto date again, I will try and keep it that way!