Poker Online Championship Series: After billing UBOC 2009 as nothing short of massive for months leading up to its online poker championship series, popular online poker site UltimateBet.com wrapped up its 10-day UBOC schedule in a way that does its initial marketing claim justice. The online poker site welcomed 1,115 players to the tables of its final UBOC Championship event, a $1,000+50 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament with an initial prize pool of a guaranteed $1 million.

But with over 1,100 players registered in the tournament, the total prize pool skyrocketed to $1,115,000, making this year’s UBOC championship event UltimateBet’s most impressive online tournament in the online poker site’s 10-year history.

“Over the course of the last 10 days, UltimateBet paid out more than $2.5 million to online poker players in 22 unbelievable events,” stated Phil Hellmuth, who hosted the championship event on Sunday evening. “This series was the epitome of epic for poker fans from all over the globe and our spectacular final championship event will be the talk of the online tables for months to come.”

The final UBOC Championship $1 Million Guaranteed tournament kicked off on Sunday, January 18 at 5:30pm ET. An exhausting 15 hours and 10 minutes after the first shuffle-up-and-deal was called, an online poker player with the moniker YUNGMONEY209 topped off his impressive chip stack and claimed the UBOC Championship title after his pair of fours held up against THEBUBBLE1’s king-high. For his victory, YUNGMONEY209 has secured $245,188.50 in cash. A total of 108 players finished in the money, including second place finisher THEBUBBLE1, who earned $144,615.50. MIDDLEMISS08 successfully knocked Phil Hellmuth out of the Texas Hold’em tournament to claim the $1,050 bounty that the online poker site had placed on the 11-time WSOP bracelet winner’s head.

UBOC 2009, which kicked off on January 9, featured 22 guaranteed events and close to $2.5 million in guaranteed prize pool money. To appeal to players who prefer lower buy-in tournaments, UltimateBet this year introduced Mini UBOC, a parallel series of tournaments that ran alongside the larger stake games. With the exception of the final $1 million tournament, each UBOC event was mirrored by a separate Mini UBOC event where players could buy in for approximately 10% of the corresponding UBOC event and compete for a lucrative prize pool.

UltimateBet’s Online Championship series featured a mix of popular online poker games including No Limit Texas Hold’em, HORSE, Pot Limit Omaha, and more. A complete list of UBOC winners from all 22 events can be found at www.ultimatebet.com .

Bodog Poker Red HOT for 2009: Its a new year and already Bodog Poker is making 2009 an exciting year for online poker players by giving away 11 World Series of Poker (WSOP) prize packages worth $12,000 and you can be assured there will be many more online poker prize packages to come in 2009. Bodog is also planning another online poker favorite Bodog Poker Open (BPO) which is scheduled to be available for registration in early spring, you can expect that OnlineSportsHandicapping.com will keep you informed of the exact date of this popular online poker tournament .

Another exciting online poker feature you can expect to see in 2009 at BodogLife.com is a monthly player driven Q&A section dedicated to online poker players that want to improve their game or have general questions about how to play online poker. The poker questions will be answered by Bodog Poker pro Justin Bonomo.

Another exciting feature in 2009 for online poker players at Bodog is the new Mac client now available to Mac users via a brand new flash based online poker client.

You can continue to expect nothing but the best from Bodog in 2009 along with a full schedule of online poker promotions and events.

To learn how you can WIN your WSOP prize package worth $12,000 signup at Bodog Poker today!

Today, Bodog announced the full schedule for the Bodog Poker Open II , and it doesn't get much bigger and better than this. Following up the wildly successful inaugural Bodog Poker Open last March, the BPOII starts Sunday, Sept. 28 and will consist of 14 tournaments held over eight days with more than $650,000 in prize money guaranteed. The main event on Sunday, Oct. 5 will award a guaranteed prize pool of $300,000, the largest ever in Bodog history.  

To make things even more interesting—and profitable—for online players, Bodog will host six "Bounty" tournaments during the BPOII with players winning $109 in Bodog Tournament Credits for each Team Bodog pro and select featured player they eliminate during the tournament. The credits can be used in any BPOII Main Event Satellite hosted nightly at 9:20pm ET (T$109). All Team Bodog pros will play in the BPOII including David Williams, Justin Bonomo , Evelyn Ng and Jean-Robert Bellande. "Whoever said sequels are never as good as the original certainly wasn't talking about the Bodog Poker Open II," said Team Bodog pro Justin Bonomo, a 23-year-old tournament ace with $1.4 million in career winnings. "The first BPO was pretty big but the BPOII takes it to a whole new level with more events, more money guaranteed, deeper stacks, and they're keeping it fun along the way with bounty tournaments. I welcome all players to take a shot at me during the series."

The BPOII starts Sunday, Sept. 28 , with the BPOII Kick Off Bounty Tournament , featuring $5,000 in added money with a 100 + $9 buy-in. A total of six bounty tournaments will be held throughout the series in addition to seven "Championship Events" featuring higher buy-ins and deeper stacks. Players can buy directly into any of the events with cash or Bodog Tournament Credits, or win their way in through satellites. Winners of all events will gain entry into any BPOII Main Event Satellite hosted nightly at 9:20pm EST (T$109).  The 13 preliminary events all lead up to the series' championship, the $500 buy-in BPOII Main Event, held on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 4:00 p.m. EST. A guaranteed $300,000 in prize money will be given away, regardless of how many players enter, and each player will start with 10,000 in tournament chips. The tournament schedule for the BPOII is as follows:   
 

Date & Time  Event Name Event Type Buy-In Guaranteed Amount Starting Chips  
  Sun., Sept. 28 at 2pm EST  BPO II Kickoff Bounty Tournament  No Limit Holdem (Bounty Tournament)   $100+$9  $5,000 Added  3,000  
  Sun., Sept. 28 at 4pm EST  BPO II Event #1  No Limit Holdem (Rebuy)   $5 with rebuys  $10,000 Added  Starting/Rebuy: 2,000
Add-On: 4,000  
  Sun., Sept. 28 at 8:30pm EST  BPO II Event #2  No Limit Holdem   $200+$15  $30,000 Gauranteed  5,000  
  Mon., Sept. 29 at 8pm EST  BPO II Event #3  No Limit Holdem   $250+$20  $75,000 Guaranteed  5,000  
  Mon., Sept. 29 at 9pm EST  BPO II Turbo Bounty  No Limit Holdem (Turbo Bounty Tournament)   $30+$3  $15,0000 Guaranteed  3,000  
  Tue., Sept. 30 at 8pm EST  BPO II Event #4  No Limit Holdem (6-handed)   $300+$25  $60,000 Guaranteed  5,000  
  Tue., Sept. 30 at 9pm EST  BPO II Pot Limit Holdem Bounty  Pot Limit Holdem (Bounty Tournament)   $20+$2  $5,000 Guaranteed  3,000  
  Wed., Oct. 1 at 8pm EST  BPO II Event #5  Pot Limit Holdem   $200+$15  $30,000 Guaranteed  5,000  
  Wed., Oct. 1 at 9pm EST  BPO II Fixed Limit Turbo Bounty  Fixed Limit Holdem (Turbo Bounty Tournament)   $15+$1.50  $4,000 Guaranteed  3,000  
  Thu., Oct. 2 at 8pm EST  BPO II Event #6  No Limit Holdem (Rebuy)   $100+$10  $75,000 Guaranteed  Starting/Rebuy: 2,000
Add-On: 4,000  
  Thu., Oct. 2 at 9pm EST  BPO II 6-Handed Bounty  No Limit Holdem (6-Handed Bounty Tournament)   $33+$3  $15,000 Guaranteed  3,000  
  Fri., Oct. 3 at 8pm EST  BPO II Event #7  Fixed Limit Holdem   $150+$12  $20,000 Guaranteed  5,000  
  Fri., Oct. 3 at 9pm EST  BPO II No Limit Holdem Bounty  No Limit Holdem (Bounty Tournament)   $25+$2.50  $10,000 Guaranteed  3,000  
  Sun., Oct. 5 at 4pm EST  Bodog Poker Open II Main Event  No Limit Holdem   $470+$30  $300,000 Guaranteed  10,000   
 

The inaugural Bodog Poker Open took place in March 2008 and consisted of six tournaments. The series drew to a close on Sunday, March 9 with 596 online poker players competing for a share of the $305,120 prize pool. The total cash purse, which included $25,000 in additional money added by Bodog, made the BPO Main Event the richest poker tournament ever held in Bodog history. Winning was Shawn "phatcat" Luman – his first-place finish not only earned him a $76,280 payday , but also the distinction of becoming the first-ever Bodog Poker Champion.
 

For more details on the Bodog Poker Open II, visit BodogLife.com

Eight days, 14 events, six bounty tournaments and more than $650,000 in guaranteed prize money

Online Poker Players have something to be happy about as the House Financial Services Committee wrapped up Tuesdays meetings. The meetings ended on a positive note as Barney Frank's Payments Systems Protection Act was approved by a 30-9 vote, this will open the doors for future discussions in the House of Representatives.

Barney Frank the Chairman of the committee has attempted to pass a similar bill and this was his second attempt to discontinue the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act HR 5767. Frank's original Payments Systems Protection Act introduced in conjunction with Congressman Ron Paul. The original Payments Systems Protection Act was struck down by the Committee in June of 2008.

Barney Frank noted that the legality of internet gambling in the United States is still open to interpretation. Frank stated that whether betting on horse racing is legal depends on what department you ask. Barney Frank, he summed up his views by adding, “How people spend their leisure time should not be made illegal or encouraged in a free society. If you’re going to [impose restrictions using the UIGEA], you’re hijacking the banking system. If this bill is passed, I would still like to repeal the law. Under this bill, at least the banks will know what is and isn’t illegal.”

For online Poker players this brightens the future for the game they enjoy to play online. Most will agree poker is a game of strategy and luck, brining huge profits to the players who master the game. Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned pro today was a huge step forward which would allow you to enjoy the game of online poker.

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