In a headline that came out of left field on Friday, 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Greg Raymer (pictured) was picked up on prostitution charges in North Carolina. According to an ABC News affiliate, "Raymer, 48, was one of six men who responded to an advertisement posted by undercover police on a popular website men often seek out female prostitutes." You can discuss in this ...

Last week, PocketFives brought you a feature article about the U.S. Department of Justice inching closer to an agreement with Chris Ferguson, whom the poker world largely hasn't heard from since Black Friday. Another former industry frontrunner who has seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth is Annie Duke (pictured), who resurfaced twice in the past week with highly visible media spots.

We're nearing the end of 2012, which means the amount of time left for the passage of a pro-online poker bill during the current Congressional session is quickly waning. In 2013, all bills not acted upon will be deemed dead and the legislative process must start all over again. Online poker players in the United States have been eyeing a draft bill legalizing online poker proposed by Senate ...

Nearly 40 hours into the new year, Alex AWice Wice (pictured) became the first PokerStars SuperNova of 2013. Wice was the fastest player ever to achieve the award, as text found on the PokerStars Blog described that after the new year came, "Wice started playing and didn't stop until he was a Supernova. It's never happened faster. It's never happened with more drama. It's never happened with ...

Early last month, we reported that former Full Tilt Poker executive Ray Bitar (pictured) was suffering from an unnamed medical condition while working through his legal troubles stemming from Black Friday. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the ailment in question is a heart condition that requires a transplant. As such, Bitar will likely plead guilty on April 19, which is in just ...

April 15, 2011, Black Friday, is a date that will forever be remembered in the poker community as the day the online games all but died in the United States. Whether or not it earns its own nickname, perhaps April 30, 2013 will be a day poker players will never forget, as Ultimate Poker became the first legal, regulated real money online poker room in the United States to deal a hand of cards. ...

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (pictured) has conditionally vetoed a bill that would legalize and regulate intrastate online gambling within his state’s borders. Despite the word “veto,” however, this could be good for poker players, as it paves the road for his eventual signature.

In an interview with PokerNews U.K. that surfaced in recent days, poker pro Roberto Romanello (pictured) pitched a new tournament format to the community. Its name: Multi-Prize Pool Poker. The game entails exactly what you think it would – a tournament with several prize pools, three to be exact.

Reading carefully through the 2013 World Series of Poker schedule, you'll notice one major change to the annual Ladies Event. This year, in order to deter males from entering, the buy-in has been upped ten-fold to $10,000, but women receive a $9,000 discount. Nevada has a very unique law governing gender discrimination that was passed in 2011 and states in part, "It is not unlawful and it is not ...

Earlier this month, Marcin Wydrowksi (pictured), who is known as Pyszalek here on PocketFives, claimed victory in the World Poker Tour's stop in Prague. A total of 567 players turned out and Wydrowksi became the first ever WPT champion from Poland. We were surprised to hear that no Pole had ever won a WPT event before, so we sat down with Wydrowksi to see how he felt about his big superlative.

The Draw Party for the 2013 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship will take place next Wednesday, January 23 at Cleopatra’s Barge inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The following two days, the made-for-television, bracket-style event will play out from Caesars Palace and air on NBC starting in March. The list of the 64 Heads-Up entrants was released on Friday morning and includes 20 ...

It has been an exciting week in the U.S. with the launch of the Nevada site Ultimate Poker, the first fully regulated intrastate internet poker room in the U.S. It is the first poker room, hopefully, of many, and with New Jersey and Delaware already legalizing the game and a few other states with legislation in the works, the status quo could be slowly improving for online poker players in the ...

Following the release of tapes allegedly made by Russ Hamilton discussing the cheating scandal and its subsequent cover-up at Ultimate Bet, former UB pro Annie Duke (pictured) weighed in with her reaction. Duke's name was mentioned, in part, in the following context at one point during the recordings, which publicly came to light over the weekend: "The tools [that allowed the cheats to see ...

You know the old saying, “You can’t keep a good man down”' Upon returning to Full Tilt Poker in November as one of “The Professionals,” Tom “durrrr” Dwan (pictured) immediately went into a deep slump at the virtual tables, losing what would be to most people ungodly sums of money over a couple of months. After a break, he came back swinging, righting the ship and earning $2.3 ...

According to several mainstream media outlets, PokerStars has officially made an offer to purchase an Atlantic City casino. ABC News, the Washington Post, and other mainstream outlets are reporting that PokerStars has made its first overtures to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission regarding its potential purchase of the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel.

A Triple Crown is no easy feat. We have 120,000 registered members here on PocketFives and so far in January, just 12 of them, or a scant 0.01%, have managed to record one. The second largest Triple Crown in terms of the number of PLB Points in January belonged to Billyth3kid (pictured), who recorded wins in the 888 Mega Deep, PokerStars Hot $109, and Full Tilt $10,500 Guaranteed for a combined ...

Here's a number for you: 106. That's how many tracked wins in online poker MTTs we have for Griffin Flush_Entity Benger (pictured), a former #1 player in the PocketFives Poker Rankings who, over the first 14 days of December, has logged 10 wins and two Triple Crowns. Yikes. You can find him at #14 in the Rankings worldwide right now, so we caught up with him to learn more about his rip-roaring ...

Poker is an incredibly enjoyable game to play. Its intricate strategies and complex problem solving make it a great game for professionals and poker lovers alike, and its amount of gamble and the chance to “hit it big” make it enjoyable for amateurs. That being said, almost every poker player at one time or another has experienced something else while sitting at a poker table: boredom.

Two high-profile poker players announced this week that they will no longer represent Lock Poker. Both Chris moorman1 Moorman and Paul paulgees81 Volpe (pictured) informed the public of their decisions via Twitter and, as their names no longer appear on Lock Poker’s website, it looks like the defections are effective immediately.

It has been one hell of a year so far for Casey bigdogpckt5s Jarzabek (pictured). His epic three-week domination of the online poker community in 2013 has seen him chop the PokerStars Sunday Million twice and win the site's Super Tuesday for a combined haul of nearly $350,000. Did we mention that 2013 is just three weeks old' PocketFives caught up with its longtime member to talk about his truly ...

According to FlushDraw, former Full Tilt Poker CEO Ray Bitar (pictured) is suffering from a "medical condition," leaving the future of his Black Friday case up in the air. What medical condition Bitar has succumbed to isn't clear, but according to the site, the following went down in a Federal courtroom last Friday:

According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, several poker pros have been named and/or arrested for their involvement in an illegal gambling case allegedly led by figures associated with Russia’s organized crime syndicate.

Playing online poker in Russia has gotten tougher with the passage of new laws and a decision from the country's top judicial branch.

According to HighStakesDB, the 2013 calendar year, although only a few days old, has been mighty kind to Viktor Blom (pictured), better known in online poker circles as Isildur1. Just how lucrative has Blom's new year been' On January 3, Blom added nearly $700,000 to his bankroll to shoot up to $1.1 million in profit in the first three days of 2013. That's nearly $400,000 per day.

On Thursday, Pokerfuse published an article linking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV, pictured) to a seven-figure bribery scheme to push online poker legislation through Congress. As we all know by now, the Federal online poker push was a failure, but Pokerfuse and the Salt Lake City Tribune sourced a taped conversation between embattled online poker payment processor Jeremy Johnson and ...

Last year, poker fans in the United States sat with fingers crossed hoping that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–Nev., pictured) and long-time poker foe Senator Jon Kyl (R–Ariz.) could work some magic and get a Federal bill passed that would legalize and regulate online poker. Not only did a bill not pass, it never got introduced, and the dreams of reviving the online game in the U.S. ...

Throughout the last year or so as I was grinding poker and giving lessons, I noticed several players with quite a bit of experience making way too many common mistakes. I know several of them have read a few books and are trying to think, but are they thinking about the right things' In this article, I plan to address a couple of the most common mistakes I have seen and try to provide some ideas ...

On Thursday, New Jersey made history when its Senate approved a measure legalizing intrastate internet gambling by an overwhelming 33-3 margin. The bill, which the New Jersey Assembly approved on Monday, now heads to the desk of Governor Chris Christie (pictured) for a signature. You'll recall that in March 2011, Christie vetoed a similar measure, but all indications are that he'll put pen to ...

I was reviewing a number of my WCOOP hand histories when I came across this hand. I thought it did a great job of illustrating when to not believe an opponent’s flop raise.

Here's something we've never seen before: Chris moorman1 Moorman (pictured), the most decorated member of the PocketFives community, has officially passed $9 million in tracked online MTT scores. To put the U.K. resident's complete dominance of the community in perspective, the next highest tracked cash total belongs to daisyxoxo, who is just short of $6.3 million. You do the math.

Chris Big Huni Hunichen (pictured) is just the fifth member of the PocketFives community to score a $5 million cash badge in 2013. In fact, he is just the 15th player to accomplish the feat since the beginning of September. This week alone, he got over the hump in part by taking down the PokerStars $15,000 Guaranteed and PartyPoker $20,000 Guaranteed for a combined take of $11,000.

The apparent end of the deal between the Atlantic Club (pictured) in New Jersey and PokerStars is headed into the New Jersey courts. PokerStars has won a preliminary injunction to block the Atlantic Club from courting other potential suitors, but the Atlantic Club and its current owner, Colony Capital, have struck back with legal arguments.

While legislation to legalize and regulate internet poker on the Federal level in the United States is likely dead for 2012, similar legislation is moving forward in individual states. The latest: New Jersey’s Assembly passed an online gaming bill by a wide margin on Monday, with 48 of the Assembly’s 76 members voting in favor of the measure.

With only about a week to go in his allotted deliberation period, it is still unknown what Governor Chris Christie (pictured) of New Jersey is going to do with the online gambling and poker legislation that is sitting on his desk. While the time may be running out on the bill, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The American Gaming Association (AGA) filed a brief with the New Jersey Casino Control Commission and Division of Enforcement on Monday expressing its opposition to PokerStars’ parent company’s petition for Interim Casino Authorization (ICA). Rational Group, which owns Stars, filed the application in January after entering into an agreement to purchase Atlantic City’s Atlantic Club Casino ...

Two months ago today, the Garden City Group was named the Claims Administrator for U.S. Full Tilt Poker player refunds. The company, whose address is listed as a Post Office box in Dublin, Ohio, told PocketFives on Monday, "We haven't received any updated information since this started. The last information was back in March. Nothing has changed. We don't have a time frame for when the victim ...

A few months ago, a thread surfaced on PocketFives calling for readers describe their poker environment. Was total silence needed' What about a comfortable chair' Should friends be invited over' Can you surf the web at the same time or should you focus on poker' As the original poster, who hails from North Carolina, put it, "Usually, I get a dank drink from the Walgreens by my apartment like an ...

At the beginning of November, Alexander Gerlach (pictured), better known as RedIceRap on PocketFives, took down the PokerStars Sunday 500 outright for $77,000. The victory for the PocketFives strategy author, which took place on Double Vision Sunday, saw him edge out PokerStars member faza29 heads-up and defeat every one of his 864 opponents. Gerlach calls Germany home and his victory was ...

November 18 was a groundbreaking day for one member of the Israel poker community here on PocketFives, timorm1. What happened, you ask' The HaMerkaz resident made a pair of Sunday Major final tables on the same day, chopping the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Brawl three ways for $32,000 and taking fifth in the same site's $500,000 Guaranteed for another $22,000. One day and $54,000 later, timorm1 was ...

In paperwork filed on Tuesday in New York City, former Full Tilt Poker Board member Howard Lederer (pictured) officially ended his battle with the U.S. Department of Justice by setting his civil case.

Hi. I want to tell you about my first live trip. First of all, it was a great trip and I really hope people will enjoy the read.

A former member of Team Full Tilt has returned to his old stomping grounds. Patrik Antonius (pictured), who has been involved in some of the largest pots in online poker history, has resurfaced at Full Tilt Poker, according to HighStakesDB. As the tracking site put it, complete with a screen capture of Antonius playing under his previous user name and avatar, "Patrik Antonius is back and so is ...

When many players start playing No Limit Hold'em, they feel threatened by how bloated the pots can become. They may underbet in various situations not wanting to invest more, not realizing this sends a signal to their opponents that they are not committed. Alternatively, they may overbet in an early street in an attempt to prevent later streets from happening.

A field of 542 runners showed up for the World Poker Tour's Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, which was held in Hollywood, Florida. After the final cards were dealt on Tuesday, longtime PocketFiver Kevin 1SickDisease Eyster (pictured) walked away with $660,000 for the win. He entered the final table as the chip leader.

The final Sunday of November was a monumental one for 910suited44 (pictured), whose real name is Danick Landriault. What was so special about that particular day' And why are we writing a feature article about it' That day's PokerStars Sunday Million ended in a five-way deal that saw Landriault officially come away with second place and pocket $141,000, the largest payday of anyone at the table. ...

For the second weekend in a row, veteran PocketFives member Casey bigdogpckt5s Jarzabek final tabled the PokerStars Sunday Million flagship tournament; taking home yet another six-figure payday of $118,154 for his 3rd place showing. The score brings the Canadian extremely close to $5 Million career online tournament winnings, and could represent a resurgence into the top tiers of the worldwide ...

A recent thread in the Live Poker forum here on PocketFives caught our eye. It asked posters to name the most famous person they had ever played poker with. The thread received over 60 responses and, after combing through it, we thought it was worthy of a feature article. When you're done reading this, visit the thread or comment here and let us know who the most famous person you've played ...

"Disappointed there isn't an article about my win on @pocketfives yet. I'll let it slide if it's up by time I wake up with a killer hangover." That was the Tweet from longtime PocketFives member and former #1 ranked player Griffin Flush_Entity Benger (pictured), who took down the EPT Berlin High Roller Event on Saturday and banked €429,000. Ask and ye shall receive!

I would like to start this article by asking you a few questions after I plant a thought. I want you to think about some of the solid poker players you know and look up to. How did they get to be solid' Is it because of natural talent' What kind of work do you think they put in' Do you know anything about their daily routines involving poker'

Yevgeniy Jovial Gent Timoshenko (pictured) is just $270,000 in online MTT cashes away from $5 million over the course of his career. He won the 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker Main Event for $1.7 million (read our interview) and, several months earlier, he emerged victorious in the World Poker Tour Championship for $2.1 million. Later this month, he'll be one of 64 players to ...