NBC’s Heads-Up Poker Championship, one of the first major television poker programs, is to return this year with a host of famous names, it has been announced.

The first tournament was shown in 2005 as the television network attempted to take advantage of the boom in online play, and the success of the show meant that it was renewed for a second, and now third, year.

Featuring on the 2007 show will be names such as Gus Hansen, Chris Moneymaker and Jennifer Harman, as well as the current holders of the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour titles, Jamie Gold and Joe Hachem.

Winners of the 2005 and 2006 Heads-Up tournaments, Phil Hellmuth and Ted Forrest, will also be in attendance, making this year’s line-up the most star-studded yet.

The show will run from April 8th to May 20th, with episodes to be shown on Sunday afternoons.

Online gamblers turning to guides and strategy books in an effort to improve their games have been offered a more accessible way of uncovering the secrets of poker.

A new advice website, pokerbooksonline.blogspot.com, aims to provide a comprehensive overview of useful tips and strategies.
Jim Moir, who founded the site, claims to have bought 30 guidebooks and spend $600 in the process, but found that “only four were useful”.

“I thought I would set up this site, just so people could know what the best ones were, and so they wouldn’t have to spend money on the useless ones,” he commented.

Last month poker expert Jon Eaton also listed what he considered to be the best poker books. “I suggest before anyone begins playing seriously, they read The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky. This is the bible of poker basically,” he commented on the PokerPages.com website.

The established names and rising stars who hit the headlines last year have been named by poker journalist Earl Burton in his rundown of the nine players of 2006.

Michael Mizrachi tops the list, and with Phil Hellmuth and Joe Hatchem also featuring prominently, there is no shortage of familiar names – but the article, written for PokerNews.com, also contains its fair share of surprises.

Number two in the list is Jeff Madsen, the rookie player who rose to prominence during the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) before going back to school to complete his education.

However, there is no room on the rundown for 2006 WSOP champion Jamie Gold, who has subsequently found himself tangled in a legal dispute regarding rightful ownership of part of his prize money.

Rounding out the top three is Roland de Wolfe, who won over $2 million during the year at various events around Europe. De Wolfe was named European Poker Player of the Year at an awards ceremony in Paris last month.

Online players also get a look-in in the shape of Cliff Josephy, who was successful at a number of web-based tournaments during 2006.

Poker strategy website PartTimePoker.com has released three new tools aimed at helping novice players get a handle on the popular pastime.

The Poker Quiz, Opinion Survey and Forums will also provide established players with ways of making their voices heard in the new year.

With the last few years having witnessed a poker explosion both online and in the popular consciousness a growing number of players are wanting to learn the ins and outs of the card game.

PartTimePoker hopes that its online quiz will provide a benchmark for poker puzzles, with users being able to vote on the best play for a particular hand and then compare results with others.

Part of the discussion process will take place on the forums, which also reward users with prizes the more posts they make.

Those wanting to make more active contributions to the online world are also catered for, say PartTimePoker. The company advises that its opinion survey will let online gamblers suggest new directions for the game in 2007.

All those who complete the survey will also stand a chance to win one of ten iPod shuffles, the website reveals.

Online gaming firm InterPoker has just finished celebrating a successful year of Extreme Poker events, with 2007 promising to be no different.
An innovation exclusive to InterPoker, Extreme Poker combines physical and mental tests with an exotic location to unique effect.

Last year saw the game hold events across the globe, ranging from the Arctic conditions of Finland to the Caribbean paradise of St Kitts.

But land is no boundary for Extreme Poker – the inaugural November event was actually played ten metres underwater in a Caribbean dive centre. Play involved the usual rules, with the added regulation that anyone running out of air or being forced to move to the surface was eliminated.

That is the kind of challenge now expected from Extreme Poker, but InterPoker regulars can suggest where the next event should be held by emailing Ryan Hartley at ryanh@interpoker.com.

More adventurous players can themselves enter the competitions as and when they are announced – making for a thrilling 2007 courtesy of InterPoker.

Fans of video poker should head on to InterCasino and see what all the fuss is about.

The game offers some great prizes and great action, with hundreds of dollars to be won if you play your cards right.

Players are dealt a five-card hand, from which they can discard as many cards as they like in the hope of improving their hand with the replacements.

InterCasino has seven different video poker games to choose from, with some paying out on any pair you have accumulated, while others give better rewards by being tougher to beat.

For instance, some varieties require a pair to be jacks or better for the player to receive any money, while the joker poker game, while being easier to win on, does not pay out as well.

Video poker at InterCasino offers players a number of betting options, from $0.25 to $5 a round and gives customers the opportunity to enjoy poker without worrying about how their opponents are doing.

US television network NBC has announced plans to host a new late night poker show.

The Poker After Dark programme will give a detailed look at the murky waters of the professional game, with all players miked during play for the weekly $120,000 pots and detailed analysis of the good and not so good moves.

Top players such as Daniel Negreanu, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Jennifer Harman will be playing in the series of tournaments, which aim to give the audience the inside track on the game.

“There’s a vibrant late night audience looking for original programming,” said NBC’s west coast president Mike Graboff.

“We felt this inside look at the professional poker scene is perfect for late night television and those viewers seeking an unique and original broadcast.”

The show, which will be hosted by poker beauty Shana Hiatt, will begin broadcasting in January.

Many leading poker pros have spoken out against the recent decision to pass the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the US.

Thor Hansen was typical of the responses many pros gave, praising the online version of the game that is no longer available to US citizens.

“There is no doubt that the internet did a lot of good things for poker. Poker became so big because of the internet, so it’s kind of sad for those of us who love the game,” he told Card Player.

Both Amir Vahedi and Sean Sheikhan told the publication that if internet sites had paid more money out to lobbyists and politicians, the current situation could have been avoided.

Michael Bolcerek, president of the Poker Players Alliance, which represents a number of poker professionals amateur players, said that passing of the law “came as a great shock to all”, adding that US poker players “will be hurt by this act of political trickery”.

Men Nguyen was one of the few players who was indifferent to the changes, claiming that it is neither good nor bad for poker, as in the end, “more people are going to go and play live action in casinos”.

When will poker be back online in the US? Only time will tell.

Poker celebrity “Amarillo Slim” Preston evaded a robber in the early hours of October 4th in an incident worthy of his soon-to-be released Hollywood blockbuster, recounts the Amarillo Globe News.

Mr Preston was forced to the curb by an assailant in a yellow car, who then quickly jumped out of his car and demanded money from him at gunpoint.

The poker star immediately shot his own car into reverse to evade the armed attacker and was shot at three times, before he escaped uninjured.

The attacker pursued Mr Preston several minutes by car before giving up on the pursuit, allowing him to call police.

No arrests have been made in connection with the attack.

A movie based on the unlikely life and memoirs of Amarillo Slim is in pre-production, set to star Hollywood actor Nicholas Cage.

Have you ever spilt your drink after becoming flustered over a great hand of poker?

If so, Gentech Products wants to hear from you. The company is inviting all poker players to share stories on their most embarrassing poker spills.

The company manufactures “Hold’em” adjustable drink holders and wants clumsy poker players who “have ruined a hot hand of poker” by spilling drinks on either the poker table or fellow players.

Based in Illinois, the company has pledged to post the most embarrassing stories on its website www.drinkholdem.com.

The company stated its product was inspired by the popular game, Texas Hold’em.