Third Annual Metafilter Unlimited Hold Them Tournament May 31, 2007 10:21 AM Subscribe
Are you ready for the third annual MeFi poker tournament? Sunday June 10th, 9pm Eastern.
That's... really frickin cool.
But how does one read other players over the internet? Isn't that half the game?
posted by dreamsign at 10:43 AM on May 31, 2007
But how does one read other players over the internet? Isn't that half the game?
posted by dreamsign at 10:43 AM on May 31, 2007
I don't think it's legal in Washinton, Matt. I'd encourage Mefites to check about their own states/countries/provinces before playing if they don't know.
If you think it might cause any trouble I'd harbour no bad feelings if you canceled it.
I'll have a look around for some links on the law in the meantime.
posted by ODiV at 10:52 AM on May 31, 2007
If you think it might cause any trouble I'd harbour no bad feelings if you canceled it.
I'll have a look around for some links on the law in the meantime.
posted by ODiV at 10:52 AM on May 31, 2007
I was half-kidding. carry on (I am terrible at poker)
posted by mathowie (staff) at 11:00 AM on May 31, 2007
posted by mathowie (staff) at 11:00 AM on May 31, 2007
Sign me up! I hope to continue the tradition of being first out at the final table. I am very bad at poker.
posted by absalom at 11:17 AM on May 31, 2007
posted by absalom at 11:17 AM on May 31, 2007
This wikipedia page seems to imply that it is illegal in all states. Do I have that wrong? Does the legality factor into your willingness to participate? I guess it does mine.
posted by found missing at 11:20 AM on May 31, 2007
posted by found missing at 11:20 AM on May 31, 2007
I'm in for $10 + 1 - I did send you an email, though, ODiv.
posted by god hates math at 11:22 AM on May 31, 2007
posted by god hates math at 11:22 AM on May 31, 2007
If my schedule's good for it, I'd be in for it. (I am a poker badass)
posted by Peter H at 11:29 AM on May 31, 2007
posted by Peter H at 11:29 AM on May 31, 2007
...or "may" be illegal in all states where gambling is illegal, depending upon the interpretation of the Wire Act. It seems that the legality is unresolved, although it does seem to be resolved that US financial institutions may not perform financial transactions with online gambling sites. Right?
posted by found missing at 11:32 AM on May 31, 2007
posted by found missing at 11:32 AM on May 31, 2007
WAOYLWANML?
where are all you lawyers who are not my lawyer?
posted by found missing at 11:35 AM on May 31, 2007
where are all you lawyers who are not my lawyer?
posted by found missing at 11:35 AM on May 31, 2007
I'm terrible at poker too, but love it. Don't know if I'm in or not, but I'll think about it.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:31 PM on May 31, 2007
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:31 PM on May 31, 2007
found missing,
Not only is it the case that I am Not a Lawyer, but I am Not Your Lawyer as well.
This situation is of acute interest to me and I am somewhat up to date. It is getting difficult to follow it all as a number of odd angles have appeared in the last month or so.
Sometime in July, I believe the 10th, the Department of Justice will release the guidelines on what US financial institutions can and can not do. To say that they can not perform financial transactions with online gambling sites is almost certainly overstating the case no matter what the law actually says. Any credit card that is issued by a bank can not be used, but when you cash out and the site sends you a check it is very likely you will be able to deposit it at a U.S. bank. If the banks would be breaking the law in doing this it would put a considerable burden on them and reportedly they are doing what they can to prevent any guidelines from assigning them that duty. Since bankers wield a fair bit of clout it's a good bet that it will remain legal to deposit checks.
As to whether it is legal or not, it's a gray area. It is illegal in Washington state because they were concerned the Indian casinos might try and get in on the action. At least that's the story I heard. I don't think they have arrested anyone. Other than that it has not been expressly prohibited.
There is a lot going on in Congress right now on this issue. Barney Frank has introduced some legislation to legalize it and tax it. If you support this legislation, let people know. Write Barney Frank, no matter what state you live in, write your senators and representatives, ask them to cosponsor this bill. Former Senator Alphonse D'Amato is the chief lobbyist for the Poker Players Alliance. Legalization this year is an underdog but the momentum appears to be turning our way. Two more issues that have complicated this mess even further is Antigua pressing free trade claims for access to the U.S. gambling market on behalf of the gaming companies located there, and the state legislature in Illinois is discussing explicitly legalizing online poker for intrastate play. Antigua seems to have a reasonable case, the situation in Illinois is bizarre and tough to get a line on.
If you want even more information, go to the Poker Players Alliance web page (and sign up), the blog is usually current with the major developments. For the very latest, with lots of snarky comments, go to the two plus two legislation forum. A guy with the handle, The Engineer, is very active there and as current on the news as you can get.
And since this has been a bit of a partisan post, I add, for the sake of balance, that if you want to 'save the children' and 'protect people from themselves', go to the Focus on the Family website, they are very active in pushing for anti-online gambling legislation.
posted by BigSky at 1:04 PM on May 31, 2007 [2 favorites]
Not only is it the case that I am Not a Lawyer, but I am Not Your Lawyer as well.
This situation is of acute interest to me and I am somewhat up to date. It is getting difficult to follow it all as a number of odd angles have appeared in the last month or so.
Sometime in July, I believe the 10th, the Department of Justice will release the guidelines on what US financial institutions can and can not do. To say that they can not perform financial transactions with online gambling sites is almost certainly overstating the case no matter what the law actually says. Any credit card that is issued by a bank can not be used, but when you cash out and the site sends you a check it is very likely you will be able to deposit it at a U.S. bank. If the banks would be breaking the law in doing this it would put a considerable burden on them and reportedly they are doing what they can to prevent any guidelines from assigning them that duty. Since bankers wield a fair bit of clout it's a good bet that it will remain legal to deposit checks.
As to whether it is legal or not, it's a gray area. It is illegal in Washington state because they were concerned the Indian casinos might try and get in on the action. At least that's the story I heard. I don't think they have arrested anyone. Other than that it has not been expressly prohibited.
There is a lot going on in Congress right now on this issue. Barney Frank has introduced some legislation to legalize it and tax it. If you support this legislation, let people know. Write Barney Frank, no matter what state you live in, write your senators and representatives, ask them to cosponsor this bill. Former Senator Alphonse D'Amato is the chief lobbyist for the Poker Players Alliance. Legalization this year is an underdog but the momentum appears to be turning our way. Two more issues that have complicated this mess even further is Antigua pressing free trade claims for access to the U.S. gambling market on behalf of the gaming companies located there, and the state legislature in Illinois is discussing explicitly legalizing online poker for intrastate play. Antigua seems to have a reasonable case, the situation in Illinois is bizarre and tough to get a line on.
If you want even more information, go to the Poker Players Alliance web page (and sign up), the blog is usually current with the major developments. For the very latest, with lots of snarky comments, go to the two plus two legislation forum. A guy with the handle, The Engineer, is very active there and as current on the news as you can get.
And since this has been a bit of a partisan post, I add, for the sake of balance, that if you want to 'save the children' and 'protect people from themselves', go to the Focus on the Family website, they are very active in pushing for anti-online gambling legislation.
posted by BigSky at 1:04 PM on May 31, 2007 [2 favorites]
Can I suggest Double Jack poker? It's play money and free and its fairly easy to set up private tournaments. Jay Is Games used it for their tournaments.
posted by empath at 1:41 PM on May 31, 2007
posted by empath at 1:41 PM on May 31, 2007
10+1 or even 20+2 would be good ... If i'm available, I'm in!
posted by twiggy at 2:25 PM on May 31, 2007
posted by twiggy at 2:25 PM on May 31, 2007
I'm in for 10 + 1 at full tilt!
posted by paddingtonb at 3:25 PM on May 31, 2007
posted by paddingtonb at 3:25 PM on May 31, 2007
Has anyone tried to deposit real money at Full Tilt recently from a U.S. location? I have not, but have been rebuffed in my attempts to use real money at several other online poker sites (PokerStars comes to mind). My Visa diligently bounced back all attempted deposits, including attempted deposits with "e-wallet" services. If Full Tilt works for U.S. customers, I'll be the first fish in the water.
posted by bepe at 5:49 PM on May 31, 2007
posted by bepe at 5:49 PM on May 31, 2007
Will you people stop scheduling things for times when I am on planes? I only fly like once a year, but it seems like everything is happening that Sunday.
posted by Eideteker at 5:53 PM on May 31, 2007
posted by Eideteker at 5:53 PM on May 31, 2007
Former Senator Alphonse D'Amato is the chief lobbyist for the Poker Players Alliance.
Ugh. Could they have chosen a *less* appealing spokesmodel? I don't think so.
posted by mediareport at 6:15 PM on May 31, 2007
Ugh. Could they have chosen a *less* appealing spokesmodel? I don't think so.
posted by mediareport at 6:15 PM on May 31, 2007
Bepe, I've used ePassporte since Neteller is no longer available for deposits in the US.
posted by Asherah at 7:09 PM on May 31, 2007
posted by Asherah at 7:09 PM on May 31, 2007
bepe,
Fairly soon the DOJ will put down some rules on what the government expects financial institutions to do in order to avoid transactions with online gambling companies. It is almost for certain that bank issued credit cards will be expressly forbidden. Many banks took this step a long time ago. Some banks, for more than 4 years have not allowed transactions to go through when charged by a poker site. This was part of the appeal of Neteller and similar sites. I don't know who you bank with but I would be surprised if any bank, no matter how small, allows gambling charges now. And when I say 'gambling charges', I mean anything that could be construed as money that is heading towards gambling. If you want to get some money on the sites, google around, see what people are doing. Western Union and money orders might be possibilities.
*-*-*-*
mediareport,
He's not my favorite ex-politician either. However, he is a former senator who was fairly recently in office so he still has some name recognition. Reportedly, he plays the game, for whatever that's worth, and no, I don't think it's worth very much. Did I mention name recognition?
Barney Frank is an excellent speaker though, and he is the one who introduced the bill and is speaking in the interest of poker players in Congress.
The Poker Players Alliance is doing pretty well despite a somewhat slack approach to the internet. Their website claimed to be closing in on 500,000 members a few weeks ago. Some people who had recently joined posted on the two plus two forums around then and said their membership number was higher. So it's something bigger, it's just not updated. That's not too bad considering most joined within the last four or five months.
posted by BigSky at 7:10 PM on May 31, 2007
Fairly soon the DOJ will put down some rules on what the government expects financial institutions to do in order to avoid transactions with online gambling companies. It is almost for certain that bank issued credit cards will be expressly forbidden. Many banks took this step a long time ago. Some banks, for more than 4 years have not allowed transactions to go through when charged by a poker site. This was part of the appeal of Neteller and similar sites. I don't know who you bank with but I would be surprised if any bank, no matter how small, allows gambling charges now. And when I say 'gambling charges', I mean anything that could be construed as money that is heading towards gambling. If you want to get some money on the sites, google around, see what people are doing. Western Union and money orders might be possibilities.
*-*-*-*
mediareport,
He's not my favorite ex-politician either. However, he is a former senator who was fairly recently in office so he still has some name recognition. Reportedly, he plays the game, for whatever that's worth, and no, I don't think it's worth very much. Did I mention name recognition?
Barney Frank is an excellent speaker though, and he is the one who introduced the bill and is speaking in the interest of poker players in Congress.
The Poker Players Alliance is doing pretty well despite a somewhat slack approach to the internet. Their website claimed to be closing in on 500,000 members a few weeks ago. Some people who had recently joined posted on the two plus two forums around then and said their membership number was higher. So it's something bigger, it's just not updated. That's not too bad considering most joined within the last four or five months.
posted by BigSky at 7:10 PM on May 31, 2007
Well mediareport, perhaps the 'think of the children' folks will have Joe Lieberman to support their cause, and those two absolutely odious individuals will offset each other.
posted by horsemuth at 7:11 PM on May 31, 2007
posted by horsemuth at 7:11 PM on May 31, 2007
To those who are interested in the legal circumstances, I am amending my previous post.
Apparently there have been instances where banks are refusing to cash checks from online gambling sites. PokerStars checks have been returned with the declaration, not sufficient funds. PokerStars is one of the oldest and most reputable online poker sites, they have plenty of money. Citizens Bank is so far the only bank that is refusing to cash payout checks. Citizens Bank is a subsidiary of the The Royal Bank of Scotland. The RBoS had announced after the passing of the UIGEA that they would be taking a hard line stance.
I don't know if Citizens has refused to cash checks from other poker sites.
posted by BigSky at 7:35 AM on June 1, 2007
Apparently there have been instances where banks are refusing to cash checks from online gambling sites. PokerStars checks have been returned with the declaration, not sufficient funds. PokerStars is one of the oldest and most reputable online poker sites, they have plenty of money. Citizens Bank is so far the only bank that is refusing to cash payout checks. Citizens Bank is a subsidiary of the The Royal Bank of Scotland. The RBoS had announced after the passing of the UIGEA that they would be taking a hard line stance.
I don't know if Citizens has refused to cash checks from other poker sites.
posted by BigSky at 7:35 AM on June 1, 2007
I'm in, $10 + $1. I've emailed you, the OP, about it.
posted by plaidrabbit at 3:18 PM on June 4, 2007
posted by plaidrabbit at 3:18 PM on June 4, 2007
Okay, so the tournament is all set up. To join it, go to the tournament lobby and click the private tab. Our tournament # is 19727130 and the buyin is $10 + $1.
Again, if anyone wants to arrange some sort of transfer, email me. If any admins want in for free (!!!) email me.
I'll respond to emails within the next couple days.
posted by ODiV at 12:23 PM on June 5, 2007
Again, if anyone wants to arrange some sort of transfer, email me. If any admins want in for free (!!!) email me.
I'll respond to emails within the next couple days.
posted by ODiV at 12:23 PM on June 5, 2007
Why do we have to have this during the VERY LAST SOPRANOS EPISODE EVER?
I mean...come on...
I guess I'm in. SIGH.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:03 AM on June 6, 2007
I mean...come on...
I guess I'm in. SIGH.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:03 AM on June 6, 2007
Note to sharks: distract allkindsoftime with Sopranos spoiler banter.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:10 AM on June 6, 2007
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:10 AM on June 6, 2007
Can't believe I missed this.
+ The tourney starts at 2am GMT
+ Monday morning contains important events at work
+ I have no money account at FT
+ $50 is a pretty big minimum
+ I don't think I've ever even won a play money hand on FT
I'll be there!
posted by NinjaTadpole at 5:13 AM on June 7, 2007
+ The tourney starts at 2am GMT
+ Monday morning contains important events at work
+ I have no money account at FT
+ $50 is a pretty big minimum
+ I don't think I've ever even won a play money hand on FT
I'll be there!
posted by NinjaTadpole at 5:13 AM on June 7, 2007
Also, if there's a Bad Luck Bounty, you guys are broke already.
posted by NinjaTadpole at 5:23 AM on June 7, 2007
posted by NinjaTadpole at 5:23 AM on June 7, 2007
I vote that we chat in #poker or something on the irc.ieattapes.com server while playing.
I guess we could talk at the talbe too, but the chat boxes are kind of annoying.
I've asked Matt for permission to post another announcement tomorrow. Hopefully we can get a few more people than last time.
posted by ODiV at 9:50 AM on June 8, 2007
I guess we could talk at the talbe too, but the chat boxes are kind of annoying.
I've asked Matt for permission to post another announcement tomorrow. Hopefully we can get a few more people than last time.
posted by ODiV at 9:50 AM on June 8, 2007
Hey ODiV, you get my e-mail?
posted by SeizeTheDay at 6:08 PM on June 8, 2007
posted by SeizeTheDay at 6:08 PM on June 8, 2007
Yep, and just responded to it, thanks. Sorry for the wait. Also, ignore me asking for your full tilt user name, I forgot to edit that out from my hasty copy/paste job.
posted by ODiV at 7:17 PM on June 8, 2007
posted by ODiV at 7:17 PM on June 8, 2007
Hey, i took care of my end, but unfortunately, your e-mail keeps bouncing. If you're still around, drop me a line to confirm the Paypal transaction. Thanks.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 6:37 AM on June 9, 2007
posted by SeizeTheDay at 6:37 AM on June 9, 2007
Shhh. Don't say the P word. I don't seem to have gotten an email about it, Dreamhost must have been having some problems. I'll go ahead and hook you up.
If anyone else is having trouble, please email me again as it seems to be working now or post in this thread (or the new thread).
posted by ODiV at 5:52 PM on June 9, 2007
If anyone else is having trouble, please email me again as it seems to be working now or post in this thread (or the new thread).
posted by ODiV at 5:52 PM on June 9, 2007
I've mailed you the brown envelope.
(and installed IRC for the first time, geez, this internet is exciting!)
posted by NinjaTadpole at 2:06 PM on June 10, 2007
(and installed IRC for the first time, geez, this internet is exciting!)
posted by NinjaTadpole at 2:06 PM on June 10, 2007
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
What: No Limit Hold Em poker tournament. On the Internet.
Where: Full Tilt Poker (works on Macs too!)
When: Sunday, June 10th, 9:00 PM Eastern time
How: Sign up for Full Tilt. The tournament will be in the private tournament section (I'll post the # when it gets set up) and the password for it will be the word before the @ sign in the email in my profile.
A $5 + $0.50 buy in has worked fairly well for us in the past. Any interest in increasing it to $10 + $1?
If Matt, Jessamyn or Cortex want to play, I'll happily buy them in.
The minimum deposit at Full Tilt is $50. If you'd rather not put that much on, shoot me an email and we can sort something out.
posted by ODiV at 10:22 AM on May 31, 2007