Esteemed actor Christopher Walken performs Lady Gaga's "Poker Face". Not a cover. Not an impression.
posted by WCityMike on Oct 31, 2009 - 73 comments

Several months ago, poker player Tom "durrrr" Dwan issued an unprecedented challange. In effect, he is offering 3:1 odds—his $1.5 million to the challengers $500,000—that, playing high-stakes heads-up (one on one) online poker, he will be winning after 50,000 hands. The challenge is open to anyone except for durrrr's good friend Phil Galfond; three players have reportedly accepted, and play in the first match began yesterday. The results are being tracked in real time here and here; you can brave the inanity of twoplustwo (previously) and read the ongoing match thread here.
posted by cmyr on Feb 20, 2009 - 27 comments

A long-brewing online poker scandal reaches the mainstream: 60 Minutes Report (1, 2) (text version) and two consecutive front page Washington Post articles (by Pulitzer winning investigative journalist Gil Gaul) (plus lots of web exclusive content about the investigation)! [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue on Nov 30, 2008 - 45 comments

Poker hand simulator. Get a feel for the odds before you bet the farm.
posted by Brian B. on Feb 16, 2008 - 30 comments

Desperate for money? Short on good sense? Bull Poker might be for you! Last one to get up from the table and run for his life wins the pot! All YouTube links. Warning: Some gore and blood. [more inside]
posted by Daddy-O on Feb 15, 2008 - 23 comments

Poker legend Chip Reese dead at 56.
posted by landis on Dec 4, 2007 - 30 comments

Poker is pretty popular, and it seems like almost everyone is making money at it. At the tables, on Wall Street, and online. The World Poker Tour helped create the current boom and, with the World Series of Poker, helped make poker players into rock stars. [more inside]
posted by rmd1023 on Oct 17, 2007 - 44 comments

Ricky Jay wants to play cards. Place your bets. [more inside]
posted by Bookhouse on Oct 3, 2007 - 38 comments

Related to this post from long ago:Engineer Steve Albini plays poker. On a poker playing forum he's started answering all sorts of questions with his Ask ask a music scene micro celebrity . He talks at length about the records he's worked on, bands he's dealt with, and his opinion on whether Kurt Cobain was a genius.
posted by josher71 on Jul 5, 2007 - 91 comments

H.R. 4411: The Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act is a bill aimed at making online gambling illegal by blocking any US funds to foreign servers from American banks and credit cards. It passed the House on Saturday and sent British gambling stocks tumbling. I was kind of surprised at the swift passing of this bill, given that online poker is a pretty serious business, but one poker site says they'll be in the clear as poker is a game of skill and not just chance (good luck with that). Oh, and this is just one cog in the 10 tooth wheel of The American Values Agenda, the republican attempt to push socially conservative issues in time for the election.
posted by mathowie on Oct 2, 2006 - 42 comments

Google Web Toolkit + Texas Holdem Poker = gpokr.com. I should probably be embarrassed about how much time I've spent in the last few weeks playing poker online for pretend money. As the site operator mentions in his development blog, it seems to be the small things that make the site so sticky: elegant ajax design, players' rankings displayed and updated right next to their names at the table, a slew of player statistics presented on the main ranking page, even more statistics and graphs on each user page. (Oh, and out of 5000 or so current players, I seem to be #1).
posted by nobody on Aug 17, 2006 - 35 comments

Foreign owner of internet gambling site arrested as he attempted to change planes in Dallas. The Department of Justice announced his indictment on 22 counts and caused stock prices to drop rapidly on publicly traded gambling issues. A cynic might suppose that the arrest was related to his outspoken role as a critic of the pending anti-gambling legislation. The proposed legislation is clarified on the Daily Show
posted by Lame_username on Jul 18, 2006 - 57 comments

When it started more than 36 years ago, the World Series of Poker was more like a trappers' rendezvous than anything else: a small gathering of professional poker players and road gamblers getting together amongst themselves to see who was “the best.” Now, of course, it is an industry unto itself, with extensive media coverage, televised coverage on ESPN, and a large fan base that follows the daily results of this now six-week long series of tournaments, which culminates in the $10,000 buy-in “main event” to determine the “world champion.” In 1970, eight gamblers put up the $10k each to play in the main event; in 2005, that number had grown to more than 5600, making the total prize pool of $56M one of the largest ever contested, a number that is either exciting or appalling, depending on your point of view. The 2006 WSOP begins today with the casino employees event, and then the larger “open” events begin tomorrow, and continue until July 28, when the main event kicks off. This year’s main event has been lengthened to almost two weeks to allow for enough play to reduce the field from the estimated 6000 starting participants to the final 9 who will vie for an estimated first prize of $10M. Shuffle up and deal!
posted by mosk on Jun 26, 2006 - 59 comments

Poker and politics have often been intertwined. Former U.S. President Richard Nixon reportedly financed his first political campaign with money he won playing poker in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Harry Truman had his own presidential poker chips, and the "buck" which stopped at his desk is also from the game. Today David Mamet (House of Games) has some interesting poker advice for the Democrats, in the LA Times.
posted by bashos_frog on Sep 16, 2005 - 23 comments

A Chip and a Chair: The World Series of Poker's Main Event started today at the Rio in Las Vegas. That's a change from every other year, when Binion's Horseshoe hosted the event. With the rise of online poker and televised tournaments, it's no surprise this is the biggest year ever: 5,661 people registered for the $10,000 no-limit event. That's about $50 million in prize money, once the tournament and casino costs are taken care of. CardPlayer has up-to-the-minute updates on the tournament. Things at the WSOP can get pretty crazy, as you've got thousands of gamblers ready for any sort of action. For instance, poker celeb Phil Gordon put together a Roshambo tournament (paper rock scissors) together with a $10,000 first prize, just to kill time. The main event, by the way, is only one of 45 events, started back in 1970 by a group of hard-core gamblers. Despite the record turnout, however, there's still plenty of people who didn't make it to the main event, including former Harper's reporter James McManus, who placed 5th in the Main Event in 2000 and wrote a fascinating novel on the subject.
posted by Happydaz on Jul 7, 2005 - 22 comments

Shuffle up and deal--Phil Gordon's Podcasts from WSOP 2005 Featuring between level commentary on hands played and interviews with World Series of Poker players--well-known and not--Phil Gordon's podcasts are entertaining and informative. It's way better than waiting till ESPN broadcasts portions in September.
posted by gsh on Jun 11, 2005 - 10 comments

Online poker company's flotation sends owners into billionaires list. Party Poker.com has announced plans to float on the London Stock exchange. This will see the biggest online gambling site on the planet get even bigger. Will the stock market be happy with the current returns or are the voracious demands of shareholders mean we are going to see more people needing help?
posted by ClanvidHorse on Jun 3, 2005 - 29 comments

The Reader of Gentlemen's Mail In the spring of 1919, when the father of American cryptography, Herbert O. Yardley, drew up a plan for a permanent State Department codebreaking organization — a "black chamber — he estimated that a modest $100,000 a year would buy a chief (Yardley) and fifty clerks and cryptanalysts. Yardley rented a three-story building in New York City: on East 38th Street just off Fifth Avenue, he put two dozen people to work under civilian cover—as the Code Compiling Company. His summary dismissal happened in 1929 at the hand of incoming Secretary of State Henry Stimson, who closed down the Cipher Bureau with the casual observation that "gentlemen do not read each other's mail". The son of a railroad telegrapher, a man with a lively Jazz Age interest in money, good-looking women, and drinks at five, Yardley not only taught his country how to read other people's mail but wrote two of the enduring American books—the memoir The American Black Chamber (1931), and The Education of a Poker Player (1957).
posted by matteo on Apr 22, 2005 - 6 comments

Poker player plays for 24 hours in a row? Yawn. Online poker player plays eight tables simultaneously for 24 hours in a row? Interesting.
posted by bdk3clash on Jan 10, 2005 - 20 comments

What is the deal with Texas hold'em??? Texas Hold'em (in the U.S.) has become the poker players crack. Its OK, but not that fun for me, and I don't understand what has caused this huge craze sweeping the nation. Poker Chips are in definately in demand... 1 In 10 Kids Will Become Compulsive Gamblers so Do Your Kids Know When To Fold'em? at least there is some texas hold'em charity work aiding victims for the holidays
posted by clubmedia on Dec 7, 2004 - 52 comments

Are bluffing bots outplaying human poker players online? They might not be as strong as Vex Bot, but they could spell trouble for the booming online-poker industry.
posted by mrgrimm on Sep 21, 2004 - 28 comments

Pokerinathens.org. Passionately dedicated to bringing poker to the 2004 summer games. Funny.
posted by braun_richard on Jul 25, 2004 - 6 comments

I'll raise you 5 bananas. What do Primate Programmers do in their off hours? Using David Sklansky's theorys to play Texas Hold'em online. As a poker-playing, programming, primate myself, I can relate.
posted by bashos_frog on May 22, 2004 - 2 comments

Poker Redux: Poker is sweeping America (and other countries as well). From million dollar online Texas Hold 'Em tournaments to the weekend nickel, dime, quarter games with friends to the World Poker Tour (heavily promoted on the Travel Channel), poker is forcing itself into the spotlight. [more inside]
posted by hawkman on Oct 23, 2003 - 19 comments

The Art History of Cheating - just one of the many interesting topics found at Cardshark Online.
posted by anastasiav on Oct 6, 2003 - 4 comments

Online Poker Player turns $40 into $3.2 million with his entry into the World Series of Poker. He decided to give poker a try after seeing the Matt Damon film Rounders. Turned out to be a good career choice.
posted by IndigoSkye on May 24, 2003 - 6 comments

Presidential candidates may have to play a hand of poker to determine the winner of New Mexico. I am not making this up.
posted by Succa on Nov 14, 2000 - 21 comments

Now, this is what Ammuricka's all about! Let's be honest about our electoral process....
posted by EssenDreck on Jul 25, 2000 - 10 comments