Author Archives: Shawn Libro

Man in Tunbridge Wells Drops £750,000 In Online Gambling

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A man in Tunbridge Wells is calling for greater regulation of the online gambling industry after he admittedly lost £750,000 playing online. The man, who had been a soldier once, blew threw his savings, his wife’s savings, and even money on his company’s credit card in route to losing almost a million pounds. His name is Justyn Larcombe, and he recently told the story of how he lost almost everything in a series of late-night gambling binges.
Justyn Larcombe
A man on the edge
Following his military service, Larcombe took a position as the head of a financial services company. While there, he built a financial life, and he had a beautiful family at his disposal. That all went away, though, when he became obsessed with gambling. According to him, he blew through most of the money without ever leaving his house. He was living a double life, playing corporate business man in the day and gambling away all of his money in the safety of his home. It was only when he’d lost almost everything that his family fell apart and he lost his job.

A career sidetracked
With his position in the financial services industry, Larcombe had what most people would call a respectable life. He made plenty of money, and he has no explanations for why he sought more. What he does say is that most of the people around him had no idea of his secret life, and the people at his company had little clue that he was misusing corporate funds. All of that blew up in his face when revelations about his activities came to light, and he’s left to put his financial future back together.

A call for further regulation
Larcombe is now telling his story in hopes that the government will regulate online gambling companies. His hope is that companies will be forced to put together an online database of individuals who want to blacklist themselves. People with a problem would be able to opt out of gambling entirely, and sites would be forced to restrict their access.

To their credit, British gambling companies recognize that there are inherent risks involved in the world of online gambling. One spokesman for an online gambling company acknowledged that people accept and tolerate these risks when they sign up. The spokesman did say, however, that the companies are open to ideas that would make online gambling safer for people with addictions.

Can I practise a poker face?

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Many people associate “poker face” with Lady Gaga but this term was around long before the pop singer made it famous. A poker face is one of the most essential and fun features of playing poker but it’s a skill to master and it definitely requires practise. Novice players struggle to contain their expressions when they get a good or bad hand and this makes them an easy target for professionals.pokerface

Part of playing poker is observing your opponents and in order to beat them you need to be able to read their body language. From a subtle raised eyebrow to a faint smile, one of the most valuable lessons in poker is watching the players around you. However, bear in mind that you’re also under scrutiny. For this reasons it’s important to develop a good poker face so that regardless of your hand, your expression remains neutral. Everyone uses different tactics but the essential trick is to control your entire body. It’s no good perfecting the poker face if your voice goes up an octave when you have a winning hand. As with any skill, the more you practise, the better you’ll play.

 

What’s the most popular poker variant?

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Variations of poker are played throughout the world and the three most popular types are: Draw, Stud and Community Card Poker. Of these, the most frequently played is the Community Card variant called Texas Hold’em.

Hold’em has simple rules which make it a fairly easy game for beginners to learn. It’s also fast paced and this makes it exciting to watch. It has enjoyed a meteoric rise because it’s featured in movies like Rounders and Casino Royale and it’s the poker variant that’s chosen for the highly televised World Series of Poker Main Event. In 2003, Chris Moneymaker became the first winner who had qualified online and he did so playing Texas Hold’em. This event significantly increased the interest in poker and the number of online poker sites and tournaments exploded.

Another factor which contributed to its popularity was the invention of the hole cam. This small camera showed the face-down cards during recorded poker games and this novel aspect quickly grabbed the attention of the viewers at home. Texas Hold’em is the game that most new poker players want to learn and it has some of the most impressive tournament prizes at both online and land based casinos.

What is the WSOP?

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Poker is one of the most popular table games in the world and it’s played at land based casinos, online casinos and in private homes. While there are many poker tournaments worldwide, one stands out as the king of them all – the World Series of Poker. The WSOP is a series of tournaments that are held every year in Sin City. Each tournament winner receives a WSOP bracelet and prize money which is determined by the number of wsopcontestants. The last game played is the Main Event and the winner of this final table is judged to be the World Champion.

The tournament began in 1970 at the Horseshoe Casino, where owner Benny Binion organised a contest between about 30 of the best players at that time. Little did he know that it would grow into one of the biggest and most recognised poker tournaments in the world. The inaugural title went to Johnny Moss who was voted “best all-around player”. As the WSOP continues to grow in popularity, the number of contestants increase and so too does the prize money. In 2012 it was won by Greg Merson who walked away with the final pot which totalled $8 531 853.

What’s the most money won playing poker?

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The history of poker is filled with huge losses and impressive wins but none are as extraordinary as the Big One for One Drop. In 2012, during the World Series of Poker tournament, there was one poker game that had a $1 million buy-in and a winning pot of nearly $19,000,000. The purpose of the game was to make money for a charity – One Drop – which raised funds to supply drinking water to needy countries. From every buy-in, $111,111 went to this charity. One Drop, a non-profit organisation, received a staggering $6 million in donations from the event.

There were 48 players who competed in this high stakes game and they were a combination of poker stars and prosperous businessmen. They played No LimitHold’emand all the action was televised. The record-breaking final table was eventually won by Antonio Esfandiari. Known as The Magician, he pulled the rabbit out of the hat and walked away with poker’s first platinum bracelet, worth $350,000, and $18,346,673 – the single biggest prize in sports history.While he took the main prize, the top nine finishers walked away with a total of over $42,000,000.

What’s the longest live poker game?

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Close to 130 000 curious people, from over 90 countries, used the Internet to watch Phil Laak play poker for 115 hours. Nicknamed The Unabomber, Laakhad previously played for 72 uninterrupted hours which he smashed by 43 hours to officially enter into the Guinness Book of Records for the “Longest marathon playing poker by an individual”. His record-breaking feat happened in Sin City at the Bellagio Poker Room. Laak began playing poker on the 2nd of June 2010 and ended nearly 5 days later on the 7th June 2010. He ate every five hours and took a 5-minute break every 60 minutes. He banked some of these timeouts to shower and have yoga sessions and he also managed to sleep for a 30-minute period. He claimed that he drank no caffeine products or had any stimulants to prevent him from sleeping.

Unofficially his record has been broken by Barry Denson, a poker player from England, who managed to play nonstop for 120 hours and 20 minutes. Videos and documentation have been submitted to the Guinness Book of Records and a final verdict is still pending. If his record is successful then he would have played poker for five hours longer than Phil Laak.