The Satellites will start running on Wednesday, 16th May, and will run until Saturday, 19th May. There are still buy-ins left for each event, so if you have the opportunity to head down to the Bellagio, it’s definitely worth giving the satellites a try.

The winner of the World Poker Tour Championship could stand to net a prize worth more than $1 million, not to mention the prestige and bragging rights for topping a field that includes more than 200 of the best names in poker.

If the buy-in for this event is a little out of your budget, don’t despair, there are other smaller events that may still appeal to you, and that offer people of all budgets and bankrolls the chance to enjoy some challenging high-level poker. The World Poker Tour is a prestigious event, but it’s skill that the organizers reward, not just access to a huge bankroll.

MGM Resorts International is working with BWin.Party Digital Entertainment to prepare online gaming options. Jim Murren, MGM International Resorts CEO, said “We’ll be out of the gate as soon as anybody.” That prediction is most likely correct, since BWin has plenty of experience in putting together online gaming solutions.

BWin has an interesting history, with accusations of bank and wire fraud having been levelled at previous incarnations of the company, however those things are in the past, and MGM Resorts International are not the only casino company that has shown themselves willing to work with companies with interesting histiroes. Rival Caesars Entertainment is also working with a company that ran into trouble with anti-gambling laws back in 2007.

The law in the USA is in a constant state of flux, and casino operators, Indian tribes, and online based companies are wiping their slates clean and looking to do things the right way over the next few years. Nevada has strict licensing laws, and now that online poker is serious business, and sites are fighting bots, cheats, and fraudsters to ensure that they provide a safe place for the average player, it looks like it’s never been a better time to play – online, or at the felt.

By playing poker, people of all ages can acquire social skills, develop critical thinking skills, and learn a bit about math and probability. A poker player has to use a lot of brainpower to perform well. They need to take in what’s going on at the table, try to remember how each person generally behaves, and crunch numbers to put together a plan for how to bet next.

Playing poker for real money isn’t a good idea for kids. They don’t have a fully developed sense of self-control, and they could get too engrossed in the highs of winning and the lows of taking a bad beat. However, if you’re playing with fake money, the benefits of learning risk management, judging probability, and even learning how to budget are hard to deny. Unfortunately, even though poker is becoming more socially acceptable in many parts of the world, it will probably be a long time before it’s up there with chess on the list of tournaments and clubs in junior schools.

This is why it’s important to know how to manage your online poker budget. Knowing how to play the game well is one thing, but that knowledge will be useless if you can’t apply it because you stretch your bankroll too thin. Skilled players can spell fear even over TCP/IP, and will bully you out of the room if they detect that you can’t keep up with the pace of play because you’re playing at a $1 table and have only $25 in your account.

If your budget is tight, you should consider playing in micro-stakes rooms. Don’t move up to a higher stakes room unless you have enough to cover at least 100 hands. Even then, if you’re having a bad day, consider bowing out for a while and relaxing in a free-to-play room, or perhaps forgetting about poker entirely. While the laws of probability may dictate that there’s no such thing as a “bad day”, your mind may feel differently, and there’s no point pushing chips around the table if you can’t focus, or you’re convinced that the software/dealer is out to get you.

To succeed at poker, you need to know your budget, and know your mental limits too. There’s no shame in walking away if it protects your bankroll so that you know you can come back to play another day.

The $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event will be aired separate to the standard streams because, as is now traditional, it will not take place until well after the end of the rest of the tournament. The “November Nine” will now be the “October Nine”, as the final table will pick up play on October 28th.

The World Series of Poker will begin on Sunday, May 27th, and live streaming will start the next day when the final table of the Casino Employee’s No-Limit Holdem event begins. There are 34 Gold Bracelet tournaments planned for the Amazon Room alone, so there should be plenty of entertainment on offer for poker fans planning on watching the streams.

Coverage anchor David Tuchman said of the event, “It doesn’t get bigger or better than the World Series of Poker. I am excited an humbled to be working with the WSOP to bring the live stream to a hungry and growing audience”.

If you miss out on any of the live coverage, there’s no need to panic, as there are plans to archive the streams, allowing poker fans to drop in and out of coverage and re-play any event they want at a later date.

Are you excited yet? We certainly are!

Thomte said of his new position, “I’m delighted to have joined Cantor Gaming, and work in partnership with Palms, to provide a world-class poker experience. This is an incredible opportunity which I’m excited to be a key part of.”

Cantor Gaming aims to revolutionize the Las Vegas gaming experience by offering casinos hte ultimate in technology solutions to enable sports betting and casino gaming, as well as casino-style gaming for mobile devices. The company offers a full selection of infastructure for casinos, as well as a portfolio of games. The company has recently partnered with Palms,

Mr Lee M. Amaitis, CEO of Cantor Gaming, said of the appointment, “We are excited that Brad has joined the team. His extensive experience makes him a perfect fit. He has arrived at an exciting time as we explore the natural overlap between sports bettors and poker players and we seek to offer customers at Palms maximum entertainment and convenience.”

If you are currently a member of Lock, you don’t have to do anything. The move should be seamless for existing players, and any current balances, rewards, or points will move over without you needing to do anything other than accept the software update that will be pushed to all players as of May 31st.

Jennifer Larso, CEO of Lock, said “We are very excited at the prospect of driving the product, marketing and overall vision of the network. It is a dream come true, Merge was a great stepping stone for us but we have outgrown them. We really need to forge our own path to continued success. The only way to do this is to stay true to our of core philosophy: partnering with our players.”

The Tweet posted by Rettenmaier said, “@titan_poker has decided to part ways with its Pro Team. I am very thankful for the opportunities and I had a great time representing them.”

Rettenmaier’s announcement comes just three days after he announced that he was parting ways with the team. Trickett had been a representative of Titan Poker for more than two years, originally signing with the team in March 2010.

So far, there has been no announcement made regarding who will be representing the team in the future. It’s always sad to see big names move on from their long-time sponsors, but we wish them all the best for the future, whether they opt to sign with a new team, or decide to go it alone for their future tournaments.

Keep checking back for more news about the site and any representatives that they sign, along with tournament and circuit updates.

Jennifer Larson, CEO of Lock Poker, said of the acquisition and the choice to leave the network, “We are very excited at the prospect of driving the product, marketing and overall vision of the network. It is a dream come true. Merge was a great stepping stone for us but we have outgrown them. We really need to forge our own path to continued success. The only way to do this is to stay true to our core philosophy; partnering with our players.”

The company plans to make the move as seamless as possible. They will release a software update on May 31st, and all players have to do is accept the update. Players that already have an existing account with Lock will not need to move their balance, as this will be done for them. Details of changes to the VIP rewards system will be announced shortly, but players are assured that any changes will only mean an increase in rewards for players. Rakeback players will be moved over to the Revolution network’s increased percentage rakeback option.

The offer is available for a limited time, and is available via Poker Encore, Party Poker, and Genting Poker. More partner sites will be added soon. The full list of eligible sites and eligible countries can be found on Badbeat.com.

While the cash reward is enticing, the mentorship offered via the Poker Clinic will be even more appealing to many players, as it offers personal guidance to help players improve parts of their own game.

John Conroy, Managing Director of the company said, “We want to help players transform their poker game and because we are so confident in the quality of our training material and its results we are giving players $50 free.”

If you’ve tried other online poker training tools, and found them lacking, then the “Play and Fix” method used by Badbeat may appeal to you. Instead of having lots of theory thrown at you, this method enables you to play poker hands, and then fix problems that show up during your play. It’s personal, effective, and far more fun than studying probability tables.