22 Oct 11

The Daily Rewind - Jungleman Coaching, Pocket Kings Redundancies and US Hearing

Today we take a look at Daniel Cates' latest move in the poker world, look forward to Tuesday's House of Representatives hearing in the US and check back at the happenings at Pocket Kings. All that plus a look at Ilari Sahamies recent good run of form and our number 40 pick for the most attractive women in poker.

“Jungleman12” Offering Strategy Gold

Daniel “Jungleman12” Cates has proved beyond doubt that he’s able outthink some of the toughest players in the game and now he’s determined to show that he can teach other the same thought processes.

Taking place between October 28th and October 30th, Cates, along with fellow high stakes pros Johannes “J.Strassmann” Strassmann, Fredrik “Observer84” Keitel and Max “AltiFC” Altergott, will be holding an advanced heads-up No Limit Hold’em seminar.

The classes are designed to improve the thinking of players at limits $5/$10 and above and will be held in Vienna. For €5,500 this master class won’t be within everyone’s budget, but for those that do attend it’s a sure bet that there will be some strategy gold on offer.

Further details of the seminar have been posted here on 2+2.

Pocket Kings to Axe 180 Staff

The shockwaves from the Full Tilt implosion continued to reverberate around the poker industry yesterday as 180 staff at one of Full Tilt’s subsidiary companies, Pocket Kings, were let go.

The redundancies began on Wednesday and were still taking place throughout yesterday as the company continues to feel the affects of the recent scandal. A plan to axe 250 jobs from the Dublin based offices was announced in September and after a four-week consultation period the process began this week. At present Pocket Kings have made no comment on the situation and all calls to their offices haven’t been returned.

With the takeover between Full Tilt and Bernard Tapie still in the processing stage there are now questions as to how the company will be restructured and if Full Tilt will reapply for an AGCC license. While rumours are beginning to circulate that the site could be operational again in January there are certainly no indications of that at this stage.

Is US Online Regulation a Safe Bet?

The House of Representatives subcommittee is to meet next week to discuss the regulation of online poker in the US. The meeting, which takes place on Tuesday, will be held in front of the House Subcommittee for Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade and feature online poker supporter Joe Barton.

The senator is a part of the committee and will be pushing his HR 2366 bill designed to bring about the legalisation in the States. The meeting is entitled: “Internet Gaming: Is There a Safe Bet?” and won’t focus specifically on internet poker, but it will be a major topic of discussion. Helping to bolster Barton’s arguments will be Poker Players Alliance Chairman Alfonse D’Amato.

The players’ representative will speak on behalf of the entire poker community in a bid to persuade the committee as to the safety and potential benefits of online poker. Commenting on the invitation of D’Amato, PPA executive director John Pappas said: “It’s a big moment for the organization and we’re very excited that D’Amato has been invited.”

High Stakes Corner

After winning almost $120,000 yesterday, Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies has taken his weekly total to over $750,000 and, moreover, his profits to over $2 million since August. The upswing will come as a welcome relief for the feisty Finn as he was more than $800,000 in the red for 2011 until recently.

Also running well in the past 24 hours was high stakes stalwart Richard “Nutsinho” Lyndaker who padded his roll with another $62,200 on top of the $50,000 he netted earlier in the week.

For a full look at the biggest winners and losers of the week check out HSDB’s leaderboard.

Hot Shot of the Day

A smiling assassin is often the most deadly which is why Isabelle “No Mercy” Mercier is one of the most dangerous women at the felt. A deft touch with her chips, she’s also one of the hottest women in the poker world. Gentleman, please be upstanding for our number 40 pick in the most attractive women in poker: