60 Minutes aired the program the same night as the WSOP World Series of Poker. Several people were interviewed including Nat Arem who researched the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet scams. Also interviewed were Linda Johnson and Mike Sexton of Party Poker, Greg Raymer of Team Poker Stars and Mark Seif of Absolute Poker. 60 Minutes Online Poker. Alderney, Isle of Man, Malta, Gibraltar, Jersey, Kahnawake. LV Bet: 100% Bonus up to £200 + up to 200 LV Spins on first deposit-200.
What are poker blinds ?
Based on the limit of the poker game the player to the left of the dealer's button (small blind) and the player two to the left of the dealer (big blind) are required to place mandatory bets in the pot before cards are dealt (Small blind has to put half of the big blinds amount). These bets count toward the first round of betting. So if the pot is not raised pre-flop, small blind will only have to put half a bet to call and big blind has the option of raising or just checking.
In a poker tournament, blinds go up gradually. This is to ensure that the tournament finishes on a timely manner. (the higher the blinds get the more players tend to get eliminated).
Blinds usually go up after predetermined periods of time. (for example every 15 or 20 minutes).
Two main factors determine blind structure of the game:
- Starting chip amount
- How long you want the tournament to last.
Poker Blind Structure Tips
- The first big blind should be 1/50 of the starting chip amount. (or the starting chip amount should be 50 times the starting big blind). So if everyone starts with 1000 in chips the first big blind should be 10/20.
- Blind period is the time each blind lasts:
- Typical tournament blind periods are 10, 15, 20, 30, or 60 minutes.
- Blinds period should be the same for every blind.
- The faster the blind period is the faster the tournament ends and the more luck involves. So it's a good idea to have slightly longer blind periods at your house game. 15 or 20 minute blind periods are good choices. Blinds in online websites tend to go up faster. This is because online poker action is much faster than live poker.
- Blinds typically double after each round. If the first big blind is 10/20, the next one should be 20/40.
Calculate Blind Structure
Can I Watch 60 Minutes Online
Follow these simple steps to create blind structure that best fits your game:
- Decide your starting chip amount.
- Divide it by 50. This should be your first big blind.
- Make your final big blind (when the tournament should finish) equal to your starting chip amount.
- Arrange the middle level blinds so that they gradually increase from your first big blind to the last one. It is best to keep the first couple blind periods low.
- Add the period (times) together. If it seems too long takes couple levels off the chart, and if it seems short add couple level to the chart.
Sample Tournament Blind Structure Chart
Following is a chart of recommended blind structures based on different starting chip stacks :
Blind Period | Chip Stack | |||
100 | 1000 | 2500 | 5000 | |
1 | 1/2 | 10/20 | 25/50 | 50/100 |
2 | 2/4 | 20/40 | 50/100 | 100/200 |
3 | 3/6 | 30/60 | 75/150 | 150/300 |
4 | 5/10 | 50/100 | 100/200 | 200/400 |
5 | 10/20 | 75/150 | 200/400 | 300/600 |
6 | 15/30 | 100/200 | 300/600 | 500/1000 |
7 | 25/50 | 150/300 | 500/1000 | 750/1500 |
8 | 50/100 | 200/400 | 750/1500 | 1000/2000 |
9 | 75/150 | 300/600 | 1000/2000 | 1500/3000 |
10 | 100/200 | 400/800 | 1500/3000 | 2000/4000 |
11 | 150/300 | 500/1000 | 2000/4000 | 3000/6000 |
12 | 200/400 | 1000/2000 | 2500/5000 | 5000/10000 |
Airing as the first feature on CBS News program '60 Minutes' on Sunday night was an investigation into the online poker scandals that rocked Ultimate Bet and its sister site, Absolute Poker. Both rooms are owned by Tokwiro Enterprises. Correspondent Steve Kroft traveled to several countries as part of the story, which ultimately claimed that internet gambling was illegal in the United States.
The news program opened up its show by discussing when the poker boom began, which it stated was the moment that Chris Moneymaker defeated Sam Farha in the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, taking home $2.5 million and proving that, in poker, amateurs can compete toe to toe with resident pros. Also at that final table were 1995 WSOP Main Event champion Dan Harrington and bracelet winners Jason Lester and Amir Vahedi. 60 Minutes cameras showed footage of the 2008 World Series of Poker.
The story then focused on online poker in particular. Kroft stated, 'We should tell you that this $18 billion industry is illegal in the United States, but the ban is almost impossible to enforce since the internet sites and the computers that randomly deal the cards and keep track of the bets are located offshore, beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. law enforcement.' In a 2004 article, gambling law expert I. Nelson Rose commented on the legality of online poker: 'It depends mostly on where you live. It depends also on how the game is being run. And, in the real world, it depends on whether anyone is going to do anything about it.' A 2005 Ipsos-Reid study claimed that 15 million Americans played poker online for real money.
Crown casino sydney. The news program then turned to an interview with Todd Witteles, who is better known online as 'Dan Druff.' Witteles was one of the main figures involved in unearthing the scandal on Absolute Poker. On the super user account 'Graycat,' Witteles commented, 'He was playing in a style that was sure to lose, but he was killing the game day after day.' David Paredes, a victim of cheating by the NioNio account on Ultimate Bet, told Kroft, 'I'm probably down somewhere in the range of $70,000 to [NioNio]. There were a number of players who lost more than me, in the range of $250,000, $90,000, $70,000, and $210,000.'
Serge Ravitch, who goes by 'adanthar' in the online poker world, inserted questionable hands into PokerTracker, a popular database program, and told 60 Minutes, 'When the other person was bluffing, he would always go all in. When the other person had some kind of made hand, he would always fold.' Players can now relive some of POTRIPPER's play in several videos posted on YouTube that use the hand replayer of poker training site PokerXFactor.
Russ Hamilton won $1 million by taking down the 1994 WSOP Main Event. In that tournament, he defeated Hugh Vincent heads-up and, 10 years later, masterminded a $20 million cheating scandal on Ultimate Bet. Hamilton was publicly named in a report distributed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), the licensing agency for many of the world's online poker rooms. 60 Minutes claimed that the Kahnawakes 'register and service more than 60% of the world's internet gaming activity.' Its servers are housed in a converted mattress factory on its reservation located just outside of Montreal, Canada.
Joe Tokwiro Norton, according to a memo distributed by Ultimate Bet as well as CBS News, is the owner of Tokwiro and its two online poker rooms. However, Norton is also a former Grand Chief of the Kahnawakes. When Kroft asked current Kahnawake Grand Chief Michael Delisle why the KGC did not suspend the licenses of either Tokwiro room, he responded, 'They were afraid that if the rug was pulled out from under them, the players wouldn't be paid.' Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet were fined a combined $2 million. Players have since been compensated for their losses.
According to an accompanying article that was featured in the Washington Post newspaper on Sunday, 'Until he issued a news release in October 2007, even some of the most powerful members of his tribe had no idea Norton owned the poker sites.' Delisle told the Post, 'I was as surprised as anyone else.'
The ending to the 60 Minutes story questioned why Hamilton and the five other unnamed accomplices in the Ultimate Bet scandal have not had any charges filed against them. Delisle commented, 'We're willing to work with anyone who wants to bring these people to justice. Buy used slot machines cheap. I believe that anyone else, named or not, will be brought to justice if they can be found.'
Hamilton, according to footage shown 60 Minutes, resides at the Tournament Players Club in Las Vegas. The news program aired a clip of Kroft allegedly calling his home and leaving a message for Hamilton. However, the call was not returned. The story then ended with Witteles speculating that other cheating that is less 'greedy and blatant' may be transpiring on other rooms besides Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet.
60 Minute Videos
Calculate Blind Structure
Can I Watch 60 Minutes Online
Follow these simple steps to create blind structure that best fits your game:
- Decide your starting chip amount.
- Divide it by 50. This should be your first big blind.
- Make your final big blind (when the tournament should finish) equal to your starting chip amount.
- Arrange the middle level blinds so that they gradually increase from your first big blind to the last one. It is best to keep the first couple blind periods low.
- Add the period (times) together. If it seems too long takes couple levels off the chart, and if it seems short add couple level to the chart.
Sample Tournament Blind Structure Chart
Following is a chart of recommended blind structures based on different starting chip stacks :
Blind Period | Chip Stack | |||
100 | 1000 | 2500 | 5000 | |
1 | 1/2 | 10/20 | 25/50 | 50/100 |
2 | 2/4 | 20/40 | 50/100 | 100/200 |
3 | 3/6 | 30/60 | 75/150 | 150/300 |
4 | 5/10 | 50/100 | 100/200 | 200/400 |
5 | 10/20 | 75/150 | 200/400 | 300/600 |
6 | 15/30 | 100/200 | 300/600 | 500/1000 |
7 | 25/50 | 150/300 | 500/1000 | 750/1500 |
8 | 50/100 | 200/400 | 750/1500 | 1000/2000 |
9 | 75/150 | 300/600 | 1000/2000 | 1500/3000 |
10 | 100/200 | 400/800 | 1500/3000 | 2000/4000 |
11 | 150/300 | 500/1000 | 2000/4000 | 3000/6000 |
12 | 200/400 | 1000/2000 | 2500/5000 | 5000/10000 |
Airing as the first feature on CBS News program '60 Minutes' on Sunday night was an investigation into the online poker scandals that rocked Ultimate Bet and its sister site, Absolute Poker. Both rooms are owned by Tokwiro Enterprises. Correspondent Steve Kroft traveled to several countries as part of the story, which ultimately claimed that internet gambling was illegal in the United States.
The news program opened up its show by discussing when the poker boom began, which it stated was the moment that Chris Moneymaker defeated Sam Farha in the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, taking home $2.5 million and proving that, in poker, amateurs can compete toe to toe with resident pros. Also at that final table were 1995 WSOP Main Event champion Dan Harrington and bracelet winners Jason Lester and Amir Vahedi. 60 Minutes cameras showed footage of the 2008 World Series of Poker.
The story then focused on online poker in particular. Kroft stated, 'We should tell you that this $18 billion industry is illegal in the United States, but the ban is almost impossible to enforce since the internet sites and the computers that randomly deal the cards and keep track of the bets are located offshore, beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. law enforcement.' In a 2004 article, gambling law expert I. Nelson Rose commented on the legality of online poker: 'It depends mostly on where you live. It depends also on how the game is being run. And, in the real world, it depends on whether anyone is going to do anything about it.' A 2005 Ipsos-Reid study claimed that 15 million Americans played poker online for real money.
Crown casino sydney. The news program then turned to an interview with Todd Witteles, who is better known online as 'Dan Druff.' Witteles was one of the main figures involved in unearthing the scandal on Absolute Poker. On the super user account 'Graycat,' Witteles commented, 'He was playing in a style that was sure to lose, but he was killing the game day after day.' David Paredes, a victim of cheating by the NioNio account on Ultimate Bet, told Kroft, 'I'm probably down somewhere in the range of $70,000 to [NioNio]. There were a number of players who lost more than me, in the range of $250,000, $90,000, $70,000, and $210,000.'
Serge Ravitch, who goes by 'adanthar' in the online poker world, inserted questionable hands into PokerTracker, a popular database program, and told 60 Minutes, 'When the other person was bluffing, he would always go all in. When the other person had some kind of made hand, he would always fold.' Players can now relive some of POTRIPPER's play in several videos posted on YouTube that use the hand replayer of poker training site PokerXFactor.
Russ Hamilton won $1 million by taking down the 1994 WSOP Main Event. In that tournament, he defeated Hugh Vincent heads-up and, 10 years later, masterminded a $20 million cheating scandal on Ultimate Bet. Hamilton was publicly named in a report distributed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), the licensing agency for many of the world's online poker rooms. 60 Minutes claimed that the Kahnawakes 'register and service more than 60% of the world's internet gaming activity.' Its servers are housed in a converted mattress factory on its reservation located just outside of Montreal, Canada.
Joe Tokwiro Norton, according to a memo distributed by Ultimate Bet as well as CBS News, is the owner of Tokwiro and its two online poker rooms. However, Norton is also a former Grand Chief of the Kahnawakes. When Kroft asked current Kahnawake Grand Chief Michael Delisle why the KGC did not suspend the licenses of either Tokwiro room, he responded, 'They were afraid that if the rug was pulled out from under them, the players wouldn't be paid.' Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet were fined a combined $2 million. Players have since been compensated for their losses.
According to an accompanying article that was featured in the Washington Post newspaper on Sunday, 'Until he issued a news release in October 2007, even some of the most powerful members of his tribe had no idea Norton owned the poker sites.' Delisle told the Post, 'I was as surprised as anyone else.'
The ending to the 60 Minutes story questioned why Hamilton and the five other unnamed accomplices in the Ultimate Bet scandal have not had any charges filed against them. Delisle commented, 'We're willing to work with anyone who wants to bring these people to justice. Buy used slot machines cheap. I believe that anyone else, named or not, will be brought to justice if they can be found.'
Hamilton, according to footage shown 60 Minutes, resides at the Tournament Players Club in Las Vegas. The news program aired a clip of Kroft allegedly calling his home and leaving a message for Hamilton. However, the call was not returned. The story then ended with Witteles speculating that other cheating that is less 'greedy and blatant' may be transpiring on other rooms besides Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet.
60 Minute Videos
60 Minutes Streaming
We'll have reaction to the program from around the industry for you on Poker News Daily.