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the UK online poker industry isn’t doing as well as it once was. At least that’s what the analysts are saying. But wait just a darn-tootin’ second! Not everybody thinks it’s accurate to say the UK online poker boom has fizzled out. And just who are these analysts anyways?

Well, according to the market research firm, Mintel, the numbers speak for themselves and online poker revenue is indeed beginning to subside. And no, Mintel is not a middle-aged, overweight card shark. Mintel is the internationally reputed consumer, media and market research company that got it’s digs researching food and drink market trends back in 1972. Founded in London, Mintel now operates offices in Chicago, Australia and China, bringing in over 500,000 group website hits per month and stealing over 10,000 press mentions every year.

In other words, blowing off Mintel’s market analyst is not like blowing off Sarah Palin’s new book “Going Rogue”. However, according to a recent eGaming Review Magazine op-ed blog post by online poker affiliate and former Party Poker room manager, Bill Rini, Mintel’s analysis leaves out several key points and is too quick to say that online poker has subsided in the UK.

Here’s the thing. Mintel is not necessarily saying the UK poker room boom is over. They have simply reported numbers. Others within the online gambling industry – the likes of gaming news editors – are opining these numbers are “suggesting” the boom is over.

Rini, on the other hand, says the industry is contracting more so than it is subsiding. For all you illiterates like myself, this means that while the industry continues to grow, business is simply being consolidated. The big online poker rooms are doing more business while the smaller guys are doing less. It’s the same thing you often see happen in the retail market, and Rini gets his point across by comparing this analysis to interviewing a few local shops (leaving out the big giants like Wal-mart and Home Depot), and deducing that retail is down overall.

If you ask me, it’s a good point. Mintel’s numbers do not even include the amount of online poker traffic that is brought in by the likes of Poker Stars and Full Tilt, which being privately owned company’s, are not required to report financial results. There’s absolutely nothing to refute the possibility that UK online poker players are leaving brand-name UK poker sites like Will Hill and Ladbrokes to throw down cards at Poker Stars. In fact, considering the popularity and size of Poker Stars (more online players than any other poker room), this is a very good probability. So, while overall business with publicly traded UK online poker rooms is down a bit, that doesn’t mean UK bettors are playing less online poker.

Online poker has become globally acclaimed recently, with televised competitions and celebrity poker game events. Its universal appeal, though, stretches back in fact a bit further than its television scores. Over the years many types on the first poker game have been developed, including a few games that are not in reality poker anymore. Caribbean stud poker is 1 of these particular games. Regardless of the name, Caribbean stud poker is more closely related to blackjack than long-standing poker, in that the players wager against the dealer rather than the other players. The succeeding hands, are the traditional poker hands. There is no conniving or different types of boondoggle. In Caribbean stud poker, you are required to ante up prior to the croupier saying “No further wagers.” At that instance, both you and the house and of course all of the different players acquire 5 cards. After you have seen your hand and the dealer’s initial card, you need to in turn make a call wager or surrender. The call wager’s value is akin to your beginning bet, indicating that the stakes will have increased two fold. Bowing out means that your wager goes instantaneously to the casino. After the wager comes the conclusion. If the casino does not have ace/king or greater, your wager is given back, including a figure in accordance with the initial wager. If the casino does have ace/king or better, you succeed if your hand is greater than the dealer’s hand. The bank pays money equal to your wager and controlled expectations on your call wager. These expectations are:

• Even for a pair or high card
• two to one for two pairs
• three to one for three of a kind
• four to one for a straight
• five to one for a flush
• seven to one for a full house
• 20-1 for a 4 of a kind
• 50-1 for a straight flush
• 100-1 for a royal flush

If the World Series of Poker and ESPN are looking for a poker pro to make a run and carry their Final table coverage of the Main Event, they may have found their man. Phil Ivey, one of the most recognizable names in the game, is currently second in the chip count.

There are only twenty-nine players left in this year’s Main Event, and Ivey is quickly closing in on the chip leader after an amazing day of poker Tuesday. Billy Kopp is in the lead with 15,100,000 chips to Ivey’s 12,200,000.

“This is a dangerous situation for all of these players to be in,” said casino poker analyst Brian Brells, “Phil is one of the best players in the world, and being near the top of the chip stacks gives him all the ammunition he needs to make a run at the title.” read more