After not much going on for the last few days, Alderney Gambling Control Comission released this statement:
http://www.gamblingcontrol.org/userfiles/file/FTP%20media%20release%2020110703.pdf

And the SubjectPoker rundown:
http://www.subjectpoker.com/2011/07/agcc-in-talks-with-ftp/

Cliffs on this piece of news:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=27430979&postcount=5

So ... Im still currently cautiously optimistic about the direction things are going.

The Poker community seems to be in good spirits as of this morning.

FTP sold to European investors:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-online-poker-20110701,0,6054543.story

Cliffs:
Players will get paid:
Attorneys associated with Full Tilt said the company signed an agreement Thursday with a group of investors who would put up enough money to pay back players and in doing so attain a majority stake in Full Tilts Irish parent company, Pocket Kings.

Ivey withdraws suit:

The player who sued Full Tilt, Phil Ivey, sat out the World Series of Poker, which is currently taking place in Las Vegas, to protest the companys inability to repay players. Ivey was set to withdraw his lawsuit in Nevada state court Thursday, according to his attorney David Chesnoff.

Mr. Ivey intends to dismiss his lawsuit as he believes Full Tilt is taking steps to see that the players are paid, - Chesnoff said.

Supposedly, Ivey has been instrumental in both:

A) Personally looking for an investor(s).

B) Putting pressure on Ray Bitar and Howard Lederer (FTP Owners) to accept a deal.

http://wickedchopspoker.com/phil-ivey-in-dublin-meeting-with-tilt-execs-white-knight-deal-back-on/

(granted, the article above is 4 days old which is ancient with regards to how much has changed in that time period)

durrrrs take on that article, 2+2 thread about it:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=27387281&postcount=38

We still dont know if he had any role in AGCC moving to suspend FTPs license. If this turns out to be true (and Im sure a lot more info about everything will come out later), my opinion of him will grown tenfold.

So ... Im cautiously optimistic right now, but - money still needs to make it into my bank account, amirite?

3:35 Update: Todd Terry & Co file a class action lawsuit against FTP to return player funds.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/new-lawsuit-steve-segal-nick-hammer-robin-hougdahl-todd-terry-v-full-tilt-poker-1061172/

Given everything thats going on ATM - including the speed with which events are occurring, I think its just noise. Still - its a development so I thought I would post it. Such documents take a while to prepare, so it seems like it was initiated before the shtf on Wednesday.

Seems like the document is singling out every individual member of team FTP other than Tom Dwan.

Things are looking up:
http://www.subjectpoker.com/2011/06/ftp-sold-to-european-investors/

Key point:

Attorneys associated with Full Tilt said the company signed an agreement Thursday with a group of investors who would put up enough money to pay back players and in doing so attain a majority stake in Full Tilts Irish parent company, Pocket Kings.

Ill stay cautiously optimistic for now until I hear confirmation one way or another. Still - a good note to go to sleep on for me.

No news overnight, just a lot of speculation. Here is the latest rundown/chatter chronologically:

1. FTP, doesnt have enough money to pay back all the players due to greed/mismanagement:
http://www.subjectpoker.com/2011/06/ftps-60m-shortfall/

2. In order to raise money, they met with Jack Binion - a potential investor:
http://www.subjectpoker.com/2011/06/jack-binion-considers-investing-in-ftp/

3. Its unlikely a deal with reached and AGCC suspends FTPs license.

4. FTP is trying to scramble and move its servers to KGC, the company that licensed UB/AP in the past. KGC is seen as being generally incompetent/crooked within the poker poker community.
http://www.subjectpoker.com/2011/06/full-tilt-looks-kgc/

5. If FTP reopens, will it be able to stay profitable? There is a lot of mistrust about the company atm, which is understandable, but if/when it opens and revenue >> expenses, then theyll continue operating and wont have to liquidate. On the other hand, if they decide that after everything that happens they will need to liquidate ...

6. Discussion of what would happen if FTP was to liquidate by Skall - a PPA Board Member and lawyer (Cliffs: Youre at the bottom of the totem pole)
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=27363390&postcount=111

So what now? We wait for FTP to move its servers and issue a statement. Its crystal clear that major changes need to be made with management in order to regain peoples trust. This will not happen overnight, but the brand is salvagable. It just wont be as easy for them as it was in the past.

10:40 Update: Story goes public (via BBC):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/13973280

Different scenarios as to how this could play out (strictly opinion/speculation obv):
http://www.pokeraffiliatesolutions.com/poker-affiliate-blog/pokeraddict/468-full-tilt-poker-scenarios.html

2:30 Update: More chatter: AgentMarco, from QuadJacks, says that Jack Binion is now the companys investor.
http://twitter.com/AgentMarco/status/86487008280719360

6:15 Update: KGC releases statement about FTP. Cliffs: Progress ... kinda. Read and you be the judge.
http://www.subjectpoker.com/2011/06/kgc-statement-ft/

So FTP is down this morning because their license got supended by Alderney Gambling Control Commission. Massive hysteria on 2+2. Here is what you need to know right now:

1. All play, player sign-ups, deposits, and cash-outs are suspended.

2. Offical Alderney statement.
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/alderney-suspends-ftp-license-all-play-cashier-halted-1059820/

3. Officiall hearing to discuss this scheduled for July 26th, 2011 ... a month from now.

4. TwoPlusTwo panics.
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/alderney-suspends-ftp-license-all-play-cashier-halted-1059820/

5. When asked on Twitter by a follower if that person is likely to lose his roll, Durrrr replied: Id still like to think ur a favorite, but gimme a few mins to try to absorb it
http://twitter.com/Tom_Dwan/status/86031811649601536

My thoughts: Obviously this hurts FTPs credibility further, but the big question is just how large the damage will be. Will update this blog as new info comes. Will also keep updating Twitter (@verneer). It will probably be one of those days where I wont get too much done as I try to weed through the noise for some actual info.

9:05 Edit: Dwan now concerned that FTP is out of money, cant pay out or find a buyer. Thats not good.
http://twitter.com/Tom_Dwan/status/86053564887216128

9:36 Edit: Dwan optimistic after hearing some good news, plans to go to sleep and offer his take on things when he wakes up with a clear head:

http://twitter.com/Tom_Dwan/status/86064771589353473
http://twitter.com/Tom_Dwan/status/86064979652001792

I want to know ... how is it that the youngest member of Team Full Tilt is likely to come out of this with his reputation even better than before while everyone elses is going down?

12:41 Edit: Stars comments, says they have been and continue to be in full compliance with regulations, reiterate that they will let you cash out funds whenever you would like.
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/28/internet-poker/pokerstars-license-reaffirmed-isle-man-gaming-commission-1059973/

4:15 Edit: The executive director of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission says he decided to suspend five egambling licenses of Full Tilt Poker because of "several [serious] issues" that arose as part of a special investigation involving forensic auditors that was prompted by the U.S. government's online poker crackdown.
http://blogs.forbes.com/nathanvardi/2011/06/29/full-tilts-alderney-gambling-licenses-suspended-due-to-several-issues/

5:00 Scott Matusow writes that everyone will get paid when Jack Binion buys FTP.
http://scottmatusow.com/blog/2011/06/29/fulltilt-poker-is-not-done-read-this-to-find-out-why/

NoahSD questions this:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=27355924&postcount=16

Im with NoahSD on this ... sounds like Scott is speculating and why would he know more than others?

9:15 Durrrrs talks on 2+2:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=27361082&postcount=61

Huh?

FTP is considering re-opening with the Kahnawake Gaming Commission License:
http://www.subjectpoker.com/2011/06/full-tilt-looks-kgc/

9:35: Yep ... looks like FTP is moving its operations to the Mohawk territory:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=27362920&postcount=24

KGC are the people who regulated UB and AP. This must be a low point for FTP. I cant imagine the sheer rush on withdrawals that will happen if/when they move and reopen for business.

I want to try something out which will hopefully:

A. Help all those involved with their poker game

B. Help you build your poker network

Basically, each week, I\'ll post a \"Topic of the Week\". For this week, let\'s discuss playing AQ facing a raise.

In your database, search for hands which fit the given topic and find the hand that you most want to discuss. After that:

1. Go to a HH converter website (like WeakTight or PokerHand) and convert the hand. You should get a link to it.

http://weaktight.com/3708628

In the comment section, discuss your reads and all other relevant info (like I did in my example above).

2. Shorten this link using https://bitly.com/

http://bit.ly/iHl3Av

3. Send me the HH on Twitter (@verneer). If you don\'t have Twitter yet, it\'s a good time to get one.

4. I\'ll pick one or two hands per day and give my thoughts on them. I\'ll retweet any additional question/comments which apply.

Joe Barton (R-TX) is going to introduce a bill to regulate and license online poker in the U.S.

http://www.subjectpoker.com/2011/06/bartons-ipoker-bill-released/

The language seems very favorable and the momentum is right. I think this is a very positive step! More on this development as additional info comes to light.

If you were to come up with three major issues that you have (or see that other players have) which relate to the mental side of poker, what would they be? Or to put it another way ... which three areas of your overall mental game do you wish you were stronger at?

With online poker on the sidelines, Brian Rue and I came up with an amazing idea: A Live HUD! The concept seems really simple - I'm surprised no one has done it before. Here is our development plan:

1. Find a pair of shades which will serve to house the technology. Poker players already love sunglasses. We'll use this model:



2. Program them to display HUD numbers in a live setting. When wearing your shades, this is what you will see:



3. With shades, you can now start multi-tabling. I envision the mass-multi-tablers to play up to 4 tables.

4. Profit!!!

So, I already have the idea + the shades + the vision of the future of live poker. All I need is someone to program the shades. Please PM me if you have experience in this area and can help out!

99% of my poker knowledge centers around NLHE. I've dabbled some in PLO, but it's different enough to where I didn't know some of the more basic plays (the kind of hands to 3-bet/4-bet, flat call, open from EP, etc). Recently I've had a chance to work with Gakn29 - a SSNL/MSNL CR PLO Pro - on my game. Together, we've laid out a structured approach to teaching the fundamentals of PLO in a Q&A format.