Convinced by a mate to start playing poker professionally, Bondi resident Tyron beat 746 other entrants in the $10,000 buy in texas holdem event. When asked about his win he responded modestly that he was simply “lucky”.

The second aussie winner in 2 years, Tyron follows Stewart Scott in scooping the event, and keeping the cash in Oz.

The final table consisted of the following players: Sorel Mizzi, Stephen Shelley, Annette Obrestad, Tyron Krost, Kosta Varoxis, Peter Jetten and Steven Friedlander.

Play now at Ultimate Bet

Ultimate Bet Poker has recently marked its 10th anniversary, having been established in 1999. Licensed in North America, Ultimate Bet Poker has the significant advantage of being able to offer its gaming services to players from all over the world, including the US. Indeed, Ultimate Bet Poker is one of the leading providers of on-line poker and many of its European competitors are unable to enter the American market, so the site is certainly one of the largest out there. Upon loading the Ultimate Bet homepage, users are greeted to a stylish site that contains a wealth of flashy content. Nevertheless, the site manages to remain intuitive and user-friendly, so basic navigation of the site is uncomplicated.

Playing at Ultimate Bet Poker is relatively straightforward, too, as users can download the free software client, register a new username and start playing. As a way of helping newer players to the game, Ultimate Bet Poker also offers a number of practice tables that are primarily designed to acclimatize Ultimate Bet newbies to their new environment. It does not take much to learn the ropes, however, as the Ultimate Bet Poker software is itself reasonably intuitive, straightforward and easy to use. In terms of a new member sign up bonus, which all good poker sites offer, Ultimate Bet Poker will match a first time deposit by 111% up to $1,100, which is a fantastic incentive for new players.

Ultimate Bet Poker also offers an impressive range of games, including Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, Omaha 8/better, Stud 8/better, HORSE, RAZZ, Blackjack and Elimination Blackjack. In fact, there are essentially three different types of poker play at Ultimate Bet Poker, which can be classed as UltimatePoints™, Real Money and Free Games. In respect to UltimatePoints™, these are accumulated during regular cash and tournament games and each point is worth $0.007 each, so when enough are gathered they can be converted into cash. Ultimate Bet Poker also offers a number of other promotions, such as the Reload Bonus up to $150, Seven Deuce Tables, Conquer Paradise (running between October 3-10th 2009), Tournament Leaderboards, The Donkament ($50,000 tournament) and a chance to win a superb Mercedes in Aruba!

Whilst the game play itself is fast and efficient at Ultimate Bet Poker, many new players are attracted to the site because of its undeniable prestige. Indeed, Ultimate Bet Poker is a site that can boast a truly world class team of professional players. The so-called ‘Team UB’ features poker professionals who are affiliated with and play at the site on a regular basis and it is common for certain promotions to feature Team UB members from time to time. Eleven time winner at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), Phil Hellmuth, is the star of Team UB and can often be found playing in tournaments on the site. The chance to play against a bona fide star of the game is enough to ensure that Ultimate Bet poker remains among the elite of on-line poker sites. Adam Levy, Tiffany Michelle, Liv Boeree and Brandon Cantu are just some of the other professionals who make up Team UB.

Key Features:

Attracts players from all over the world
Comprehensive range of poker games
Top promotions and bonuses Regular tournaments
Team UB (particularly Phil Hellmuth and Liv Boeree)
Fast and efficient game play
Safe and secure banking

Download Paradisepoker now

Getting started at Paradise Poker simply involves downloading the free client software and registering an account, which is also free. One of the main reasons why many players choose Paradise Poker over other on-line providers is that the site boasts 24 hour poker action for 365 days a year. Indeed, there is usually a good number of users playing poker on the site at any given time, so new players are introduced to an environment that is typically very active. Furthermore, Paradise Poker was established back in 1999, which in Internet years is effectively an eternity ago, so the site has had plenty of time in which to develop a comprehensive service for its loyal members.

Security is also a key feature of Paradise Poker and, unlike some of its major rivals who adopt industry standard technology, the site incorporates the same encryption algorithms used by all major banks. In addition to round the clock customer support and detailed privacy and fair play policies, Paradise Poker is also able to guarantee all winnings because it claims to operate a segregated reserve account that holds 100% of all player balances. Therefore, in the event of another global economic meltdown players will at very least be able to withdraw their funds from Paradise Poker, which is excellent news for the 2 million or so customers who play on the site.

In terms of available games, Paradise Poker offers pretty much everything from Texas Hold’em, Omaha (Hi-Lo), 5 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud to 5 Card Draw and a reduced 7-A version of 5 Card Draw. In other words, poker players will be spoilt for choice when it comes to dabbling in games other than Hold’em and Omaha, which are by far the most popular on the site. Other points of interest include a top quality graphical interface, real time statistics on game play, player notes and advanced hand history, whilst monies can be withdrawn from and deposited into a number of banks internationally in addition to Visa, MasterCard, Moneybookers, Paysafe, Neteller and other payment systems.

Paradise Poker also offers a huge incentive for new players, as each distinct member receives a $100 bonus simply for signing up! Furthermore, new players will be eligible to enter daily free tournaments that give away thousands of dollars in cash prizes, whilst there are Frequent Player Points (FPP) to accrue. Other promotions include the Champions League and Poker Ladder, Monday Night TakeDown and Paradise Rush.

Key Features:

Supports all major poker games
Reserve account guarantees payouts
Large community of players
Fast and efficient gaming software
$100 registration bonus
Regular tournaments
Secure service with efficient banking facilities

Play at PKR Now

The Internet marked something of a revolution in the game of poker as players throughout the world were given the chance to play for real cash pots from the comfort of their own homes. However, on-line poker lacked that special ingredient found in ‘real life’ poker, which enables players to hustle their opponents in the flesh. Indeed, the tell – a twitch, smirk, shuffle or whatever else may give clues as to a player’s hand – was mostly hidden in on-line poker, which had a distinctly impersonal feel to it. The arrival of PKR.com changed the entire nature of poker yet again, as players were introduced to a world in which avatars (graphical representations) of their on-line opponents could now be seen during game play. Thus, PKR.com established a degree of realism and increased entertainment in on-line poker that had previously been lacking.

Upon loading the PKR.com homepage, it is clear that style is of paramount importance – in fact, a short introduction is provided in the form of a movie, which depicts the highly detailed animation that occurs during game play. Currently set against a black background and comprising cool turquoise, white and red icons, text and navigation controls, the PKR.com website is primarily straightforward and easy to use. Indeed, it is obvious to first time users of the site that game play at PKR.com operates using a software client, which must be downloaded and installed. Setting up the software and registering a user account is free of charge.

In terms of visual experience, PKR.com is unrivalled in offering realistic 3-D game play that depicts highly detailed avatars, which the players are free to customise unless they are intentionally designed to reflect other real or fictional characters. The appearance of avatars and their ability to interact in ways determined by the users – a player can control whether his or her avatar claps their hands, encourages an opponent to call a bet or cries over a bad beat – is at the heart of the PKR.com experience. Furthermore, by enabling players to control a table’s camera angle, there are plenty of distractions to take in when not playing a hand. In fact, players can choose between dynamic, first person, orbit, overview, points of the compass (four fixed cameras) and multi-table views.

With so many visual treats to absorb at PKR.com, it can be easy to overlook the actual game play. In this respect, the PKR.com software offers the traditional poker offerings of Texas Hold’em and Omaha, in addition to various mini-games including Blackjack, Casino Hold’em, Mini Roulette and Video Poker. In short, PKR.com aims to create a realistic casino and poker experience for its players, so its detailed 3-D world is home to some truly spectacular settings. Furthermore, there are plenty of bonuses and promotions available at PKR.com including the obligatory first time deposit bonus, which rewards new players who deposit between $10 and $800 with a 100% bonus. Tournaments are also operated on a regular basis (every 5 or 10 minutes, in fact) and include large freeroll and end of month mega tournaments.

Key Features:

Highly detailed 3-D environment
Fully customisable avatars
Immense on-line interactivity
Multiple table views and camera angles
Unique ‘emote’ software for controlling facial expressions Regular tournaments A number of mini-games 100% Deposit bonus up to $800 Frequent monthly promotions Fast and efficient banking Safe and secure game play

Pacific Poker 888 is rapidly establishing itself as one of the leading providers of on-line poker. In addition to providing a range of traditional and less conventional variations of poker, the site prides itself on offering a comprehensive service to its customers. Indeed, Pacific aims to nurture the skill levels of its players by providing them with the opportunities to learn the game in more depth. Of course, fish (new poker players who appear to play the game randomly and badly) are a staple item on the menu for many advanced and experienced poker players but, generally speaking, the better the skill level of a pool of players the better the gaming experience. At Pacific, there does appear to be a large proportion of players who know what they are doing, so it would seem that its On-line Poker School is churning out some decent players.

The Pacific Poker 888 website is available in nine languages (English, German, Italian, Swedish, Spanish, Danish, French, Dutch and Portuguese) and features a simple, user-friendly design that currently incorporates a stylish black and green background. As with other major gaming providers, Pacific Poker 888 offers a software client that can be downloaded and installed onto to the PC. However, those players who own a Mac or have access to shared computers can play poker on the website, without the need to download additional software. Whilst this instant play option is immensely useful, it is advisable to download the software client where possible in order to enjoy a comprehensive gaming experience.

As mentioned above, Pacific Poker 888 is keen on improving the skill level of its players. The site’s superb On-line Poker School is perfect for new players learning the ropes and is also useful for experienced players. In fact, the Poker School educates players of all levels, so even the oldest of dogs can learn a new trick or two. Popular lessons taught in the On-line Poker School include a Texas Hold’em playing guide, strategy tips for starters and how players can better understand their own game. As an added bonus for new players, Pacific Poker 888 offers a Practice Play Account, which is credited with $1,000 in Practice Play Money and enables players to hone their skills without fear of losing real cash – this is an exceptional tool for beginners and one that has won Pacific Poker 888 many new members.

In respect to bonuses and promotions, Pacific Poker 888 is up there with its main competitors. Indeed, the site’s welcome bonus, whilst structured in a way that may confuse some new players, offers plenty of advantages over rival poker providers. Offering a 100% welcome bonus of up to $400, Pacific Poker 888 goes that little bit further in that it provides 25% of the welcome bonus up front before the new member has even played a single hand of poker! The remaining 75% is classed as pending until the new member accumulates enough bonus points, which can be accrued in normal cash games and tournaments. Other promotions available on the site include the Player of the Month challenge, Pacific Poker 888 rewards program and various tournament offerings such as the $145,000 guaranteed Daily Challenge Series.

Key Features:

On-line Poker School
Multi-lingual support
Top bonuses and promotions
Regular tournaments
Large community of players
User-friendly software
Fast, secure payouts

The competition began life in 1998 after the Crown Casino in Melbourne started offering poker the year before. A modest 74 entrants got involved in this first tournament with $1000 buy in and in 2001 40 entrants contributed to a $200,000 prize pool. It was 2003 that saw the event get international attention, with 122 entrants and a whopping $1.2 million prize pool up for grabs and legitimising the ‘Aussie Millions’ moniker. By 2005 things had really got global and 263 contestants from around the world gathered, each paying 10 thousand Australian dollars for the privilege of entry, competing for a total of over $2.5 million. Things grew even more in 2006 with 418 entrants to the Aussie Millions, including top pros like Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu, all playing their hardest to win over $4 million in prize money. 2007 saw even more growth, with 747 registered entrants and a corresponding prize pool of $7 million, with the winner netting a massive $1.5 million.

Ivey making a move in the aussie millions:

2008 was again a record year for the Aussie Millions championship, with 780 players signing on and paying their money, with the winner hailing all the way from Russia and taking $1.6 million back to his chilly homeland.

Unlike similar large tournaments, Aussie Millions kicks off with eight-handed tables in their Hold ‘em arena and sticks with this number until the players have been whittled down to just 36. At that point tables of 6 are enforced, whereas in most other tournaments tables of 9 are used from the offset.

The tournament isn’t just about big prizes, it’s also got a few other tricks up its sleeve. The most exciting event on offer is the $100,000 challenge which understandably requires players to stump up the tenth of a million to buy their way in. There’s a time limit of 30 seconds in which you can deal with your hand, so things are kept at a lightening pace throughout and only the richest and best players in the world can realistically make any money from this game. However, interest is continually rising even in this high risk portion of the tournament, with entrant numbers increasing from 10 in its opening year of 2006 to 25 by the time the tournament took place in 2008.

The poker championship started on a small scale and early winners were exclusively from Australia itself, but as international interest grew the crown has been taken by a foreigner on four occasions since the first tournament. However, 2009 saw the big prize go to native Australian Stewart Scott who won the maximum amount of $2 million dollars. This is despite the maximum prize pool being slightly lower than in previous years at a still dizzying $6.8 million.

Playing at Titan Poker could not be more simple, as an instant play flash version, which merely requires the use of a standard Internet browser, is supported on the site. This marginally scaled down version of the feature game, which requires a free software client to be downloaded and installed, is of particular interest to those who play from a shared computer. The software client does provide for a comprehensive gaming experience, however. In any case, the gaming experience provided by Titan Poker is as good as any found on-line and is, generally speaking, fast, efficient and easy to use. Games provided by Titan Poker include everyone’s favourite, Texas Hold’em, in addition to Omaha (Hi-Lo), 5 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud, Blackjack and related casino games.

As with other major poker sites, Titan Poker offers a number of exciting bonuses and promotions. Indeed, the site boasts an attractive welcome bonus of 50% (up to $200) for new players who make their first deposit, which gives newbie members a greater chance of early success. Titan Poker also boasts the world’s most rewarding on-line poker VIP club, which essentially enables members to accumulate points through standard game play that can be cashed in at any time. Furthermore, the site features the superb International Team Poker League (ITPL) 2009, which allows each player to represent his or her country for the chance to win $6,000 prize packages, Omaholics 2009, which is essentially for Omaha fans who want a chance to win from a cash pool of $140,000, Sunday night $250,000 guaranteed prizes and the Monthly Million, which will be staged over September and October 2009 with $1,000,000 up for grabs!

In addition to a number of other promotions, Titan Poker also provides plenty of regular tournaments. The Titan Double, Irish Winter Festival, Fort Knox ($50,000), Rio ($25,000), Maui ($15,000) and Dirty Dozen Jackpots are among those tournaments featured in 2009. More importantly, the European Championship of Online Poker V (ECOOP V) begins in November 2009 and Titan Poker is involved in the thick of the action to help its members win from the massive $4,550,000 guaranteed jackpot. Likewise, Titan Poker will also provide weekly super satellites to the Eurocity Poker Tour (ECPT) Malta 2009, which also takes place during November. In short, Titan Poker has created a diverse, entertaining, safe and secure gaming environment for poker players from all over Europe and the site boasts some of the largest jackpots found anywhere on-line.

Key Features:

Instant play (flash) and classic play (software download) options
Large European community of players
Regular tournaments
Attractive sign up bonus
Monthly promotions
No need to use credit card
Fast and secure payouts

The Bodog Poker software has a good reputation for being fast and smooth. Importantly it is also highly customisable, so you can set it up to suit the way you play the game. You can take notes on all your opponents during play and there are a good range of statistics viewable on both individual tables (such as viewed-flop percentage and average pot size) and yourself, so you can analyse your play. The software allows you to play up to four tables at once, which will be enough for most, but perhaps not everyone. The graphics are nice and most notable is the lack of table, with play appearing to take place on a carpet. You may like this, you may not. Overall the software is reliable and efficient with regular upgrades to keep players happy. It is customisable enough such that everyone will be able to tailor it to their individual requirements and tastes.

Bodog offers a good selection of promotions including refer a friend bonuses, sign-up bonuses and a loyalty points scheme. The current sign-up bonus is a 110% deposit match and there is also a 100% reload bonus (up to $500) if you reload your account every month. There are also extra bad-beat and Royal Flush bonuses, if you are ever unlucky or lucky enough to get one. There are plenty of good value freeroll tournaments as well as points buy-in tournaments which you can buy into with your accumulated loyalty points. If you are good enough to come top of the weekly leader board then you get the chance to play a Bodog professional of your choice, from Jean-Robert Ballande, Evelyn Ng, Justin Bonomo, or David Williams, in a heads-up match for $1000. Other great prizes are available in special tournaments. Bodog is particularly well-known for its extremely popular $100 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed tournament, which takes place every Sunday.

As far as support and security is concerned, the email and 24/7 phone service is quick and friendly. The security of Bodog, with its long-established sports-book and casino in addition to poker, is very good and it is certainly a reliable and financially secure company. The rake is around the industry average at 5%, although there is a no-flop no-rake policy, so any hands that don’t see a flop are rake-free.

Key facts:
Soft players.
Smooth and customisable software.
Large overlay tournaments.
Chance to play the pros.
Accepts US players.
Up to 4 tables at once.
110% sign-up bonus.
100% reload bonus.
Games available: Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo and Five-Card Stud.

Bwin Poker was founded in 1999 and has since established itself as one of the leading providers of on-line poker. In respect to Bwin Poker’s attractive homepage, the smooth and cleanly cut design features a dark background with white and yellow text to highlight information, important notices and navigation controls. There is clearly an emphasis on the site’s simplicity and ease of use, as users can sign up or log in without much effort. Furthermore, Bwin Poker is designed for a large demographic of players and caters to various technological specifications by providing instant play (browser only) and mobile phone services in addition to its standard downloadable software client. Moreover, the site offers a downloadable Mac OS X client for those players who are not using a Windows PC.

Bwin Poker offers traditional Texas Hold’em, Omaha (Hi-Lo), Stud (Hi-Lo) and Draw games, which, when using the downloadable software, are played on visually attractive and highly detailed tables. Whilst the site does not offer the same level or quality of graphics as, say, the 3-D PKR.com provides, it is nonetheless of a very high standard. In fact, the resizeable poker tables can be easily moved around a desktop, which is particularly useful as it allows for an uncomplicated multi-table experience. Indeed, Bwin Poker is by no means an aesthetically desolate poker service but its focus is clearly trained on providing an efficient, secure and information rich gaming experience.

Other features of the Bwin Poker client that are worth noting include the ability for players to select direct seating. A common annoyance of poker clients is that it can be tiresome to find an available seat easily. Indeed, typical poker software will display scores of tables to users with information on how many people are playing, what the average pot sizes are and how many available seats are left, but it is not until entering the table that the user can check to make sure – in many cases the available seats are gone upon entering the table. Therefore, Bwin Poker’s direct seating feature allows players to sit down on an available seat by simply browsing the preview displays for each table, so there is no need to load each table individually before joining it.

The Bwin Poker client also features an enhanced content panel, which shows a chat field, promotional information and up-to-date graphic representations of action on the table, which helps multi-table players keep track of game play. In addition to high security and generally efficient game play, Bwin Poker provides a range of promotions and events. At the time of writing, the site is running its Big Bounty and Magic Moments of Poker promotions alongside Champion Chip, which is Bwin Poker’s flagship event that offers a winner’s medal and $250,000 in guaranteed prize money. Furthermore, Bwin Poker is currently providing entries into the Grand Series of Poker (GSOP) III, which has a guaranteed prize pool of more than £3,000,000! Additionally, there are hourly tournaments available on the site, ranging from freerolls and satellites to main events with huge cash prizes.

Key Features:

Instant play
PC and Mac downloadable software clients
Mobile phone client
Poker school
Regular featured and sit & go tournaments
Regular promotions and bonuses
Secure, user-friendly interface
Fast and efficient payout structure

Jamie Gold – ranked number one in terms of poker winnings worldwide, Jamie lives up to his last name. What makes him different from other players is not just his cool demeanour under pressure, but also his lively and animated style of play which makes him interesting to watch as well as prodigiously wealthy. Over $12 million sits in this chap’s bank account.
Phil Hellmuth – With a poker career spanning 21 years and a massive 11 World Series of Poker bracelets to his name, 3 of which he won in a single year, Hellmuth is a record breaker and a real character of the poker scene. He likes to brow-beat his opponents and throw them off guard with a little bit of off centre behaviour, but with nearly $9 million in winnings taken over the years and a wealth of other income streams he’s become famous globally.
Daniel Negreanu – Like many top poker players he went to college but dropped out before graduating to take up a career in poker. This involved setting up camp in Las Vegas and proceeding to rake it in around the world. On top of his poker playing Daniel also mentors up and coming players and writes articles about the art of poker.
Joe Hachem – When Joe won the Worth Series of Poker in 2005, netting a cool 7.5 million US dollars, he had to wade through 5618 contenders in order to achieve the prize. He only started playing poker when he suffered from an illness that prevented him from working and broke himself in via the world of online poker. His natural ability eventually led him to the tournament that would make his fortune.
Scotty Nguyen – Born in Vietnam but a US citizen since his teens, Scotty cut his teeth in gambling by taking part in poker games in California. The resultant obsession got him kicked out of high school and he ended up working as a croupier where he learnt the tricks that would make him a great poker player. His flamboyant personality and winning charm make him a good opponent to face, even as he takes you to the cleaners.
Allen Cunningham – Another college dropout who chose poker over completing his education, to the tune of nearly $10 million in winnings after a decade at the tables. Representing part of the talented brat pack redefining poker playing for the new generation, you can find Allen, like many of the top players in the world, hanging out in Las Vegas.
Phil Ivey – Another young player who has already created a niche right at the top of the pile with his massive wins that made him a multimillionaire well before his 30th birthday. He’d already strolled through 3 World Series of Poker championships by the age of 23 and milked a massive $16.6 million from bizarre billionaire and poker enthusiast Andy Beal in 2004 when Beal challenged Ivey and a group of pros.