Some of the main hubs of poker are also the most sexualized cities in the United States, name New Orleans and then later Las Vegas. These cities are absolutely oozing with sex, and although this paper is not trying to make a moralistic argument decrying these wild cities’ lifestyles, much of these images have stuck to the game of poker itself. Perhaps this phenomenon would not be so bad if it played out evenly between the two sexes, but all one sees is the portrayal of partially disrobed women advertising for poker sites. One only needs to log onto the internet and search for “Women and Poker” to have a dozen women in bikinis immediately pop up on the screen.

In fact, yours truly actually did run a search specifically for “Women and Poker”, and here are some of the surprising results. In no particular order we present 10 of the most tasteful poker sites on the web:

-Pokerium Online Poker Room and Casino: The front page of this website is a model of good taste and restraint. Many of the searches yielded interesting results, but this website was head and shoulders ahead. Upon opening the home page one finds an illustration of a scantily clad brown-haired vixen with a flower in her hair(no real women were harmed during the production of this design). The interesting part of this drawing is that she is placed inside of a huge Ace of Clubs. In the middle of the card, where the woman is located, lies a very large club, and the stem of said club just happens to terminate in the center of the woman’s crotch. Although there is a possibility that this not-so-subtle innuendo was unintentional, we would not bet on it.

-Next on our list is the deliciously tasteful advertisement on hollywoodpoker.com for their “Babes & Bounties” tournament. To begin with, the title itself should be enough to ruffle the feathers of most women poker players. Then, the image used on the page is of a woman in a bikini top with money in the background behind her. And finally, for those players who aren’t sold by the picture in the middle, the site claims that “12 of the sexiest poker hostesses in the game” will be present at the table. It’s a good thing too, because most serious poker players refuse to play in tournaments with any less than 8 sexy poker hostesses. Finally, jus tto make sure that one can notice all the different features on the side, there is a picture of a woman on the left-hand side of the screen dressed in her rather unsupportive underwear lying down in front of a laptop with poker chips lying around her body. She is happily wearing a pair of flattering white high heeled shoes so that she can model at any moment during her poker game. A truly classy website.

-PokerWorld.com, an up and coming online card room, is another tastefully crafted website, with nothing to offend save for their new “Topless Bonus”. The “Topless Bonus: The Shape of Things to Come” seems a stretch: with this promotion they will “top up” your account with a free 20% bonus. The stingy bonus does not only fall way short of the 200% bonuses floating around on various sites, it also offends the eye. They advertise it with a small silhouette of a woman, hardly exposing anything whatsoever. Why they chose to try and correlate a 20% with topless women is a mystery, but they surely went for it.

-Not to be outdone, Jungle Poker has its own female spokeswoman: none other than the lovely Cheynelle Fraser, a bartender/model who is now the official face of Jungle Poker. Why a poker site would need a sizzling hot model as a spokeswoman is a grand mystery. We suspect it is because the photos of Cheynelle – which include several excellent cleavage shots – surely have everything to do with poker and nothing with selling sexuality. Although the site may be using the good looks of beautiful Cheynelle to help promote their site, they are not just about T & A on their site: on the front page of the site they have an advertisement for their heads up Sit & Go tournaments, featuring two headshots of a man and a woman, both fully dressed, challenging each other to a card game. Hurray for equality!

-Europeans are no exception when it comes to using alluring images of the female form to help them sell their products. In a recent article published on poker.gamble.co.uk, the author writes about the upcoming Great British Poker Tour, and the centerpiece image of this article is a nude woman relaxing in a bathtub full of poker chips. It’s a good thing that they posted this picture, because nothing says Great British Poker Tour better than a woman bathing nude in poker chips.

-The most morbid result found during the search came from best-poker-rakeback.net on their rakeback advertisement, which features a frightening illustration of zombie woman in a corset, fishnet stockings, heels, and a short skirt using a rake to gather up some playing cards that must have fallen off a tree. Although the idea of having somebody literally raking poker cards is cute, we’re not sure about the need for a sexy undead woman.

-Gambling blog Oddjack paid homage to the women of poker in an article titled “Top 10 Sexiest Women of Poker”. This enlightening four part series takes the readers through their list of what they view as the sexiest women in the poker world. Just to give a small taste of their depictions of these women, we will go over the first three women they talk about. Each woman has a picture with a caption beneath it. At number ten on their list is Courtney Friel, a television hostess for the world poker tour. The picture they have of her is in a lacy tank top: fair enough. She’s obviously OK with the picture considering she modeled for it. Underneath the picure is a caption that says “Stop teasing us Courtney, tear those laces off!”

The next featured profile is that of Evelyn Ng. Underneath her picture they put a quote that says, “Evelyn sure is one sweet ride…” Sadly, they did not even try to be creative with this comment, the only possible connotation for this remark is a sexual one. They also remarked in her profile that she won the WPT Ladies Night event and that, “Yup, she kicked ass. Asses that belong to Annie Duke and Kathy Liebert. Asses I don’t wanna see anytime soon. No matter how much they pay me to.” This hilarious joke about the physical assets of two of poker’s greatest female players was insulting to say the least.

At number 8 on their list is none other than Lily Elviro. This strong poker player who, besides being a strong poker player, is physically well endowed as well. The picture which they used for her was taken during a poker tournament she played in and shows her at the table holding a pair of cards. She is leaning forward a little showing a fair portion of her not so small breasts. Unable to resist, the comment beneath the photo says, “It’s hard for Lily to always carry a heavy set of puppies like that.” If it wasn’t for such brilliant writing most of us would completely miss out on such hard to miss features.

-Next on our list is an article written by Toby Bochan on her poker blog. This photo-article, featured on about.com, is titled “The hottest women of poker”, and it is essentially an amateur photo gallery of professional femal poker players. The women featured in this article are Evelyn Ng, Shannon Elizabeth, Clonie Gowen, Jennifer Tilly, Liz Lieu, Vanessa Rousso, Isabelle Mercier, Cyndy Violette, Jennifer Harman, Annie Duke, Kristy Gazes, Chantel McNutty, and Jennefer “Jennicide” Leigh. Perhaps the most disturbing part about this gallery is not that these women have their pictures posted, but that none of the pictures were studio pictures. They all seem like photos that were taken in a clandestine manner on a digital camera. Does this strike anybody as creepy?

-Coming last on our list is none other than Full Tilt Poker, who recently issued a challenge between Paris Hilton and Clonie Gowen. Their hearts were definitely in the right place: they were to host a heads-up challenge between the two women and the winner would take the $100,000 prize and donate it to the charity of her choice. This sounds good, so why does this make our trash list? Well, if you go to the website, the page they created for this challenge has these two women stacked up next to each other. The title for their statistics is called their “Sexy Stats”, and just to make sure that the best poker player wins, they even added a “Who is sexier?” poll at the bottom of the page.

Thus concludes our trashy website list (NEED TO THINK OF A WAY TO PITCH THIS ARTICLE). Part IV will conclude “Women and Poker” by addressing what the future of women and poker may hold.

Anyone who has visited an online casino will know that the casinos offer new players anything from $100 to $5000 as a “welcome bonus”. This is a great incentive and most people would jump at the chance of getting $100 to $5000 free for joining an online casino.

 

But nobody gives anything for free, so there’s always a catch. All online casinos have terms and conditions that you have to comply with to receive this free cash.

 

How many people actually read these terms and conditions thoroughly? And how many people think that if they deposit $20 they will be given $5000 free? The welcome bonus offered is most often the maximum bonus available if you deposit the maximum in to your casino account over a certain period stated by the casino. This could be two deposits or more.

 

It is most important for new and old players alike to read terms and conditions in online gaming sites to get the most out of them and to be clear on the rules of playing in such sites. Most online casinos and other online gambling sites are not trying to con you but tell you of the best possible way to get the most from playing in their casino or poker sites. They are not trying to pull the wool over your eyes but to open them wider. There are also some bad apples of course, but most are legit.

 

An Internet casino that offers you up to $100 free will usually expect you to deposit $100 to get the $100 free. Deposit $20 and get $20 free, $30 to get $30 free bonus, etc. What about casinos that offer $3000 free as a welcome bonus? You would not expect to deposit $3000 to get $3000 free or would you? These type of welcome bonuses are usually over several weeks. A welcome bonus is not just your 1st deposit. Online casinos want you to stay at their casino so they offer you extras to stay and repay your loyalty with extra bonuses.

 

For example, Casino Tropez currently offers new players $3000 as a welcome bonus. Great! This is over a 10 week period and only if you deposit the maximum required to entitle you to it. This is not a scam or anything to distrust the casino, just a marketing strategy whereby they outline how to get the most free bonus cash out of the casino.

 

Casinos that offer a no deposit bonus to try their casino will get many new players but will they ever return and deposit? Most online casinos offer players the chance to play for free to test their product before you decide to deposit. The welcome bonus is to keep the players happy and to repay their loyalty by offering bonuses over several weeks. This keeps players in the casino which is what they want.

 

Recently La Isla Casino has increased their welcome bonus to compete with the others. La Isla were offering $400 welcome bonus over 2 deposits when you deposited the maximum amount as stated on the website and they still do. The $400 welcome bonus works like this: 100% on your 1st deposit up to $250, which means that if you deposit $50 you will get 100% free cash bonus. You would receive $100 for depositing $50. The maximum you can deposit is $250 to get $250 free cash bonus. If you deposited $500 you would still only get $250 free cash bonus. The second deposit enables new players 150% on deposits up to $100 giving the player the possibility of getting $150. This enables players to get $400 free from depositing $350.

 

La Isla Casino now offers the biggest welcome bonus to date: over $/€/£6000 over a span of 10 weeks, one of the biggest online casino welcome bonuses to date. On top of this massive welcome bonus La Isla offers players a bonus on every deposit, a unique promotion. The terms of the bonus are that you have to deposit certain sums to get the bonus. The bonus structure starts at $/€/£31 through to 1001 with 41, 51, 101, 151, 201, 251, etc. Visit the promotions page for full listings. La Isla Casino is probably the best online casino for casino slots games as the bonuses are second to none.

 

If you are searching for the best welcome bonus or any other bonuses from casinos then we strongly suggest that you read the terms and conditions of the bonuses before you jump in to claim it as large flashing numbers do not always mean the best deals. Fortunately at La Isla Casino the big flashing numbers do add up to the best deal. You can read all about La Isla Casino and other top casinos at Slots Online News and discover the best online casinos plus all the latest news from various casinos and casino games.

Online poker has become one of the most popular income streams for gambling affiliates. With the popularity of online poker continuing and new poker web sites coming online everyday it makes for a very healthy gambling industry to promote as an affiliate.

The key to success with promoting online poker as an affiliate is to first do your homework. Not all poker programs are the same so you need to ensure that the one you choose to promote has everything you need to give you the very best chance of success. To accomplish this you should complete certain steps during your research that will tick certain boxes. There is not one online poker affiliate program that is going to tick all the boxes of requirements though the more positives you find in a program should mean it is a good program to join.

The first location for research is to check on the brands that the affiliate program promotes. Visit each poker room in turn and start ticking the boxes. Some of the things to look out for are the conversion and retention hooks that will attract the poker player when they first visit. For conversion we are looking at the bonuses for new players. Non-download bonuses are rare and the most common bonus is a matching 100% bonus. This means that the poker room will match the deposit up to a specific amount which is normally $600. For example if a player deposits $100 then the poker room will match this so they will now have $200 in the account to play with.

Have a look for the retention options the poker room has in place. What is going to make a player come back time and time again to play? This maybe the daily tournaments or a reward program. Each poker network will have their own tournaments and they must be available around the clock with bigger tournaments on specific days of the week. Many of the bigger affiliates programs will also promote the World Series of Poker which is a big attraction for more experienced players. Reward or loyalty programs are incentives for players who are awarded points the more times they play. These points can be cashed in or exchanged for prizes. These are examples of how a poker room can bring a player back time and time again by offering tempting bonuses and rewards.

Players will often have a look at the quality of the software the poker room uses. If the poker room has won awards then this is a really good selling point. These days players want to be entertained on state-of-the-art software that provide thrilling graphics and sound giving the player a real feeling of poker room excitement. Some other positives for the brand would be the options for multi-lingual languages, choice of currencies, security and deposit options.

Information about past winners and testimonials will go a long way to give any new player that feel good factor. Poker schools are offered by some poker rooms and this is a great way to educate the less experienced players. All poker players want to improve their game and not all players are of the same level so providing some solid advice and techniques will always increase conversions. At the end of the day it is all about creating the right atmosphere for your players. This is how you can first turn and ordinary web site visitor into an active player and make them feel special so that they come back and play on a regular basis. Players also like to interact with other players so any live chat rooms and forums will make the poker room a more sociable meeting place.

If the brands the poker affiliate program promotes pass the player conversion and retention test then we can have a closer look at the program itself. What type of commissions are on offer for the affiliate? Normally the poker affiliate program will offer a CPA (cost per acquisition) and revenue share commission. The CPA option is a once only payment and does not depend on the players you refer winning or losing. The amount you receive is normally tiered and increases the more active players you refer. This commission would normally start at $50 and rises to $300 depending the amount of players referred and the amount deposited by the player.

Revenue share is a percentage of the rake that is taken by the poker room on every game. The higher the player deposits in games the higher the rake and the commission payable to the affiliate. As you will be receiving commissions for the lifetime of the player the commission can seriously increase over time. Revenue share commissions are also tiered the same as CPA and they normally start at 25% rising to 40% or even 50% in some cases depending on the amount of active players referred.

There is also the additional webmaster commission available and this is normally a flat 5% from the income resulting from other webmasters you have referred.

The next part of research would take a look at the type of marketing materials on offer. You need more than just banners such as landing pages, html mailers, pop-ups and a range of offline marketing options. Promotional materials introduced to market new tournaments or monthly bonuses is a good sign that the program is assisting the affiliates promote anything new at the poker room.

Check that the poker affiliate stats are updated in real time and that the stats are available 24/7. Ideally you will be able to create trackers so you can use them for individual promotions. This will enable you to track the marketing results more accurately and make changes accordingly.

Find out who your affiliate manager is and if they are available to contact quickly should you need any assistance. This person is the key figure behind the scenes and the one you can contact should you need specific banners creating or some marketing advice on campaigns that you may want to start. The affiliate manager is a paid employee of the poker affiliate program and their job is to assist you with the promotion of the brands.

There are additional points to look for as part of your poker affiliate program research but the ones listed here are the most important. The more boxes the affiliate program ticks the better and will give you the best chance of success. The main thing is to enjoy your poker affiliation and hope that the poker affiliate program and you the affiliate can make a very successful team.

Poker has dominated the online gaming industry and it is a best substitute for a real poker game. There are a lot of internet poker games available for those how enjoy gambling related activities.

You have the option to play the poker game online or download gaming software and you have the choice to play at different levels. Playing at multiple levels is not possible in the real casinos. If you are a good player, you can triple your earning and bonuses. The gambling websites feature many poker rooms and you have the choice to select the best that suits your requirements.

Some of the well known online poker rooms are Cake Poker, CD Poker, Mansion Poker, Poker Star, Titan Poker and Full Tilt Poker. The internet poker sites offer exclusive free bonuses and cash prizes to all players. Choosing an internet poker room requires some research and here you will find some of the best online poker rooms that guarantee highest bonuses, cash prizes and gifts.

Titan Poker

It is one of the best poker rooms available on internet. It offers $600 sign up bonus and $50 for poker players. It arranges the lot of tournaments throughout the year. It also offers the high-value promotions, cash prizes and free rolls.

CD Poker

CD Poker is most popular online poker room offering big-jackpots and high value promotions. You have the option to play poker online or download the software. The software comes in 9 different languages.

Poker Stars

It is one of the largest poker rooms on internet. It offers a lot of tournaments for every skills level. It has a fast and reliable software that can be downloaded 24/7. Players have the option to chat with the worlds poker stars Daniel Negreanu, Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer.

Party Poker

It has a big selection of the top tier tournaments and poker games. It is also famous for hosting multiple fun events. You get the exclusive $500 deposit bonus when you sign up with the Party Poker.

Players Only

Playersonly is a fastest growing poker site offering a signup bonus up to $100. It offers a wonderful poker game that is specifically designed and developed by a team of poker players. The Playersonly is also famous for offering the games to the small-stakes players.

888. Com

It offers monthly cash freerolls up to $5K to the poker players of all types. It has been specifically designed for the Hold’em players who want frequent promotions and prizes.

Bet Fair Poker

The betfairpoker is an independent poker site that is operated by a big stock exchange of the world. The software has improved graphics and supports up to 15 tables.

It has been almost two big centuries since poker which is one of the kinds of gambling was introduced and it touched new peaks lately with the introduction of online gambling. Poker has become so popular that today we have a variety of gambling sites because of the game. Sports book was the first to be published in the Internet and this was during the 90’s. Thus online poker was not the first to enter the field of online gambling.

Micro gaming was the first kind of gambling to be introduced in the Internet and this was in the year 1994. Today it has grown to become a famous developer of gaming software.

Planet poker was the first entrant to the field of online gambling and this was introduced in the year 1998. This was followed by better and bigger gambling sites in the next few years. The rate structure of a maximum of $3 which is about 5% has been considered as the industry standard since its inception.

Currently we have Paradise poker who is leading the industry of gambling online and this was introduced in 1999. Dutch Boyd created Poker spot at about the same time is noteworthy. This was the first group to enter online gambling and they started online poker tournaments. This was a success until the group faced a problem in withdrawing the deposits of the players from their credit card partners. Players were not given their share of winnings as the group itself was not given the due funds. This consequently resulted in the closure of the Poker spot group.

There were about 700 such online gambling sites by the time Poker meted out a failure. A survey conducted in March 2001 revealed that about 800 million people had gambled their funds in the net. One year later, online casino produced its first millionaire, who received 1,594,649 dollars on 30 May, 2002.

After the misfortune that befell Poker spot, online gambling sites started using. This is known to be the system which funds the online gambling sites with huge funds. Players are freed from the trouble of using the wire transfer system or credit cards when they need to deposit in an online pokers site. The introduction of Neteller’s system had reduced frauds and improved the credibility and reliability of the industry.

The year 2001 was a welcoming year for online gambling with the2 big players, Poker Stars and Party Poker entering the field. Party Pokers became the top player in the industry after they overtook Paradise in the year 2003 with their strategic advertisements on the media

They also came up with Party Poker Million along with World Poker tour to attract people across the world and they succeeded in the US. The fascinating story of Mr. Chris Moneymaker also added to the growth of online poker gambling. It is said that moneymaker paid 40 dollars to get into the poker contest.

He became a big pot in the world’s series of pokers with his success in the tournament. He is said to have defeated 839 other people who had participated in the poker contests and was declared the winner of 2.5 million dollars. The poker tournament conducted in the year is adjudged the biggest ever held in the history of Poker’s.

Mr. Moneymaker’s success became an inspiration to many people who came forward to learn and play poker online and this led to the growth of the game in different dimension in the year 2004.

www.pokertips.org provides a lot of information about the game and also trains those who are interested. The online gambling firms made a lot of money during the year and the year saw two another entrants- Full tilt pokeralong with Nobel poker. Sportingbet acquired Paradise Poker and the business entered a success phase as the former was a listed company. It is optional for online casino to list themselves in the stock markets but it helps them acquire funds for the expansion of the business.

The UK government has passed a bill which makes internet gambling absolutely legal and contains certain regulations that makes an online poker a global phenomenon.

Some of the famous Online Gambling Sites -Poker

PlayWinningPoker.com ,

Poker Performance Psychology

Low Limit Holdem at www.lowlimitholdem.com

Poker School Online at www.pokerschoolonline.com

Ichiban Poker

Poker Pages at www.pokerpages.com

www.playwinningpoker.com

Poker Pro Association

StudStrategy

PokerStrategy.org

The Gamblers Edge at www.thegamblersedge.com

Texas Holdem Poker

Low Limit Omaha