The latest edition of DonkDown Radio’s hit series “The Cold Call Show” Adam Schoenfeld joins Bryan Micon in studio and Tri Nguyen is our special guest.  Tri drops made knowledge on our faces about real pokers.  Motherfuckin’ range and shit.  It was awesome.  We play some tilt-Thanksgiving voicemails from scammer Michael Clemente, who’s phone number is 954-871-7216

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This week the Rabbit Hunt heads off to Macau (well… they talk about it anyway), discussing the latest high stakes and tournament action to hit Asia. They also discuss a new WSOP-C stop and a settlement in the infamous Hollywood home game lawsuit.

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It was the other Black Friday … I mean Cyber-Monday … er, Merry Christmas / Happy Hannukah! Whatever the day, here’s Pokerati’s guide to some rather unique poker player shopping specials that we are pretty sure are still valid … though the last readily available but still legally questionable space chips will probably be in the hands of an Asian whale before the end of the day.

CHIP UP: Plaque Attack

American players don’t only miss out on online play, but they seldom get to use the larger, squared “plaques” used for extra-high-denomination chips. But now they can play like a Euro-shark in their home games while taking their chip-shuffling skills to a new level.

Use promo code “pokeratigo” at Outplay Poker for a discount on your purchase.

RUN-GOOD: The Micros, Clothiers

It’s becoming common knowledge that players showing up to tournaments big and small have been going deep while dressed as their favorite online poker cartoon character. Just recently poker media yeoman Jay Newnum took down a double-stack turbo tournament at the Commerce Hold’em Series, and then followed that up by winning a table share of the progressive bad beat jackpot Live at The Bike (seat 6) … while wearing his now-lucky shirt. New Micros designs are a sure-hit with the kids, too!

Get yours from The Micros Online Store.

WTF? Burmese Wooly Space Chips

Made from slices of solid meteorite that fell to Earth some 800,000 WSOP’s ago, these poker chips are so hot they’re illegal in the US, and expected to fetch HK$1 million at auction later today. (No prob with the gold, diamonds, or emeralds that encircle each chip, but because the rubies come from Burma, importing the set would be a crime.) The case is hand-stitched Swedish calf skin with reindeer suede lining and 18K white gold hinges and locks. But even more outrageous, included is a set of ivory dice made from … we shit you not … wooly mammoth tusks. Apparently a species can’t be endangered when it’s already extinct — but auctioneers do warn that some customs agents in some countries might not have Googled around enough to realize that prehistoric pachyderm is real, and all the rage.

More details at JamesList about the auction at Christie’s later today.

SELL-OFF: Full Tilt Swag

If diamond-crusted Kryptonite tournament chips are a bit out of your range, head over to eBay for what may or may not become collectible memorabilia from a defunct poker site. For sale are plenty of poker chips, a steel watch ($1.01 minimum bid, $3.99 to buy-it-now), a black velour bathrobe (new, never worn), travel mugs, keychain bottle openers and more. Whether it’s general distaste for FTP or out-of-work red pros trying to scratch up some cash, a lot of great junk promotional gear branded with the ubiquitous red triangle of Full Tilt Poker is on eBay these days at bargain-basement prices.

Get the most Full Tilt stock you can at eBay.

Annie Duke is offering her fans a taste of high-stakes professional poker with a fantasy camp connected to the upcoming Epic Poker event at the Palms Casino Resort on December 10. More than just the usual boot camp, this package includes hands-on training and entry into an Epic Super Satellite. Attendees also get a signed copy of her book, Decide to Play Great Poker, two nights at the Palms (with buffet) and sundry Epic Poker gear, including a hoodie and hat, none of which, by the way, is up for sale yet on Ebay.

Escape for a poker weekend with Annie Duke; better than half price with Living Social.

Oh, almost forgot to tell you … two Pokerati Game players are/were bounties in this weekend’s Epic Poker Pro-Am satellites. Both have far more accomplishments to their Hendon Mob cred than just playing 1/2 NLH/PLO with me, obv … but still, happy to declare that this is plausibly proof that playing in the Pokerati Game at the Palms is key to satellite success.

Kathy played yesterday, and Stacey takes her seat in just a couple hours — so get to the game @PalmsPokerRm ASAP! Today’s event is a $100 NLH with $50 rebuys. More Epic satellite details here.

Check it out. This story in PokerListings is probably a bit too kind without any LOLs. But hey, as a guy who’s key flaw in his plan to offer Pokeratizens the best low-stakes action in Vegas was not learning how to fold more often pre-flop, I’ll take the love!

While it is true that nowhere in Vegas could you “run it twice” in a 1/2 game before Pokerati NLH/PLO came to town, now plenty of poker rooms hardly blink when two or more players get it all-in and want to reduce variance by seeing more than one river … just like they used to do it on High Stakes Poker.

So crap now the secret of the Pokerati Game’s success is out:

• Offer games people want to play, at stakes they’re comfortable playing
• Give preference to poker rooms with skillful, supportive staff (and maybe a really big sign)
• Treat low-stakes players no differently than high rollers (h/t Benny Binion)
• Suck out often to keep the nits away

That’s pretty much all it takes to host a game that attracts tourists and locals alike. And now that I can expect casinos everywhere to be spreading Pokerati-style live action, I suppose my pioneering days are over and I can go back to being just another poor-man’s Jean-Robert Bellande.

This week, my continent graciously released a delegation of Frenchman into your capitol. Had they to craned their necks around for a look back across the tumbling expanse of ocean, they might have seen a fallen hero re-emerging, nations sparring on the felt, and one of their countrymen getting kicked in the head. Stay tuned for this and not much more in the Wider World of Poker.

Ivey is Back

Glad to see you’re still with us. We start with the sneakiest news of the week. After seven months spent hiding under a craps table, Phil Ivey quietly arrived in Macau for the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. An event conveniently located 8,000 miles from Ivey’s Room. At time of going to press, Phil held a middling chip stack and had not been attacked by any angry Full Tilt customers. [PokerNews]

IFP Showcase National Talent

Most sensible people will tell you that poker is a game of skill and there are plenty of groups dedicated to propagating that opinion, but they don’t usually organize major poker tournaments. That’s the stratagem of the International Federation of Poker, who this past week curated both the Nations Cup and IFP World Championships. Germany took the plaudits in the team competition, while Spain’s Raul Mestre defeated the enchanting Victoria Coren for the overall title. [IFP]

Online Grinders Fight for Glory

And finally, the bit with the face-kicking in it. Dutchman Lex Veldhuis and French personage Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier got together over the weekend for some friendly violence. It’s been two years since the duo challenged each other to a kickboxing contest and despite 24 months of build up, the brawl lasted only two rounds. A couple of kicks to ElkY’s bleached hair had him seeing pokerstars. [Wicked Chops]

I don’t know if you caught my hilarious joke in that last sentence. If you didn’t, why not reread the entire article? I recommend taking notes. While you study, I’ll be out hunting news, trying to avoid any stray kicks to the face. If I still have a face this time next week, I’ll see you then.

On this week's show, Mark and Matt take a look at the GBT/DOJ deal that shows progress is being made on the Full Tilt front. Then, in a lengthy interview, they sit down with Annie Duke to discuss the Epic Poker League, including the troubles their Standards and Conduct Committee are facing.

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If you had looked into the London sky last night, you might have seen Barry Greenstein rotating slowly through the air like a hairy balloon. Which should have come as no surprise, were you standing at the base of the London Eye. Otherwise – I hope you enjoyed your drugs.

Barry, Vanessa Selbst, Antonio Esfandiari, Matt Matros, Ali Eslami, Jennifer ‘Jennicide’ Leigh, and Isaac Haxton were representing the U.S.A. in the Nations Cup. A duplicate poker tournament arranged by the International Federation of Poker, as part of the UK Festival of Mind Sports.

The action continues tonight inside the grand County Hall, which is directly behind where I was standing when I took that photo. Sadly, the UK team are already out of the running, but at least they have a short journey home.

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing concerning online poker legislation is getting underway in Washington DC:

OVERSIGHT HEARING on the Future of Internet Gaming:
What’s at Stake for Tribes?
Thursday, November 17 2011, 2:15PM
Senate Dirksen Buldg SD-628

To follow along:

Live Webcast here. And top-quality live tweeting from @PokerScar, @CKrafcik, and @CasinoCityVin.

@PPAPoker too.

It’s November, and the online poker political buzz seems ready to kick into high gear … we’ve got the Senate Indian Affairs Committee taking on the issue today (with Al D’Amato testifying on behalf of poker players from the MoneyMaker-Duhamel era) … and the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade revisiting the issue tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, the New York Post is reporting that “the smart money is betting Washington will legalize online poker” … with the suggestion that Harry Reid has his own version of the Barton Bill forthcoming. That’s hardly a surprise around here … but what could be something of a WTF, if it turns out to be true, are reportable rumors that Jon Kyl (R-AZ) will likely be a co-sponsor.

Kyl, of course, is one of the original architects of the UIGEA who will be retiring at the end of the current Congressional session. Ahh, it’s all starting to make a little sense now … can you see the path through Congress starting to emerge?

More…

In an awesome show we have Karina Jett, Adam Schoenfeld, and me, Micon on the show as hosts.  We talk to the Weisner about her recent NYC home invasion / knife threatening experience.  Menachem gives us his NFL picks for week 11, and we fail to get in touch with Neverheeb for an update.  Frankie O’Dell tells us some oldschool stories and Gank tells us why he is occupying Las Vegas.

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With the World Series lumbering off into the distance, it’s back to the grind for the world of poker; wider parts included. The twin-tailed dragon of news has been belching forth stories about big government and big tournaments this week, so follow me as I slay the beast with my sword of journalism and craft lustrous armour made from unblemished facts*.

Premier League Poker is a Mixed Bag

If you were to pop into the Playboy Club in London tonight, you would have the ironclad excuse of being on the look out for some high class poker. The PartyPoker.com Premiere League Poker Mixed Game Championship is both verbose and underway. Tony G, Mike Sexton, Jennifer Tilly, and a handful of other semi-famous pros are battling through a series of televised heats for a shot at $100k. [WPT Mag]

Euro Honchos Discuss Online Gambling

Elected representatives of the various EU states gathered in Brussels this week to debate the issue of online gambling. During a session of the European Parliament, politicians discussed the mish mash of different online gambling laws that exist across the continent. MEPs are keen to allow member countries to maintain their own rules, but issued support for a legislative framework that would require new gambling regulations to adhere to agreed standards. [European Parliament]

Bingo Players Lose Their Identity

With evil nerds lurking around every corner waiting to leap out and hack you, the importance of data protection is at an all time high. There’s not much a business can do, however, if the person stealing the information already works for them. That’s exactly what happened at Foxy Bingo, where employee Marc Ben-Ezra was caught selling the details of 65,000. To the outrage of the UK’s Information Commissioner, Ben-Ezra has so far been hit with no more than a £2,000 fine. [E Week Europe]

The Nations Cup is London Bound

Provided they aren’t in middle of a massive downswing, any pro will tell you that poker is a game of skill. That’s also the opinion of the London Mind Sports Festivals, who have allied with the International Federation of Poker to present the Nations Cup. Twelve different countries have entered teams (as have facebook game company Zynga, for some reason). To enhance the skill factor, teams will be play duplicate poker while sat inside the London Eye – a giant sightseeing Ferris wheel on the bank of the Thames. [CardPlayer]

I have to get back to forging shields and bothering giants now, but I’ll be sure to keep an eye on the “real world” while I’m at it. If there’s no column next week, assume that I’ve fallen inside my computer. Send Jeff Bridges.

*Your humble correspondent might have been playing a little too much Skyrim this week.

Mark and Matt are back to a normal news week on Rabbit Hunt, with stories ranging from Full Tilt's latest actions with the DOJ, Nevada looking to license online poker sites, Congress starting up more hearings, and how the IRS made more money than the 4th place finisher in the WSOP this year.

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I have great news to share with everyone. There will be TWO hearings on the online poker issue this week!

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding a hearing to examine the impact of Internet gaming regulation on Indian tribes on Thursday, November 17th at 2:15 PM ET. PPA Chairman former Sen. D’Amato will testify for PPA, to be accompanied by Executive Director John Pappas.

The Senate committee hearing is excellent news for the poker community, as this is not the type of hearing where the poker community would necessarily expect to be invited to provide testimony. The invitation was due both to Sen. D’Amato’s esteemed background and to the activism of all of us in the poker community. Getting a hearing scheduled prior to the Thanksgiving recess was an accomplishment as well. For more, please click here to read PPA’s statement on the issue of tribal online poker, and please click here for details on this important hearing.

Additionally, the U.S. House Subcommittee for Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold another hearing on Internet gaming on Friday, November 18th at 9 AM ET. Please click here for more on this important hearing, and please click here to read PPA’s memo to the subcommittee regarding bot detection technology, how sites handle Internet service disruptions, and discussion of other issues important to the poker community.

These hearings are hard evidence of the great work the poker community has been doing to ensure lawmakers hear from us. I thank everyone for taking the steps necessary to ensure our elected representatives understand that we poker enthusiasts will not back down and will not simply go away!

Thank you again for your continued support!

If you just saw it on the street, you might not know it had anything to do with poker. But indeed, according to 2+2 NVG, this fine Nevada license plate is attached to nearly $100k worth of Beamer, a 650i, that Ben Lamb recently purchased:

Would be much cooler if the “1″ represented a bracelet, and he got a new car for every one he won. But oh well, sometimes third place and $4 million will have to do.

ALT HED: Germans Win Again

Oh, and almost forgot to post … here’s Pauly and I on scene doing some Tao of Pokerati during the moment from the final 3 with him that we’ll all remember:

Tao of Pokerati: First Hand Fireworks FTW? by Pokerati