Here's why I love poker. What's YOUR reason?

Watch the Ultimate Poker video below if you need some inspiration and share your answer with the RankingHero community! 

I'll try not to be shy and start first :)

Annie RKH love-of-poker tags: empowering, control, anticipation, thrill, addictive

I seem to be hooked on poker for many conflicting (and equally addictive) reasons but here are the top few that spring to consciousness:

The positive reason: The empowering feeling I get when I successfully exercise self-control (skill!) at the poker table ('if I can do this, I can do anything'). 

The 'dangerous' reasons: the stronger enjoyment of process & anticipation vs. reality & results; the relief of handing over all responsibility - and thrill of occasionally giving oneself up - to chance  ('anything is possible').

Are you in a a Love/Hate relationship to poker yourself? Or is it a compulsive/obsessive one :) What are YOUR reasons for getting hooked on the game?.. Thank you for sharing your own love vows to poker with your fellow Ranking Heroes!

Swedish Tax Authorities Ransack Poker Forums to Identify Winning Players, Norwegian Star Johnny Lodden Lost House Over Tax Debt

Hard times for poker pros in Scandinavia as a wide-ranging investigation in Sweden discloses findings of unpaid taxes, while Johnny Lodden wages his legal battle with tax authorities in Norway, reportedly losing his house in the process.

Skatteverket - the Swedish 'IRS' - announced that they are going after an estimated 100 million Kronor in unpaid taxes on poker winnings. The authorities have so far managed to track down about 50 Swedes by their nicknames on poker sites registered in various tax havens (EU poker players are exempt from taxes on their winnings if they play at sites holding a EU license).

Now Swedish tax authorities are investigating an estimated 300 online poker pros whose declared income differs from established winnings going as far back as 2008. In addition to information requested from the operators and tax haven authorities, the several year long investigation has a special Internet team ransacking poker sites and forums with the aim to track specific nicknames and identify the players. The findings suggest approximately SEK 250 million in winnings since 2012 and due taxes and fines amounting to 100 million kronor (about €11 million).

Meanwhile in neighboring Norway the country's biggest poker star of many years, Johnny Lodden, is engaged in a legal battle with the state. The 29-year-old father of two was reportedly forced to sell his house in order to pay 3.5 million Norwegian Kronor (more than Euro 400,000) in fines and taxes on poker winnings from 2005-2007 (a period when he claims he actually lost money).

Lodden is now  suing the state back for the same amount.  Understandably, the outcome is eagerly awaited by hundreds of Norwegian poker pros in a similar situation.

Lodden: "We have everything against us."

"We play online and we do also get to play live poker in illegal clubs. Nowadays it is really hard with the legislation and the mafia coming in and taking over some of the clubs in Norway." PokerListings interview, 2013

Both Sweden and Norway have representatives at the biggest final table in poker - the WSOP Main Event November Niners @Felix Vincent Stephensen and @Martin Jacobson. The local poker communities have an additional reason to root for their countrymen. It is their hope that they will help put poker into a more positive spotlight and possibly facilitate more favorable regulation, particularly in Norway, where poker is barely on the verge of legality.

Lodden in his latest blog of Sep. 4:

It’s great for Norway, of course, for Felix to have made the November Nine and all of the attention that will get.

We’re trying to get poker legalized here — small games are permitted, but poker still isn’t fully legal. A lot of times the papers don’t even really want to report on poker too much because of the way the game is viewed by the government as gambling. But there are so many players from Norway now, and it’s getting harder to ignore poker’s popularity.

There should be a lot of media attention for Felix, although I hope it’s positive and focuses on how skillful a player he is. There have only been a few small articles about him so far, but perhaps when we get closer to November there will be more focus on him and the final table.

Johnny Lodden: Looking Forward to the November Nine

PokerListings: Lodden: Norwegian Taxes, Mafia Bad for Poker

Swedish and Norwegian media:

Johnny Lodden saksøker staten, Skatteverket tog hans hus,Huset røyk i skattepoker

Pokervinster för 250 miljoner ska skattas, Skatteverket jagar nätpokerspelar

The British Poker Awards - Nominees for Best Live Tournament Player

What you need to know to make an informed choice when you vote for Best Live Tournament Player in the 2014 #BritishPokerAwards  presented by @Bluff Europe: the nominees ranked by earnings, by ITM finishes, and final tables.

@Chris Moorman tops the live earnings list thanks to his WPT LA Poker Classic victory, which was actually his first major title in a live tournament.

@Simon Deadman and @Thomas Hall (GB)  share the first place with as many as 12 paid places this year. Tom Hall has two 6-figure scores, from PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and EPT 10 Vienna and has earned $329,795 in 2014. Simon Deadman, on the other hand, has FOUR runner-up finishes, one win - in the Hollywood Poker Open Championship - and has made a total of $791,253 so far.

The third ranking again points in Simon Deadman's favor as he leads with an impressive eight final tables. By comparison, Moorman, who is the leader by winnings, has only made it to one final table - in the WPT LAPC, which he ultimately won. 

@Oliver Price and @Max Silver have  each reached five final tables this year. Remarkably, Price scored four out of his top five cashes in 2014:

Max Silver, on his part, had an amazing WSOP this summer, finishing in the money in SIX events and scoring his biggest career cash in Event 32:

Who is YOUR favorite for UK's Best Tournament Player in 2014? Tell us how you voted in The British Poker Awards!

November 20, 2014 update:

Weekly RankingHero Highlights

Big news for us this week  with the announcement of the partnership with Bluff Europe. The popular Bluff European Rankings are now powered by RankingHero! This comes as recognition for our efforts so far and even stronger motivation for our future expansion as a unique social platform bringing together players, industry professionals, and poker venues!

RankingHero is also a proud partner of The British Poker Awards 2014 and voting is now open to the public. Find out more about our first featured nominee: Chris Moorman Nominated in Three BluffEurope British Poker Awards Categories and Chris Moorman Bio and Poker Profile.

Nicolas Levi's exclusive interview with Triple Crown and triple bracelet winner Davidi Kitai is a must-read this week for all of our French-speaking members.

The highlighted live event was the unique Combined Poker and Chess Tournament during the UKIPT Isle of Man, with PokerStars Mind Sports Ambassador Jennifer Shahade as an honorary hostess.

Congratulations to our birthday girl this week - @Celine Bastian 

The featured RankingHero member and winner of the week is @Flaminio Malaguti - the World Champion of 1st Places in Live Poker Tournaments. GG to some of the other recent winners from the RankingHero community: @Gene O'Leary @Mustafa Ali @Marc Uzan @Stephane Chetelat @Albert Sebag, to mention just a few.

All the winners in our summer missions have received their patches, now take them to the felt and make them work their magic :)

Special thanks to @ShiShiFed @Gilles Duguy @Dirty Bazaar @Poitiers Poker Club, @Moncoachpoker.fr @SuitedAce and the many other members posting and sharing on RankingHero! Please follow us on Twitter and help us find new friends on Facebook RankingHero and the brand-new RankingHero FR!

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH  https://twitter.com/AnnieRKH 

#RKHweekly 

Chris Moorman Bio and Poker Profile

The first man in history to pass the $10 million bar in online poker winnings has been hugely successful in live tournament poker, as well. @Chris Moorman is UK Number 5 by all-time live earnings, with $4,029,003! 

Moorman: “Poker is a tough game. If you’re not naturally competitive, you’re never gonna make it.”

And competitive he certainly is. Born in Basildon, UK, on July 12th, 1985, Chris Moorman’s competitive career began in bridge when he was only 11 years old, went through pool, (he became the captain of his team at the University of Essex and won the National University Championship), and ended up in poker. In passing, Chris earned a degree in Economics from Essex University.

"When I started the game, I never thought about actually playing for a living. I just enjoyed playing and things went from there. It’s still all a bit surreal to be honest. To be able to buy a house at 22, and have a secure looking future ahead of you is a great achievement. I know that I can’t rest on my laurels though."

He didn't rest on those laurels but kept collecting more accolades, as evident from his PocketFives visiting card and the FOUR consecutive 'Best Online Player' titles (2010-2013) that he won in The British Poker Awards presented by @Bluff Europe. 

While his online career seems to have been fast and furious from the start, it took a few years before Moorman had his major live tournament breakthrough. It was in 2011 that he took the live scene by storm with 5 cashes in the 42nd World Series of Poker (most notably a 2nd place in the Six-handed NLHE Championship) immediately followed up by a runner-up finish in the 2011 WSOPE Championship in Cannes.

The next year Chris Moorman again scored a runner-up finish and a six-figure cash - in EPT8 Berlin 10K High Roller. Then followed two rather uneventful years. This is what Moorman shared in a blog dated August 27, 2014:

Personally I had to come through my toughest time in poker within the last year. Prior to the WSOP in 2013 I was forced to get out of backing because I had over extended myself, and made a lot of bad decisions along the way. My poker bankroll had taken a big hit and I had to drop down in stakes and concentrate predominantly on online poker until I was in a better situation. I decided once I did get in a better place I would allow myself the luxury of traveling the live circuit once again.

What everyone knew was only a matter of time finally happened in March 2014 - Chris Moorman topped a field of 534 players in the LA Poker Classic Main Event, winning his first major title and $1,015,460.

As early as 2007, Moorman shared the following 'golden rules for playing in MTTs':

 Never be scared to put all your chips in.

Try to really concentrate on the Final Table - play to win, not just to cash.

In the early stages just play hands which have potential (so I prefer to play suited connectors on the button to Ace-rag).

You must be hyper-aggressive once you reach the top 50 - you must play as if you're hell-bent on getting into the Top 3 places, which is where all the money is.

Seven years later, a lesson he has learned through experience  dictates one more 'golden rule':

Positivity is essential to being a successful poker player in the long term. ...Creating your own happiness outside of poker will ultimately have a huge effect on your mentality whilst playing.

Following his own advice about building one's happiness outside of poker, in March 2014 Moorman proposed to his long-time girlfriend Lindsey and they are now engaged to be married.

The poker community now impatiently awaits the release of Moorman's Book of Poker: Improve your poker game with Moorman1, the most successful online poker tournament player in history. 

Sources:

http://www.rankinghero.com/chris.moorman

Photos from http://www.chrismoorman.com/

ChrisMoorman.com: The Power of Thinking Positively in Poker

BluffEurope: Moorman’s ‘Biggest Bluff’, Hirezi Leads WPT Jacksonville

RKH: Chris Moorman Nominated in Three BluffEurope British Poker Awards Categories

 #RKHbio 

Chris Moorman Nominated in Three BluffEurope British Poker Awards Categories

For many years he was best-known as 'Moorman1' and the first man in history to pass the $10 million bar in online poker winnings. But @Chris Moorman has long established himself as a live tournament player, as well. This year he has been shortlisted in three categories in the 5th annual British Poker Awards presented by @Bluff Europe: Best Online Player, Best Live Tournament Player, and Poker Performance of the Year.

http://www.chrismoorman.com/

Chris is the unchallenged champion of the Bluff Europe British Poker Awards in the “Best Online Player” category. He has won in FOUR consecutive years and is a favorite for this year's award, as well. 

Here is his Moorman1 online poker 'visiting card' on PocketFives:

Up to 2014 Chris Moorman had close to $3,000,000 in live tournament cashes, most notably with two runner-up finishes in 2011 WSOP and a few months later, in WSOPE Cannes. Yet a major title was missing from his resume.  In March 2014, the WPT LA Poker Classic took him to the next level as he won the Main Event and added $1,015,460 to his live winnings!

Glenn Lafaye raises from the button to 325,000, and Michael Rocco moves all in from the small blind for 2,020,000. Chris Moorman moves all in over the top for 2,835,000. And Glenn Lafaye calls, covering them both! It’s a three-way all-in situation with three players left in the tournament! Here are their cards, in descending order of chip counts:  Glenn Lafaye:  QJ Chris Moorman:  1010 Michael Rocco:  A8 The flop comes KQJ, and Lafaye flops two pair as Moorman and Rocco both pick up straight draws. The turn is the 3, a total blank. Lafaye will win the tournament on any card that isn’t an ace, a ten, or a nine. The river card is — the A! Moorman rivers an ace-high straight to win the pot, doubling thru Lafaye and eliminating Michael Rocco in third place.

35 hands and some ups-and-downs later, Chris Moorman won the title with pocket Aces and this sent him right into the shortlist for Performance of the Year in the 5th Annual British Poker Awards.

His numerous fans will also be able to vote for him as Best Live Tournament Player.

There - now you know everything you need to decide your vote, so you can head straight to www.thebritishpokerawards.com :)

RKH: 

Voting Open for The British Poker Awards 2014 Presented by BluffEurope

Chris Moorman Bio and Poker Profile

#BritishPokerAwards 

RankingHero and Bluff Europe with a Partnership in Service of Poker Community

Bluff European Rankings are henceforth to be powered by RankingHero under the official partnership announced today. Europe's largest poker magazine and the world's fastest growing poker players' social network are joining resources, expertise and efforts to better serve the needs of the poker community and card rooms.

RankingHero welcomes this  new challenge and responsibility as a big step forward in its mission to provide the largest and most accurate live poker data coupled with intuitive and user-friendly ways to link players, industry professionals and venues in the poker world. 

	RankingHero co-founder and ambassador @Nicolas Levi:
	We are thrilled to work with Bluff Europe on their long established rankings, which remain popular within the poker community. We believe poker players deserve the best technology and are honoured to bring our expertise to the table.

About @Bluff Europe :

Bluff Europe is the UK and Ireland’s most widely read poker publication aimed squarely at the poker enthusiast. The magazine is distributed through card rooms, poker clubs and newsstands. Bluff Europe magazine is the first poker magazine to be available through the iTunes store. www.bluffeurope.com

The current rankings:

Press Release: Bluff Europe Partners with RankingHero on European Poker Rankings

PokerStars Mind Sports Ambassador Jennifer Shahade Looking Forward to Unique UKIPT Isle of Man Chess&Poker Event

The UK and Ireland Poker Tour kicked off on Wednesday in Douglas, Isle of Man - home of PokerStars since 2005. The historical Villa Marina is hosting another major event at the same time - the 2014 PokerStars Isle of Man International Chess Tournament. Pros and amateurs in both disciplines will have the unique chance to play a Combined Chess and Poker Tournament on Friday, October 3. PokerStars Mind Sports Ambassador @Jennifer Shahade is sure "it will be a blast"! 

Before she joins the tournament fun, chess Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade will give a talk on Friday morning titled 'High Quality Thinking Through Games' examining "the difference between strategy and tactics in both games (Chess, Poker) and business".  

Shahade:

I am so excited about this. There will be a Blitz game played in the hybrid event where you will accrue chips to play in the Turbo poker tournament. I think it’s fantastic. I am the Mindsports Ambassador for PokerStars and I have been wanting an event like this to happen for a long time. It will be a blast.

Chess is becoming a lot more popular and it’s image and stature is rising. There are so many poker players that love chess, and vice versa, I think you will see a lot more collaborations in the future.

Confirmed entrants include the world's 9th ranking chess player, Maxime Vachier Lagrave, British Number One Mickey Adams, poker pro and chess champion @Almira Skripchenko, Grandmaster Laurent Fressinet, and Supernova elite players Radoslaw "radoom" Jedynak, and @Simon Ansell.

Read on:

RankingHero: PokerStars Mind Sports Ambassador Jennifer Shahade Bio and Poker Profile

2014 UKIPT Isle of Man Poker Festival schedule

Jennifer Shahade PokerStars Blog: Poker and chess in one tournament at UKIPT Isle of Man

CalvinAyre.com: PLAY CHESS & POKER AT THE UKIPT ISLE OF MAN

CalvinAyre.com: LIFE OUTSIDE OF POKER: JENNIFER SHAHADE – CHESS

2014 November Nine Moments - Full House Too Small for Newhouse

Pocket 5's definitely have a thing for back-to-back November Niner @Mark Newhouse. That was his winning starting hand both on the money bubble and the final table bubble. What is more, both times the starting pair was made up of 5♥ and 5♠!

On Day 4, Newhouse was one of the players involved in the most exciting WSOP Main Event money bubble anyone remembers, with five simultaneous all-ins and five players risking their tournament life. Mark's pocket-fives-turned-quads eliminated @John Dwyer (US) with Queens Full! (Dwyer was one of three players who shared the 693rd place prize money, together with @Carl Zhen and @Kori Hunter)

On Day 7 it was with this starting hand that Mark Newhouse eliminated @Jose-Luis Velador in the 10th place and set the biggest final table in poker. 

More on RankingHero:

Back-to-Back November Niner Mark Newhouse Bio and Poker Profile

The Worst 2014 WSOP Main Event Bad Beats - Kori Hunter Out with AA on the Money Bubble

2014 November Nine Moments - Bruno Politano Doubles Through Phil Ivey

#WSOP2014 #PokerHand #NovemberNine 

Voting Open for The British Poker Awards 2014 Presented by BluffEurope

Great Britain is one of the world's biggest poker markets and home to some of the best-known and best-liked poker personalities. The British Poker Awards presented by @Bluff Europe are an homage to these players' talent, their love for the game, and their efforts to engage with fans and inspire more people with their passion.

Voting is now open for the fifth annual British Poker Awards in 15 categories, including best live tournament player, best online player, personality of the year, and performance of the year. You can start thinking about the best poker hands you've seen in the past year as a special new category will be added shrotly - Poker Hand of the Year!

The organizers Bluff Europe called on an expert panel  to choose the nominees for which the public will be voting online. This year's judges include PokerNews' Matthew Pitt, PokerStrategy's Barry Carter, RankingHero's @Nicolas Levi, CalvinAyre.com's Lee Davy, Late Night Poker creator Nic Szeremeta and 'Voice of Poker' Jesse May.

The highlights from the 2013 ceremony;

2013 Winners:

Best Live Tournament Player: @Sam Trickett 

Best Online Tournament Player: @Chris Moorman 

Best Online Cash Player: @Alexander Millar “Kanu7” 

Performance of the Year: @Barny Boatman 

Best UK Tournament: EPT London

Poker Personality of the Year: @Samuel Grafton 

Best Contribution to Growing/Promoting Poker: @Tony Kendall 

Pros’ Choice: Best Tournament Director: Toby Stone

Pros’ Choice: Best Live Cash Player: Sam Trickett

Lifetime Achievement: Barny Boatman

Best International Player: @Daniel Negreanu 

Best Blogger: @Neil Channing 

Best Social Media User: @Victoria Coren Mitchell 

Best Poker League: Redtooth Poker

Best Live Card Room: Dusk Till Dawn

Best Poker Software: PokerTracker

Best Poker Training Site: Run It Once

Player of the Year: Alexander Millar

RankingHero members may recall that our own @Pedro Canali was in attendance last year :)

Pedro Canali About British Poker Awards Exclusively on RKH

RankingHero is happy to be TBPA 2014 partner and we will be bringing you more articles about the individual categories over the next weeks!

Find out more about The British Poker Awards and vote for your favorites on http://www.thebritishpokerawards.com/

RKH:

Chris Moorman Nominated in Three BluffEurope British Poker Awards Categories