Apparently, all the major slot demo sites were down today for a period of time. Several posters on rec.gambling.poker are saying it was a distributed denial of service attack by hackers blackmailing the sites. Another possibility is that the hosting center the sites are in (nearly all major online poker sites are hosted out of an Indian reservation in Canada) went down. As of this writing, the sites appear to be operational again. (via Decker’s Journal)

There have undoubtedly been recent DDoS attacks against some of the larger sites, notably Party Poker which has had a lot of trouble over the past few days. I can’t imagine this hacker group being successful at retrieving money from these guys, slot online though; after the major DDoS attacks on some of the big shopping sites a few years ago, a lot was written and tools produced to prevent DDoS attacks.

beating moneymaker

Low-limit online poker newcomer the ‘Flava posts a fan-euphoria post about playing – and beating – Chris Moneymaker at an $11 sit’n’go tournament.

Moneymaker checks. This sets off a red flag in my head, because the last time he checked on the flop, he had a monster hand. But I have trip-nines! Here’s my chance!

poker night at crimson tonight

For you Austinites, tonight Crimson restaurant downtown is once again having what’s become their monthly poker event:

Cards & Cocktails

This month, celebrate Mardi Gras at Crimson! In the spirit of “Celebrity Poker” & “The World Series of Poker”, we’ve decided to start our own poker night! Tuesday, February 24th, Crimson will host “Cards & Cocktails” – a monthly game of Texas Hold’em with complimentary lessons, your 1st cocktail, and fantastic prizes…all for just $10. Come out and join us for this exciting new event.

Date: FAT TUESDAY (a.ka. Mardi Gras), February 24th – 7pm

Location: Crimson

Cost: $10/person (includes 1st cocktail, lessons, prizes)

RSVP: events@crimsonaustin.com

Crimson is located in downtown Austin on Colorado between 4th and 5th streets.

This is probably an ideal event for total beginners. I have some friends who went last time Crimson held this, and said the atmosphere was relaxed and fun, and there were a lot of first-time players.

sage advice

from london froggy over at Vagaries of an online poker player:

Don’t ever try to play poker online from a hotel in Germany.

(and, coincidentally, the reason he missed the Grublog Poker Classic). Better luck next time!