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He’s a living legend, one of the most well-known faces in the game. At 75 years old, he’s played the game for generations, well before the current age of Internet poker — although he’s still in the forefront of that field, as well.

I’m talking, of course, about Doyle Brunson, the man behind DoylesRoom.com, a leading online poker website and one that remains among U.S. players’ favorite destinations. (The site switched networks earlier this year in an attempt to keep its site available to American players.)

Writing in ESPN.com yesterday, Gary Wise offers a lengthy treatise on just what makes Doyle the living legend we regard him as. Calling him “poker’s Babe Ruth”, Wise goes on to credit Doyle with a lot of poker’s current popularity, stating that he was “responsible for educating the masses” about the game before it was popular to do so.

“Brunson now stands on the precipice of the 40th installment of the World Series of Poker, the master of all he surveys,” writes Wise. “He’s watched as the WSOP has gone from a seven-player excuse to drum up cash game action in 1970 to the 8,773-player extravaganza we saw in 2006; from a family business to a corporate one. He’s had a table-side view of every major development in the history of poker’s marquee event.”

Even if it’s familiar territory, it’s a fascinating article, and we’re glad to see Doyle get this level of praise. Read it here.

It may not be yet legal to play poker online in the U.S., but that isn’t stopping the never-more-popular pasttime from being a source of fascination to the media.

Coming this summer, entertainment company Comcast will air a new reality show called “2 Months, $2 Million,” which will follow the ups and downs of four Internet poker players who, using their own money, try to win up a big sum of cash through online competition.

“What makes ‘2 Months’ intriguing is the duality of the guys,” Neal Tiles, president of Comcast’s G4 division told Variety magazine. “On the surface, each comes across as just your average G4 viewer but, in reality, they’re sharks playing for keeps with big money and living a lifestyle our viewers can only dream of. This [is] what we intend to capture.”

The series will consist of ten episodes, each a half-hour long, and is scheduled to begin in August. For more information, please click here.

Lots and lots of iGaming industry coverage has been dedicated to California’s new legislation that seeks to legalize online poker within its borders. It seems like a good bet that the Golden State (which is the most populous in the U.S., and which, historically, tends to set trends for the rest of the nation) will be able to make this happen.

So, my question to you: Is this a story you’re interested in? As poker affiliates, is the online poker legal situation a story you follow, or do you just pursue players from countries where there are no legal problems? Do you think that, if California legalizes online poker, it could have a ripple effect that leads to the UIGEA being overturned?

For more info on the California poker situation, click here.

As Patrik Antonius and Tom “durrr” Dwan continue to battle it out over at Full Tilt Poker in their 50,000-hand showdown, the online poker world continues to buzz about the epic event.

It’s been months since these two poker superstars kicked off their pot-limit Omaha match-up, and people are still excited about all the twists and turns it’s taking. Antonius is currently winning, with a lead of about $60,000 over his opponent. But that, of course, is likely to change. (If you’re looking for a great play-by-play recap, check out Nicole Gordon’s write-up over at PokerNews.com.)

So, is this tournament big enough news to benefit affiliates? The short answer should be yes — by creating some unique content on your site publicizing the event, and maybe implementing some SEO adjustments, you may be able to entice people following this story to play a few hands of poker via your site’s affiliate programs. Smart affiliates should have no trouble at all turning this popular story into increased web traffic and affiliate sign-ups.

And perhaps they already are! If you’ve got some news to report on how this big match-up has contributed to your traffic or affiliate success, we’d love to hear about it; sound off in the comments and let us know.

Famed poker professional Phil Hellmuth Jr. has kicked off a new poker column over at mycentraljersey.com, the online home for some of New Jersey’s biggest newspapers.

In addition to being a nice source of info for poker players to learn tips straight from one of the game’s biggest names, there may be another benefit to the column, as well. As a prominent New Jersey Senator works to overturn several gambling bans in his state and nationwide, Hellmuth’s new column could act as a valuable PR tool for the game and help to increase its popularity among voters in the Garden State. More on that story here.

Or is that wishful thinking? Hellmuth is well-liked, even with the nickname “The Brat,” but will his probably-lighthearted column be enough to win over the East coast anti-poker crowd? That remains to be seen.

Click here to check out Hellmuth’s column.

I’m wondering: How many full-time poker affiliates pay much attention to the United States’ “Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act” (UIGEA), a 2006 law that just came into effect a few months ago?

Over at the Poker Player newpaper, writer Jennifer Newell makes a good case for why it matters for us to pay attention. She also nicely summarizes what factors currently in play could eventually get the act removed from American law books.

Stressing that the act has had a disastrous effect on the revenue of the poker industry as a whole — and, therefore, on poker affiliates, as well — Newell starts out by reminding us how offshore banks like Neteller had little choice but to abandon the U.S. after the UIGEA’s implementation. The effect was that the entire United States economy lost revenue not only from Internet poker, but from the banking, advertising, and sponsorship services associated with it.

What’s more, Newell reminds us how the UIGEA has had a somewhat positive on the industry in terms of engaging poker players to become more politically active. “The poker industry spoke up,” she writes. “In turn, people of influence began to speak for us. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) grew into an organization of more than one million members and gained former New York Senator Alfonse D’Amato as its Chairman. Members of the House of Representatives like Barney Frank and Ron Paul saw the UIGEA for the intrusive, prohibition-like law that it was and began efforts to reverse or change it. And for what it might be worth, the United States elected poker-playing President Barack Obama.”

She then moves on to the three key positive factors that the anti-UIGEA advocates are most relying upon: President Obama’s power to overturn the Bush administration’s last-minute implementation of UIGEA in 2008; Barney Frank’s commitment to undermining and, if possible, eliminating the law; and the current economic recession that makes any added revenue streams immensely attractive — including, possibly, revenue that could be gained from taxing a newly legalized online poker industry.

Newell is smart to acknowledge that the success of these anti-UIGEA movements will depend heavily on “the unpredictability of politicians and the political process” — and that’s a pretty big wild card, given the United State’s often secretive and, let’s face it, underhanded law-making processes.

So, she ends on a note that calls on the players and affiliates to speak up for their rights:

“One major factor that will be necessary to sway the odds in the favor of the poker industry is the voices of the masses. It is more important than ever that we get involved, especially by letting members of Congress—and President Obama—know how we feel. The Poker Players Alliance provides easy access to governmental representatives. Visit www.PokerPlayersAlliance.org for more information.”

Click here to read the original article over at Poker Player.

People don’t talk much about “virtue” and “virtues” anymore. I guess I’m old-fashioned, but concepts like virtue, character, and goodness still matter to me. Not only do they matter, but I think they’re interesting to discuss and also a practical way to improve the way I do business. With that in mind, I wrote a post yesterday about the seven deadly sins and how they can ruin your business as a poker webmaster. Today I’d like to look at the opposing seven virtues and how they might improve your business as a poker webmaster.

Poker Webmaster Virtue #1 - Chastity - Like I wrote yesterday about “Lust”, this is probably the virtue which is least applicable to running a poker webmaster business. Most people think of chastity as abstinence from sex, but what it actually refers to is staying within the norms of sexual behavior in a particular society or religion. Societal norms have changed dramatically over the last 30 years though, so most people are probably well within the “norms” now anyway. At any rate, don’t blow all your money on porn and prostitutes, and you’ll have a more successful poker webmaster business.

Poker Webmaster Virtue #2 - Temperance - This is the opposite of gluttony. It means self-control and moderation. A temperate poker webmaster gets enough links to competed, but not so many links that she gets penalized.  Temperate also includes the concept of “mindfulness”, which is an important value in the practice of Zen. Mindfulness just means paying attention to what you’re doing. It should be obvious how that would make you more effective in business.

Poker Webmaster Virtue #3 - Charity - The opposite of the sin of greed is charity. But when Christians talk about “charity”, they’re not talking about unselfish giving. It actually means love, and not romantic love. They’re talking about the kind of love that the the Greek called “Agape”. This is the “love thy neighbor” kind of love. And caring about other people is an effective business strategy. Look at any business that’s had a “blog storm” of criticism surrounding it, and then notice how most of their problems come from not seeming to “care” about their customers.

Poker Webmaster Virtue #4 - Diligence - Chastity might be the virtue that least applies to being a poker affiliate. Diligence is clearly the most applicable virtue. Diligence applies to having a strong work ethic, managing your time, and being careful in your work. (I ask my employees, “Did you double check your work?” all the time.) When I post to this blog every day, I’m being diligent. When I take 2 or 3 days off, I’m being slothful. The benefits of diligence versus slothfulness are obvious.

Poker Webmaster Virtue #5 - Patience - This is the opposite of wrath. You’ll be a lot more effective in any negotiation if you’re committed to resolving situations peacefully. And when you have a lot of poker traffic, you WILL be put in situations where you have to negotiate. Patience also refers to your ability to forgive others. That comes in handy when a program changes their terms and conditions. Someone who’s wrathful might decide to never promote that program no matter what, but someone who’s patient might decide to give them a second chance. That second chance might turn out to be a really profitable move.

Poker Webmaster Virtue #6 - Kindness - This is the opposite of envy. Being willing to help others and just plain be nice to others is almost a forgotten art. Just because you disagree with someone doesn’t mean you should be mean to them. Just because someone is doing better in the search engine rankings to you doesn’t mean you should be mean to them either. Show a little kindness, and you might be surprised at some of the kindness that is shown to you. I’ve seen some people say that our industry is so hyper-competitive that it’s impossible to build “natural links”, but I disagree. Some people in this industry are selfish and envious, but not all of them are. And the best way to lead is by example. Be kind, and others will learn how to be kind from your example. Then the whole industry benefits.

Poker Webmaster Virtue #7 - Humility - This is my favorite virtue, and maybe it’s because I’ve got so much to be humble about. Humble poker webmasters don’t think they’re better or more important than others. They’re modest. They say that pride goeth before a fall, and I can confirm that this is true. Whenever I make the mistake of being proud or thinking I’m better than someone else, I pay for it. Usually I pay for it sooner rather than later, too.

Tomorrow I’ll probably write about being a poker webmaster from a Buddhist perspective or something. No, really. I’m serious.