Poker Community Reaches Out to Haiti Earthquake Victims

The tragic earthquake that rocked the island country of Haiti a few days ago has grabbed the attention of the entire world and the poker community is no exception. In the wake of the natural disaster, a number of poker players have reached out to help the millions of people affected by the quake, whether it be by posting messages of support on their Twitter accounts or donating to the dummy tournament lobbies set up on poker sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.

PokerStars pro JC Alvarado encouraged those with extra money in their PokerStars’ accounts to donate to the cause via his Twitter feed (@JCAlvarado1), while Full Tilt’s Howard Lederer (@howardlederer) made a similar plea for Full Tilt’s fundraising efforts. Just a reminder that both sites pledge to match any and all monetary donations made. The groups have already raised six-figures’ worth of relief to benefit victims of the quake. Some of the players who have made the maximum contribution of $1,000 on PokerStars include Michael “SirWatts” Watson, Eric “sheets” Haber, Gavin Griffin, John Duthie, and Steven “Zugwat” Silverman. Kyle “DumpingKGB” Brossia was feeling especially charitable and made donations in the charity lobbies for each of the five amounts.

Full Tilt Red Pros Adam Schoenfeld and Michael “timex” McDonald took to the internet to promote the online poker room’s charity tournament to benefit Haiti residents. Schoenfeld also took part in the event and was fortunate enough to make the final table.

A number of poker pros also made an effort to promote the text message service set up that allows people to donate to Haitian relief by texting “HAITI” to 90999. The text results in a $10 donation, which is added to the donator’s cellular telephone bill. So far, the efforts have netted more than $6 million in donations. Members of the poker community like UB Poker’s Brandon Cantu and Joe Sebok, Shannon Elizabeth and Michael and Eric Mizrachi all Tweeted promoting the fundraising efforts. Sebok also commented on the natural disaster in his Twitter feed (@joesebok), noting how it reminded him of how scary the earthquakes in his former home of San Francisco were.

The PocketFives thread started by David “DocSands” Sands encouraging MTT grinders to donate a percentage of their Sunday winnings is continuing to gain pledges. Poker News Daily previously reported that Sands and ranked player Ryan “gutshtallin” Welch were taking part. Since then, Mike “Sowerss” Sowers and recent World Series of Poker Circuit event winner Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki, along with a number of other players, posted in the thread wanting to help out as well.

In the wake of the tragedy, some poker players have used their Twitter accounts to comment on the events of the past week. Alex Outhred has posted a couple of Tweets on his account (@alexpokerguy) regarding the quake and other hot button issues. Here are a couple of his posts from the past few days:

-“Tiger Woods is sending a cargo plane with a mobile hospital to Haiti. Write about that shit, media!”

-“I wonder how much BinLaden and friends have donated to Haiti victims.”

Meanwhile Adam “Roothlus” Levy (@Roothlus) could only marvel at the outpouring of generosity in the wake of the earthquake in one of his Tweets posted on Friday: “It’s remarkable how the average American is facing financial hard times but yet, there’s an outpouring of donations to #Haiti. Just awesome!”

If you are interested in donating to help the people in Haiti affected by the quake, Full Tilt’s “No Play” tournaments will be open until January 17th, while PokerStars’ similar tournament lobbies will be open through the end of the month. Both sites have pledged to match all donations to the cause.

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Useful poker information:

FIRE - To make the first bet in a betting round. Used to emphasize that the player bet when a check was possible, showing strength.
NUT / NUTS - The best possible hand of a given class. Not a LOCK unless all cards have been dealt. The "nut flush" is the highest possible flush, but might still lose to, e.g., a full house. Usually used in Hold'em games.
LEAK - To show one's hole cards (often unknowingly).
JOKER - A 53rd card in the deck, distinct from the others, used as a wild card or as a BUG.
SHORT-STACKED - Playing with a only a small amount of money, thus limiting one's risk and reward.
EVEN-MONEY - A bet that pays off exactly the amount wagered. E.g., "Double or nothing" is an even-money bet.

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