PokerStars, Full Tilt Lead the Way as Online Poker Donates Millions to Haiti Relief

Year in and year out, poker players have shown themselves to be amongst the most generous people around. Whether it is through live charity tournaments to benefit worthwhile causes, mass donation drives to help the victims of the Katrina disaster, or even something as small and simple as helping a fellow player in a time of need, poker players are more than willing to share their bankrolls. The poker community’s mettle was on display once again in January after Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which left millions of the country’s mostly poor citizens dead, injured, or homeless.

Last week, the Poker Players Alliance issued a press release stating that the online poker community had donated $1.5 million for earthquake victims. Now that January has come to a close and the final tally is in, the donations have easily exceeded that figure.

PokerStars alone contributed $1,492,780.52, half donated by players and the other half a matching donation made by the world’s largest poker room itself. PokerStars players were able to donate by transferring money to a special account called “Haiti Fund,” registering for special Haiti relief tournaments (the tournaments were not actually played, they were simply there to accept donations), or by purchasing donations in the VIP store. The entire sum is going to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

PokerStars closest rival, Full Tilt Poker, also stepped up in a big way for Haiti. According to its website, the second largest online poker room in the industry received 23,161 donations totaling $329,736.64. After matching the donations dollar for dollar, Full Tilt is sending $659,473.28 to the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and UNICEF. Full Tilt’s donation channels were essentially the same as those offered by PokerStars: a special “Aid for Haiti” account that accepted player transfers and several “no play” tournaments.

While the total donation does not come close to the totals of PokerStars and Full Tilt, Cake Poker was one of the first to announce its plans for helping Haitian victims. It also set up “holding tank” tournaments at five different “buy-in” levels: $5, $25, $100, $200, and $500. According to Lee Jones, Cake Poker’s Card Room Manager, Cake players donated $16,000, so after Cake’s match, $32,000 will be contributed to relief efforts.

In addition to the preceding three poker rooms – as well as the numerous other online poker rooms that accepted donations from players – Bodog.com founder Calvin Ayre issued a challenge to members of the iGaming industry to open their wallets for Haiti. In return, he promised, his private foundation, the Calvin Ayre Foundation, will match any documented donation to Oxfam up to $1 million. To date, the Foundation has matched £155,316 ($247,911) from a variety of industry contributors, including the International Gaming Awards and online gaming watchdog site, Casinomeister.

Even though most of the online poker rooms have closed their donation drives, there is still an overwhelming need for aid in Haiti. If you wish to donate money, please contact your favorite charitable organization directly to see what you can do.

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Useful poker information:

SEAT POSITION - The actual seat a player has, normally numbered sequentially starting with 1 as the first seat to dealer's left. Not to be confused with POSITION in a particular pot. Typically unrelated to play of a hand but often important in peripheral aspects, e.g.: "Seats 1 and 10 are nonsmoking here", "Seat 5 has a good view of the table", "Seat 3 is in a high-traffic area".
BAD-BEAT JACKPOT - In some cardrooms, a prize that is shared by the players in a game, when a very good hand (usually Aces full, or better) is beaten by a higher hand. Jackpots are usually financed by taking a drop ($1 is a common amount) from every pot. A typical division of the jackpot will give the losing hand 50 %, the winning hand 25 %, and the other players at the table share the remaining 25 % of the Jackpot.
CHECK RAISE - To check initially, then raise a bet made later on in the same betting round. Frequently a sign of strength, but may be a bluff.
DEAD MAN'S HAND - Generically: two pair, aces and eights. Specifically: the black aces, black eights and nine of diamonds. The hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot to death.
DOUBLE BELLY BUSTER - A two-way inside straight. E.g., 3-5-6-7-9.
TAPPED [OUT] - Out of money. Can refer to a player running out of money in the course of a hand, thus still active for the main pot; or can refer to a player who has lost his bankroll and can no longer play.

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