Spectacular Omaha Action Dominates May Stats; More Online Poker Trends at PokerListings.com

Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles (PRWEB) May 31, 2008 -- Typically, the month of May in the poker world is like the eye of a hurricane, with a lull in the usually heavy live tournament action and most players seemingly just biding their time -- and bankrolls -- until the WSOP.

Unless of course their primary game is high-stakes online Pot-Limit Omaha.

Tracking and analyzing over 20 million online poker hands every month, PokerListings.com's MarketPulse section (http://www.pokerlistings.com/market-pulse) is the most comprehensive statistical overview of the industry on the Web, and looking at the key numbers tracked for May 2008, the high-stakes Pot-Limit Omaha tables at Full Tilt Poker were clearly the dominant newsmakers.

And rightly so, with more than a hundred $100k+ pots changing hands, one of the largest pots ever at Full Tilt (over $428k) and Full Tilt pro David Benyamine going on a phenomenal tear, pocketing close to $1.6 million in profits for the month.

"There are always ungodly amounts of money being thrown around at the highest-stakes in the poker world," says Hannah Mayen, media relations director for PokerListings.com, "but by any measure, the Pot-Limit Omaha action at Full Tilt this month has been extraordinary.

"Not only were all of the biggest names in on it -- including probably the fastest-rising star in all of poker, Tom 'durrrr' Dwan, plus David Benyamine, Patrik Antonius and Gus Hansen -- they were absolutely fearless with their bankrolls, throwing them around with abandon and often sitting with high six-figures in front of them across a few tables.

"It was awe-inspiring, to say the least."

When all the action is tallied for the month, two players in particular stand out: Benyamine and Dwan, with Benyamine pocketing the aforementioned $1.6 million in profit, and Dwan taking down a mind-boggling $428k pot primarily against Austrian Markus Golser in the early hours of May 27.

Needless to say, Dwan's pot was far and away the biggest pot won online in the month -- and stands alone at the top of the MarketPulse top 100 biggest pots list for all of 2008 as well.

To see the full hand history, and more of the top 100 biggest pots won online over the last day, week, month and year, visit the MarketPulse biggest pots section (http://www.pokerlistings.com/market-pulse/biggest-pots).

More online poker numbers of note from May 2008:

If average pot size is any indication -- and it is -- games at both Pacific Poker and Full Tilt got looser all around this month.

Average pot size at Pacific in May was a strong $51.20 -- up 12% from April, and the average at Full Tilt shot up to $41.50 -- a phenomenal 21% rise (although much of it can likely be attributed to the aforementioned high-stakes Omaha action).

Other sites with pot size increases: DoylesRoom, up 3% from April to $35.40; PokerStars, up 11% to $21.50; PartyPoker up 2% to $21.30 and Absolute Poker also up 2% to $20.20.

Top 5 rooms overall for pot size: Pacific Poker, Full Tilt, DoylesRoom, Titan Poker and UltimateBet.

There was a slight dip in overall online poker traffic all across the board in May with one notable exception: Players are flocking to Hollywood Poker in droves, showing a 20% increase from an average of 3,451 players in April to 4,146 on average in May.

Traffic drops were very minimal all around, however, averaging between 2-8%. PokerStars still leads the way traffic-wise with an average of 12,249 players.

"As a general rule," adds Mayen, "the larger the average pot size, the looser or more passive the games tend to be. So with six of the biggest online poker rooms showing pot sizes on the rise, things are definitely still profitable for skilled players."

"And simply put, there's no better way for serious players to track this kind of information than MarketPulse."

About PokerListings.com's MarketPulse section:

Automatically tracking and analyzing nearly 20 million online poker hands every month, PokerListings.com's new MarketPulse section is the most comprehensive, real-time statistical "snapshot" of the online poker industry ever developed. Biggest pots in the last day, week, month and year with full hand histories and replay; traffic volume and trends across all poker rooms; statistical breakdowns for all Hold'em limits and table-types; and summary profiles on over one million online players are just some of the statistics you'll find, giving unprecedented access to real-time online poker statistics. More features to be added in the coming weeks: Biggest winners and losers in total earnings, including their preferred room, game and stakes; most hands played and where; expanded stats for Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, Mixed games, Razz and more.

About PokerListings.com

PokerListings.com (http://www.pokerlistings.com) was launched in 2003 and quickly became the largest online poker guide in the world. It provides poker players with in-depth reviews of all major online poker rooms, the world's best sign-up bonuses and promotions, breaking poker news and detailed content on strategy, tours, tournaments and the game's best players. PokerListings.com also has the best live poker tournament reporting on the Web, with unrivaled year-round coverage from the WSOP, the World Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour and more.

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