The Pokeriety - Irish Eyes Buzzing in The Hive!

Irish Eyes Buzzing in The Hive!

Whilst there are plenty of online options about to quench your poker thirst, skins all these days tend to be very much of a muchness – mainly because they are all hosted on one or two networks, so whichever is your skin of choice, it is the same software, graphics and structure that will be on your screen – like it or not.

However, a new network is fast creating a “buzz” around Europe, and has also started to pollinate the UK online poker market. The network is named the ‘Hive’ – and PokerScout is calling it the ‘fastest growing network in the world’ – some indictment indeed.

One long standing online poker name, well known especially in Ireland, but also from past associations with the London poker scene, is Irish Eyes Poker – and they have signed up with the Hive network and are a large part of this expansion. Irish Eyes Poker supremo, Steven Merrick, is certainly enjoying the experience and some stability, after a year or two of volatility in finding a suitable home for his well regarded poker offering.

Steven comments “Its great that we are able to bring the Hive network to the UK and bring some truly unique and dynamic concepts to poker players, via a brand that is well known and, we feel, respected amongst the poker community. Irish Eyes poker and its reputation is certainly being enhanced by being part of the Hive network and we look forward to this continuing growth, that we hope players will enjoy and most certainly benefit from”.
One great feature about the Irish Eyes Poker site is that it doesn’t matter whether you are a PC or Mac user, the Hive accommodates them all. Reviews have been extremely positive : “The software itself is excellent, and despite the fact that it is advertised as focused on being “light and user-friendly”, it doesn’t fall short in any way when it comes to graphics quality, lobby navigability and extra options, both graphics and game play-wise. “

Be a Braveheart or get the Hand of God!

The Pokeriety have had the opportunity to ‘test drive’ the software via the Irish Eyes Poker site – and it is safe to say that we were quite impressed by the Hive Poker software. The lobby is a classic and friendly sight, as are the individual tournament lobbies. The table graphics are simple, yet there is an air of sophistication about them. The avatars appear to be hand-drawn, and they’re quite original in a caricature-ish sort of way. Our personal preference was the Bruce Lee character – though Mel Gibson’s Braveheart and the Diego Maradona graphics were also very popular.

Feeding time for the PLO Sharks!

Traffic is picking up, but this is making for some great value in the tournament offerings – and we were delighted to see a great Omaha presence on there, including a fun little PLO jackpot that reset every 30 mins for the high hand in that period. Not life changing cash at all, but a juicy little progressive bonus in what we found to be very soft cash tables….bloody waters for those PLO sharks out there!

Irish Eyes Poker is also offering an innovative element for a new customer bonus; Steven explains why he feels this is preferable to the standard matched first deposit bonus commonly available “One element that I like is our player Log-In Bonus. It is a little different to a first deposit / signup bonus in that up to now we have always ran deposit bonuses which are 100% or 200% etc of the amount deposited cleared over a certain time. The Log in bonus appears when you log in, even before you deposit. It then clears over a certain time up to 500 euro total, in 5 euro payments, which allows players of all levels to deposit (even multiple times) in that period and release the bonus. It is therefore not dependent on the players ‘first deposit’ amount – which I think can be limiting as the bonus released in a first deposit bonus is tied in with the initial deposit only.”

It is really refreshing to be able to play a brand new site with new options, features and a glut of different tournaments and events to enjoy. We feel that Irish Eyes will certainly be smiling as it grows within the Hive, and The Pokeriety will be bringing you plenty of news, features and developments as the buzz gets louder!

Why not get involved now by downloading the software via : Irish Eyes Poker

Oh, and if Casino or Sportsbooks are your thing, they have those covered too!!

The Premiership, Championship and League 1 and 2

The new season is almost upon us. Clubs have been going on a spending fest and this will continue right up to the end of August. Arsenal have finally decided to join in and I expect the Gunners to be in with a more realistic chance of success this season.

Manchester United under Van Gaal will be much stronger but I can’t see Van Gaal winning the premiership at his first attempt. United certainly are going to build a very strong and talented squad.

Liverpool have been equally busy. With Suarez moving to Barcalona I cant see any player coming anywhere near Suarez’s influence. I still expect Liverpool to make a top 4 finish.

Chelsea at 9/5 and ManCity at 17/10 to win it will both always be up there. Out of the 5 mentioned I think Chelsea will miss out on a top 4 finish.

I’m going to tip Arsenal for the title this season, who are 11/2 right now on www.irisheyesbet.com/sports to take it..... spending the big money will finally put Arsenal on top.

Regarding relegation I’m tipping new boys Burnley and Leicester with Swansea.

Championship.

The Championship is notoriously difficult to predict.

Cardiff City (33/5) have bought a number of players. Guerra, Le Fondre, Burgstaller, Macheda  and with more to follow they will have the strongest squad in the Championship. I would expect Norwich (9/1) to press them hard with Reading  Forest and Brighton all at 27/2 to take the honours chasing these two.

It's difficult predicting who will struggle but I'd say Millwall, Blackpool (off field problems too) and possibly Bournemouth.

League 1

In my opinion Sheffield United (53/10 = just over 10 1/2 to 1) will do well. They are a massive club (as are Wednesday) and belong in a higher division. With their fan base and a few more players they will do well. I also expect Preston North End and Coventry will be in the top 5 also. I would be more confident of Coventry if they could get back to their home ground. Playing their home games in a different town is ridiculous.

I can't see any obvious clubs who will struggle. I'll avoid any  mention of teams that will struggle.

League 2

Tranmere Rovers look a likely team that will do well. I think Luton could surprise a few people after being out of the league for a few seasons. Portsmouth, Plymouth and Exeter could improve too. Particularly Plymouth. When it comes to tipping results I believe the lower leagues are more predictable.

Whichever club you follow, I hope you have a good season.

Michael Flanagan.

The World Cup Semi-Finals Are Here!!!

The World Cup Semi-Finals are here already. What will we do when this amazing event is over? 

All eyes on Belo Horizonte for the first semi -final.

Germany are my red hot favourites. The injury to Neymar is massive. The loss of Thiago Silva is equally big. Germany’s threat going forward will be even bigger without Brazil’s top defender. But there is a chance that Brazil will get the suspension overturned.

I am very confident of Germany progressing to the final , particularly with the absence of Neymar and Silva.

Current prices with Irisheyesbet.com are both  Brazil 17/10 (2.70)  and the same for Germany. The draw is currently 21/10  (3.10)

Germany progressing to the final for me,  though it might take longer than the 90 minutes.

The second semi final, Argentina v Holland is the most unpredictable of the two games.

I recently tipped Argentina to lift the trophy but I am becoming less convinced the longer the competition goes on. Has the time finally arrived that Holland become World Champions?

Di Maria is out and will be missed. Messi is playing superbly and could win the game single-handed. At times Argentina looked very strong against Belgium....a team I rate highly.

Holland with RVP, Robben and others can win this game and I think they will. In fact they are my new tip to life the trophy.

Holland are priced at 11/5 (3.20) the draw is 41/20  (3.05) and Argentina to win at 7/5 (2.40)

I believe both games will be exciting and hopefully it will lead to a memorable World Cup Final.

Don't forget  to keep an eye on the prices at www.irisheyesbet.com/sports as they change often and please follow us on Twitter @IrishEyesBet

Michael Flanagan.

World Cup Quarter-Finals

Its already been an exciting World Cup with many great matches. However we are now into the potentially really exciting stages as we get to the Quarter-finals. The teams remaining are much more evenly matched and the results are much tougher to call.

France v Germany (4th July)

Brazil   v Colombia (4th July)

Argentina v Belgium (5th July)

Holland v Costa Rica (5th July)

I do believe there will be a surprise in store for one of the supposedly bigger countries.

My first tip is Holland to beat Costa Rica. The Dutch are priced at 1.49 to win over 90 minutes. The draw is currently 4.15 with IrishEyesBet.com. Although  I've been massively impressed with the Costa Ricans I think this hurdle will be just too big for them.

France and Germany could go either way. The Germans are favourites but I am going to go for a French victory. The French have flair and I do believe Deschamps now knows his best starting XI. Karim Benzema could have a huge say in the outcome of this game, he oozes class. It’s France for me over 90 minutes and IrishEyesBet.com price a French victory at 3.15 the draw is 3.10 with a German victory at 2.42.

Brazil v Colombia. Will Brazil continue to struggle? I believe Neymar will drag them through yet again. For the life of me I can’t understand why Scholari continues using Fred. He obviously sees something in him that I don’t. Colombia have done well and will certainly match the Brazilians in most departments. The home factor will probably settle this. Brazil are priced at 1.82 the draw is a generous 3.55 with a Colombian victory at 4.55.

Argentina v Belgium. There could be an upset here. I am going to go for Belgium. I like their overall shape and they are quick and dangerous going forward. It could be heartbreak for Messi and co. I’m certainly sticking my neck out for a Belgian victory but I do believe they can deliver.

Belgium are 3.75 the draw is 3.30 and an Argentinian victory is priced at 2.08. A game not to be missed as there could be a good few goals in this game.

Best of luck

Michael Flannagan