Party Poker Blog

Poker Blogs, SuperSystem and This American Life

I'm a little disconcerted about all this talk of Microsoft acquiring or partnering with Google. The problem with a Microsoft search engine is, much like JFK once said in private about Richard Nixon, "The trouble with being such a well known liar is, no one believes you when you tell the truth."

Didn't play last nite (gasp!). I was reading SuperSystem before going to bed, though, and Doyle Brunson talks about how little he check-raises. He (as an action-type player) is usually the aggressor so it's unusual for him to do so. Plus, he points out the simple arithmetic of potentially getting three bets in when you bet and are raised as opposed to only two with the check raise. And as basic as that sounds, it struck a chord with me. I mean, hell, an opponent never three bets me after I've check raised them. So I'm likely missing some profit here, over the long term, eh? It's good to re-learn the basics.

Thought I'd share yet another message board rant from today about how online poker is fixed or rigged. This guy (per usual) is a winning player in brick and mortar card rooms, yet just can't beat Party Poker or Poker Stars. I wonder how many of these I've read over the last several years?

--
I guess I am just a lousy player, but I cannot take it anymore. I win
consistently in areal casinos and cannot win shit in these rigged online
poker dumps.

I am sick of losing with the best hand time and time again by some
miracle river card. Sick and tired of having to deal with incompentant
support staff. Sick of always getting my pocket kings or aces beaten out by
3-8 off time and time and time and time again.

I am pissed off that it is so easy to deposit and take it out of my bank
account. But, it it such a hassle when I try to get my money out.

Why in the fuck would anyone put up with this online poker shit. Just go
play at a real casino. Atleast there odds are you wont be getting
screwed out of your money by some greedy ass scam site, and colluders.
Maybe you guys are really really good and can even push out a small win
rate even though all odds are against you. Sorry I am just not that
LUCKY. It is hard enough to win let alone having to fight tons of
bullshit factors against you.

FUCK YOU PARTY POKER

FUCK YOU POKERSTARS

And yes this is how I really feel!
--

LOL, priceless.
The most appropriate response:

-
Online poker values different skills and is very different than casino
poker, y'know. Or maybe you don't....

Some players lose at poker simply because they refuse to get better. Saying "change the deck" or "the game is rigged" is easier than spending months and years to improve your game.
-

Yup.
Mitigating note: I'm not addressing collusion here.

BTW, for all of you folks who haven't read Positively Fifth Street yet, by Jim McManus, here is the abridged version of the story. Superb stuff and oughta encourage you to buy the book after reading.
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1111/1807_301/68018764/print.jhtml

For those of you with Real Audio: there is a fine show called This American Life on public radio. It's a documentary radio show that explores all sorts of themes and discourse on America, generally through three or four segments.

They have a great feature on poker at the WSOP that I heartily recommend. It's about poker pro's and wanting to be a texas hold em pro. Excellent, funny poker content.

You can either listen to the first segment (good stuff - it's about the best basketball trick guy in the world, doing tricks over some hiphop beat, just an average joe, featured in that badass Nike commercial a few years back) or skip ahead to minute 20 to hear the hold em poker segment. Good stuff if you're stuck at work. :)
-
Meet the Pros
The story of one man's journey from obscurity to international professional celebrity, aided only by his own hard work, a sneaker commercial, and mad handles. And other stories of amateurs hurtling themselves at the pros whose jobs they covet.

Act Two. Know When to Walk Away, Know When to Run.
Host Ira Glass travels to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker, gets hooked on poker, and tries to figure out what it would mean if he'd ditch his job in radio to become a professional cardplayer. What he learns: a professional gambler can suffer two heartbreaking losses back to back, costing over $100,000, yet moments later, at the casino bar, calculate the million-to-one odds of his unlikely losses... in his head. (26 minutes).
-

Click HERE to listen.

Do it now. But ignore the third segment.

Last but not least, the Russ Georgiev web site is still not up. Russ has resorted to yet again pounding RGP with the same old posts. Geezus, Russ, I know there is cheating in poker, enough already!

TwoPlusTwo software still sucks.