Check out the Poker Prof's 2006 World Series of Poker Blog sponsor, Paradise Poker. The world's first online poker room and still you're best bet, Paradise Poker.

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

We're on the downward slope toward the WSOP Main Event and yours truly will be on the rail again this year.

Greetings, pokernuts! Ol' Mickey Zee is back from the land of the lost after a bad bout of gout and a couple of hugely disappointing attempts at a Main Event entry. I could have avoided the gout by sidestepping Vera's ham and those extra Buds, but I couldn't avoid a long bout of dead cards and the bad beat that took me out of the running for my stab at the Big One this year. I'm keeping my dollar and sparing you the sad tale.

Editor Note-

We welcome Mickeyzee's Week in Review from writer Mickeyzee (personally selected by the Poker Prof from a list complied by Dr. Pauly and approved by FlipChip) that will be a regular weekly feature on the poker blog. We present the first installment.

Mickeyzee's Week in Review

It was at a stop-light on the LV Blvd. That I caught the gaze of a pair of eyes sunk deep in what can only be described as the mug of a dude that looked liked he'd just been set free from decades of captivity in some secret location buried deep in the desert. Little did I know then how close to bullseye that would turn out to be.

We stared at each other for a moment and then he shuffled toward my ride. Maybe it was coincidence or maybe it was the inevitable pull of destiny that caused our paths to cross on that typically sweat laden Las Vegas night. Or maybe it was sheen of my snappy new threads. Whatever it was, I knew as soon as he said, "I need a pimp" I'd be turning a corner in my nefarious career.

Pause while the needle skates across the vinyl...

Ok, so maybe that's not how it really went down...

Allow me to introduce my fine self - Mickey Zee's the name, blog pimp's the game. The good Poker Prof asked me to take the helm of Week in Review and comb the poker blogiverse for new poker-blogging stars along with highlighting worthy posts from our elder blogging orbiters which circle that broiling sphere we call Poker.

I agreed to take a stab at it and so here I am. And I'm gonna ask for your help, too - especially you blog addicts out there that are stealing time from you employers surfing from blog to blog day in and day out... don't lie to me - you know who you are... Anyway - I want to know about interesting posts or fantastic new poker blogs you stumble across in your travels. Email me at [mickeyzee at gmail dot you-know-what], point me to your beauties and I'll check 'em out. Remember - emPHAsis on "interesting" and "fantastic" And pimping yourself is, well... pathetic. 'Nuff sed.

I'm getting a bit of a late start - had to adjust the schedule and break a few hearts - so while I'm working on next week's entree - let me offer you a few snacks from a lil' over a week ago.

The debate was ignited with The Luck Conundrum, hopped over to this treatise, sparked an observation from the Up for Poker franchise, smouldered in the comments, took a ride on the F-Train then got sucked in at Sound of a Suckout.

Much to ponder, guys and gals - and so I'll leave you to it. I'm off to check out the list of newbies discovered by the uber-dwarf and suburban housewife I hope to shake hands with one day.

Remember to tip your dealer - see you in seven.

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Vegas home of NASCAR racing.

First and foremost, unless you've been under a rock lately, you've likely heard about the PokerStars Blogger Championship. If you haven't signed up yet...why not?? A free chance to play with your fellow bloggers, with awesome prizes up for grabs - go now. And consider adding the registration code somewhere prominent on your site, as suggested by BigSlickNuts.

Now, on to the good stuff -

I have really been enjoying the tales of making the move to Vegas to play poker professionally, as written by Austin-blogger-at-heart Eric from threebet33. Recently he made the move to $80/$160 and his posts about it have been terrific. I wonder if I can get him to bankroll me for that game in December...

Felicia has a great post about maximizing value in Omaha 8 - a must read for anyone working on that game.

I promise I'm not biased, but Austin represents again with another great post, this time at Sound of a Suckout. Scurvydog looks at the topic of deciding what you want from poker and how best to persue it.

Beck at Steal the Blinds has an entertaining post up about recognizing "the look". Sunglasses will be no help to you...

Last, but certaintly not least, check out Meek's Poker Bank Roll - a great new blog just getting started, and unlike anything you've seen before.

A quiet week...guess everyone was conserving energy for the Boathouse! Be sure to check out DoubleAs on bluffing with the best hand, HDouble on poker mastery, and Bill's post on why online poker is definitely not rigged.

Pauly continues to live a poker blogger's dream by jetting off to Spain to cover the European Poker Tour event in Barcelona. With his new announcing duties as well, it's only a matter of time before we see him sitting there with Vince VanPatten and Mike Sexton. Otis remained at home for this event, instead covering all the action in the WCOOP, which has now declared a champion.

Excellent writing this week - Absinthe on telling a story through poker, and GameC continuing the discussion on the "blink" reponse in poker. (For G-Rob to be inspiration for anything other than drinking is notable itself).

Finally, don't forget about the next WPBT event, and head on over to Pokerati and congratulate my new favorite blogger, Dan, on his recent win in the Empire $10,000. Grubby would be proud.

Plans are underway for the next WPBT Vegas trip so get all the details from Bill, and then book your flight! Bad Blood gives us thought about black boxes in poker, while ScurvyDog looks at the best way to play drawing hands in LHE. HDouble is back with another installment in his popular HDouble at the Movies series, this time finding the poker wisdom in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Finally, it's WCOOP time and Wil Wheaton brings you all the action as he live blogs the events for Card Squad.

You Should Be Reading:
Pauly's Online Poker Blog.
Pokerati: Dan's Texas Hold'em Poker Site
You should be listening to Card Club on Lord Admiral Radio.

While catching up on some of the back reading I couldn't ignore the press release from Partygaming concerning their predictions that the growth of online gaming will slow over the next months. Partygaming (LSE: PRTY) is traded on the London Stock Exchange and the stock lost about $4 billion dollars of its value. The press release only states that the company expects to see slower growth in the future as the exponential growth enjoyed through the start-up period begins to plateau. All is as expected and the industry is in great health and will continue to produce substantial future revenues.

The company issued a statement that offered some highly speculative reasons for the slow down including the televised broadcast of the 2005 WSOP on ESPN. People watching the shows aren't playing on Party or something like that. I think it quite likely that the poker fans watching the WSOP are soon sitting in front of their computer trying to emulate the live poker action they just witnessed. Of course, everything I've said about this is also highly speculative and should be taken as the word of a fool. Should I ever figure out the intricacies of the habits of the masses toward the stock market I will hang up the camera and laptop and enjoy the rest of my days on a warm beach somewhere.

Is this the end of the poker boom? Hardly. Triple digit growth for any Internet gaming site will probably soon history. Today's announcement may be Partygaming's acknowledgment of the new Internet kid on the block, WPT (World Poker Tour) Enterprises (Nasdaq: WPTE) and Sportingbet (LSE: SBT), which controls Paradise Poker. The increased competition from the dozens of pop-up poker sites has diluted the market. Land based poker players are a fickle bunch that will quickly replace one brand with another for the slightest reason, they're not noted for long-term brand loyalty. They also tend toward congregating in large crowds, in other words, they like to play in full games in large rooms. I believe the Internet poker players have similar traits; so, why would the biggest poker room ever fire off a press release with the grim news that their growth will be reduced to rates closer to other legitimate businesses? Do they want the investors to hunker down and weather the storm or sell out and head for the hills? Should I be worried about any of this? What if poker is here to stay and home computers are the fad?

The theme for this week is "different". Head on over to the new site Tom Bayes set up, and sign up for a tournament or two in the Weird Series of Poker. The only caveat is that you can be 100% certain it won't be NL Hold'Em. For more "difference" check out Signals in the Fog for James' thoughts on the Japan Series of Poker. Once you've shaken your routine up a bit, visit DoubleAs and Maigrey for some No-Limit insight. But remember, change is good!

[I'd like to wish Sherry a belated birthday and check out her excellent MGM poker room review. At the same time congratulations go out to Shirley on winning the legends of poker Omaha Hi-Lo event. -Prof]

Aluminun cloud hangs over the fashion Show mall on the Las Vegas Strip.

We were treated to two great posts from Bad Blood this past week, covering the topics of luck and player image.
The lovely Mrs.CanHang tells us a great story about the tough competition she'll be facing at an upcoming poker game.
HDouble brings us another great post, this time about Information Asymmetry in Poker. Despite the name, I promise it won't make your head hurt (much). Go read it.

Finally, don't forget that starting this Friday, August 12th, fellow blogger Jason Kirk will not only be winning the WSOPC event in Tunica, but also providing coverage of the event at Blind Bet Poker. Best of luck to you Jason. Bring one home for the bloggers!

This week it appears that now that the WSOP is over, everyone is back on the poker horse and bringing us great posts about their events. Well...almost all of us, that is. Linda over at Table Tango is a little disappointed in some bloggers for their lack of updates. Those who have been posting lately have shared with us reports of 2nd place tournament wins (a big acomplishment in its own right, even more so when 1st went to Chris Moneymaker), and introspection on success in poker.

For No-limit strategy (if you're into that sort of thing) you should check out DoubleAs's latest post on the care and feeding of monsters, and the gang over at Wicked Chops Poker has a few other suggestions as well. Thanks to them for also pointing us to a recent Time article on obsessive gambling (they say obsessive, we say...passionate).

Finally, a big congrats to Bill Rini on his new gig at Full Tilt. (Speaking of Full Tilt, it's not to late to get in your "Decorate Geek's Cube" entry). Also, be sure to check out this week's episode of Card Club for more poker goodness.

A little late, I know. But better late than never that you check out Bill's post on rating yourself as a poker player, Wicked Chops Poker's write-up of poker haters, and the Pundit's advice on when to chop in a tourney. Also, be sure to swing on over to the new PokerFilter.net and join the fun.

This time next week, it will all be over...a new WSOP Champ will have been crowned (braceleted?) and we can all begin our preparations for a blogger bracelet winner in 2006. I'm sure all of you have your cursors permanently hovered over the Refresh icon for Otis, Pauly, and the LasVegasVegas write-ups, but also make a point to read Tanya's post regarding the Woman's Event and Wil's posts about his Main Event experience.

If you find that you're a little WSOP'd out, you might be interested in Chilly's suggestions for the new Doyle-run WPT. Or perhaps some poker-pro 404 error pages might be more your style, courtesy of Bill Rini. Ten Mile over at Poker Solstice has a proposal for managing blog reading time (ever wonder where those hours go?), however with BG's new gig, that's gonna get a lot harder. Finally, I can't think of a better way to wrap-up the week than with a great hammer story.

[Be sure to check out the excellent posts from Poker in the Weeds]

Excitement for the World Series Main Event is building as records continue to be broken. Speculation continues to mount on who the next World Poker Champion will be, and if you're interested in placing a friendly wager on such a thing, Matt Matros and Dragonystic might have just the thing you're looking for.

If you happen to be one of the lucky ones headed off to the Main Event yourself, Otis has some great tips for you. Gracie has a challenge to all of us who didn't make it to the WSOP this year, and THG takes us back to Vegas in June with a great story about missions unacomplished.

Happy Fourth of July to everyone, have a safe and restful holiday. Be sure to grill up a few extra burgers for the hardest working bloggers on the planet.

It's been a sad week in the poker world with the loss of blogger Charlie Tuttle. Although most of us didn't know Charlie personally, many of us were able to meet him via WPBT events and were also able to connect with his best friend Jason Kirk during the recent Vegas trip. Our thoughts are with Jason and Charlie's family during this difficult time. Many thanks to Felicia and Pauly for getting support in the professional poker community to bring joy to Charlie's last days. To quote a fellow blogger, "It's always nice to leave the game on a rush, and you guys should all be commended for giving him that". Be sure to read Pauly's article about Barry Greenstein's emotional dedication of his win in the Pot-Limit Omaha $1500 WSOP event to Charlie.

Drizz asks us why we play poker, something each of us should ponder periodically throughout our playing careers. Shelly from Hella Hold'Em gets inspired and takes a look at her poker goals.

High on Poker takes a look at a new Hardy Boys book, The Mystery of the Missing Rake. It's always a shame when poker comes between brothers...good thing we don't have to worry about that with our brotherly blogging duo, BG and Bob!

In a bit of cross-cultural discourse, Joe Speaker and Div from Poker, Pique and Parenthood dicuss the future legality of online poker, an issue near and dear to all our hearts.

In WSOP news, Pauly's wingman Dan from Pokerati is back in town, and has decided to take up Podcasting. (All the cool kids are doing it). Be sure to check out the inagural episode for some familar blogger voices. Wil Wheaton will be joining Otis on Team PokerStars, and playing in the WSOP Main Event. Congratulations and Good Luck Wil! And Pauly...don't corrupt him too much, ok?

Finally, Otis continues to regale with his tales of A Month in Las Vegas; the LA blogging contingent has a new nemesis (go Mrs. H!); Bill Rini has a photo challenge for us; hdouble revealed what he does all day - go check out the Full Tilt online poker forum; and be careful out there gang - poker is back to her heart-breaking ways.

[This week in review was guest authored by April of This is Not a Poker Blog, many thanks April! -Prof]
Joe Speaker's son AJ guest-posts in honor of Father's Day -

Another great one from DoubleA's--not so much a strategy post; more of an encouragement post.

I liked this one from ScurvyDog, a nice little refresher on some game concepts.I think you pretty much HAVE to mention CJ's hammer quad's write-up, Maudie (check out her WPBT Store) had a great comment in the post

"Songs will be sung, the story told by campfire, children for milennia to come will grow up hearing of the tale of the fearless knight, Sir Ceejay, who at the royal court of Arthur, wielded his hammer against the pale haired witch and caused her to run screaming from the castle into the night, never to be seen or heard from again."

For a bit more on Charlie Felicia continues to build involvment. Marcel Luske even mentioned Charlie in an interview.

On another somber note, my heart and thought go out to Iggy and his family, words cannot express the sorrow this invokes.

It's been over a week since the Vegas Poker Blogger invasion and the stories are some of the most entertaining reading on the internet. Rather then re-invent the wheel I direct you to Iggy who is maintaining an excellent and up to date copy of the trip reports as they surface. An excellent way to kill a few hours. I'd also like to thank everyone for the tremendous support we've received to date for our WSOP efforts, all I can say is keep em' coming, every bit helps.

Don't forget to check out Lord Admiral's Card Club, the poker podcast, this week we mostly chatted about the WSOP with a slight tangent into the Barry Greenstein 'top 5 players' list.

As part of the week in review I thought I'd offer up a list of all the WSOP media and what they are doing. There are a lot of organizations here covering the event and excitement, so here is a list of everything I've run across:

First my top picks:
For live blogging you can't beat the entertainment and speed of Tao of Poker, Dr. Pauly is an amazing writer and with a knack for covering poker.

For Video I like Card Player. The other outfits offering video have an image that is too small for me to enjoy it.

For tournament results I'm fond of my own results' database at Poker Player Newspaper, it allows viewers to easily lookup a player's career record and you get to see all the photos of them we have available.

For chip counts and money finish recounts in almost real-time Poker Wire is an amazing feat for it's simplicity and efficiency. No surprise, the genius of Andy Bloch and Jen Creason is behind this wonderful coverage tool.

For audio: Phil Gordon is one of the most charsitmatic and engaging people in the world of poker, from hosting Celebrity Poker Showdown to the Roshambo tournament at the WSOP yesterday he seems to be everywhere, so it's no big surprise that his WSOP PodCast is great listening.

The Big List:
This is a list of everything else with a short description of what it is:
From Us:
Live Blog (Tao of Poker)
Photo Galleries (Las Vegas Vegas)
Daily Articles (Las Vegas Vegas)
Tournament Results (Poker Player Newspaper)
Tournament Reports and Articles (Poker Player Newspaper)
WSOP Standings and total prize winners (Poker Player Newspaper)

From Porfessional Poker:
Weekly re-caps of the WSOP action from none other then Dr. Pauly.

From Poker Listings:
Live Updates
Daily Updates
Interviews

new From Oddjack:
WSOP Articles - All the insider and srtange scoops unually end up here.

From Poker Wire:
Chips Counts / Finish Order
Jay Greenspan's Daily WSOP Report

From Card Player:
Index for results, articles, video
Tournament Results

From Poker Pages:
*Amy Calistri (Best at Poker Pages IMHO)
Photos
Reporters:
Steve Hall
Danile Lazerek
Mike Paulle
WSOP Results

From Pokerati:
Plenty of WSOP Articles

From Professional Players
Richard 'Quite Lion' Brodie
http://www.mattmatros.com/journal.htm
David Williams Blog
Paul Phillips
Daniel Negreanu
Josh Aeieh

From [link removed]:
Short Event Recaps

new From Poker Stars
Otis follows Poker Stars Players. with 900 or so Poker Stars players set for the Main Event I expect this will be very intresting to follow.

From Poker Trails:
Index
Daily Updates in a Fourm Format

And finally, World Series of Poker Official Website:
Photos Store(there seem to be alot but it's very difficult to navagate and find anything/one in perticular)
Updates & news
Results

If I've missed a source drop me an e-mail or level a comment and I'll be sure to add it.

The 2nd annual blogger tournament is now history, with Bill Rini taking 1st, resulting in total vindication of his previous dead last finish in December. CJ took second and I'm sure sometime in the near future the good doctor will have excellent tournament write-ups for the event.

I'll start with the bad... the tournament mechanics, it was a craps shoot and after 2 levels it degenerated into a game of fold or push all-in for the majority of the field. I have no doubt that Felicia will take this topic to task so I leave this to her and say in advance I completely agree.

Moving on to the positive, the turn-out for the event was tremendous, from Canada to Texas, from LA to New York the poker bloggers came. After Bill Rini captured the most coveted honor in all of pokerdom and the blogosphere the party sauntered down to the La Salsa where our most esteemed dignitary, Al Can't Hang had arranged a reception for the scribes.

This, at least for me, was the highlight of the gathering. I had a chance to meet new bloggers, including a disproportionate number of lawyers, a science guru and a programmer. As always, I feel as though I ran out of time and didn't really get to chat at length with a couple of bloggers that I admire, respect and think are just plain cool. Of course, numerous old acquaintances did abound and I had an opportunity to catch up with HDouble, Howard, BadBlood and many, many others.

A couple of memorable moments from the various events. Poker Nerd cracking EvaCantHang's A,K with the hammer at the MGM mixed game table. Hanging out with She-Verb, Beer City, and Hellahold'em at the aforementioned blogger table. The AlCantHang/Dr. Pauly suite at the downtown Plaza Hotel.

I know I'm still missing numerous people in this post; but visit the blogs I have linked and you're sure to find the rest. CJ did a good job of organizing this blogger convention as did Al (after tournament party), Otis (storm the castle) and Felicia (MGM poker gathering / Sushi).

Sean and I finally managed to work Card Club back into the schedule so I'll be back on the podcast this week along with Pauly. We hope to have some mid-week WSOP updates for the show, as well, so do tune in.

To start off this week in review check out Double A's latest strategy offerings in his articles pressure points and pressure points revisited then be sure to read EV's stunning article entitled EV's guide to spread limit hold'em. Look no further then litfpitr for the legality of poker in North Carloina . While on the subject of poker legalities, both Pauly and F-Train have posts about the recent poker club raids in New York. (Pauly's being extra cool since it also includes the table of contents from the latest issue of Trukin'). In the comparison and analogy department Stick and Move has a post of Star Wars quotes as they apply to poker and JRJ has a post providing a thoughtful and in depth comparison of poker to chess. In other news some WPBT bounties... Maudie is all bark and no bite and if you get Geek and Proud's bounty the Jopke is on you.

Only a few days remain before the mother of all poker tournaments, the WPBT Vegas Invitational, begins right here in las Vegas next Saturday. I guess I should also mention that another poker tournament will be going on here in Las Vegas, the World Series of Poker gets under way on Friday. The WSOP will debut its' new home at the Rio All-Suite Resort. All of the poker professionals will be here for this one, along with thousands of not-so-pro players. Try to be here for the most exciting poker action in the world and you will be a part of poker history.

[Update: A little self promotion, I just noticed we're the topic of today's post over at the new poker.com blog... very cool, it looks like poker.com is taking the correct approach and reaching out.]

With the WPBT event a little over a week away G-Rob and Dr. Pauly have some excellent posts up on the subject. Be sure to read the Doctor's 10 things you need to know list. Badblood's article on poker technology 'A fair Deal' is up over at Poker Player Online. Head on over to read Hdouble's Matrix movie poker wisdom post then check out Linda's Poker Works site re-design. Dick over at Buy It In Vegas has his solution for getting a WSOP seat in every event and Bill Rini has posted the most thoughtful and insightful look at how to improve online poker I've seen yet.
Finally, I noticed a lot of hubbub over the recent All-In magazine's Antonio Esfandiari article; well, Paul Phillips has weighed in on the topic with hearsay from The Magician that the article was ghost written and went to press unapproved.

My two cents on things to do while in Vegas for the Blogger Tournament...

Good Deals
Check out hotel room specials. If you plan to be playing in your hotel's poker room ask the poker room manager for a special rate on your room.

Comps
Almost every poker room has some food comps available, but you usually have to ask. Generally they track your action and provide comps accordingly. Playing the slots or pit table games are another way to score some free food; but again, you have to ask. Most of the hotels now track you via a player's card so get one right after you check-in or if you are playing at a casino other than where you are staying get a card there before you play.

Must Visit attractions
Almost too many to list. Boulder Damn, Forum Shops, Top of the Stratosphere Tower, Fremont Street Experience, Bellagio Fountains, Mirage Volcano and white tigers, the shark reef at Mandalay Bay, the new Wynn, at least one showroom show, The sinking ship show at the TI, the MGM world's largest hotel and for the very adventurous, a summer Death Valley tour. of course, don't forget why you came to Las Vegas, the poker. The biggest show in poker, the WSOP, will be going wide open at the Rio Resort so you have an opportunity to OD on poker.

More attractions you may not be aware of
The Boulder Strip, Mount Charleston, Imperial Palace Auto Colection, Binion's Poker Hall of Fame wall, the Golden Nugget's largest golden nugget in the world, world's largest Harley Store and The Liberace Museum. Almost everywhere you look there is something worth checking out.

Best late night snacks
Las Vegas is twenty-four hours of everything so you can find whatever you want to eat around the clock. One of our favorites is the Carnegie Deli at the Mirage and, yes, it is the same as the original in NY, NY. Wanting something more upscale and expensive then try Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

Don't forget that summer in Las Vegas is very hot, hotter than anything many of you have experienced. We are already into triple digit temperatures so plan accordingly. Our sun is very intense with a high UV factor so wear sun protection and push the water.

The top news this week is the release of an academic paper on the topic of internet gaming in the United States from the University of Toronto Law School. The paper focuses on current legislation and how it theoretically could impact on-line gambling; vis-a-vis, what it has actually been used for. The paper examines several laws which I mentioned in an old article on internet poker legalities, and goes into far greater depth, as well as covering other pieces of legislation I had not considered. At about 40 pages it's well worth the time it takes to read. This is the most consolidated resource on the legal state of internet gambling I've seen. I found this passage especially poignant:

In order to attempt to curb the ease and accessibility of Internet gambling sites for US citizens, several technical methods have been attempted or are under development. For the purposes of this report, the two most widely discussed techniques; credit card authorization codes and a potential ban on Internet gambling advertising on websites hosted within the United States are discussed.

Finally, from the world of pure poker blogs, check out the old world master art from Otis', Anisotropy's "What's going on?" and the latest BG/Al Can't Hang (e-mail) experience.

First, a bit of self-promotion, I've managed to convince Noble Poker we need a free-roll to boost interest, so it's set for Tuesday, May 10th at 6:00 pm PST. The password is 'lasvegas'. In addition to the $200 Noble has put up for the event I'll give a copy of the Ron Rose book, Poker Aces to the champion and a copy of Howard Lederer Tells All to the runner-up.

Now, some more interesting news on the poker player front, with some new articles from Boy Genius and Dr. Pauly, not to mention the World Series of Poker Circuit coverage and results from Nolan Dalla. On the subject of Dr. Pauly he is providing some very cool sound bites to Card Club every week, making the best (only) poker podcast even better.

I noticed a post from Bill on the takeover at gunpoint merger between Party Poker and Poker Now, which sparked my interest because I noticed Poker Now was pulling the rug out from under Poker Grub a couple of weeks ago (April 22nd Post). Also, I noticed that one of the most giving members of the poker blogger community was questioning his place, I refer to the fellow who gave us the WPBT Website, Pokerrata. I noticed looking through previous weeks in review a couple of my favorite blogs to read that I rarely link too, so, stop by Anisotropy and Mean Gene for some of my favorite reading material. Finally today is the day of Iggy's WSOP Seat giveaway, so stop on by Party Poker Blogs for the latest news.

Let's start off with the good news, Felicia posted, I pray the news only gets better. Be sure to check out the latest from Otis, the official Poker Stars Blog. Bad Blood put up a creative writing contest for a write-up on winning a WSOP event and Pauly has posted his write-up. Hank has an interesting post up about Self Affirmation, while Poker Grub takes a look at some of the lesser known attractions, such as 10 minute plays here in Vegas. Bob celebrated his birthday on April 22nd and his present was winning the WSOP event seat tonight, way to go Bob. Poker Nerd got one heck of a present from Poker Stars as well. The Poker Geek is trying to offer some cool T-shirts and Wil has posted a bit more on his Five-Star excursion. Finally, be sure to watch Iggy for the WSOP qualifier tournament events.

The past three weeks have been spent mostly at the Bellagio covering the Five-Star World Poker Classic tournament. All of the poker pros have been spotted at the 5-Star, the second largest show in poker. Hanging out with the movers and shakers of poker has provided some insights into subjects of current interest. One of the major topics is what effect the opening of the Wynn will have on existing poker rooms here in Vegas. Will the players in the high limit games go to the Wynn instead of the Bellagio? I guess the Bellagio is concerned and decided to remodel their room, then get it reopened before the super-joint behind the mountain opens to the general public on Thursday. We will provide news and photos from the Wynn as soon as possible.

Sitting down to write this week in review I can't help but reflect on the past year and everything that's happened. It really started with the 2004 WSOP and Nolan Dalla handing us our first media badge. From there it been a year of expansion and evolution, culminating in the sponsorship by Noble Poker (don't get too excited, it's basically covering the operating costs which Google stopped doing when we moved to RackSpace) and a full time gig building the Poker Player website. I suppose if I had to select the biggest highlights of the past year, they would be, in chronological order:

Covering the 2004 World Series of Poker
Meeting Hank (HDouble for the first time)
Meeting and getting to know some of the wonderful professional players.
Thanksgiving with Felicia (no I haven't mailed you yet!)
The highlight of the year, the 2004 WPBT Holiday Classic
The Al Can't Hang experience at the [casino never to be named on this blog].
Getting a sponsor.
Building the Poker Player Web Site with BG and Pauly writing for it.
And finally, thanks to our friends at Check, Raise or Muckit for their encouragement, criticism and help.

Now for the actual week in review.

Let's begin with the April 24th WSOP Blogger qualifier event on Poker Stars that Iggy and Otis put together. It's a blogger only event so e-mail Iggy for the password to register and may the best blogger win. Next up is BG's latest post to Poker Player... politburo jokes are funny indeed, eh comrade? Next check out Ship It Poker for a healthy dose of undiscovered Party Bonus Codes and sound poker advice. For some poker antics check out SirFWALGMan's suckout of the Poker Geek's flopped set. If you want a stomach churning tale of woe read 50 outs Vegas trip report. Finally check out Pauly's review of Harrington on Hold'em and Linda's blog for a perspective on the cash games running at the Bellagio.

Thanks to Boy Genius and our World Series of Poker reporter we now have two bloggers added to the writer list over at Poker Player.

Iggy is planning a June 3rd Satellite to send a blogger to the $1500 Buy in WSOP No Limit Hold'em Event, which tends to have one of the best turn-outs and prize purses of the entire series. I read a great post by sweet Auntie Maudie, and if you think of her this way you really need to read it. Double A's qualified for the WPT Aruba; so, a big congratulations his way. Otis' Top Ten reasons to come to the WPBT are also worth a visit.

I'm finding that I have more and more things that need to be done and reading the entire blog-roll each week is taking a bigger slice of time, to the point that this week, I simply didn't make it all the way through. So, if you have a post, or a blog that you think needs to be here, e-mail me the link.

Addendum: Be sure to check out Pplayer.com, a poker blog with multiple updates everyday and tons of content, it's part of the Weblogsinc corporate network of blogs but, in my opinion, it’s the corporate approach to blogging done right.
Let's begin this week with a couple of neat April's Fools Day posts that cropped up on the blogger scene, one from Double A's and another from Badblood. Next if you're a limerick lover (and after enough alcohol who isn't?) Check out what Mr. Subliminal is up too. Felicia has up a cool post about her friends and hero's while Bill has a cool post about Felicia and Maudie is selling Felicia approved tank tops. To wrap up the general blogger scene I noticed Buy it in Vegas is back and posting again.

Now, even thought the posts went up on April 1st, the posts are true, Pauly will be heading out for the WSOP this year to cover the events for, among other places, Poker Player Online (Which is already publishing his fiction). In addition, to help out Lord Admiral with the bandwidth stress of hosting Card Club (as well as adding more content), there is now a Poker Radio page at Poker Player. Which is a nice segue into a quick thank you for the new Poker Player links.

First off, Dr. Pauly is in town and I had an opportunity to spend some quality time bar-hopping with him on the Strip. I'm sure he'll have a write-up that will far exceed anything I could produce so watch Tao of Poker for the lowdown. A detail of note: beer at the Excalibur bar is 25 cents cheaper then at the Caesar's Palace Sports Book bar.

I ran across...EV's massive post which includes a look at table selection and a very cool photo of the Borgata to boot. Badblood has a philosophical look at success, inspired by Iggy and Maudie. If you want more information on Flipchip's legal witch-hunt post below, check out liquor in front, poker in the rear for a massive post of the topic. Linda is always adding quality content posts and I want to give another thank you to bloggers linking to PokerPlayerNewspaper.com.

The poker tournament schedule for Las Vegas is filled right through the 2005 World Series of Poker at the Rio Hotel and Resort. The tournamnet action is everywhere in Vegas, the strip, off-strip and downtown. The tournaments bring all the professional players into town so we will be there with our coverage from the first, "put the cards in the air," to the final all-in.

First a big thank-you to my fellow bloggers that have already linked up Poker Player Newspaper. Hank has a another strategy post up, this time on the theory of sucking-out. Next up Max has a short post up about Hussler's poker pictorial's:

After Playboy, it's Hustler's turn to have a feature article about poker. In the March 2005 issue, Hustler tells the story of some of the most popular women of poker. Jennifer Harman, Evelyn Ng, Mimi Tran, Marsha Wagonner, all answered few questions. There are also few nice words about Jill Ann Spaulding, familiar to many poker players because she will show at many tournaments as the Playboy Playmate. In the pictures there is also featured Annie Duke, Kathy Liebert and Clonie Gowen. All of them with clothes on.
Evelyn said in the article: "I know people try to label me as an Anna Kournikova type," Ng acknowledges, "but I'm not trying to whore myself out. I don't care about fame. I want to win at poker and make money."
That is real funny stuff. The real question is: when is she going to be featured on the cover of Playboy? It would the best seller issue in the history of nude magazines. How many poker players would buy that? Very close to all of us.
C'mon Evelyn there is nothing wrong of selling yourself and it seems you are doing a great job at it. I do not blame you either. Life is short and you need to grab every opportunity that you can. If Playboy or Hustler offers you 100k or more, go for it you may become the new Paris Hilton.

This was of special interest to me, check out page 13 of the April 2005 issue of Playboy to get the details on why.
My thoughts this week are with Felicia, get well soon.

Poker season is official here in Vegas with the World Series of Poker Circuit over at the Rio underway and back to back major series and events from now until the end of the World Series of Poker World Championship Main Event in July. Now this week Felicia brings us a tureen filled with poker wisdom and some memorable images. Next Max has a new post up with his odds-making for the final table at the Bay 101, a quick excerpt:

Gus Hansen + 150 (3/2) Oops he did it again. But the final six is not his objective. Gus will have a big edge on the table especially if Men Master, short, is eliminated quickly. It will be very interesting to see if the novices players under the tv lights will let him dictate the pace of the table. I think this will happened and will give Gus the clear advantage to win another one. He has 24% of the chips in play.
The only one with 3 WPT titles, can he make it 4? Big favorite.

Men "Master" Nguyen + 700 (7-1) Here is one player that I have experience playing against (the closest I got to Gus as a opponent was in table tennis, and he beat me in a close match). Men is not afraid to gamble and he's also use to play under the lights. I truly believe Men plays much better under pressure and if he can double up and then steal few blinds he'll have a good shot to win.

$5 tourney
Sunday. March 13th
9pm EST
Name of tourney: WPBT HORSE Tournament

Wednesday, March 30th
$20 + $2 - No-Limit
Poker Stars - Private tournament tab

Be sure to hit Iggy's blog for bonus codes and passwords.
Now for the truly geeky (Badblood this means you)check out Linux and Poker for a look at poker software on the Linux platform.
Finally, the funniest post I've read in ages comes from the mind of Obituarium, read the play-by-play commentary from Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten on Obituarium's recent tournament experience and be prepared to bust a gut laughing.

Plenty of great content this week, starting with the updates on the WBPT website to RSVP your seat at the June tourney, head on over and make sure you register. Now, the big news this week, by far and away is the new pokertracker guide from Hank and Iggy. If you are not familiar with poker tracker, check out Ship It Poker for a sterling recommendation. I have not read the guide, but given the authors I expect it's well worth the $20. If your still waffling, let me paraphrase Tom McEvoy, "How could a player be so stupid that they won't spend money on a book that will pay for itself if they win just one or two more pots because of reading it." This brings me to the next blogger on-line tourney set for March 13 at 9pm EST on Full Tilt, the format is HORSE!

Glenn has a good read on his experience at the River Palms, Rick has a fresh new look and feel, Badblood was Moneymakered, Bill has a review of Poker Coaching and Snail Trax has a short and sweet post about inducing fish to bluff.

This week on Card Club I answered a reader e-mail on building a quality blog and getting readers (the quality blog topic was part of this post a while back). If you happen to listen to this program I want to make sure I clarify one point on posting your blog to groups/forums. I am NOT talking about dropping into a forum and leaving a post like, "Check out my blog". I am talking about dropping into a forum and leaving a post like "I've been reading posts here at XYZ and espically found the post on ABC insightful, including FGH's response. I wonder if anyone here could give me some feedback on my blog?". The point of posting your blog to a forum is two-fold, get people to look at it and get some constructive critism on it. On this self-promotion note, I've been having trouble updating my blog roll since Technorati seems to be whacked for the time being, so if you have a poker blog linking to me and I haven't seen it, drop me an e-mail and I'll get you added.

To wrap up this week, be sure to check out Al Can't Hang for a little Cow Bell Goodness.

Well, the big news is the next WPBT (that's World Poker Blogger Tour) event is scheduled for the Aladdin Casino's Poker Room here in Vegas on June 4th, UpForPoker is taking the helm on this gathering so be sure to contact CJ.
We have plenty of time to prepare this time and I expect it will become quite an event.

In other blog news Matt Matros and themaroon are having an interesting poker discussion, A Fool and His Money posted his Borgata trip report and Double A's wrote a short and sweet three paragraph three point post on improving your game. JRJ posted his review of Tilt and the consensus is: Tilt Sucks, I'd suggest the ESPN producers re-title the show to let viewers know what they are getting into, so next season look for "ESPN's Flop". Both Anisotropy and Mean Gene have some thoughts on the WPT "Poker by the Book" episode. My favorite line came from Mean Gene, "I don't think that gives we laypeople the right to treat [Sklansky] as an abacus with legs."

Finally, yet another episode of Card Club is in the can so if you're looking for podcast poker content then give it a listen.

Going through the poker blogs this week I uncovered some great winners, losers and just fun reading.

First up, Iggy is posting his Losers epic, which is now up to part 7. On the subject of Iggy, both he and Double A's steered me over to Ship It Poker, a new poker blog written by a trio of professional players. Matt Dean, who took 7th in the World Series of Poker this year, Lloyd McGuire, who is paying his Law school tuition with his poker income and Taylor Caby, a high limit online cash game crusher. This is an excellent and enlightening read that I'm sure will often be part of the Week in Review.

Poker Geek has a great post on table image and Poker Nerd is busy chronicaling his non-stop 4 table poker action. Pauly's reader mail (and the responses) is a very entertaining read. I managed to squeeze in another Card Club poker podcast this week so you might give a listen.

It's another banner week for bloggers, with Mene Gene scoring a writing gig. Two excellent posts on the art of bonus whoring, one from Sound of a Suckout and another from Anisotropy.

Felicia is again offer her uncensored thoughts to the public while Helixx is posting his Vegas Trip Report. Double A's brings us a guest poster with an in depth discussion of playing a full-house and Cardspeak has posted twice in three days, both quality reads.

If you're looking for even more links and reads both Bill and Pauly have posts featuring links to quality reads in and about the poker community.

Dick over at Call, Raise or Muck It has an interesting observation on our article about Moneymaker.

Finally, I have a new poker gig myself which will be done in the coming week, I'm about 50% done with the code and can't wait to get it up and running.

Let's start this week with Human Head's Think Big post on gambling prohibition. It's always good to stay current with legal developments on the evolving sport of poker. Next, I think Bad Blood's heir is the youngest person to check-raise, he did it to his mother, he's 4 years old! For a dose of humor, check out Bill's post on how on-line poker looks to a fish. I gave the scoop on the Commerce during my stint on Card Club this week, so head over to Lord Armiral Radio for that tidbit. If you're looking for entertaining poker content, Linda never ceases to provide a great read and Ultimate Poker Challenge is posting up new pro tips each week in video format.

Finally, congratulations to Otis and Double A's for taking 2nd and 3rd respectively in a 10K guaranteed tournament and a big cougratulations to PokerGeek on winning his cruise seat.

Iggy's tournament on Poker Stars is in two days, the buy-in is only $20 and it will be quite a gathering. This week is dedicated to the cool bloggers I had a chance to hang out with yesterday while covering the LA poker Classic at the Commerce Casino. Top props go to StudioGlyphic for organizing the impromptu gathering and Al Can't Hang for getting us space at the bar, not to mention the SoCo. The dinner was a hoot with old friends Felicia, Glenn, Grubby, Hank (he has a great new post up), Bill and, of course, Al "The Party" leading the party. I had a chance to meet some very cool members of the blogger community for the first time as well, Glyphic, F. Howard H., Joe and Jeff. If I missed anyone shoot me an e-mail and blame it on the SoCo.

I didn't have a chance to play since I spent most of my scant few hours chatting with fellow bloggers and checking out the $300 No Limit Hold'em poker event upstairs. I planned on having more time but the last 60 miles of the drive down were brutal. I thought we were taking I-10 to I-605. It turns out we were taking the "Miserable Dead-Stop Traffic" freeway to the "Avoid it like the Plague" freeway.

In other news, if you're reading this you're looking at the new server.

A smattering of culture, strategy, trip reports and upcoming events comprise the bulk of this week's post. Maudie and Iggy both have literary poker related jewels, Maudie with an excellent running poker analogy with a snippet of dialogue from Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and Iggy with a modified version of Edger Allen Poe's The Raven adapted for the poker. Poker on Film is always rich with cultural gems as well, every post beginning with a movie quote. On the subject of poker analogies, One 2 Many has a similar analogy focused on dating. In the strategy department, Double A's brings us an interesting post on weakness with big stacks. Richard over at Lion Tales has a great Atlantic City trip report up and Otis is *still* writing up his December visit to Vegas!
I read on Cards Speak that StudioGylphic is planning a blogger get together in the near future.

Let me start off by mentioning Iggy�s next tournament will be at Poker Stars on February 2nd at 9:00 pm EST. From the poker blog world Glenn offers up a video of a priceless expression on Feilica�s face after she fold KQs to Glenn�s� KQs. Hank from Cards Speak is embarking on a new venture and will go to work for Full Tilt starting at the end of the month, like so many others, I wish him the very best. Buy It In Vegas has a short but sweet post on the topic of cell phones at the table and Mene Gene has spruced up his blog with a redesign. The best Tunica trip report I�ve seen thus far comes from Hunts Vegas Poker and is a great read. If you want a bit of laugh out loud humor, check out the Penguin�s post on the stupidity of support staff and finally Card Club should have a new episode up soon. I managed to get in touch with Tom McEvoy, he gave his blessing to release the Q&A audio from the poker blogger event and it will be part of the Card Club podcast.

This week provided some great content from the poker blog world, and at the top of the list is Caribbean Poker Adventure, Otis� gig blogging for Poker Stars. Next up we have some new multi-media content, Bill offers a great short video clip from the WPBT, Al has some photos and the good folks over at Lord Admiral have a new Card Club radio podcast. Hank is offering up more of his poker wisdom and considers Doyle Brunson not only old� but ancient! Maudie has an excellent year-end reflection post while uwannbet offers up some very entertaining table chat with a �know it all� and a �fish�. I first heard about the tsunami relief efforts from Poker Stars over at PokerBear and finally, O-My asked John Juanda�s for his thoughts on dealer�s, and John responded.

I extend a Happy New Year to all of our readers and you win all of your all-ins.

Seasons greeting and a bah humbug to everyone. I�m in the full jolly spirit of things handing out coal to relatives and glowering at people who try to send good cheer my way. I've spent the past few days improving the poker tournament listings and adding a poker tournament caledar. I've also added photos to the poker chips page from all the varieties available from our friends at Buy It In Vegas.

This week in review is a motley mix and some of these posts are the best gifts I received for the holidays. First there are a couple of online poker posts, one on goats and book shills and another on flat out exploiting the system. The dealers in the community continue to offer a unique perspective on poker, so be sure to check out Linda and O.J. for excellent content. The Poker Chronicles has a nifty post on Super System 2 which begins with a nasty bad beat placed on someone who mis-played pocket rockets pre-flop (limping with rockets is just begging for a suck-out) and DoubleA's offers an interesing railbird's eye view of short handed no limit stacks. Chicago to Vegas has great poker related headlines including a few about the monorail� yes, that monorail. Finally, I saved the best for last, check out Sloetimes Poker Blogger eBook idea for some great laughs and then stop by the filmgeek for what is one of the coolest geek concepts I�ve ever seen, Starwars meets Megaman meets poker.

The big news in the poker blog world this week is Otis getting a gig to blog the Caribbean Poker Stars event when Wil Wheaton turned it down and passed the offer along and he has a couple of articles in All-In. I can think of no one better for this, congratulations Otis! I�m on the Lord Admiral Card Club Poker Podcast this week, but there is plenty of good content none-the-less, it�s great to listen to these shows while killing time on the computer. Iggy already has a comprehensive list for the WPBT tournaments. Finally, check out Felicia�s post on tournament etiquette for some sound advice on keeping annoying behavior in check.

Poker Tournament action in Las Vegas continues through the Holiday's so give yourself an early present, come to Vegas and win one. We saw Doug Dalton, Poker Operations Director for the Bellagio, and he reported that he is now feeling great after the recent heart attack. Amazing what a few stents can do, just ask Flipchipro. Happy Holidays!

This week in review is a list of �thank you�s� owed to the many people and companies that made the World Poker Blogger Tour Holiday Classic held Saturday at Sam�s Town a reality and success, so let�s get right to the accolades.

Many thanks to our Tournament Director and Co-host, Dick Gatewood and Co-host and organizer Dr. Pauly. I also wish to thank the newly opened Internet Poker Room, Check N� Raise for sponsoring the event and providing all of the participants with great jackets commemorating the First WPBT Holiday Classic. Special thanks to Maudie for designing and providing shirts for the event, wear them proudly! Even more clothing from final table sponsor, All In Poker Clothing for providing signature, 'Dominate the Table' shirts, shot glasses and bottle openers, thanks for the nice gifts! Professional player, Ron Rose, receives another special thank you for not only coming to the event; but, presenting everyone with a copy of his book, �Poker Aces, The Stars of Tournament Poker.� Thanks to our own cartoonist and resident drunk, J Santos, who provided three signed, original "Muck It" cartoons.

I extend a most special thank you to the professional players for taking time away from their busy schedules at the Bellagio�s Five Diamond to make our blogger event special indeed. Many thanks to Professional Players Marcel Luske, Evelyn Ng, Max Pescatori, Charlie Shoten, Tom McEvoy, Kirill Gerasimov and Ron Rose. We enjoyed meeting and visiting with all of these stars of poker. Many thanks to Charlie Shoten for the presentation of his upcoming book, �No Limit Life,� and to Tom McEvoy for his question and answer session. Thanks to Felicia Lee for making the one day trip, even though she was not feeling well; and then, winning the tournament.

Thanks to Sam�s Town Hotel and Casino for providing the rooms, food, dealers, management and limousines for this special event.

And finally, Thanks to all of the Poker Bloggers for traveling thousands of miles to be here in Las Vegas for this first ever WBPT tournament. Blogs are already being posted detailing this event and Bill has posted a good read complete with photos. I will have Flipchip�s party photos complied and available soon.

There are a couple of cool stratagy posts this week; first, part of Hank�s recent uber post is a section on Playing the Players and Glenn has posted his successful free-roll on-line tourney strategy. Next, there is a nifty piece from Sound of a Suckout on Online casino bonuses. On the subject of media, Matusow and Monty Python Check out Mene Gene�s post Vaster Wasteland. Dick still has some rooms at Sam�s Town at a good rate for the upcoming blogger tourney and Pauly is keeping everything together. All-In Poker Apparel should be offering up some cool swag for the tourney in addition to everything else lined up. On that note, Evelyn Ng plans on joining us for the Holiday Blogger festivities thanks to that lecherous limey, FoiledCoup. Finally, I just finished my end of the month work-fest and one fundraising site I maintain has a story on charity poker with Phil Hellmuth.

Saluting the Lord Admiral
Its not often I run across �wow� content on the Internet, but Sean of Lord Admiral has a weekly podcast poker radio show that is production quality and filled with some great content, including Vegas poker room reviews in the November 21st installment. Sean�s blog and site are good, but the radio program is jewel.

This week has a Vegas trip report from Hank and things to be thankful from CJ. Chris Halverson�s blog has a new look and he is now ranked 9th in the OIC competition. BuyitinVegas has a great post on what a string bet is and betting for value has a cool post on making the most of his table image. Finally, Al Can�t Hang has a post that includes his tourny strategy for the upcoming blogger event� but I think he�s bluffing.

The Holiday Blogger's Tournament is rapidly approaching (less than two weeks!), so I am reviewing and practicing all things poker.

To start off this week, I noticed that it now takes almost 4 hours to go though the entire blogroll, that�s a lot of content!

PokerGrub�s blog is celebrating its first birthday giving us a year of �bad beats and bad beets." Glenn and Felicia are touring the Arizona poker rooms and have some great insight and content while Pauly and Dick stay on top of the up coming Dec 11th tourney.

In the strategy department this week I noticed a post on when to move up in limits from Poker, it�s life and a great post on the dangers of Big Slick [AK] from Betting for Value and on the philosophical side, Sound of a Suckout looks at some of the metaphysical aspects of poker in Poker and Art.

Finally, like other bloggers, I got an e-mail from the blog of confessed casino cheat, Richard Marcus. His blog is an interesting read and well worth a look.

There a few good ol' fashioned strategy and tactics posts from this week. First, A fool and his money has a massive post which includes some poker tips for short-handed games and examining pot-odds. Next I ran across an interesting post on bluffing from Sideways Poker with an interesting comment from PokerbyFire, a great discussion to read.
To close up strategy, Poker Nerd has a refreshing look at a method of approximating the number of outs you have in some of the more complicated flush-draw situations.

This week also marked a mile-stone for Online Gambling after a major win when the WTO ruled against the U.S. for having unfair trade laws against the practice. Poker Words has taken a look at this issue and I agree wholeheartedly, regulate and tax.

I noticed on Casino Gosain that another live blogger tourney is in the formation, perhaps for January/Feburary and that brings me to the LVHCWPBT (That's �Las Vegas Holiday Classic World Poker Blogger� tour) Event. So far, this is the list I've compiled (thanks to Pauly) of bloggers/players who will be attending is in the entry just below.

Well, I noticed a few interesting things this week, first up O.J. is offering Poker Dealer lessons in the L.A. area so check his blog for the details. Next up, Dave over at Die is Cast, found an interesting study on youth gambling which is worth a read. Dan, over at Pokerati, has a post on whether professional players on line are really themselves. In one instance, at least, this facade personality might be the case; but, the rumor is hard to confirm. Even if true, I�m not sure any intentional deceit is being practiced, none the less, you can read the details on his blog about whether Phil Hullmuth is really Phil Hellmuth on-line. Maudie�s blog, Poker Perspectives, celebrates its one year anniversary, and Paul Phillip�s is close to achieving one of his predictions, being filmed in tights and an earring. He already has a photo that was taken on a TV show set, so it just might come to pass (scroll down a bit to see the pirate photo). An update on the December 11th live blogger tourney (WPBT), BuyItInVegas is putting together some room deals etc., so watch his blog for details and updates, and Boy Genius is making odds on all the players with detailed notes!

Might as well start off with a response to a J. Santos cartoon from Call Raise or Muckit! I think he put more thought into this cartoon then anyone. The blogger tournaments are getting bigger, PokerGurb has a dedicated page for the upcoming PokerGrub Calssic and Maudie of Poker Perspectives has designed a catchy logo for the WPBT. I noticed an interesting post by Doubles A�s on smooth calling a pre-flop raise with a big pair. To close be sure to read the ever entertaining tales from Linda at Pokerworks and check out Quite Lion�s Festa al Lago trip report.

Today is Nevada Day here in the Battle Born State. The anniversary of Nevada joining the Union in 1864. Amazingly enough, it is also Halloween. We have always wondered if there is some significance to the coinciding dates. Happy birthday Nevada and Happy Halloween to our readers. Stay safe so we will see you tomorrow.

The big poker blog news this week is, of course, the poker blogger/reader tournament, hosted by now full time player, Iggy. MtDewVirus took top honors with ToddComish in second, other blog writer money finishers include Poker Nerd in 9th, Ftrain in 15th and GeekandProud in 16th. It�s also worth nothing that poker nerd has a comprehensive write-up on his site well worth the read. Finally, on the subject of blogger tourneys I noticed the PokerGrub is planning a November PokerGrub Classic tournament. It's set for Sunday, Nov. 21 at 9 p.m. ET
for blog writers and readers.

A couple of anniversaries occurred this week with Chris Halverson celebrating one year since his first foray into poker and Hank celebrating the one year mark since the creation of his blog.

Felicia continues to write-up the whole story of the WPPA/Orleans and is a story that has to be read to be believed. To close, I noticed one of my favorite reads, the infamous PokerPenguin is back.

First, I want to make sure everyone is reading Felicia since she is going to put up the entire story of her WPPA experience. Next, the most moving post I�ve ever read is over at UpforPoker where Otis has shared a touching part of his life. Cardsspeak has a great post as Hank continues to share his wonderful writing and experience. Linda is putting up her tales from the Bellagio, as always, and Uwannabet has a memorable look at why poker bloggers end up with premature grey hair. Finally I want to correct a massive over sight from my earlier post about the All-In magazine, Dan at Pokerati gave me the opportunity to write the Medicinal Poker article and without his help it never would have happened, thanks Dan!

This week the poker action really comes on strong here in Vegas. The $10,000 buy-in main event of the Fiesta al Lago at the Bellagio begins on Monday with all the pros going after the big dollars and an apperance on the Travel Channel's WPT series. This weekend the Ultimate Poker Challenge at the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas ends the qualifying tournaments and starts the semi-final rounds that will determine the final televised table. We will be on hand for all the exciting poker action scheduled to run for the next two weeks. This is a great time to visit Las Vegas and either watch, participate or do both. Take part in the high stakes tournament games and see your favorite poker stars in action upclose. You're guaranteed a memorable time.

People are heading to Vegas. Boy Genius has his list of 5 things to do while here, prompted by Al Can�t Hang who is also heading to sin city. O.J. will be here sooner then anyone to play in a Fiesta al Lago event. Cheap Thrills has a great write-up on the legality of poker while Felicia continues to provide excellent tournament reports from the first WPPA events. Finally, both A fool and his Money and Call, Raise or Muck it have excellent alternate perspectives on the Mike Matasow story.

The popularity of poker has spread into the retail sector with many of the giants stocking up on poker related merchandise. Casino quality chips, cards and table tops may be the hot, must have items this holiday season. A Wal Mart spokesperson believes decks of playing cards will probably be the most popular stocking stuffer this Christmas. Kmart indicated they are seeing people with little playing experience buying poker items and their poker game knowledge is primarily from the poker tournament shows on TV. With all the revenues that poker is generating and the potential to spill over into retail sales it should not be long before the Feds take an interest in making it a legit, tax paying business.

Let�s start the week with a couple of well written Vegas trip reports, one from Genius of the Poker and the other from Wil Wheaton. Next Felicia deserves major props for her excellent write-ups of the first WPPA tournaments being held at the Orleans. I always like to point poker readers in the direction of Linda over at poker-works, her day-to-day experiences as a dealer are second to none! Finally, I�ve avoided blogging about the death of Andy Glazer for quite some time. I could not bring myself to blog the true story and I refused to utter a known falsehood. Well, the truth is now out there. Paul Phillips has the link to the Andy Glazner story. RIP Andy.

Week in review for 09.26.04

Well, quite a week, I discovered a couple of new blogs including Suerte o Muerte (Luck or Death) which uncovered a jewel on Pot Odds. David put up a neat post (with photos) on the Hard Rock bill board debacle. I just read on Maudie�s blog that the WPPA has a TV deal with the gameshow network! This is bloody good news for the players.

"No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." --P.J. O'Rourke

Yes, content was taken, I'm going to let sleeping dogs lie for the moment.

Check out Tao of Poker for an interesting categorization of the various online names and handles used by online players in his Wednesday, September 15 entry. Call Raise or Muck It has the complete details of Final Table Challenge posted and an interesting rumor about the World Poker Tour. I found Poker Roadtrip�s examination of civility an interesting read. Felicia Lee has a report on some of the cheating scum at the 4 Queens while Glenn has a poker comic. Finally, Hank has a great look at the element of aggression in poker.

In other news, I�ve finally finished one of my massive projects. Robert�s Rules of Poker Version 5 is live and has some new features to make it even more web-friendly. First, every section can now be printed individually from that section. Second, I�ve placed the altered text in a slightly different shade to make it easy to see what has changed. Finally, all the terms now have pop-up definitions! Simply hover over a word or phrase and the definition should pop right up (Of course, you can still click on the word or phrase to go to the definition). This project would not have been possible without the masterful work of Bob Ciaffone, the author of these wonderful rules.

A week in review for 9.12.04

The 4 Queens Results and Photo Gallery are being updated (almost) daily. First off, I noticed that David G. Schwartz, who runs the UNLV World Series of Poker (WSOP) exhibit has a brand new blog called the Die is Cast. This week I ran across some great posts on strategy and psychology. First, the poker chronicles offers a look at how (theoretically) to earn 100k a year playing poker for a living. Anisotropy has a post on the lessons (re)learned from playing. Finally, Crazy game of Poker has a good trip report post after a couple weeks of hiatus.

See the extended text for the latest 4 Queens Poker Classic report.

Before I get stared on the review, I�d like to point out a couple of additions to the site. The 4 Queens Poker Classic photo gallery is now live and the tournament results for the events are being updated daily. See the extended text of this post for the latest excellent tournament report from Debbie Burkhead.

The other project I�ve been spending a lot of time on is the Poker Links Directory. Basically, there are too many good poker links to list them all on this blog and besides, I have yet to find a link directory I really like that is well maintained. The poker link section has a couple of bells and whistles including a rating system, broken link report tool and a fairly easy to use add-a-link page. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Now, on to the review.

This week, Otis brings the world a look at the �The Mouth� Matusow vs. Greg �Fossilman� Raymer from the recent WSOP Main event episode on ESPN. Next, You can read about poker at the Bellagio from both the dealers and the player�s perspective. There is a great Borgata trip report from Genius of the poker and finally, The Poker Chronicles has an interesting post on when to use a call in Calling as a Weapon.

Stinger (from a great post by Poker Grub):

They scream how I could call a raise with 4-6, that the place was rigged, that I must work for Party, that they have no chance, that I must be a bot.

I [PokerGurb] defend myself by saying: "STACK OVERFLOW ERROR 321591"

Question: Are you seeing a pop-up when you come here?
A reader wrote me saying a nasty pop-up is opening when they come to this blog. There should be zero pop-ups (I hate the damn things!), so if something is creating a popup when you visit please leave a comment and I'll kill the annoyance asap.

I�ve not been around much this week in the world of poker or blogs thanks to a couple of monster gigs I�ve been handed with 11th hour deadlines. So I spent the better part of the morning trying to catch up on a weeks worth of blog reading. Now on to the week in review:

First, Up for Poker has a great post on Poker and Life lessons that is a must read. On the subject of how mood and sleep affect play both Once in a Blu Moon and Outkicked have some thoughts and experiences. I agree, don�t play in an off mood or when your tired, this leads to mistakes, and mistakes cost money�usually. Kevin continues to offer a wonderfully fresh perspective on poker over at Stan�s Ace Nuts, he has become one of my favorite reads.

I noticed that the Hilton Sisters got their fair share of press from the poker blog community, keep this up and people searching for Paris Hilton will get Dr. Pauly.

Finally, a cartoonist has a new every Wednesday poker cartoon running called Returning Champions (there is also GuppytoShark�s comic). On the subject of cartoons I just noticed this week has a slightly political bent so I might as well point out a nifty site that help to determine just how liberal/conservative you are (link found on Urban Scrawl).

Stinger: (from a must read post on Chris Halverson�s Blog)
Coach (to a fish): You must work next to that little diver guy in the fish tank.

For starters check out Pauly for the Hilton Sister's Challenge Part 5. (It begins and ends tomorrow). In the same vein as the Hilton sisters, Bill's Blog has some nice photos (from an artistic perspective, of course) of Shana Hiatt. The Poker Chronicles takes a look at Full Tilt while Genius of the Poker has a great tale from the Planet tables. Be sure to check out the new blog Stan's Ace Nuts to follow Kevin Barbieux's (yes, that Kevin, the homeless man from Nashville who has become an Internet celebrity with his now-famous blog, The Homeless Guy) foray into the world of poker. I am sure Kevin will offer his unique philosophical look at poker from a never before explored viewpoint.
I've also created pages for the Top Nine Lists and the J. Santos cartoons, Muck It!. Both features can now be browsed without having to dig though all my ramblings. To close, I have to say it's a shame I won't have a chance to beat Otis this time around.

Check out Poker Grub�s Binion�s experience for another perspective on the famous poker room. The Poker Chronicles has a look at the zerorake website (membership fee based). Riding the F-train is planning reviews of the New York City cards rooms. Be sure to hit Paulsburbon for another look at the World Series of Poker Coverage and Adventures of a Poker Nerd for another perspective on Hurricane Charley. More poker goodness from CGoP, this time with a round-up of all the good SNG strategy on the net. Finally, I have to pimp the Casino[ptz] blog run by Dave Schwartz over at UNLV, his is a wonderful Las Vegas blog.

Poll Results from Question of the Week 1
Question: Late in a no limit hold'em tournament the flop comes rainbow with no straight or flush draw, the Small Blind raises all-in and everyone folds, it's now your action, what is the minimum hand you need to call with if you don't know your opponent and calling will put you all-in?

Top Pair Top Kicker 24.26%
Wired Overpair 14.71%
Bottom Two Pair 11.76%
Top Two Pair 21.32%
Any Trips 20.59%
Top Trips 7.35%

I�m an �Any Trips� type in this situation, interesting to see that top pair top kicker is the single most popular answer, this surprised me.

Al can�t hang posted his poker blogger dream team with some good choices. If I had to pick a blogger to back in a tournament, I�d go by the numbers and pick Otis from Up For Poker who is leading in poker blogger tournament wins.

Pauly�s most recent Hilton sisters competition was taken down by none other the Derek, Pauly�s brother, over at Poker in the Weeds.

Iggy has some interesting gossip and information on Crew member Dutch Boyd while The Poker Chronicles has a response(See Also: Paulsburbon).

The Cards Speak has another guest blogger post, this time from RDub with another take on No-Limit strategy in response to HDouble�s post from the other day, a lot of thought provoking material here. On the topic of guest bloggers, Call, Raise or Muck it picked up a new guest writer who has an interesting take.

I�ve added a poll to the blog since I need to find one for a site I�m working on and I see no reason to re-invent the wheel with so many scripts for this abound. It will be interesting to see if I can coax all both my readers into voting.

First let me start with some great non-poker content from Dr. Pauly, Al and several others with the latest issues of the blogzine Truckin� which is always worth reading; also, check out Dr. Pauly�s July 26 entry for a story of seedy plagiarism from a poker site never to be mentioned here. Derek is once again posting on Poker in the Weeds and is almost as fun to read as Poker Works. Mean Gene has an interesting read on poker and haircut�s and Guppy to Shark has a new comic up based on his home game experiences. Paul Phillips has posted a bit about the WPT Mirage event, and if any one is wondering Toby McGuire finished 38th. Finally, I ran across a short article on the legal state of poker in Oklahoma.

I�m beginning to wonder how long before HDouble will be on a WPT episode, given his winning playing abilities. It�s also worth checking out Pokerati who is following the �War on Poker� in Minnesota. Monte Christo has a great post on the top 10 barriers to being a winning poker player and just won a missive prize of his own, congrats! Maudie has a post on the pain of having aces cracked� ouch! To wrap this up, AlCantHang finally asked me a question (and yes, I whined for it), but he sure picked a doosey! I wonder if he�ll post up the entire answer.

This week is a mixed bag of great posts from fellow bloggers. Stick and Move has some fish tactics that can be summed up as 'a made hand gets paid off.' The Penguin broke the news that his poker playing has finally met on of his big goals, while the PokerNerd has a great look at Celebrity Poker players. Maudie is mulling over the state of game in Falling off the Glacier. Otis at Up for Poker has a wonderful rant on on-line poker, including a look a disconnect protection. Finally, Table Tango brings some of the funniest stuff you?ll find, I wonder if the Eskimo takes requests?

One of our old friends, Jesus Santos, has finally resurfaced from an extended drunk sabbatical from somewhere south of the border. We have been buying and selling his art for a number of years. J. is an accomplished wood carver and painter who often sees the world through a fine, twisted mist of the spirit; so we never really know what to expect. He has agreed to provide a weekly "Santos Look" at poker so we present the very first edition of "Muck It."

Happy Independence Day all. It looks like CJ is on a serious tournament winning rush over at Up for Poker, while JD at Cheap Thrills has his own poker tournament thoughts.
BuyitinVegas has a commentary on the final episode of the World Poker Tour. Chris Halverson is seeing green these days. While Al Can�t Hang saw a lot more than green with the Bud Girls. Wow.

Well, it�s been a week of celebrities for the poker blogging community. Almost everyone has had something to say about Ben Affleck�s poker victory, but Otis at Up for Poker has posted the most articulate commentary on the matter. Wil Wheaton filmed the Hollywood Home Game episode but fans will have to wait for the episode due to NDA's. Paul Tillison(Paulsburbon) is becoming something of a poker celebrity himself with a nice sized tournament win. Finally, The Fat Guy has a solid discussion on the value the Hilton Sisters (pocket queens).

Call Rasie, or Muck It has an interesting post on the rules for misdeals. Iggy, is always digging up solid content and has a real jewel of a RGP cat fight involving Men ?The Master?, while the Poker Grub has an examination of bonus codes/bonus wars. Linda (Pokerworks) always has great tales of the table and The Penguin is looking for a proposition wagering nemesis. I've been busy with ?The Mac? interview and the WSOP photos.

Everyone seems to be blogging these days. I've seen posts on many blogs about the good and bad effects this proliferation has created. Every new poker blog worth its' words becomes a good thing for other bloggers and the poker industry in general. Many of the new blogs sprouting up won't survive as the owners rapidly lose interest and enthusiasm. The blogs that do make it will become a welcome addition to the blog community and an addition to that critical mass that makes the whole much greater than the individual parts (read power). Now on to the specific finds this week. Any of my readers whom are considering poker blogging and have hopes of being well read should check out Up for Poker, a great blog looking to add a few authors. On the subject of good content, Paul Phillips' Journal has an almost complete examination of pocket JJ's; I can't wait to compare this to Pauly's look at the trouble hand (when he posts it *nudge* *nudge*). Dick has a worthwhile look at luck in poker over at Call, Raise or Muck It (June 10th entry). Hdouble has posted his definition of 'fish' and finally The Poker Chronicles has moved to a new URL so update your links.
Remember, even the pseudo-successful blog requires your constant attention with new content posted on a routine basis :).

Well, it�s been quite a week on the blogger scene, with Iggy posting his WSOP report and the experience of being at a table with poker legend Phil Hellmuth. Bill brings us a great fish spotting tip. I firmly believe that if you want to spot a fish in on-line poker, go to a table; you should see between 5 and 7 of them. Jack Nine offsuit found the Shana Hiatt Playboy issue, boy did that brighten my day. CJ�s epic saga "Cold Cards Hot Dice" the story of a $500 bankroll is over at Up for Poker, While Matt of The Poker Chronicles has posted the novella of his Atlantic City Trip. Finally let me point out the blog "Call, Raise, or Muck it" run by Dick, the Sam�s Town Poker Room manager, he has a unique take on the poker scene with a writing style reminiscent of Hemingway (not Ernest, but his far lesser known cousin... Bubba).

Well the big topic in the world of poker blogs this week is Ace-Queen off suit. Pauly has an excellent post on his experience with this trouble hand at Tao of Poker. TP's tournament report prominently features A-Qo and is a good read; also, Greg Raymer took out Al Krux in the WSoP with an A-Qo. On that World Series of Poker note, Mean Gene has some great thoughts on the WSoP on his blog. Finally I love reading Linda's PokerWorks; a dealer at the Bellagio, she has the story of a problem player and the excitement of dealing a 30-60 game, $30,000-$60,000 that is. Will have the WSoP epilogue up later.

Well, it's been an interesting week for the poker blog world with some new highs, lows, and serious splits. Let me start off with the coolest stuff I saw out there, first 510Offsuit has almost reached his goal of turning $150 into $10,000 and he has all the details on his blog, way to go!

Next I ran across an interesting post on 2+2 about sunglasses,

I played in my first tournament last night. I have only played online poker so far, besides a few dorm room games in college. I've been watching the WPT, and all of the TV poker that I can stand, and notice the typical strategy of wearing sunglasses and hats, etc. I like the idea, and want to have sunglasses at least as an option, to play around with, to see if I like to use them.

Well, last night, I brought my driving sunglasses, and put them on a few times, just too get a feel. But, I hated wearing them because it wasn't really all that bright in "card room" to begin with. I had a hard time telling the colors of my chips, etc. I obviously had a pair of sunglasses that weren't optimal.

My question is this: What kind of sunglasses do any of you guys recommend? Is there a few brands that the pros swear by? Is there a certain tint factor or anything that I should consider when buying them? I think my personal comfort and style is the main factor for me. But, I want to see the damn cards also. I know, I know, I should take a few poker chips, and a deck of cards along when I shop for sunglasses. But, I figured I'd troll around on here to get some insight.

Thanks,
--Cents

Well if you're considereing wearing sunglasses, first decide WHY you want to wear them, the most common reason is to cover your eyes to obscure a possible source of tells, or for distraction (as Marcel Luske does, by wearing them upside down as in the photo in the post below), finally there is the sake of image. I would avoid wearing mirrored sunglasses as they might reflect your hole cards when you peek at them, other then that, pick a pair! If your going for distraction the more outlandish the better, I say; go for the oversized with flashing lights and glitter! As a side note most of the poker tell books I read suggest looking at the vein on the forehead to get a good read before staring at the eyes, so if your covering up sources of tells make sure to include a hat, perhaps a treestump with a stuffed squirrel in it (Puggy Person wore this to the WSOP event one year).

Okay I'm going to keep the low/split section brief, because I hate to dwell on the negitive too long, but the blogfather and Dogs playing poker got into it this week over ideology and you can read the gory details on their blogs. It's a shame when such a public venue is used for attacks, but I'm not about to touch this debate even with a 10' foot pole!

Next on my list of stuff is an article from "Cardplayer" Magazine detailing why pushing chips (giving chips to another player during play) is just as harmful to the game as splashing the pot. The reasoning is as follows, if you have friendly players sharing chips then is costs them less to see cards, because if one wins the other is reimburised for the cost of seeing these cards, just like splashing the pot with too few chips costs you less to see the cards. While splashing is universally frowned upon in the poker world, pushing is tolerated in some places, this aritcle is right, but for the wrong reasons. There is a far better write-up on the unsound nature of how pushing costs you in indirect ways.

Finally, I'm working on a guide to poker chips for home games etc. and hope to have this up later today or tomorrow along witht the results of the latest WSOP events. UPDATE: Poker chip information and guide is now on-line.

The big news this week is the magazine article on poker blogs from the blogfather and HDouble! Congratulations are in order from this humble blog. Perhaps the follow-up will be "Blogs and the Blogging Bloggers who Blog them," no? Just a thought.

Next up is the quasi-famous Mean Gene's spider bite which became larger then a dinner-plate and oozed unspeakable substances.

To wrap up this brief list of nifty articles I saw There is the new poker blog list from up for poker, and Pauly's KJo article which is very much worth the read.

Well here are a few of the articles from fellow bloggers I really got a kick out of. First, Jeremy brings us the Origins of Omaha, a poker term CJ over at Up for Poker was wondering about. On the subject of terms being wondered about, I had to ask the origin of "parlay penis" and Otis (also at Up for Poker) answered in spades. Pauly has an excellent tournament report bubbling near the top of his blog over at Tao of Poker, well worth the (long) read. To wrap up this week in review post I'll mention the interesting post from Chris Halverson on Defending your Blinds and plug my own philosophy of poker and luck. If I missed something cool from the past few days drop a comment or e-mail it, my e-mail should be buried somewhere off to the left. For the paranoid I've added my PGP public key.