Buy a 1% Stake in Poker Player Al Can't Hang WPBT Event

This cracks me up. I love funny eBay auctions. I only wish I had thought of it first.

Found, of course, via Iggy.

Teaching the Divas

So I'm jumping back into teaching this weekend, teaching the NYC chapter of Divas Who Dine how to play before their big Vegas trip. I'm going to be co-teaching with a guy I don't know, but this is a good thing as far as I can tell, since the 30 women are going to be of widely different levels. Still, I'm glad this dropped in my lap just as I was trying to figure out the next NYC poker class -- and where to hold it. Which is the biggest issue.

Anyway, I think I'll be holding the next poker class (beginners Hold'em) in Mid-February. If you're interested in attending, or know someone who wants to learn and you don't want to teach them yourself, email me.

Snow on the way home

Snowed in? Why not play with cards?

Check it: Cardstacker Gallery. This guy has built some elaborate houses of cards. I guess if you're stuck inside like me and are sick of playing poker online (which I'm getting to) you can have some real-life card fun and create a tiny city. I'd say I was going to try and do it, but I always sucked at this sort of thing.

Besides, unlike his, my cat doesn't play nice.

What a Difference a Day Makes

This Morning:


1 PM:



4 PM:

FHM in deal with site to promote poker as a man's game

That's what this press release tells me anyway. Wow, could anything make me less inclined to start playing at The World Poker Exchange? I mean, one of the great things about playing online is that you can pretend to be whoever and whatever gender you want -- and I think (based on no actual numbers, just my feeling) that the percentage of women playing online is much, much higher than the percentage of women playing in B&M card rooms. I can see this site really is gearing to get the men with it's football promos, but hey -- newsflash -- men are playing poker anyway. The smartest thing any online site could do IMO, is to try and capture the growing market of women players and not alienate them. I'm just saying is all.

I must admit though, I do think this video is pretty funny.

Day Job Blog

Shameless self-promotion: I'm the blogger for the Valentine's Day Special at About.com, where I hold my day job. It's kind of fun to have your actual paid work for the day include blogging. I hope it's a trend that continues.

So nice, they named me twice

At Barnes & Noble online, they've decided that they like my middle name so much, I should be using it twice. I don't know though, "Leah Leah" doesn't quite have ring of a "Jo-Jo" or "Bobo" or "Drunky McDrunk" -- that last one is what I'll be calling my fantasy future bar. Each day, they'll be a different shot special of my creation -- called things like "the blackout" and "the obliterator" and "Wha happen?"

Smober & Poker

So, I'm still not smoking, and according to the quit meter, I haven't smoked 1000+ cigarettes as of now. That seems pretty impressive, more so than the 300+ bucks it says I've saved. It doesn't know that I've funneled all that extra cash into my poker bankroll, of course. But I haven't lost it all or anything! Yet.

No, no, I'm actually doing pretty ok with the poker these days. I may soon admit I'm a total Party poker convert -- it's so much faster to clear bonuses there and the tournaments are filled with fish! It's true what Jason said -- it is the world's largest aquarium. Bad Beat Blog backs up my idea that Omaha is a great way to make money and offers really good advice on how to make more. Awesome.

So Far So Good for Party Poker

So I've spent a lot of this 3-day weekend playing on Party Poker, and so far I've done pretty well at the single-table tournaments and haven't tried any multi-tables, but then I kept losing the money I won at the SnGs playing low-limit hold'em. But I seem to be kicking the ass of the lowest-limit Omaha games so far -- it's like people have no idea how to play at all. The pots, even on these .50/1 tables, routinely reach over 10 bucks with 6+ people on average seeing the flop. It's great practice for me since I'm just really trying to learn Omaha and the people who I'm sitting at these tables with seem to just be playing for shits and giggles or something. I'm not sure. All I know is that I just won 20 bucks in 10 minutes at limits where that shouldn't happen. I only played in 3 hands. 3!

Now can someone tell me how to find fellow bloggers on Party? I'm sort of an idiot about some of this stuff.

All In and All Over the TV

Well, tonight "Tilt" debuts on ESPN and the early reviews are not good. I can't say I'm shocked.

I felt like with Las Vegas, Caesar's 24/7, Poker Royale, and of course the coverage of the WSoP and WPT, in addition to Celebrity Poker, there could be no more poker or Las Vegas shows. But no, there's more. The latest? A Crib's-like show on E! called Hollywood Poker Night. Looking at the list, I have to say...um...Andy Dick?

Anyway, my favorite moment from the review of "Tilt" is Seth Stevenson's description of his favorite moment of the show:

In a back-room game, one guy says (with a carefully scripted blend of anger and accurate poker terminology), "No string bets here, bitch." When his opponent pulls out a small pistol, the guy draws a much bigger gun and shouts, "This time I raise!" (If only the second guy had then rolled in a massive cannon. "Reraise, bitch!")

If that was in the show, I'd watch it for sure.

I Give Up & Join Partypoker

I've heard so much from Iggy about the fish on partypoker, that I finally signed up and resolved to lug home my PC offce laptop to play with. At home of course, boss! Only at home!

Anyway, I knew there were bad players but jebus, I was unprepared. Because people played such crap, I realize it takes a whole different approach on this site. Now I have to get that down and keep reminding myself that there will always be a sucker staying in to try and hit his flush draw. Always. Does this stop being true at higher limits? Anyone? (I was playing 1-2 to start)

Well, my name won't be much of a surprise if you see me there, so I'm going to try and join some of the other poker bloggers online some night soon. Whee!

How do I get on this show???

It's Men vs. Women for Seven Episodes of GSN's 'POKER ROYALE: BATTLE OF THE SEXES'

Seriously, I want to be part of this battle:

POKER ROYALE: BATTLE OF THE SEXES includes the world's top players including Chris Moneymaker (2003 World Series of Poker 1st place), Paul Wolfe (2003 World Championship Online Poker final runner up), Greg "Fossilman" Raymer (2004 World Series of Poker 1st place), Amir Vahedi (2001 No Limit Texas Hold'em Player of the Year), Layne Flack (5 Time World Series of Poker Champion) and Antonio Esfandiari (World Poker Tour first place champion). In the women's corner are Kathy Liebert (2002 Party Poker Million champion), Jennifer Harman (World Poker Tour Bellagio 4th place), Evelyn Ng (World Poker Tour Ladies Night 2nd place), Karina Jett, Kristy Gazes (2001 World Series of Poker Shoe 5th place) and Clonie Gowen (World Poker Tour Ladies Night champion).

A new resolution for 2005? Maybe.

Off-Topic: Gothamist Pimps My Fave Restaurant

Today's Gothamist features a story, There's still Hope (& Union) in Williamsburg, which profiles the spot in Williamsburg you're most likely to find me at if I'm not in my apartment. It's also where I hold my soon-to-be-reestablished poker classes.

I like when my friends get good press.

More of ESPN Charity Tourny

Ron of Beatrice.com, fills in some more holes in his post For a Taste of Your Whiskey, I'll Give You Some Advice, and reminded me that also in attendance were Mike Caro, Robert Williamson, and Antonio Esfandiari and Scott Fischman, who both won WSoP bracelets last year.

At one point Mike Caro came over to our table and looked at the 3 all in hands, A10, AK, and (I think) QQ, and commented "Huh, 3 very reasonable, all-ins in one hand! All 3 people playing correctly!"

I picked up his book on tells a while back and didn't find it really useful -- I feel like it's hard to teach that a) in a book format, using still pictures and b) at all. I sort of feel you learn by playing and there's no better way than that. I mean, sure my hands and many others shake when they've got a good hand, but I get shakey a lot of other times too. It's not that it's not good general advice, but I don't know how much I or anyone could translate that to the table.

Also, am very excited to find at the end of Pauly's blog report about playing at the Blue Parrot to find that I'm invited to "first ever NYC bloggers NL tournament called The Blue Parrot Invitational." I've already emailed to say I'll be there. It'll be the first time I meet many of the bloggers I read regularly in the flesh.

Speaking of which, I'm going to finally add that poker blogroll to the side, and clean up this here blog a little soon. It's all a-cluttery now. Maybe that's why I'm not posting as much. Bad Blog Design Feng Shui.

ESPN: Especially Sucking Playing Now

Before I begin relaying my brief and bad play in the charity tournament at ESPN Zone - New York, I will say it was very cool to go. Among the people present were Doyle Brunson and his son, Phil Gordon, and Howard Lederer. There were also a lot of interesting media type personalities, and I met a few really cool people, one of which is going to hook me up with a poker listserv type deal for NYC. Excellent.

So the tournament. I lost most of my $1500 in chips in hand #1 that I played, which was totally, completly bad play on my part, when I wouldn't give up my lame pair to what was probably at least pocket aces and turned out to be trips. That was bad of me.

Hand #3 of the tournament had me going all in with KQ suited, which lost to Q4 suited when he hit his flush. That was bad of him, but I still lost. So Doctors Without Borders didn't get the charity money, but some (I'm sure) other worthy one did. The upside of getting knocked out when I did is I got to talk with Howard Lederer for about a half hour, and related how I was one degree of separation from him 3 different ways: have talked with Annie Duke, his sis, play with someone he knows, and also play with the son of his lawyer. Small poker world.

So, that's the update from the kickoff event for the WSoP. Now I just have to get to the real one.

Quick Look Back at 2004...

So I've been busy lately playing poker at most spare seconds between holiday festivities like doing the New Year's Eve Critical Mass Ride with Matt who has a lot of excellent pics, and spending Xmas at the Schoolhouse with the fam and um.... drinking? Is that a festivity? Or just part of them? Anyway.

I went up to Harrah's in Atlantic City to try and score a satellite seat in the WSoP, failed, but won back most of my entry fee playing the 2/4 table while I waited for my friend to get knocked out, so that was good. I've also been playing a lot more online, both in tournaments and in live games, and have been surprised that I've been doing better in the tourneys than the limit games. Anyway, I hope all this practice playing helps me on Wednesday when I'm (thanks to alert reader Ron) playing in the media charity WSoP event at ESPN sports zone.

Ok, I'm off to get off my ass and get to the gym. A more in-depth post to come.