For the love of Online Poker

In my single days, I always referred to Valentines Day as: “The unimaginative, consumerist-oriented and entirely arbitrary, manipulative & shallow interpretation of romance day.” Now that I’m older, and have finally found my suited pair, I’ve come to appreciate this day a little more. Don’t get my wrong I still don’t support the marketing aspect and as one person put it on Postsecret – the fact that "Hallmark stole all the romance from this day."

What I do treasure about Valentines Day is its history. It reminds me of poker and the current challenges the online industry is facing. We shouldn’t loose hope and should take the Valentines Day story below as inspiration that online Poker will overcome all the odds and we’ll be playing it happily ever after….

St. Valentine's Story....

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. Claudius wanted to have a big army and he expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. This made Claudius furious. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! Being a priest one of my favorite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing secret marriage ceremonies. One night, I was caught and thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love. One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh - because they know that love can't be beaten!

From Couch potato to WPT Champ

It’s the final episode of American Idol, the crowd goes wild while Simon Cowell wipes back a tear… I switch channels just in time to see Jeff Probst snuff out the torch of the skinny survivor with hairy armpits, making her the final jury member... I channel-hop again and this time the Bachelor hands his number one lady the final rose while she tries to hide the victorious look imprinted on her beautifully-made-up face… more channel hopping and Donald Trump fires the last apprentice in his boardroom.

My remote control gets stuck on the Travel Channel broadcasting the World Poker Tour, a series of 18 high stakes global tournaments, and I’m mesmerised for the next 6 hours until Victor Ramdin finally calls with his Ah Js hand. In that moment Ramdin not only secured the WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic 2006 title but also walked away with $1,331,889 first prize money and everlasting poker glory.

In the competitive world of high stakes poker, the WPT "final table" is comparable to the final episode of Idols or Survivor. The only difference is that anyone can enter the World Poker Tour, unlike reality programmes where a panel decides on the contestants. This is one of the main reasons why the World Poker Tour is so popular because for a buy-in a complete unknown has just as good a chance of winning as a poker pro.

This year you don't have to become a couch potato to see some World Poker Tour action. Why not join me and play in the WPT satellites where the winner gets a $12,500 package to WPF Foxwoods Main Satellite that includes buy-in, flights, accommodation and $500 spending money. The satellites are happening daily @ 19:00 EST & 22:00 EST and for only $12 you could win a seat to WPT Foxwoods happening at the Foxwoods Resort, Connecticut from 1 April – 4 April 2007.

So if you're not ready to give up being a bachelor, being fired by a man who combs over his hair, leaving your singing career in the hands of tone-death America or getting your torch snuffed because ‘the tribe has spoken', why not try a different kind of reality TV – becoming a poker pro. WPT Foxwoods will give you the chance to face-off against pokers stone-faced superstars and walk away as the next poker millionaire. After all – you'll get much more than just 15 minutes of fame.

My Poker Resolutions for 2007

By Lady Luck

1. Play less Flops – I looked at my statistics for Ring Games at PokerTime for 2006 and noticed that I had played too many flops. So my New Year’s Resolution for 2007 is to fold more hands before the flop (especially if I’m on blinds).

2. I’ve decided to play more aggressively in 2007 when I’m in a good position and have a good hand. However I’ll fold more pocket Aces or Kings when the blinds are big and my hand doesn’t fit the flop.

3. Play more multi-table tournaments. It’s always fun to play at these tables - you just have to put some time aside to enjoy poker tournaments in all their glory.

4. Improve other games. I love Texas Hold’em but in 2007, I’m definitely going to play Omaha and Stud. I also enjoy blackjack and you can actually play blackjack in some poker softwares.

5. Play at the high stakes tables. I’m going to try out the $100+$200 poker tables because it doesn’t help if you just make money from fish and don’t improve your poker skill.

The Fine Line between Prison and Poker

Popular culture has always been fascinated by two things: Poker and Prison. They’ve both been the inspiration for countless movies, television programmes, songs, PlayStation games and even music videos. While many prisoners play poker to keep themselves busy while serving time, just take John Abruzzi from Prison Break, the two have one more important thing in common – fish.

In online poker we like to call poor poker players "fish". Fish are usually new to the game of poker and it’s relatively easy for Pro’s (known as sharks) to prey on them by dangling money in front of them and waiting patiently for the fish to bite.

Think of fish, as being like Dorie from "Finding Nemo," forgetting things as soon as they're taught but swimming full speed ahead anyway. In the same vein, an unskilled poker player will play loosely and passively - calling a lot of bets and risking money on a long-shot bet. It's a well-known (though not well-followed) rule among sharks to not upset the fish because they'll stop having fun and perhaps leave the poker room. Thus the phrase, "Don't tap on the aquarium."

In Prison, new prisoners are also called ‘fish’ and they are preyed upon by other prison inmates (known as predators) for their store goods, property, business deals and even for sexual favours.

One of the most famous Prison Movies, The Shawshank Redemption, coined the phrase ‘fish’ in the following conversation:
“Red: Well, rumor's that you're a cold fish. You think your shit smells sweeter than most.”
“Andy Dufresne: What do you think?”
“Red: Well, to tell you the truth, I haven't made up my mind.”

An important lesson that poker fish can learn from prison fish is that reputation plays an important role. If a prison fish ever gives into a predator by giving him what he wants, the predator will be back for more. That’s why it’s important in prison to find out “Who’s Who” in order to stay clear of the wrong people.

In poker the same rule applies – know your poker opponents and don’t let your own reputation overshadow your game. By studying your poker opponents a fish can gather who are tight players and who bluff all the time. It is also a well known fact that Predators and Sharks like to prey on the weak. That’s why poker fish should learn from the start when to fold’em and when to hold’em.

While it’s easy for prison inmates to know if they’re the fish, the golden rule applies for poker – If you can’t spot the fish at the table, you’re it!