BROOKTOWN WSOP

Finding The Right Game And The Right Mindset

2009-05-19T08:49:00.000-04:00

Ben Roberts

For me, poker is a game that is meant to be played joyfully, and the path to playing the game joyfully begins with finding the game that’s right for you and entering it in the right frame of mind.

If you’re going to be an emotional prisoner when it comes to your wins and losses, you won’t play at your best. You need to play with patience, joy and a certain amount of indifference towards winning and losing. You need to be cool, calm, collected and happy. It’s not about your skill level – that’s something you can improve on continuously. It’s about how you feel, as this affects the moves you make more than your skill or playing style.

Once you’ve attained the right mindset, you can proceed to finding the right game. I believe in watching a game for a while before you enter it. This gives you an advantage over your opponents because you can pick up on their tendencies. If you observe the way they play, you can adjust accordingly before they’ve had a chance to adjust to you.

This ties in directly to the concept of playing with joy, because experiencing different games and different opponents is what I think makes the game of poker so wonderful. Every time I wake up in my hotel room, ready to start a new day at the World Series of Poker, I’m excited. I know it is going to be different from the game I had yesterday—and different from every game I’ve ever had, really.

Another beautiful element of the game that I really appreciate is the way it provides me with fresh stimulation. Many people are under the mistaken impression that once you get used to playing the game, it becomes monotonous. This kind of attitude comes from people who are not true poker players. True poker players appreciate the diversity, the changes and the differences from day to day.

Ultimately, finding the right game comes down to finding the highest stakes at which you will be consistently successful. If you’re a beginning player who’s becoming a winning player, you’ll want to step outside your comfort zone and move up in stakes since that’s the only way to increase your earnings. It’s fairly self-explanatory that the higher the games you play, the more you will win; but that’s only if the players you are up against are worse than you. Remember, there’s not much point in being the 9th best player in the world if you only play against the top eight.

Once you’ve found your game, just remember that whenever you’re feeling good, you should go with the flow and play on, and whenever you’re not, you should stop. Either way, you must keep an even temper. When things go right for you, it’s great. When things don’t go right for you, as long as you did your best and you made your best decisions, you can still feel happy about your game. Take your losses gracefully. When you can take your losses well – when your losses and wins have the same meaning to you – then you have the chance to become a great player as opposed to just a good one. Poker is supposed to be a journey of joy, and anything that is a departure from that, is off your path.

Hand Coordination

2009-05-15T08:47:00.000-04:00

Hand coordination is the relative strength of your hand compared to your opponents’ hand, and it’s probably the single biggest factor determining whether you have a good or bad session playing poker. If it’s working in your favor, whenever you flop a monster, one of your opponents will also make a big hand, just not quite as big as yours. In this situation, playing your hand as fast as possible usually gives you the best chance to make the most money.

Say you’re playing Hold ‘em and you’re in a four-way pot, the board comes 9-9-4, and you have pocket fours. You want to play this hand fast for two reasons. The first is that you’re hoping one of your opponents has a 9. If so, he might raise you, allowing you to reraise him. Ideally, he’ll call, then call you again on the turn and the river, and you’ll make a lot of money.

The other reason you want to play this hand fast is that, if you check, it’s quite possible your opponents will also check. Then, if the turn brings a 6 and one of your opponents has pocket sixes and makes a bigger full house, you’re going to lose a huge amount of money. Giving a free card and losing an enormous pot when you could have won a small pot (if only you’d bet) is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in poker.

Now let’s say the flop comes K-J-J, and you have pocket kings. You’re not as likely to cost yourself your entire stack by slowplaying in this situation. It’s extremely unlikely that your opponent is going to be behind on the flop and yet make a hand on the turn that beats you, but I still think you should play it fast. You’ll win more money by betting the whole way because any player holding a jack is, at the very least, going to call you down, and he might even raise you. On the flop you just have to put out the line and hope that one of your opponents has a jack, or better yet, K-J.

If you play it slow in this situation, you’re giving away the strength of your hand. If you check on the flop with the idea of check-raising, then when you do put in the raise you’re telling your opponent you’ve made a huge hand and are giving him the opportunity to lay down a jack. You’ll make far more money by simply betting the whole way.

However, slowplaying a monster is occasionally the better play. Suppose you raise from middle position with A-Q of hearts, the button and the big blind both call, and the flop comes 6-7-2, all hearts. If the big blind checks, you should check too. If the button bets, you can then raise because he’s either buffing, in which case you’re not going to win any more money from him, or he’s also flopped a flush, in which case you want to get your money into the pot as quickly as possible in hopes of winning his entire stack, or he’s flopped a set, in which case he’ll call your check-raise on the flop and he’ll call a big bet on the turn and he might even call a big bet on the river.

If the board pairs on the turn, you should still bet. It’s such a draw heavy board that your opponent might think you only have the ace of hearts in your hand, or the ace of hearts and a pair, or the ace of hearts and another ace. There are a lot of hands he could put you on in this spot besides the nut flush so, even if the board pairs, you should keep betting for value, hoping to get called by a worse hand.

If you bet the turn and your opponent puts in a stiff raise, then you should reevaluate. If you bet the turn and he calls and you bet the river and he raises, then you should fold because you can credibly put him on a full house.

Because hand coordination plays such an important role in determining your long-term success, you need to make as much money as you possibly can when it’s working in your favor, and one of the best ways of doing that is playing fast after you flop a big hand.

Playing Fifth Street In Seven-Card Stud

2009-05-13T08:34:00.000-04:00

by Keith Sexton

Fifth Street is the big decision point in Seven-Card Stud because that’s the critical juncture in the hand when you have to put in your first big bet. While it’s nice to have a made hand at this point, you don’t always need one to put in a raise on Fifth Street. If you have a big draw, that can be enough to warrant raising your opponent. Some players don’t think like this, and I believe that’s a costly mistake.

Here’s an example of a situation where I believe raising with a draw is the correct play. Let’s say your opponent is showing an Ace, and you have a 7 of diamonds up and a 6 and 7 of spades in the hole, giving you a pair of 7s. You and your opponent are the only players involved in the hand, and he opens with a raise. You call.

On the turn your opponent catches an offsuit Jack and bets. You catch the 9 of spades. You have a pretty nice hand at this point. Not only do you have a pair of 7s, but you also have three cards to a flush and three cards to a straight so there are a lot of cards you can catch that will give you a big draw. You definitely want to call in this spot.

On Fifth Street your opponent catches a 6 so now he has an Ace, Jack, and 6 showing. You catch the deuce of spades, which is a very interesting card. You now have a pair of 7s and four spades to a flush, but your opponent is unaware of how strong you are because one of your 7s and two of your spades are hidden.

Your opponent leads out with a bet once again. Now here’s the question. Should you simply call or should you raise? Even if your opponent has two Aces, I would prefer to have two 7s and four spades in this situation so you should be aggressive and put in a raise. You should do this for a couple of reasons. First, even if he does have a pair of Aces, you’re still the favorite. You are about a 58 percent favorite to win the hand so you’re getting the best of it right now.

The other reason you should raise is that it will get you a free card if you fail to hit your draw. Let’s say you go ahead and raise on Fifth Street, and your opponent calls. Since he called your raise, you can be pretty certain he has a pair that can beat your 7s. Then on Sixth Street he catches a 4 and you catch the 3 of diamonds, a card that doesn’t help your hand at all.

If your opponent is a weak player, he is probably going to check it to you because he’s going to be scared of that raise you put in on Fifth Street. If he does in fact check, then you succeeded in accomplishing exactly what you set out to do. You got extra money into the pot on Fifth Street when you had the best of it, and now that you missed your draw and don’t have the best of it anymore you’re happy to get a free card. Now you have one more shot at drawing out on him.

This is a clear example of why it pays to be aggressive on Fifth Street in Seven-Card Stud. Some players would just call in this situation, but I think that’s a big mistake. Being aggressive and sticking in a raise has two clear advantages over simply calling. It will get more money into the pot those times you do make your hand, and it will get you a free card those times you don’t. The bottom line is that you need to be aggressive when playing Seven-Card Stud because it’s the aggressive player who usually wins.

Adjusting Strategy Mid-Hand

2009-05-11T08:46:00.000-04:00

Most of the time when you’re engaged in a poker hand, you’ll be thinking about what decisions you will make before you have to make them. For example, if you call a raise with K-Q, you’ll think to yourself: Okay, if I hit top pair, I’m going to play this hand. If I have a gut-shot and two over-cards, I’m going to play this hand. If I have an open-ender and two over-cards, I’m going to play this hand. Otherwise, I’m going to let it go.

However, there will often be times when something happens that causes you to change your strategy mid-hand. Maybe your opponent makes a weak bet that gives you information worth using to your advantage. Or maybe he makes a bet on the river that looks like a value bet and convinces you to fold a hand you were planning on calling with.

It’s always good to enter a hand with a plan, but it’s essential that you be willing to deviate from the plan if the situation calls for it. Every hand requires that you react to your cards and the cards on the board, but it’s equally important that you factor in your opponent and his tendencies.

Here’s a hand that I played recently at the 2009 EPT German Open in Dortmund, where I went on to finish in fourth place. It was late in Day Two, I had been fairly short-stacked for a while and occasionally shoving with decent hands, but I hadn’t yet made a serious bluff in the tournament. We were eight-handed, the player in second position made a very small raise to 8,500 with blinds at 2,000/4,000 and a 500-chip ante, and it folded around to me in the small blind with pocket fives. I had about 70,000 in chips, and all I knew for sure was that I wasn’t going to fold a pocket pair in this situation.

I decided to call rather than raise, knowing the big blind would certainly be priced in to call as well, and he did. The flop came A-8-3. I was obviously looking to flop a set, or maybe something like 2-3-4 or 3-4-6, and this flop was not at all good for my hand, so I checked. The big blind also checked. And the initial raiser made what looked to me like a very weak bet, 12,000 into a 29,500 pot.

I was quite sure from the bet that he didn’t have an Ace, and probably he didn’t have a pair of any kind. It seemed to me that he had a hand like K-J, something in that range. So when he bet 12,000, I considered all of the factors – my read on him, my tight image, and my stack size. I decided to raise 21,000 more, representing that I had perhaps a weak Ace and had committed myself to the pot (even though, in reality, I wasn’t committed and would be willing to fold to a re-raise, leaving myself with about 30,000 in chips).

The big blind folded, and after thinking for a long time, the initial raiser folded also. He simply had to give me credit for a real hand that I wasn’t going to lay down to a re-raise.

This was a situation where I didn’t really intend to commit many chips if I didn’t hit a favorable flop, but I adjusted my decision making based on my opponent’s post-flop action, believing the stage had been set for me to make a move. Always be willing to adjust your plan, and every once in a while you’ll find yourself winning chips that otherwise would have been pushed toward someone else.

Establishing A Tight Table Image

2009-05-07T08:45:00.000-04:00

by Allen Cunningham

2007
In poker, image matters.

Throughout a tournament, your table image will help determine how much action you'll get and, ultimately, how you can manipulate your opponents into making big calls or big laydowns at the wrong times.

While establishing a loose, aggressive image early on can help build your initial chip stack, I believe it's important to develop a tight table image in the later stages of a tournament because it gives you the ability to maneuver at the times when the chips matter most.

When the action is folded around, some players will always raise from the cutoff and the button. The problem with this play is that's its predictable and can be easily exploited. If you always raise from the button, the players in the blinds catch on sooner or later and will put in a big re-raise with any two cards. You will also find players just calling you with a much wider range of hands from the blinds before putting in a big check-raise on the flop.

Why do they do this? Because you have been presenting a loose table image by raising any time the action is passed to you. During late-stage play, this image hampers your ability to maneuver because any time you try to make a move, it's likely that someone will play back at you.

It doesn't take long before your loose table image will make you a target for the experienced players at the table (or even the inexperienced players who get tired of being pushed around). The amount of chips you risk by being loose in these situations is usually not worth the reward of just picking up the blinds. Be careful, though, because when you play too tight you end up missing many opportunities to slowly accumulate chips or even just stay afloat. Ideally, you want to project a very tight image while actually being somewhere in between the standard perceptions of "loose" and "tight."

I have one very simple piece of advice to help you with this part of your game. It may sound so simple you would wonder why I bother mentioning it but, in fact, this is one of my most important rules: Always fold junk.

By always folding junk hands, you accomplish a number of goals:

You resist the temptation to attempt a blind-steal just because action was passed to you. With the level of aggressiveness that characterizes today's play, it's better to pass on bad hands even in position.
You avoid pot-committing yourself with a hand that will usually be dominated in a race with a short-stack. For example, if you raise from the cutoff for 3x the big blind with J-3 attempting to steal the blinds and a stack with 8x the big blind moves in behind you, you are in a bad spot. It's better to just avoid these situations altogether.
Most importantly, you further cement your image as a tight player. Now when you raise with a hand like A-8, you can feel confident that your tight image will allow you to steal the blinds although you're actually playing a bit looser.
Another temptation players face is to pick on someone's blind just because they view that player as "weak." I rarely pick on someone's blinds without a decent opening hand. Opening from the cut-off with a hand like K-9 suited is about as low as I'm willing to go in attempt to just pick up the blinds.

Using my tight table image enabled me to maneuver through a very tough field in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold 'em event at the 2007 WSOP*. After I doubled up early in Day 2, I used my table image in the late stages to steal blinds and to pick up a number of pots in key situations. I was able to carry this momentum to the final table, where I was fortunate enough to win the bracelet.

Remember, it takes more than good cards to be a winning player. By creating a solid table image in the late stages of a tournament, you may actually be able to play a wider variety of hands than your opponents expect and take down key pots at critical times.

David Wright

2009-04-19T14:22:00.000-04:00

The Mets have failed the last 2 years in September, and I'm starting to think its time to tell David Wright good bye.

He is the face of this team, and the face has been a series of failures and disappointments. Last year we had the Willie watch, this year we may have to bring up the Wright Watch.

David Wright for Ryan Braun anyone?

The Pros And Cons Of Being Active Early

2009-01-14T22:49:00.000-05:00

by Aaron Bartley

Deciding how active you want to be at the beginning of a tournament depends heavily on what type of tournament you’re playing in. If it’s a standard Sit & Go, I always recommend playing tight and conserving chips early. If it’s a Multi-Table Tournament or a Shootout Tournament then you should consider a more active style in the early phase.

Part of the goal in doing this is to accumulate chips. But another part of the goal is to establish an image that will help get you chips later. It can be a rewarding way to play, but you need to understand that there’s also a downside to the image this type of play will create.

When you put constant pressure on other players, it’s eventually going to make them fight back. You don’t have to raise large amounts and you don’t have to get involved in huge pots, but by raising with a lot of hands, your opponents are going to play back at you with a wider and wider range of hands. They’re going to start calling and three-betting with more marginal hands, and that’s going to open them up and make them susceptible to giving you their chips more often.

If you’re looking to accumulate chips, you don’t want your table locked down in super-tight mode. You don’t want to have to grind out a few chips every orbit – you want to get into your opponents’ heads and provoke them into spewing chips. You’ll find that once one player at the table does it, it tends to have a domino effect and lead other people to start making mistakes.

The downside, however, is that your bluffs won’t work very often, and that’s something you have to be aware of. For example, let’s say I’ve been playing a lot of pots and developed a loose image in a six-handed table, and I’m dealt A-Q suited under the gun. That’s a good hand at a full table, and it’s even better six-handed. So I make a pot-sized raise, and the big blind calls. The flop is J-10-6, which isn’t exactly a hit for me, but it isn’t a total miss; I have a straight draw and two over cards. I’m going to make a normal continuation bet and I figure my opponent can’t call me without a decent hand. In this case, I bet, he calls and the turn is a three, so I decide to give it one more shot and raise my bet a little bit because I want him to fold. Instead, he calls.

A four now falls on the river. I didn’t hit anything and he’s clearly shown that he’s ready to call anything; I can’t expect to bet him off the hand. In my mind, I’m putting him on a hand possibly as weak as 10-2, but I don’t think I can get him to lay that down, so I check, give up the pot and he wins with 6-7.

Of course I’m going to be a little frustrated to learn that he called twice with third pair. He had to have put me on A-K or A-Q or thought I was raising under the gun with rags and, the truth is, people will begin to think that way because I’ve raised a lot of pots. Because of this, people are going to start calling me extremely light.

In the short-term, that can be a bad thing; but in the long-term, it should be good. If the same hand happens later but I have A-J or Aces or Kings, or even some trash hand that connects, I’m going to get paid off.

This is why the positives of playing an active style early ultimately outweigh the negatives. Even if you lose a pot because your image keeps people hanging around, it can set you up to win an even bigger pot later on.

One Order of Confidence, Please!

2009-01-12T09:55:00.000-05:00

by —Alicia Kachmar

Craving Confidence (www.cravingconfidence.com) is the blog brainchild of Patricia Stark, one of those strong people who seems to have done it all and is now going to tell us what she’s learned! Not only did she work in the media in a plethora of roles, she now heads Media Image Coach, which aims to help business professionals get over that dreaded act of speaking in public.

Even if you’re not part of the bustling corporate world, Stark has a lot to offer through her blog and accompanying videos—don’t we all crave confidence day to day?!? Having confidence in our professional and personal lives will affect our success with being happier. Think about it: if you’re scared of a variety of situations, from meeting new people to organizing your home, or even “simple” behaviors like leaving a voicemail, you will be building up some serious stress and anxiety.

If you don’t think you have time for tackling such big issues, think again. Stark makes easy-to-digest videos in “Confidence Quickbite” versions, which run for just over a minute. Her blog posts stay on point and are written in a casual yet informative way, like her New Year’s entry that begins, “Forget resolutions. Forget about fad diets,” and instead urges us to dig deep into the past and think about childhood dreams that sadly got lost in adult responsibilities—how can they help us face a new year full of possibilities?

Hop on over to Craving Confidence and take a look around. If you have a confidence topic you’d like addressed, you can email Stark about it. Share with us here what you think! What are the situations in everyday life that test your ability to be confident? Going on a job interview for a job I really want is high up there for me! What about you?

—Alicia Kachmar

THE OLD NEIGHBOROOD

2008-12-30T21:20:00.001-05:00

APPARENTLY THE NEW SEASON OF 24 IS GOING TO BE GOOD

2008-12-30T08:18:00.002-05:00

According to Kristen De LosSantos (who keep in mind is a chick so it doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy that she has her finger on the pulse of good TV) this is going to be an excellent season. Her reasons,

1. The "Good Old" 24 Is Back! Any of you who were disappointed in season six (and yes, we are with you) will be pleased to know that the high-stakes, high-drama and fully engrossing storylines and action of the earlier seasons of 24 have most assuredly returned for season seven.
In the first four hours alone, there are enough twists to turn your stomach into a pretzel (who's working for whom, where Jack is heading, etc.), and yet the plotlines are handled smartly and delicately enough to avoid Heroes syndrome (way too much happening way too fast to too many people). These guys know what they're doing.

2. Tony Almeda Is Freaking Back! No, it's not a dream, a shower sequence or a Francinator-like clone. Tony Almeda (Carlos Bernard) is among the living. And where he's been and what he's been up to will most assuredly leave your jaw hanging—as well as Jack's.

3. The New Cast Does Not Suck: You Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) devotees might be turned off by the idea of what appears very much to be a new Chloe—Janine Garafalo as an FBI computer whiz helping out Team Jack. But rest assured, there's a reason they've brought in a Chloe clone: The two geekalicious girls will be going head-to-head in no time, and the smackdown is thoroughly entertaining.
Also worth noting: The new femme fatale in Jack's life, Renee Walker (Annie Wersching) is instantly respectable, likeable and ultimately more badass than she might first appear.

4. Jack Is Sorta, Um, Bad: Forget CTU. Forget glossy, glamorous offices, big budgets and endless high-tech help of yesterseason. Ultimately this season of 24 will show Jack (who begins his day in a Senate hearing as a wanted man) in a much more rebellious and renegade light than we've seen him before. And that's because he'll be working with...

WAIT IS SHE KIDDING, THAT'S IT, THAT'S HER REVIEW...SEE, I TOLD YOU, NO SENSE OF, WELL SENSE.

Jizz In My Pants

2008-12-29T08:28:00.000-05:00

The latest from Adam Sandberg (and I can swear that is Justin Timberlake in the grocery store).

Funny Stuff

JETS MAKE OR BREAK ON FINAL SUNDAY (AGAIN)

2008-12-28T08:44:00.002-05:00

Chad Pennington, Chad Pennington.

For the past 2 baseball seasons i have come down to the last Sunday in September needing my Mets to win 1 game to get in, and they failed both times, and it was miserable to sit and watch.

Today, my football team comes up against the same fate, and although I haven't watched it yet, I'm already preparing for the misery. And to make matters worse, they go against my favorite all time Jet. For months I've know it would come down to this, we were on a crash course to make this Sunday "special" and now it is here.

The Jets need some help today, a Patriot or a Raven lose, is critical but more importantly the Jets need to win. A team of mine needs to win on a Sunday in the last day of the season. I'm 0-2 the last couple of seasons, so if nothing else I'm used to the feeling.

Bret Favre has been a nightmare, but unfortunately he is the best shot we have. I'm tron in my love for Chad and my hatred of Bret, but I have to hope that if the Pats or Ravens lose, my team, for once can come up big and actually do something when it counts.

I'll be there at 4:15, giving Chad a standing O when he walks out on that field, I just haven't decided if I'll be wearing my green #10 jersey or my #25 jersey and hope to get 2 picks and not 2 TDs for Mia.

Why couldn't he have just signed with Minn???

Chad Pennington, Chad Pennington

I THINK JAY COX MOHR IS A FUNNY GUY

2008-12-28T08:24:00.000-05:00

Jay is unwittingly looking to add Mohr laughs to his life.

Following in the footsteps of John Ono Lennon, the Gary Unmarried star filed a petition a week ago to legally add his wife's surname to his own, thereby making his new name Jon (his birth name) Ferguson Cox Mohr.

Well, better than the other way around, isn't it?

REPRINTED FROM SEPT 4, 2008

2008-12-27T08:32:00.001-05:00

THE GREATEST QB IN JET'S HISTORY

The Packers are not the only team starting their first season without the greatest QB in team history. The Jets are in the same boat. Yea yea yea..Namath, I know, but actually compare the two:

Won-Lost Record: Namath: 61-61-4 Chad: 32-29
Playoff Berths: Joe: 2 Chad: 3
Playoff W/L: Joe: 2-1 Chad: 2-3
Completion %: Joe: 50.2 Chad: 65.6
Yards: Joe: 27,057 Chad: 13,738
TD’s/TD%: Joe: 170/4.7 Chad:82/4.3
INTs/INT %: Joe: 215/5.9 Chad: 55/2.9
Yds per Attempt: Joe: 7.4 Chad: 7.2
QB Rating: J: 65.8 C: 88.9

All statistics per Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Now I get that numbers don't tell the whole story, and I never saw Joe play, but I saw every game Chad played, and before he was hurt he was as good as anyone, yea Joe has that Super Bowl, and he was a leader in it, but he wasn't the reason the won that game, and if Chad was the QB of that team he'd have won it as well. Pennington was responsible for two of the more impressive playoff wins in team history - the 41-0 beating of the Colts (and Peyton) in 2002, and the overtime victory in San Diego in 2004, and he was robbed of another in Pittsburgh by Herm Edwards’ poor coaching and our kicker's failure to make 1 of 2 game winning field gaols.

Not to disparage Joe, Namath’s impact went beyond statistics. He won the most important game in the history of the New York Jets, and they say the most important game in the history of the NFL. He was the first to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. He was a TV and media giant, and is obviously the most important player in the history of the franchise. But he was not the best quarterback the team has ever had, that was Chad Pennington.

It will be strange to see him in the ugly fish uniform, and I’ll always love him and thank him for all the good things he did for my team.

With all that said, I'd really like to see him throw 5 picks and get sacked 11 times Sunday..

SUCK FACE OR FACEBOOK?

2008-12-26T06:43:00.000-05:00

A new study has come out quizzing women about whether they’d prefer to not have the Internet for two weeks or sex for two weeks. And the results, especially for women, are kind of sad.

An online survey commissioned by Intel has found, among other things, that 46% of women would rather go without sex for two weeks than give up the Internet for that long. The numbers get bigger for certain age groups; 49% of women aged 18-34 would make that choice, and 52% of women aged 35-44.

Some 30% of all men would swap sex for the Internet for two weeks, if they had to, with 39% of men aged 18-34 willing to make that sacrifice, according to the survey. Only 23% of men aged 35-44 said they would do so.

2008-12-22T06:49:00.000-05:00

Am I going to get 3 of these for X-mas??? I mean look at that little fella, a pooing robot toilet-paper holder it makes you appreciate his multi-tasking. But most importantly his deep commitment to bowel evacuation, reading, and of course my love for all things gadget, all in one simple package.

Interpreting Three-Bets

2008-12-21T08:56:00.001-05:00

by Jordan 'IMsoLucky0' Morgan

We all know that a three-bet is supposed to mean strength. When a player three-bets before the flop, he’s saying that he believes he has the best hand. One of the keys to making money at the poker table, however, is being able to interpret when the three-bet means what it’s supposed to mean, and when a player is only representing a big hand and making a move.

The fact of the matter is that you’re not getting the right odds in most situations to call a three-bet with a small pocket pair. When there’s been a raise and a re-raise in front of you and you look down at a hand like pocket 6s, you normally want to fold it and move on. You can sometimes get away with making the call with a very deep stack, but you really have to have a strong read that you’re going to get paid if you make your hand. I might call with pocket 9s or 10s in the right spot against the right opponent, but hands like 8s or 7s just don’t play well enough, especially out of position.

One exception, of course, is if a particular player three-bets repeatedly. This suggests he isn’t always doing it with strong hands and it might be worth playing back at him. However, when I say “repeatedly,” I don’t just mean a couple of times early in a session. If a guy three-bets you twice early on, you might be inclined to think that he’s picking on you and doesn’t have a hand. But it could also be that the guy got dealt big hands twice. Until he has three-bet you relentlessly or shown down a weak holding after three-betting, you don’t want to try to make a play at him. Once he has done it several times, then it’s worth making a play at the pot if he puts in another three-bet, because he’s not going to have the premium hand that he’s representing that often.

Another thing to watch out for is the tiny three-bet. Say it’s a $1/$2 game, I raise to $6, and another player raises to $10 or $12 instead of something more standard like $15 or $18. When people make a tiny three-bet, I’ll usually call that. I don’t give a lot of respect to those plays. Sometimes they will be huge hands, but more often they’ll be very weak hands that you can take the pot from out of position.

A very small three-bet is not a tactic that I’ll use very often – there isn’t much reason for it. If you’re trying to steal a pot, you want to make it more difficult for your opponent to call. If you actually have a big hand, you want to get value for it when your opponent calls, so a bigger three-bet is a better idea.

Facing a three-bet can be a daunting prospect at times – be certain you have a good read on your opponent before making your next move.

Katy Perry fills music's quirky girl void

2008-12-20T06:39:00.002-05:00

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer

get Katy Perry twisted: She absolutely loves being pop's quirky poster girl, the wild child who doesn't censor herself and causes raised eyebrows with songs like "Ur So Gay" and "I Kissed a Girl."

But for all her success over the last year, Perry is hoping that songs like her most recent No. 1, "Hot n Cold," show she has more to offer than kitsch and controversy.
"It's my personality, which is up and down and sassy and cheeky," says Perry, who recently became a Grammy nominee. "You're gonna see me with all kinds of different things. Maybe you won't expect it, but that's what I like to do — keep people on their toes."

Offering the unexpected was a key factor in Perry becoming one of pop's breakout stars this year. While "Ur So Gay" — a taunting song to an ex-lover more enamored with flatirons and skinny jeans than his ex-girlfriend — became an underground talker, it was her equally ear-catching song "I Kissed a Girl," about girl-on-girl experimentation, that resonated with mainstream music fans, becoming a No. 1 summer smash.
"She's not scared to rattle some people's cages lyrically, and say some risque stuff," says singer-songwriter Butch Walker, who collaborated with Perry on some of the tracks on her debut album, "One of the Boys." "She brings a little bit of the underground, a little bit of the hipster and underground culture to the mainstream, and that's what sells her ... as different."

And that's what Perry hoped her role in pop music would be. The 24-year-old, who was raised by ministers and dabbled in Christian music before heading to Los Angeles as a 17-year-old aspiring artist, found most of pop's princesses to be manufactured and boring.

"I was a bit let down by maybe their personality or their delivery or their consistency," says Perry during an interview at her Capitol Records label offices. "They were so like careful with everything."
"Well, what's the point of being in pop or rock 'n' roll music if you're going to be a windup doll?" Perry says. "Use your own wheels and bolts, even if they break, do it yourself."
But Perry found that a colorful personality, strong voice and well-crafted songs didn't guarantee her pop stardom, or even an album. Though she worked with top producers such as Glen Ballard and The Matrix, she bounced from label to label. (Blender magazine profiled her as one to watch in 2004.)

"She was signed and dropped like twice before the record came out," says Walker. "I was afraid that her career and those songs were never gonna see the light of day."
Even Perry wondered whether she should just give up. But her competition gave her hope.
"Every time I thought maybe there was a girl that would take my place, I would watch her and I would kind of sit back and say, 'Almost! No no no, there's still a void!'" she recalls.

Now that she's come along to fill it, Perry looks back on her struggles as a badge of honor. "It's like training," she says.

And she has this advice for those hoping to be the next Katy Perry: Find your own identity.

"When I first started at 17 in Los Angeles, the hit song was 'Complicated,' and everyone wanted me to write a 'Complicated,'" she says of Avril Lavigne's early hit. "I'm like, 'Look that's her, this is me. Everybody loves that song — hopefully everyone will love my song.'"

2008 Brooktown WSOP Champion

2008-12-13T08:01:00.000-05:00

2008-12-12T07:29:00.001-05:00

TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT

Below please find the rules for the final event. As you should know by now the final event is No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em and will be held at Jay’s house in Jackson, NJ TONIGHT.

The entry fee is $50 (Ed, Rich, Scott have free entry) and we would like to start no later than 8pm. Please plan on being there in plenty of time to eat, do all the appropriate paperwork and begin the final event ceremonies.

Rich – please do not forget to bring the trophy you have had for the 3 past years, as I will need to bring it in to have Scott’s name and probably yours engraved for 2008.

I wanted to go over the final prize breakdown as well.

14 original entries $100 = $1400
7 Satellite entries $50 = 350
5 final entries $50 = 250

Total Prize pool =$2000

Scott has already won $100 for the point title, and the interest from the original $1,400 will go toward food for this evening.

1st place $1,000

2nd place $ 600

3rd place $ 300

THE GAME – 2008 BROOKTOWN WSOP CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT

The game is No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Chip Value:

White 50
Red 100
Green 250
Blue 500
Black 1000

BUYIN/REBUY/ADD-ON

The initial buy-in is $50. This will purchase 10,000 in tournament chips. These chips have no monetary value.
There are no add-on’s or re-buys. Once a player has lost all his chips he is eliminated.
Scott Davis (the 2008 point champion), Ed Pascocello and Rich Southard (satellite event winners) will have no buy-in.

SEATING

Table assignment and seating is determined a random draw 30 minutes prior to the start of the event. Scott Davis will be the first to have the button.

BLINDS

The two players to the left of the dealer are required to post “blind” bets before seeing their cards. The 1st is the SB and the 2nd is the BB.
If the SB is knocked out, the button essentially goes into his empty seat.
If the BB is knocked out, then the BB moves on to the player who would have had it next and there isn’t a SB on this hand (SB moves into the empty seat). On the following hand, the button would wind up in the empty seat. The player who just had the BB would have SB, and the BB moves on normally to the next player.
When play is down to two players, figure out who would get the BB next if nothing had happened. He will be the BB on the next hand. The SB is always on the button and the other player is the BB.

TIMER USE AND BREAKS

A timer will be used to time the blind progression. When the timer expires, it should be immediately restarted. The next hand will be dealt at the new blind level. For the purposes of this rule, a hand is considered currently in play once the all blinds are posted AND the dealer has begun shuffling (riffles the deck).

The timer is stopped during breaks. No additional hands at any table should be started during such a break although hands already in progress should be completed.

THE DEAL

The player to the right of the dealer may cut the deck before the cards are dealt.

The dealer is responsible for making sure that all bets have been called before dealing each round of card(s).

Order of the deal:

Dealer deals two cards (one at a time) face down to each player.
Betting round 1 occurs.
Dealer burns one card and deals 3 cards (flop) in the middle of the table face up.
Betting round 2 occurs.
Dealer burns one card and deals one card (turn/4th Street) in the middle.
Betting round 3 occurs.
Dealer burns one card and deals the final card (river/5th Street).
Betting round 4 occurs.

DEALER ERRORS

dealer fails to burn a card before the flop, turn or river and instead turns the top card immediately face up; the card will be shown to all players and then discarded; the next card will take its place.
player's hole card is exposed due to a dealer error; he may not keep the exposed card. After completing the deal, the dealer will exchange the exposed card with the top card on the deck and place the exposed card face up on top of the deck. The exposed card will be used as the first burn card. If two or more cards are exposed on the deal, it is a misdeal.
player is dealt more or less cards than two, and it is discovered before two players act on their hands; it is a misdeal. If it is discovered after two players have acted; that player forfeits all bets and blinds.
flop has too many cards or cards are flopped before all betting is complete; the entire flop is taken back and reshuffled. The burn card will remain burned and no new burn card will be used.
fourth or fifth card is turned up before betting is complete; the card is not in play. After completion of betting, the next card is burned and the following card is turned up. After betting, the dealer will reshuffle the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not the burn card or discards.

BETTING

Check and raise is allowed.
The minimum bet is equal to the size of the BB.
The raise must always be at least the size of the previous bet or raise.
Any player can bet all of their chips at anytime (ALL-IN).
Betting round 1 begins with the player to the left of the BB.
Betting rounds 2-4 begin with the player to the left of the button.
When only two players are left sitting at the table, the BB is dealt to first, the button acts first before the flop, and the BB acts first after the flop.
Do not splash the pot. Stack your bets in front of you the dealer will rake the bets into the pot after the betting round is complete.
Do not bet, check, call, fold, or raise out of turn.

WINNING THE TOURNAMENT

The final player remaining, in the championship round, with all the chips will be the first prize winner. The last player eliminated will be the second prize winner; the second last player eliminated will be the third prize winner, etc... If two players get eliminated in the same hand, the person who started the hand with the most chips gets the higher finish and awarded the corresponding prize pool for that placement.

Caylee Anthony Update

2008-12-12T07:27:00.000-05:00

According to Orange County sheriff's spokesman Angelo Nieves, investigators have obtained the search warrant that they were seeking for the house of George and Cindy Anthony. The house has been taped off with crime scene tape and investigators are examining it for evidence.

It is believed the search is related to the discovery of a small child's remains that were discovered not far from the house earlier today. While a positive identification is still pending, they are believed to be the remains of Casey Anthony's missing two-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony.

According to Tim Miller, founder and director of Texas EquuSearch, he was at the scene where the remains were found earlier today. During an interview with Nancy Graze, Miller said that there was an indentation in the ground, suggesting that they had been there for several months.

The child's remains have since been sent to the FBI crime lab in Quantico, Virginia, where experts are conducting expedited testing to identify the remains.

Investigators plan on conducting another search of the area where the remains were found again tomorrow. They plan on examining the soil and collecting any potential evidence that remains in the area.

Meanwhile, sources at the Orange County Jail are saying that Casey Anthony was "visibly shaken" when she received news of today's discovery. A mental health professional was sent to the jail to meet with her, at which time she was allegedly given a sedative to calm her nerves. Anthony is currently under psychological observation.

Really, Van Horn???

2008-12-10T18:28:00.001-05:00

Seriously Another Steve Francis jersey!?

2008-12-10T18:01:00.000-05:00

Damn hiccups

2008-12-04T02:18:00.000-05:00

The 10 Most Beautiful Places in America - Must visit #2

2008-12-03T11:36:00.000-05:00

2. Nighttime view from Mount Washington in Pittsburgh

In a nation with a wealth of stunning cities full of compelling stories, ranking Pittsburgh as the No. 2 beauty spot is perhaps our most surprising choice. But the Steel City's aesthetic appeal is undeniable, as is its very American capacity for renewal. Standing atop Mount Washington, the steep hill that rises giddily on the city's south side, sightseers enjoy the unforgettable panorama of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers flowing together to create the mighty Ohio, that waterway so essential in the nation's settlement. The rivers cup downtown's lustrous Golden Triangle, where landmark skyscrapers thrust upward like rockets. At night, lights twinkle on no fewer than 15 bridges. Almost as breathtaking as the vista itself is the urban renewal that made it possible. A century ago, a pall of smoke lay so thick over town that streetlights burned all day. As Pittsburgh continues an evolutionary course that has taken it from trading post to transportation hub to industrial goliath, we salute its reinvention into one of America's most scenic and livable communities. In the life of a city, there's nothing more beautiful, or inspiring, than a renaissance. For more, go to pittsburgh.net.

How to Improve Your Luck

2008-12-02T16:37:00.002-05:00

Feeling a little unlucky lately? Want the secret to getting lucky? You have it already - it's you. The secret to improving luck is about perspective, self-belief and erring on the side of optimism. It isn't about winning huge pots of cash - it's about making the most of the wonderful blessings already surrounding you. Here are some thoughts for making your own luck grow.

Use Your Mind. Luck is tied to the power of your imagination. Someone said, "Luck is just probability taken personally". Improved luck will require a lot of personal dedication and hard work.

Prepare. "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity", said Seneca, Roman dramatist, philosopher and politician, 5 BC - 65 AD.[1] If you have the groundwork in place you can take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.

Network. Lucky people know people, lots of people. They don't have to be everyone's bosom buddy but it is the art of being open to many new people that counts. Practice feeling comfortable talking to strangers at events that you attend. And actively listen to them when you strike up a conversation because you will have a lot to learn and they will remember that you appreciated what they had to say. This can translate into opportunities; the more people you meet and the more people you display genuine interest in, the more likelihood of you meeting the right person at the right time who has an opportunity at hand that you want to be a part of.

Trust your instincts. That little inner voice is often right and lucky people know this. You will also know when your "common sense" or "reason" are trying to override the lucky hunch. When this happens, take a moment aside to sit and think things through clearly and uninterrupted. Consider whose voices are speaking to you when you are faced with overriding intuition - is it your own trustworthy voice or is it the voices of others' expectations - a spouse, a boss, a friend?

Take it easy. Anxiety and worry are enemies of luck. They introduce a factor that says "Be very risk averse" and "Whoa there! Hold back now!" You won't be stumbling across luck while you are too busy hiding out. When opportunities come, you need to notice them and you need to seize them. A lucky person believes in now as being as important as tomorrow and much more so than yesterday. Don't be held back by ghosts of failure - they were just learning experiences. And tomorrow will always come whatever happens, so do your best to enjoy today so that tomorrow has a standard to match!

Be ready for new opportunities. The more open you are to novel ideas and new ways of doing things, the more likely it is that you will strike it lucky. Lucky people don't plod along methodically; while that guarantees a safe and secure path, lucky people take the path less known and meet all sorts of amazing opportunities along the way. Put your foot on that path now... try something you have never done before, try something you have convinced yourself you would hate, try something that someone else has suggested you try. Be bold.

Be an eternal optimist. Expect the best. Yes, anyone can do this and why not? It isn't about living with the fairies. It is about being positive and creating the outcomes that you want most. Lucky people are optimistic and they expect that good things will happen to them. Heard the mantra "only good things happen to me"? Well, probably not, as most of us tend to whine "why do all the bad things happen to me?!" Stop it right now and start expecting the best.

Turn sour milk into a smoothie. So the milk went off? Big deal. There are still a lot things you can do with it, so do it. Instead of choosing to wallow and feel rotten about things that go wrong, look for life's lessons in the experience and look for new solutions that grow out of the bad experience. Dwelling on horrible events in your life gives them great power over you, stifling your growth and stomping on your luck. And when you view the world in this manner, even if Lady Luck does call, you're likely to sabotage it because that suits your negative mindset. Avoid the wallowing and kick yourself back into action. Sure, there are times in life when some events really set us back, such as the loss of a loved one, but far better to honor that person's memory by doing things in remembrance of them than using that loss as an eternal unhappiness trigger. It is really important to learn and grow from sadness and hardship rather than to let it harden us and turn us bitter.

Reframe your life. If you perceive yourself as a victim or a hapless flotsam of fate, it is time to reframe. You are a shaper of your destiny and one lucky person. You're lucky to be alive; that's the biggest blessing every single one of us gets. Honour that lucky chance and live your life to its fullest. You'll only be glad that you did.

Never stop learning. This is related to staying open to new opportunities. Unlucky people think their learning stopped at school or university. Lucky people realize that that was just the beginning and that life is one huge university. Soak it all up; even the stuff you find hard, boring, or uncomfortable. It really makes your life a whole lot more exciting and helps you to understand where others are coming from. Aiming to understand a wide range of perspectives makes it easier for you to forgive people and to see their points of view. Knowing this enables you to weave others' motivations into how you approach life and treat them with respect. Which leads to the next point...

Treat people with respect. Lucky people know that other people matter. Respect for others makes you automatically lucky because it stops you from expecting other people's behavior to conform to your own or to ease your way. Instead, you know to respect people for who they are rather than what you wish they would be. And you avoid the arrogance of placing your personality style and lifestyle beliefs above theirs.

Treat the Earth with respect. The Earth gives us food, water, shelter, oxygen and for some people, spiritual fulfillment. Lucky people acknowledge this and care for the world around them as a mark of this respect. Involving yourself with nature by getting outdoors and enjoying it improves your sense of self-assurance as you don't fear its elements but embrace them. In so doing, you increase your luck as you broaden your knowledge and opportunities.

Treat your body with respect As you hone your instincts by listening to your "inner voice", you can also become more in touch with your body awareness. Listen to it. Holistic health practitioners believe your physical, emotional, and spiritual health directly affects how you relate to the world around you.

Do no harm. Lucky people don't use or harm others to forward their own goals. Instead they invite others to accompany them on the journey. While networking, respecting self and others, and caring for the earth around them, lucky people nurture themselves as well as those with whom they come in contact.

Tips

Luck is made, not found. And the luck that is "stumbled across" is very often fool's gold in the hands of a person who doesn't know what to do with it. If you believe in yourself and your abilities, and follow the ideas outlined above, you will be in a great position to take advantage of lucky breaks.

Use techniques such as visualization and goal-setting to create your luck. These are not over-used mantras; they are proven techniques to ensure that you remain directed and focused on the things you want for yourself in life.

Use affirmations daily. "I am going to have a lucky day today." "I am going have good fortune today." "I am going to help enable my luck today by helping others to be lucky today."

Be humble. Luck favors the humble; this doesn't mean you can't stand out there and enthuse others to find their luck but you mustn't toot your horn of arrogance or luck will start to shy away as you become too self-certain. And this quickly steps into the realm of disrespecting others and closing yourself off to more learning. Remember balance and you'll be fine.

Don't get cocky. The more lucky you are, the more prone you are to become cocky and think you're better then everyone else.

Things You'll Need

Affirmation post-it notes stuck in strategic places

A book of positive quotations (or an internet site can send these to you daily)

A photo of a four-leaved clover at your front door to remind you that you are your own luck; place it so you can see it when you go out and when you come in
Networking opportunities; if you don't have them, start making them, even at the local pub

Neat clothes; you don't need expensive and designer wear to be lucky but neatness is important in whatever you wear, as it conveys self-respect and people warm to that.

Woman convinced to hold down toilet handle as conman robs her

2008-11-24T09:16:00.000-05:00

A 91-year-old Jersey City woman was conned by a burglar pretending to be a utility company employee. He told her that there was a water emergency and that if she didn't hold down the flusher on her toilet, the house would explode. Meanwhile, he stole almost $4000 in cash from her apartment. From The Jersey Journal:
The man first opened and shut a faucet in the kitchen and then went into the victim's bathroom where he flushed the toilet, reports said.

The man then instructed the victim to "hold down the flush handle or else the house will explode," reports said...

But after about two minutes, the victim told police "I didn't care if the house exploded" and walked into her living-room, at which time she discovered her house had been ransacked, reports said.

YES YES...JUST ANOTHER GREAT REASON FOR ME TO POST A STORY ABOUT A TOILET.

Pareidolia

2008-11-23T09:07:00.002-05:00

From wikipedia - The term pareidolia (pronounced /pæraɪˈdoʊliə/) describes a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant. Common examples include seeing images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon, and hearing hidden messages on records played in reverse.

Check out this picture...it took me a while but I eventually saw it and it's pretty wild (yes, make fun, I'm a simple man and the simpiest things interest me).

Have you seen Jesus today? Sent by Jessica Lundgren from Sweden to paranormal.about.com, you can see the clear profile of a giant bearded man with closed eyes. It does resemble common representations of a fellow named Jesus. Even though that enormous Jesus head doesn’t quite fit into the rest of the image. What’s going on there? Jessica writes that “the child died short after the photo was taken”.

ZACH COMES TO VISIT

2008-11-22T10:27:00.001-05:00

What could go wrong with a brick fireplace?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

2008-11-18T14:01:00.001-05:00

An enemy must either be caressed or annihilated

Pot-Limit Omaha

2008-11-16T08:08:00.000-05:00

by Barny Boatman

If you don’t have much experience playing Pot-Limit Omaha, a good rule of thumb is to play hands that can make the nuts because at a full table the pot will usually end up going to the player holding the best possible hand. If there are three flush cards on the board, the winning player will often show an Ace-high flush, and if the board pairs, the winner will usually have a full house. While flopping the nuts is nice, it’s even more important that you have redraws to make the nuts when the board changes on later streets.

Because you have four cards in your hand instead of just two, the starting hands in Omaha are much closer together in value than they are in Texas Hold ‘em. Any four random cards not containing a pair are never going to be that far behind any other starting hand. The values start to diverge on the flop and at that point they change dramatically. In Omaha, the best hand changes from street to street. The nuts almost never stay the same and the best hand on the flop will rarely be good on the river; if you’re going to continue on in a hand, you need to have a redraw that gives you plenty of outs.

More than anything, Pot-Limit Omaha is about straights and straight possibilities. You should always be looking to play starting hands that have a 10 or a 5 in them because many straights contain one or the other. Tens are particularly important because they’re more likely to make the nut straight for you. If there’s a lot of action on the flop and the board hasn’t paired, you really want to have a redraw to make the nut straight. If your hand’s got flush potential as well, all the better.

Unless you have some sort of redraw, one of the worst hands you can have on the flop in Pot-Limit Omaha is a small set because chances are good that you’ll end up losing to a bigger set, a straight, or a flush. For this reason, beginning players should avoid starting hands that feature small pairs like 5s or 7s. It’s more likely that these hands will get you in trouble than make you money – you’d be smart to fold them before the flop.

Having a redraw to make the nuts is so important in Pot-Limit Omaha that folding the nuts on the flop is often the best play if the board is scary and your hand has no chance of improving. This might sound crazy to Texas Hold ‘em players, but this situation occurs all the time in Omaha. The best way to combat this is to play starting hands that have all four cards working together so that if you do make a hand on the flop you can play it aggressively, knowing that your hand has a chance to improve on the turn or the river.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. Let’s say you’ve got J-10-3-2 and the flop comes 9-8-7. You’ve flopped the nut straight, but you can’t celebrate too much because if a Jack or a 10 falls on the turn or the river you won’t have the nut straight anymore. If there are two flush cards on the flop, you’re in even worse shape.

This is a very difficult situation to be in because any change that occurs on the board can ruin your hand. If the board pairs, you’re probably going to lose to a Full House. If another spade comes, you’re going to get beaten by a flush. Even if the straight you flopped somehow remains the nuts on the river, there’s a good chance you’re going to have to split the pot.

When you pick up a starting hand that has the potential to make a straight, it’s fine if the hand has a gap in it. Just remember that it’s far better to have a gap at the bottom of the hand than at the top. For example, J-10-9-7 is a better hand than J-9-8-7 because the first one allows for upward development. If the flop comes 8-6-5, you’ve made the nut straight with both hands, but if a 9 falls on the turn only the first hand allows you to make a higher straight. Ignorant of this concept, many players who are new to the game tend to overvalue a hand like 6-5-4-3. Even though the cards are perfectly connected, this hand is not as pretty as it looks because it doesn’t allow for much upward development.

As you can see, it’s not enough to flop the nuts in this game. You also need to have a redraw to make the nuts when the board changes; because in Pot-Limit Omaha, it always does.

Fw:

2008-11-11T12:35:00.000-05:00

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2008-11-11T12:25:00.000-05:00

Too Fat to Fish - IN STORES TODAY!!!

2008-11-11T03:40:00.001-05:00

Too Fat To Fish is a book written by comedian and Howard Stern Show co-host Artie Lange, published by Spiegel & Grau, a division of Random House. Too Fat To Fish will be available in hard cover, audio CD, and audio download format on November 11, 2008. The book is a collection of short stories that happened throughout Lange's life, from his childhood to his recent USO trip to Afghanistan in July 2008. The foreword is written by Howard Stern, with Lange also dedicating the book to Stern. It is said that Lange writes about his "most personal revelation" somewhere in the book.

When Artie Lange joined the permanent cast of The Howard Stern Show in 2001, it was possibly the greatest thing ever to happen in the Stern universe, second only to the show’s move to the wild, uncensored frontier of satellite radio. Lange provided what Stern had yet to find all in the same place: a wit quick enough to keep pace with his own, a pathetic self-image to dwarf his own, a personal history both heartbreaking and hilarious, and an ingrained sense of self-sabotage that continually keeps things interesting.

A natural storyteller with a bottomless pit of material, Lange grew up in a close-knit, working-class Italian family in Union, New Jersey, a maniacal Yankees fan who pursued the two things his father said he was cut out for—sports and comedy. Tragically, Artie Lange Sr. never saw the truth in that prediction: He became a quadriplegic in an accident when Artie was eighteen and died soon after. But as with every trial in his life, from his drug addiction to his obesity to his fights with his mother, Artie mines the humor, pathos, and humanity in these events and turns them into comedy classics.

True fans of the Stern Show will find Artie gold in these pages: hilarious tales that couldn’t have happened to anyone else. There are stories from his days driving a Jersey cab, working as a longshoreman in Port Newark, and navigating the dark circuit of stand-up comedy. There are outrageous episodes from the frenzied heights of his coked-up days at MADtv, surprisingly moving stories from his childhood, and an account of his recent U.S.O. tour that is equally stirring and irreverent. But also in this volume are stories Artie’s never told before, including some that he deemed too revealing for radio.

Wild, shocking, and drop-dead hilarious, TOO FAT TO FISH is Artie Lange giving everything he’s got to give. And like a true pro, the man never disappoints.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

2008-11-07T02:46:00.000-05:00

Don't mock the scarf, Nathaniel. It's my signature.

RALPH "CELEBRATES" THE NEW PRESIDENT

2008-11-04T21:46:00.002-05:00

Multimedia message

2008-11-04T10:10:00.000-05:00

Or didn't I?

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2008-11-04T10:09:00.000-05:00

Did i?

MY STATE BY STATE PREDICTION FOR 2008

2008-11-04T06:31:00.000-05:00

<p><strong>><a href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/electoral-college/'>Electoral College Prediction Map</a></strong> - Predict the winner of the general election. Use the map to experiment with winning combinations of states. Save your prediction and send it to friends.</p>

Betting Out To Control Pot Size

2008-11-03T07:18:00.000-05:00

By Kelly Kim

Intuitively, it would seem that checking and calling is the best way to keep a pot small when you’re uncertain as to whether or not you have the best hand. And often, that’s the case. But believe it or not, betting out can sometimes allow you to get to the showdown cheaper than checking. If your goal is to control the size of the pot, sometimes voluntarily putting chips in will actually keep the pot smaller than passively putting chips in only after your opponent does.

Here’s an example from a hand that I played during this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event that will illustrate this tactic. The blinds were 12,000/24,000 and I opened for 60,000 on the button. Usually when you open for 2 1/2 big blinds like that, especially on the button, it portrays some strength. In this case, I only had Q-J of hearts. The small blind called and the big blind folded.

The flop came A-10-rag; he checked, I bet 65,000 and he called. The turn card was a Queen – making me second pair – and he checked. This was the key moment in the hand. I decided to bet 100,000. I did this for pot control: I didn’t want to call a bet of 150,000 or 200,000 on the river, so I made a smaller bet at that point expecting it to freeze him on the river with most hands.

Let’s say my opponent had A-3. My small bet on the turn made it look like I had a strong hand and was milking him, wanting him to call. There was no way he could bet on the river with an Ace and no kicker; he was just as happy as I was to see a free showdown at that point.

It’s also important to note our stack sizes. I started the hand with about 600,000 in chips and he was deep, with about 1.5 million. By betting 100,000 on the turn, meaning I had committed more than one-third of my stack, he couldn’t try a bluff raise because it was too likely that I was pot-committed. On top of this, I had established a tight image and he had to respect the likelihood that I had a real hand. If he had come over the top, I would have found out that I was beat for a relatively cheap price.

The main goal of the turn bet was to get me to the showdown for 100,000 instead of a larger amount. If I’d checked there, with about 280,000 in the pot, he could very well have had Ace-baby, and my check would have told him that I didn’t have an Ace. He then could have easily bet about 150,000-200,000 on the river to extract value from me. He was looking for an amount that I might have paid off with a Queen or what looked like a bluff. If he had Ace-baby and opted for the 200,000-chip bet, I would have saved 100,000 by betting out on the turn.

Obviously, he could have thrown a wrinkle into the plan by moving all in on the river. Again, this is a situation where you have to incorporate image, and I’d been playing real tight to that point – he was just as scared of me as I was of him.

What if I did have him beat with the Queen? Let’s say he had J-10 or K-10; he would have been priced in to call, and I wanted him to – I needed to pick up the extra 100,000 for my stack. I was willing to take the risk of seeing the river because he only had five or six outs.

Against other players who are capable of seeing the river card and just moving in, I might have tried a different strategy, like playing real small ball and checking the turn while being prepared to pay off 175,000 on the river. But against this guy, I knew for sure he was going to check the river unless he made trips or a straight.

As it turned out, I never saw his hand. He checked the river, I checked behind. He was disgusted when I showed him the Queen, so it was obvious that he had a 10 and I turned him. But he couldn’t have just had a 10. For him to have called with a 10 on the turn he needed to have a straight card there – he either had to be holding J-10 or K-10. And that was exactly the hand I wanted to be up against on the turn.

This situation was very circumstantial because it was based on stack size and image, which are very important in live tournaments. Because of the size of my chip stack, I was playing really tight and couldn’t afford to get out of line. I couldn’t see many flops. I played with this opponent for a while to set up this play, and I knew it was the perfect situation for it. I wanted to get to a showdown because I thought queens could have been the best hand, but didn’t want to pay 200,000 in the end to find out.

Multimedia message

2008-10-31T18:55:00.000-04:00

Shari enjoying halloween

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

2008-10-31T08:06:00.000-04:00

"You may be the future leaders of this country but i own your asses"

GREAT BASEBALL STRATEGY TONIGHT!!!

2008-10-29T17:49:00.002-04:00

I think tonight is one of the most fascinating baseball strategy dynamics we'll ever see.

As you know game 5 of the World Series was suspended the other night for rain tied as we are heading into the bottom of the 6th.

Let's set the stage;

Balfour, a hard throwing righty, is scheduled to face a pinch hitter then the top of the Phillie lineup. The Ray's pitcher is scheduled to bat 4th in the top of the 7th inning.

So the Rays can bring in their young stud Price (a tough lefty) to start it off. If all goes well, and Price gets the Phillies 1-2-3 in the 6th, Price would then be due up 4th, so in theory if the Rays get a guy or two on he would have to be pinch hit for. In effect, wasting him for only one inning, and in the bottom of the 7th, Utely and Howard would be up, both lefties that Price MUST face. you can't double switch Price in, since the Rays 5th hitter made the last out, and he's not coming out of a tie game.

So what do the Rays do? I see only 2 choices.

1- Leave Balfour in to face the pinch hitter, and unless he lets a runner on, roll the dice that he can get Jenkins, Rollins and Werth 1-2-3...not a bad option if you ask me.

2-And the option I may like but we'll never see, is bring in Price and double switch him into the number 7 slot in the lineup, in essence he would bat 2nd in the 7th inning. This way you won't be forced to pinch hit for him in a big spot...if the leadoff batter gets on he bunts, if not he's up with 1 out and no one on.

You'll never see the risky option 2 as a choice, and I bet even option 1 is to much of a risk, and second guess for the Rays.

Expect Price to come in, and Maddon will just hope all works out in the bottom of the 7th. I think if Maddon commits to Price in the bottom of the 6th no matter what the situation is in the top of the 7th Price must bat. You can't use him only for 1 inning. Hope he can give you 3 strong (6,7,8 inning) and figure out a way to get one run and turn it over the pen for the 9th.

Either way, it's a fascinating story line to be in the middle of a clinching World Series game and to be able to dissect the strategy over time.

I'm rooting for Maddon to make the right call, and enjoy a 3 inning baseball game. Keep the kids up, who knows when the next time they'll be awake to see the final out of a world series game before 10pm.

THE GATE HOUSE

2008-10-29T10:36:00.001-04:00

FIND A HUBBY WITH A SUPERBOWL AD?

2008-10-28T10:14:00.004-04:00

Amy Borowsky is in the midst of raising $3M to run her own ad, for a husband, during the SuperBowl.

Amy told the New York Post that: "Dating is a numbers game. I need to reach a large pool of guys." I guess what better way to get your personal ad out to 60,000,000 18-34 year old men than during the SuperBowl.

If you'd like to donate to Amy's fundraising drive, head over to her site:

http://www.superbowlsinglegirl.com/index.php

According to the site she has raised $2,170 to date.

FROM HER SITE:

More About Amy
Amy was born single in New York City and has pretty much remained that way, much to the dismay of her mother who once left her daughter a string of phone messages begging her to submit photos to millionaire bachelors from a talk show, eventually mailing in Amy’s naked baby photos herself. Amy shares these and other actual messages she’s saved through the years on two volumes of “Amy’s Answering Machine: Messages from Mom” comedy CDs, which have become hits thanks to media exposure including appearances on “Today,” National Public Radio, and in People. Feeling the emotional and comedic void since losing her mom a few years back, Amy says, “My ideal man would have a big brain, a good heart and a really annoying mother.”

Amy would like her Mr. Right to have a creative side, too, though he doesn’t have to be a writer or an artist; “I wouldn’t rule out a creative accountant,” she says, “unless his creativity resulted in federal charges.” Though she tries to get on the treadmill a few times a week, the fit Manhattanite says she’s definitely no athlete and wouldn’t be a match for anyone who expects his partner to join him in adventure sports like scuba diving or bungee jumping. “One of the sexiest things a guy could wear is a tight-fitting seat belt,” says the risk-averse woman who claims her list of favorite movies includes the airline safety video.

Borkowsky, who appears younger than her stated age of "somewhere between Carrie and Samantha," also happens to be a Mensa member and a former "Price Is Right" contestant who won an artificial fireplace with a suggested retail value of $522. She once performed as “Amy the Amazing Toothbrushing Hula Hooper,” skillfully combining hula hooping with dental hygiene, though she admits she’s not quite sure how this talent would make her any more desirable as a wife.

So why isn’t this tallish, slender, quirky brunette married?
Like a lot of ambitious women, Borkowsky says she spent her early single years focused on her career, first as an advertising writer, eventually transitioning to performing comedy and penning humor books. (She has appeared at major comedy clubs, in the Montreal Festival, and is a popular speaker on the event and fundraiser circuit.) Once she began to look more seriously for Mr. Right, she found new challenges. “Internet dating has created a warehouse mentality,” she observes in earnest, “and if there’s one little thing not right about someone, everyone’s so quick to just go back to the stockroom and pull out another item, so nobody ever really commits.”

After serving as a bridesmaid for various friends and her cousin Marlene, Borkowsky is open about the fact that she did have a handsome doctor ask her to walk down the aisle back in 2007. “For once I wasn’t a bridesmaid,” she reveals. “I was a groomswoman.”

GATE HOUSE IN STORES TOMORROW

2008-10-27T21:15:00.000-04:00

A Note from Nelson DeMille

Since my last Newsletter, the financial markets have been in crisis, and Congress has approved a $700 billion bailout. An important earmark in this bill is the Bestselling Author’s Relief Fund (BARF), which I heartily support. So, please write your congressional representatives and thank them if they voted for BARF. If they didn’t, then reprimand them for not sending your tax money to bestselling authors who made some bad investments. I’m waiting for my bailout check.

Actually, books sell well in hard economic times -- or at least, that is the conventional wisdom in the publishing industry. The theory is that people tend to stay home and read more since they don’t go out to dinner or sporting events, and so forth. This actually did happen after the Crash of 1987 and in earlier tough times. So, if you’re looking for an escape from the bad news and the presidential campaign, turn off the TV and radio, burn the newspaper in the grill, and buy a book.

As I said in my last Newsletter, my latest novel, THE GATE HOUSE, will be released in hardcover tomorrow, October 28th. THE GATE HOUSE is a sequel to THE GOLD COAST, which has just been reissued in mass market paperback and the larger trade paperback edition. Both these stories, THE GATE HOUSE and THE GOLD COAST are excellent escapist reading, and their themes of money, greed, seduction, betrayal and murder are very timely.

On the last weekend in September, I attended the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) convention, which was held in Mobile, Alabama. Independent bookstores all over the country are struggling to survive the tough competition from chains and online retailers. The men and women who own and run these stores are a dedicated and knowledgeable group of people who truly love books, and I felt honored to be invited. You probably get a lot of your books online or in a chain bookstore, but if you have an independent bookstore in your area, give them some of your business too.

Also, if you happen to be watching “The View” this Thursday, October 30th, they’ll be giving a copy of THE GATE HOUSE to everyone in the studio audience. The audience will be told that they’re getting a fifty-acre Gold Coast estate, so when they get a book instead, they’ll be really surprised, and you can watch them get a big laugh at the joke.

I've just launched the redesign of my website with new bells & whistles. Be sure to check back regularly, as there will be contests and a video Q&A in the weeks to come.

Okay, this is my last Newsletter until sometime after the election and before Thanksgiving. Remember to stop at a bookstore on your way to or from the polling place. In the last chapter of THE GATE HOUSE I predict the winner of the 2008 presidential election, and you’ll want to see if I’m right.

Enjoy this beautiful fall season.

Best Regards,

Nelson DeMille

In Stores Tomorrow: THE GATE HOUSE

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille delivers the long-awaited follow-up to his classic novel THE GOLD COAST.
When John Sutter's aristocratic wife killed her Mafia don lover, John left America and set out in his sailboat on a three-year journey around the world, eventually settling in London. Now, ten years later, he has come home to the Gold Coast, that stretch of land on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America, to attend the imminent funeral of an old family servant. Taking up temporary residence in the gatehouse of Stanhope Hall, John finds himself living only a quarter of a mile from Susan who has also returned to Long Island. But Susan isn't the only person from John's past who has reemerged: Though Frank Bellarosa, infamous Mafia don and Susan's ex-lover, is long dead, his son, Anthony, is alive and well, and intent on two missions: Drawing John back into the violent world of the Bellarosa family, and exacting revenge on his father's murderer -- Susan Sutter. At the same time, John and Susan's mutual attraction resurfaces and old passions begin to reignite, and John finds himself pulled deeper into a familiar web of seduction and betrayal. In THE GATE HOUSE, acclaimed author Nelson DeMille brings us back to that fabled spot on the North Shore -- a place where past, present, and future collides with often unexpected results.

JASON DOYLE INTERVIEW IN NIGHTCLUB & BAR MAGAZINE

2008-10-25T07:37:00.003-04:00

With wine bars of all shapes, sizes and types cropping up, one growing concept in the category focuses on offering something unique and special.

Jason C. Doyle (pictured below) is the founder and CEO of The Wine Loft wine bar (www.thewineloft.net), and his concept will have 18 locations open by the end of 2008. The first Wine Loft opened in New Orleans in 2003, and the company has commitments for more than 80 franchise locations in five countries. Additionally, six corporate-owned locations are in various stages of development.

NCB: What criteria are necessary to run a great wine bar?

Jason Doyle: The concept of a wine bar world can be broken down into three types. Number one, you have half-retail, half-tasting. These are concepts like The Grape. Then some places offer a bistro concept. It is a café concept, and they offer some wine. The third is a lounge concept. That is what we are. We offer an upscale atmosphere with heavy emphasis on wines by the glass.

We have 50 percent sales of our sales coming from wines by the glass. Another 15 to 20 percent of our sales come from bottles, 15 percent in food, 15 percent in spirits, and another 5 percent is beer sales.

Lots of people operating in the other categories don’t serve spirits. We do, because our target market is women, and women purchase cocktails a great deal of the time.

I feel that a good wine bar is marked by its wine-by-the glass selection. There should be selections from around the globe –– Chilean, South African, Italian –– and then there should be an orbital selection in each varietal. You should be able to get a glass of Australian Chardonnay, California Chardonnay and then also a great French Chardonnay, for example.

NCB: Why do you think your Wine Loft concept in particular has become so successful?

JD: We spend a lot of time training our staff. We have an online training program we utilize called Bacchus University, and we train everyone through that program. Our wine component is called Wine Sage, and it is a partnership with the Wine Spectator School. Our servers, cooks, bar staff, etc., can individually self-promote by going through all the schools Wine Spectator offers, and we also offer it through Certified Specialists of Wine.

Essentially, what this means is, a server can come on with us at The Wine Loft and in three to six months become a specialist on his or her own. We don’t have a lot of turnover, because of our intense training.

NCB: Tell us a little about how you approached the franchise process with your concept.

JD: Our first location opened in 2003 in Louisiana. We began franchising in 2005. During that time, we paid all the legal fees and trademark registration fees, so when we were ready we could just launch. We worked on our intellectual properties — all things a franchisee is looking for. And, we worked on our internal systems to become as profitable as we could.

We then signed leases in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta. We wanted to create a regional pipeline of inventory, so again, when we did launch, we would have that pipeline in place. All of that happened from the end of 2004 through June of 2005 … and we were in construction in Baton Rouge and in Birmingham at the same time when someone offered to buy the Baton Rouge location.

From there we sold the second one in Birmingham, and things have taken off. Looking at the long term domestically, we believe we have an inventory of 350 locations. We are also working on an international franchise program in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the coming years. They are emerging markets. Our goal is to take the infrastructure we developed here and duplicate it in those countries.

NCB: How do you stay on top of the latest trends in wine and wine service?

JD: We dine out and travel quite a bit. I think the best way is to physically be in the middle of it. I am in Las Vegas every quarter and in New York City almost every month. We have construction in Redondo Beach and the Northern Bay area of California. So we are in great food and wine towns regularly.

(On-premise) we have a company intranet we use. When you open it, every week there are new video blogs, articles and any techniques with respect to our business. For example, on there now is the 2007 Wine Blog Awards. Our franchisees know our intranet is a primary source for them to stay on top of trends in food and wine.

NCB: How are you dealing with the rising gas prices and the increased cost of shipping?

JD: They haven’t really hit us yet. We have been more affected by the weak dollar and heightened euro. Wines from the old world have gone up in cost, which means we have to price them higher on our menu. We also have to look harder and deeper for better wines at lower prices. South Africa, Argentina, Chile — those countries haven’t seen increases from a euro standpoint, so we look there too.

With shipping, most inventory has been in those markets prior to six months ago. My gut is that as we approach third quarter, we are going to see our costs go up. Distributors who have employees and trucks — those folks are going to be affecting us with incremental increases.

As for bringing people to our locations, we are a lifestyle brand. When people come in, they are coming for the experience. That puts pressure on our unit level operators to create that great experience, so we can compete with the other venues.

We sell social experience, so as long as we can continue to create that environment, we can beat out our competitors.

NCB: How often do you change your menu?

JD: We have the ability to print off menus every day in every venue. Local operators in our company may want to take advantage of a particular promotion a distributor is offering, and then they can print a new menu that day.

We take the same approach with food. We have 30 items. Six are consistent, and then the operators choose the rest. They have to carry at least 12.

NCB: Where do you see wine bar concepts like The Wine Loft headed in the coming five years?

JD: I think the space is going to be more competitive. Our business is one where people are always striving to carve out a niche. Our goal is to run efficiently as a franchise, but not to be perceived as a franchise.

When people come into our establishment, they come because they want to come to Wine Loft, not just a bar that has wine. We want to be sure that in our spaces customers have the experience they are seeking.

They are coming to us as a destination in mind, and that we capture them for two to three hours at a time is a must.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

2008-10-23T20:16:00.003-04:00

Why can't I stop listening to this song???

I love it, so damn catchy.

Singer/songwriter Jason Mraz hails from Mechanicsville, VA, where he grew up as a fan of the Dave Matthews Band and local roots musicians the Agents of Good Roots. But it was Mraz's interest and participation in musical theater that was his first introduction to music. Mraz moved to New York following high school to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy but dropped out a year later when he took up the guitar and began to focus on songwriting. Nonetheless, Mraz's training as a vocalist would show itself on his debut album which is marked by the pure clarity and range of his vocals.
After busking around New York, Mraz eventually returned to Virginia; but, in 1999, he ultimately made his way West, settling in San Diego, CA, known for its coffeehouse scene and support of singer/songwriters, most notably Jewel. Mraz began playing local shops and landed a weekly slot at local hot-spot Java Joe's. At the same time, Mraz met drummer Toca Rivera and the two began performing together -- Mraz on acoustic guitar, Rivera on djembe -- honing a live show that featured as much comedic banter between the two as music.

Over the next two years, Mraz's following grew outside of San Diego to Los Angeles, garnering the attention of record labels. In early 2002, Mraz signed to Elektra Records and returned to Virginia to write and record his debut album, working with producer John Alagía (the Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer) and his high school heroes, the Agents of Good Roots, as his backing band. The resulting effort, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, was released in November of 2002. It blended Mraz's early influences and coming-of-age sensibilities with country, roots rock, the poeticism of coffeehouse folk, elements of jazz, and hip-hop's rhythmic charge. The buoyant first single "Remedy [I Won't Worry]" (co-written by Mraz with pop hitmakers the Matrix) was a hit, and Mraz headed out on the road to support it. One of those shows, an October 2003 date at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, became Mraz' summer 2004 live release Tonight, Not Again. it tided his fans over until July 2005, when he returned with the sophomore studio effort Mr. A-Z. ~ Christina Saraceno, All Music Guide

Written by Christina Saraceno

TILLY IS 50 YEARS OLD

2008-10-22T14:58:00.000-04:00

Jennifer Tilly may have surprised alot of people when she won a bracelet in the 2005 World Series of Poker Ladies No-Limit Hold’em event, but she would prove later that year that she was no one-hit-wonder with her first place victory at the World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational.

On June 27, 2005, Tilly won a World Series of Poker bracelet (and $158,625) in the Ladies’ No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em event, outlasting 600 other players. She followed up this accomplishment on September 1, 2005 by also winning the third World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational Tournament held at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. Tilly has appeared in the GSN Poker Royale series. She appeared in the third season of Poker Superstars but was eliminated in the preliminary round.

Tilly has stated that at this point in her career she is more interested in pursuing poker than acting. As of 2008 her live tournament winnings exceed $450,000. Tilly also appears in the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions 2007 Edition video game (along with current boyfriend, Phil Laak) that was released in 2007 by Activision.

I’m not sure where I want to go with this...I'd like to believe that it’s because she’s makes good reads and is a heck of a poker player, but let’s be honest, if you were a guy in sunglasses with that pictured above sitting across from you, I’d imagine you’d probably be a little distracted. I don't think that type of outfit, or those type of distractions belong in poker.

She is currently dating poker professional Phil “Unabomber” Laak and is nicknamed “The Unabombshell” within the poker circuit. Laak is 14 years younger than Tilly, and personally I think he's an annoying guy to watch.

But she’s FIFTY. I honestly can't believe it. She could easily pass for 35, poker keeps you young baby.

Make Your Crappy Wine Into Good Wine

2008-10-21T15:12:00.000-04:00

The machine recreates the effects of decades of ageing by colliding alcohol molecules in the bottle

From the Daily Telegraph:

Inventor Casey Jones says the £350 gadget uses ultrasound technology to recreate the effects of decades of ageing by colliding alcohol molecules inside the bottle.

The Ultrasonic Wine Ager, which looks like an ordinary ice bucket, takes 30 minutes to work and has already been given the thumbs up by an English winemaker.

Mr Jones, 53, said: "This machine can take your run-of-the-mill £3.99 bottle of plonk and turn it into a finest bottle of vintage tasting like it costs hundreds.

"It works on any alcohol that tastes better aged, even a bottle of paintstripper whisky can taste like an 8-year-aged single malt.

"The look and bouquet of the drink is improved and because of the chemical changes, the alcohol is easier to absorb by the kidneys and therefore, hangovers are virtually eliminated.

"I have even tried it with orange juice after I saw a similar device being used in the US. It didn't just make the juice taste fresher, it made it look brighter too."

He added: "I see thousands of inventions every year and there are a lot of crazy ones, but in every ton of coal there is a diamond.

"Of all the inventions I deal with, this one has amazed me the most in the effects it has on alcohol."

Andre Jones, no relation, a winemaker who produces 40,000 bottles-a-year at his family-owned Buzzard Valley Vineyard, near Tamworth, Staffs, said he was impressed by the gadget.

He said: "Casey took one of our bottles and brought it back for us to try after it had been in the machine. I was amazed, it had definitely aged.

"Obviously it can't change the grape variety used, but it does mean a relatively poor variety can be made to taste a lot higher market.

"I would like to see it used on some of the Mediterranean varieties like a Rioja or a Shiraz.

"This could definitely have some applications for those restaurants who are buying wine for £10,000 a case.

"Technically I suppose you could buy a good wine at two or three years old and age it so it tastes like a 20-year-old vintage.

"Wine is at it's best five or so years after it's made, so this could help homebrewers taste aged wine more easily."

However, he warned restaurants and bars against trying to pass off a cheaper bottle of wine as a more expensive one just because it had been through the machine.

"You would have to tell customers it wasn't quite the real thing," he said.

Multimedia message

2008-10-20T19:45:00.000-04:00

Poker champion 2008

Keeping up with Katy Perry

2008-10-20T14:52:00.000-04:00

Katy Perry will host this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards in Liverpool.

The singer says she “wet herself” when she was asked to make her presenting debut at the ceremony next month.

She said: “I was so excited when I heard that I was nominated for two awards, but when I was asked to host the show I wet myself”.

Be sure to stay in touch by checking in with Katy every once in a while at 805-754-2138.

2008-10-18T18:11:00.001-04:00

Me and Onch BFF

YAHOO ANSWERS IS NOT AFRAID OF ANY TOPIC

2008-10-18T14:36:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure what the big fuss is? It's only twice a month, what is wrong with that?

ADD FERN TO THE SHORT LIST OF POKER CHAMPS

2008-10-17T23:28:00.002-04:00

Rich Southard 3 times
Rick Turner 2007
and now add Jay Fern

Thursday evening, or actually early Friday morning, after just about everyone went home, in their 3rd time meeting for a Poker Championship, Jay Fern finally defeated Rich Southard to take the 2008 FA Final Event Championship.

In a year where we've live through "auction rate preferreds", corporate failures, retentionless job changes, and a 143% decline in the equity markets, we had another first: Jay Fern took down Rich Southard to win the FA league title. It was a well played night, complete with way too much chicken.

The first casualty was Johnny "I gotta get up to drive vroom vroom" Busco who gave away his chips chasing a flush. Rick Turner, our defending champion, went down next. Appropriately, both satellite finishers hit the showers 1-2.

Luke, playing what seemed his one and only hand, bowed out in 6th place. "I'm Pete Costello" who made as many incredible lay downs (pocket kings) as he did calls (A-10), couldn't survive his battles with Rich, and at approximately Pete O'clock he headed home.

Rich Southard had about 55,000 of the 80,000 chips heading into the final 4. As the money bubble was popped, play got less conservative, and Jay's pocket 10's held over Triola's, all-in, pocket 8's. Neil's A-J was then taking out by Rich's 7-8, and it was heads up time, with Rich having a 60k-20k chip advantage. The battle went on for almost an hour and Jay's pocket Jd 9d, chased and hit a flush over Rich's paired A 5, it was over.

Here is the the finished results of the final table:

Fern
Southard
Martucci
Triola
Costello
Lucash
Turner
Busco

A great year, another great group of guys, and another memorable championship, and a new member to the POKER HALL OF CHAMPIONS.

Continuation Betting And Your Position At The Table

2008-10-14T07:27:00.000-04:00

by Jon 'Pearljammed' Turner

When deciding whether or not to make a continuation bet on the flop, a critical factor is your position at the table.

Let's say you raise before the flop from under the gun and get called by the big blind. You should make a continuation bet the vast majority of the time, whether the flop helped you or not, because your preflop raise from the worst position at the table suggests you have a very big hand. By the same token, your opponent's call before the flop doesn't signify nearly as much strength because he was getting a big discount to call from the big blind. If he checks to you on the flop, you should make a continuation bet at least 90 percent of the time, mixing in a few checks when you have a hand like A-J or A-Q and flop top pair with your ace.

Now let's say you make a preflop raise on the button and get called by the big blind. You still have position on your opponent, but he's probably not going to give you any credit for having a strong hand because stealing from this position is so common. There's a chance he might check-raise you with absolutely nothing, so you should be much more inclined to check after your opponent checks, especially if you actually have a decent hand like pocket eights on a J-7-3 flop or A-K on a Q-J-5 flop.

In the latter situation, you would be better off checking and taking a free card with A-K because you're likely drawing to ten outs and, even if you don't improve, your hand is still strong enough to have showdown value on the river. If you do decide to make a continuation bet and get called, you can be sure your opponent has a better hand than yours. You should then take a free card on the turn, which will give you another shot at hitting one of your outs on the river.

Because most players view continuation bets as steal attempts in this situation, you should be prepared to go all the way with your hand whenever you're short-stacked and connect with the flop. For example, if you only have 20 big blinds in your stack, you raise from the button with Q-10 suited and the flop comes Q-J-5, you need to be willing to get all your chips into the middle of the table. You should make a continuation bet most of the time, but occasionally you're going to want to check behind in this spot in order to disguise the strength of your hand.

Now if you had 30 big blinds in your stack in the same situation, you might want to check behind because you're a little too deep to entice an opponent who has a jack to want to put you all in. If you check, most of the cards that fall on the turn won't hurt you. Only an ace, king, or jack would give you much concern. Having disguised the strength of your hand, you can then bet for value on the turn and the river. Your turn bet will get called by many hands worse than yours, including most small pocket pairs. If your opponent checks to you again on the river, you should continue to bet for value, but if he leads out with a bet you should just call. If you raise, you're only going to get called by a better hand than yours.

Now let's turn it around and say you're out of position. You raise before the flop from middle position and get called by the button. Now you're in much more of a bind if you make a continuation bet because, if your opponent calls, you're going to have to act first on the turn and if you check the turn your opponent will often pounce on that perceived weakness and make a large bet.

However, there's a great way to take advantage of this situation. If you actually have a strong hand on the flop, top pair or better, and make a continuation bet and get called, this is a great spot for you to check the turn. By doing this it will appear to your opponent that you're conceding the pot, and oftentimes it will trick him into believing he has the better hand. If the flop is J-7-3 and you have Q-J and check on the turn, your opponent could try to put you all in with a hand like pocket nines, whereas if you bet the turn he would probably fold that hand.

If you want to succeed in tournaments, you should always consider your position at the table when deciding whether or not you should make a continuation bet on the flop.

The Wine Loft Email News Blast Week of October 6th

2008-10-12T07:29:00.000-04:00

French vintners fear worst sales since post 9/11

French wine merchants fear the growing world financial crisis could cause their worst end-of-year sales squeeze since the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Bordeaux-based wine merchant, Jeffrey Davies, said that while the crisis triggered by the terror attacks on New York and Washington had hit US wine sales, the economic meltdown had global implications. "The big spenders that were ordering the top wines in top restaurants have been taken out," Davies said. After the attacks, sales of Bordeaux wine to the United States fell by 29 percent in volume during the final quarter of 2001 -- the key Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year period, which accounts for half of annual sales. Sales within the European Union also dropped by 10 percent.

Davies now anticipates "a major impact" on export figures for the last three months of 2008, given the ongoing financial uncertainty, the US elections, and the fact that wine is far from an essential household requirement. Fabrice Bernard of Millesima, which with 55,000 clients in Europe is one of Bordeaux's biggest online and mail order wine merchants, said turnover in September this year was five percent lower than in September 2001. "This is the first time since we went into business in 1983 that we have witnessed such a slowing of orders," said Bernard. Bernard described German and British sales as frozen, while other European clients have significantly reduced purchases. "Even in the City of London we are starting to see certain wine shops tightening their belts after recent job losses," said Jean-Christophe Mau, another Bordeaux merchant and owner of Chateau Brown.

Mau, who saw a 20 percent drop in sales during the six months following 9/11, says he is waiting to see what the coming weeks will bring. His fear is that this time round, the crisis will be longer and deeper. But the upside of 2008, he said, is that all the eggs are no longer all in one basket. "Asia is a very profitable," he noted. Citing Asia as a solution to slowing demand from traditional markets has become a standard response in Bordeaux, but whether the region can make up for losses in America and Britain -- the two top importers by value -- is doubtful.

In 2007, a third of Bordeaux's total wine sales were exports, worth a total of 1.39 billion euros (1.9 billion dollars) to the industry. Of those exports, Britain and America account for more than 431 million euros, while the combined Asian value for countries including Japan, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan come to only 286 million. The expected drop in exports will add to a slight drop in sales volumes for the first six months of 2008, due partly to the slow uptake of the 2006 and 2007 vintages, and partly to the euro's strength. The delivery of the much-vaunted 2005 "vintage of the century," boosting sales by 42.5 percent in value, saved Bordeaux in value terms in the first half of this year. But sales of the 2008 vintage, currently being harvested, are unlikely to do the same.

Early reports suggest this year's harvest is good quality, but problems include fewer grapes due to cooler, wet weather and higher costs after a long-running fight against mildew.

Elway indignant after bar cuts him off

2008-10-11T06:53:00.004-04:00

According to Elway, he and his girlfriend, Paige Green, along with pal Craig Andrisen arrived at the restaurant around 6 p.m. Wednesday and sat at the end of the bar. Throughout the course of the evening the threesome (pardon?) ordered drinks and appetizers

Several hours later, when Elway attempted to order another glass of wine, he was told by the bartender that management was cutting him off. According to the former Broncos quarterback, he asked to speak to the manager.

"I asked her for her card to find out what her name was," Elway said. "I said to her ‘If that’s your policy (to refuse him another drink), then that’s the way it is but I’m not coming back.’ We had been there for hours, and I appreciated them taking care of me, but we were just sitting there having a discussion. We weren’t even being loud."

Anne Wheeler, the manager on duty, claims that Elway was served seven glasses of wine (a number he disputes) and was cut off when he tried to order an eighth. For the record, Andrisen says Elway was refused a fourth — not eighth — glass of wine and was told that he had to order food if he wanted an additional drink.

"(Elway) got upset and was in my face a little bit," Wheeler said. "He stood up and towered over me and pointed his finger in my face. I apologized, and said I was sorry to hear that he would never come back."

Both Elway and Andrisen deny the alleged intimidation. "I did not stick my finger in the girl’s face or try and intimidate her," Elway said. "It was a matter of discussing things. I said ‘If that’s your policy that’s your policy, but I’m not coming back.’"

SO BASICALLY HE GETS CUT OFF AFTER 3 WINES??? WOW...I GOTTA BE HONEST WITH YA', THAT'S PRETTY WEAK (YOU WOULD CERTAINLY EXPECT A BIT MORE STAMINA OUT OF A 240 POUND MAN...IT'S NOT LIKE HE WAS DRINKING WATERMELON MARTINIS...THIS IS FREAKING WINE) I GUESS THAT HIGH ALTITUDE REALLY MAKES THOSE DRINKS EVEN MORE POTENT THAN DOWN HERE IN THE NORMAL SEA LEVELS. MAYBE IT WAS THE TIME ZONE.

BUT REALLY WE CAN'T HAVE INDIGNANT PEOPLE AT THE LOFT, THERE GOES THAT CELEBRITY BOOKING IN PIER VILLAGE.

Bombshell News in Caylee Anthony Case

2008-10-10T07:24:00.001-04:00

There have been several new developments in the case of Casey Anthony and her missing 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony, since I last posted about her here.

According to a source close to the criminal daily report, prosecutors now have enough forensic evidence to ask a grand jury to indict Anthony for her daughter's murder. That evidence allegedly proves that Caylee's body was in the trunk of the car Casey Anthony was driving and at one point in the backyard of the Anthony family home.

Casey Anthony's parents, George and Cindy Anthony, have voluntarily provided investigators with DNA samples, which are currently being compared to hairs found in the trunk of the car. Anthony's brother, Lee Anthony, initially refused to provide investigators with a sample; however he later submitted to that request when investigators served him with a search warrant.

According to WFTV.com, George Anthony has been called to testify against his daughter before the grand jury. It remains unclear if Cindy and Lee will also be called to testify. In addition to family members, prosecutors will also present testimony from an FBI profiler, who is expected to offer a detailed analysis Anthony's psychological makeup.

Investigators are convinced that Caylee was murdered on or about June 17. Cell phone records show that from June 16 to June 18, Anthony mostly went about her normal routine - traveling to and from her parents and boyfriend's house - however, pings have also placed her near Blanchard Park and the Econ Trail, an isolated area south of Lake Underhill. Both those areas were searched by Texas EquuSearch; however given the high waters and thick underbrush it is possible that evidence could have gone overlooked.

The grand jury is expected to issue a ruling in the case by the end of the day Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, is scheduled to appear before Judge Stan Strickland tomorrow, to rule on a motion Baez filed last week, requesting that Strickland lighten up on Anthony's home confinement restrictions. According to the motion, Anthony wants to get involved in the search for a "living" Caylee Anthony. Legal analysts predict that motion will be denied.

FRONT DOOR OF THE WINE LOFT

2008-10-09T14:42:00.001-04:00

BOBBY V

2008-10-03T14:47:00.001-04:00

I've taken some time digest to the baseball season,and while it wouldn't be the worst thing, I don't want Manuel back. I'd like to see Wally Backman, or yes...wait for it.....Bobby V.

This team has talent, and they are young, Bobby V could make it work.

LAST GAME AT SHEA

2008-09-28T21:08:00.001-04:00

GREATEST CATCH EVER?

2008-09-27T12:22:00.000-04:00

2008-09-27T12:13:00.001-04:00

I'm to old to cry but it hurts to much to laugh

WSOP BROOKTOWN EVENT OCT 3RD -

2008-09-26T06:18:00.000-04:00

We are 1 week away from our penultimate event. NL Texas Hold ‘Em.

Due to a last minute change of plans, the event will be held at my house in Middletown, and as usual we’d like to start by 8pm. Please let me know who will be attending, I’m a little tight on space so FOUNDERS only this month. Below is the blind structure and starting chip counts.

Be sure to visit our websites for additional information.

www.BrooktownLeague.com

Event Overview – NO LIMIT TEXAS HOLD ‘EM

THE GAME

The game is No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Maximum number of players - 14.
• Minimum number of players - 3.
• Chip Value:
o White 25
o Red 50
o Green 100
o Blue 250
o Black 500

BUYIN/REBUY/ADD-ON

• The initial buy-in is $40. This will purchase 3,500 in tournament chips. These chips have no monetary value.
• A player may add-on at any point in the tournament prior to the first hand of round 5. Each player is allowed up to 1 (one) add-on in this tournament.
• Add-on are $20 and will purchase 1,750 in tournament chips.

SEATING

• Table assignment and seating will be determined prior to the start of the tournament by random drawing. (However, the tournament director reserves the right to redraw the tables).
• Button position will be determined by the random assignment of seat #1. Seat #1 will be the first to deal.
• If we have in excess of 10 players at the start of this event we will use two tables.
• If the tournament began with two tables, as soon as the remaining players equal 8, we will combine the two tables and have one table of 8 players.
• When the difference in the number of players at the two tables is greater than 1 then a player must move from the bigger table to the smaller table. When a player is eliminated and a move must be made, the player ‘playing a hand’ in the same position (seat), relative to the left of the button (on the subsequent hand at each table) at the highest populated table must move to the eliminated player’s seat. The move must occur before the next hand is dealt at any table. For the purposes of this rule, a player is ‘playing a hand’ once all the blinds/antes have been posted and the dealer has begun shuffling (riffles the deck).A moved player will be dealt a hand at the start of the next deal and assume any obligation of the new seat including the posting of a blind or dealing.

BLINDS

• The two players to the left of the dealer are required to post “blind” bets before seeing their cards. The 1st is the SB and the 2nd is the BB.
• If the SB is knocked out, the button essentially goes into his empty seat.
• If the BB is knocked out, then the BB moves on to the player who would have had it next and there isn’t a SB on this hand (SB moves into the empty seat). On the following hand, the button would wind up in the empty seat. The player who just had the BB would have SB, and the BB moves on normally to the next player.
• When play is down to two players, figure out who would get the BB next if nothing had happened. He will be the BB on the next hand. The SB is always on the button and the other player is the BB.

SCHEDULE FOR BLINDS
Level Time Limit Little Blind Big Blind
1 40 25 50
2 40 50 75
3 40 50 100
4 30 75 150
5 30 100 200
6 30 150 300
7 20 200 400
8 20 300 600
9 20 500 1000
10 20 800 1600
11 15 1000 2000
12 15 1500 3000
13 10 2000 4000
14 10 3000 6000
15 10 5000 10000

The above schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the tournament director, in an effort to complete the tournament by 2am.

TIMER USE AND BREAKS

A timer will be used to time the blind progression. When the timer expires, it should be immediately restarted. The next hand will be dealt at the new blind level. For the purposes of this rule, a hand is considered currently in play once the all blinds are posted AND the dealer has begun shuffling (riffles the deck).
The timer is stopped during breaks. No additional hands at any table should be started during such a break although hands already in progress should be completed.

THE DEAL

The player to the right of the dealer may be given the right to cut the deck before the cards are dealt.
The dealer is responsible for making sure that all bets have been called before dealing each round of card(s).
Order of the deal:

1. Dealer deals two cards (one at a time) face down to each player.
2. Betting round 1 occurs.
3. Dealer burns one card and deals 3 cards (flop) in the middle of the table face up.
4. Betting round 2 occurs.
5. Dealer burns one card and deals one card (turn/4th Street) in the middle.
6. Betting round 3 occurs.
7. Dealer burns one card and deals the final card (river/5th Street).
8. Betting round 4 occurs.

BETTING

• Check and raise is allowed.
• The minimum bet is equal to the size of the BB.
• The raise must always be at least the size of the previous bet or raise.
• Any player can bet all of their chips at anytime (ALL-IN).
• Betting round 1 begins with the player to the left of the BB.
• Betting rounds 2-4 begin with the player to the left of the button.
• When only two players are left sitting at the table, the BB is dealt to first, the button acts first before the flop, and the BB acts first after the flop.
• Do not splash the pot. Stack your bets in front of you the dealer will rake the bets into the pot after the betting round is complete.
• Do not bet, check, call, fold, or raise out of turn.

WINNING THE TOURNAMENT

The final player remaining, in the championship round, with all the chips will be the first prize winner. The last player eliminated will be the second prize winner; the second last player eliminated will be the third prize winner, etc... If two players get eliminated in the same hand, the person who started the hand with the most chips gets the higher finish and awarded the corresponding prize pool for that placement.

TIME TO SAY GOOD BYE?

2008-09-25T12:07:00.002-04:00

Pedro is done, the Marlins own Big Pelf and we have no one to start on Saturday.

This can’t be good.

While I can think of 10 games that we “BLEW” I can’t think of any that we “stole” like so many have been stolen from us. After last September and this week, it’s making me much colder, much less excited about my team. These next 4 games could very well be the turning point in my Mets life.

Now I’m not naïve enough to say that if they fail to make the play-offs I’m done with them and I won’t watch them next year. That’s unrealistic, but I truly feel if they fail over the next 4 days, I can’t imagine going into 2009 investing the same commitment to them game in and game out, day in and day out that I have in the past. I wouldn’t expect to leave work early on opening day to see game 1, or exchange pitch by pitch texts with Neil while on vacation in Disney for 7 games straight to stay in the loop. I don’t think I’ll be yelling at my kids for making noise, when in reality I’m angry because Luis Castillo can’t get the run in the from 3rd base with one out in the 2nd inning.

Will I be fooled in December when the Mets bring in a new closer and 2 very highly priced set up men…no I won’t care, they went out and got the best pitcher on the planet this year and he did all he could, but he couldn’t save them, because as good as he was, this team blew 5 of his wins. So after a second straight year of failing when the money was on the line I won’t be invested and infatuated with them 24/7. I can’t be, there are more important things than sitting on your hands hoping Ryan Church will hit a 320 foot fly ball with 1 out and the based loaded.

I’m actually happy to say Jay was right, there won’t be TV in the wine loft, this way I know of at least 2 nights a week I won’t be able to sit and watch the my team tease me into thinking they are a contender, then just show me in September that they are a pretender.

I won’t miss having to listen to sport talk know nothings who give the “Big game by Santana, the Mets should easily go 4-2 now which means if the Brewers go 5-1,which they probably won’t do, they are in.” Oh yea, the problem with that speech is THE METS DON’T GO 4-2 WHEN THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO OR WHEN THEY NEED TO. Thank God Howard Stern is on all day long on Sirius 100.

There will be some summer nights when it hurts, and I am sure winter nights when I cry myself to sleep, breakups always do that, but over time wounds heal, we find other things to occupy our time, and we move on.
35 years of watching 90% of this team’s every at bat, every pitch, they’ve given me some great memories, and a lot of happiness, but with that always comes a ton of pain, and disappointment. After watching the same old same old last night, I think it’s best for both of us that on Sunday I’ll take one last trip out to the place I first saw a baseball game, first saw Tom Seaver, and first fell in love with this team and sport. On Sunday we’ll share one last night together, and as I say goodbye to Shea Stadium, maybe it’s best if I say good bye to the New York Mets.

2008-09-23T21:59:00.001-04:00

Jose jose jose jose jooose jooose

Coin Flips

2008-09-23T14:34:00.000-04:00

by Ben Roberts

Whether or not you decide to get into a coin flip situation in poker really depends upon what type of game you're playing. I'm far more likely to take on one of these challenges when I'm playing in a cash game than when I'm playing in a tournament, and I'm also more likely to do so when I'm playing in a live game as opposed to online.

If you're playing in a cash game, getting into a 50-50 race can occasionally produce greater results beyond simply winning the hand. If you win a race, you can often expect your opponent to become a worse player almost immediately after the hand is over. This will give you the opportunity to take even more money from him over the course of the next several hours. Therefore, I'm more willing to get into a coin flip situation with players who have less control over their emotions after losing a big hand this way.

Conversely, if my opponent wins the hand, he's not going to get rewarded as much since I'm not going to play any differently after losing a big hand in this manner. Although winning is extremely important to me, I believe people put too high a premium on winning in the short-term, for example, over the course of a session or two. When they fail to win, they become possessed with a sense of shame and depression, but I believe poker is supposed to be a journey of joy and fun.

Beyond my opponent's demeanor, one of the biggest factors in deciding whether or not I'm willing to get into a race is the amount of money I've invested in the hand. If I've already put some money into the pot and I'm sure it's a 50-50 situation, then no matter how much my opponent raises he won't be able to get rid of me. If I folded, I would be literally throwing away the money I already put in there, and I'm not in the habit of doing that.

Here's an example of a coin flip situation after the flop. Let's say you have A-K of clubs, and the flop comes 9-8-2 with two clubs. Because you have two overcards and a flush draw, this is a nice spot to go on the offensive if somebody makes a bet. If your opponent has made top pair with a hand like 10-9, it's about a 50-50 situation, but you have plenty of outs to justify your aggression.

However, if you raise and your opponent comes over the top of you, you have to suspect that he has a set and you can no longer depend on a king or an ace being an out. At this point, all you have is flush draw and it's no longer a coin flip situation. Unless you're both deep-stacked and think your opponent will pay you off if you do hit your flush, you should back off and wait for a better situation. But don't lose your initiative and remember to keep playing aggressively.

Now let's turn it around. The flop is the same, but now you have pocket jacks and your opponent is the one who has two overcards and a flush draw. You bet, and your opponent raises. How you proceed really depends upon what sort of player you're up against.

Because of situations like this one, I prefer live games to online games. I tend to make more accurate decisions in live games. Most of the time I can get a read on my opponent, and I can capitalize on that. If I feel like he only has two overcards because he just called my raise before the flop, I'll call and see what the turn brings. But if I raised before the flop and he reraised me, then I'll throw my jacks away because he could very well have a bigger pair than mine.

My rationale completely changes in a tournament. In the latter stages of a tournament your chips are worth more than they were at the beginning so your first concern should be protecting them, which often means avoiding coin flip situations. After the money bubble bursts, you get financially rewarded whenever a player gets knocked out so quite often the smartest move is to avoid getting into coin flip situations and waiting for a better spot.

Like many aspects of poker, the decision of whether or not to get into a coin flip situation depends on a variety of factors, the most important of which are the type of game you're playing and the demeanor of the opponent you're playing against.

2008-09-20T20:05:00.001-04:00

Have I mentioned Pedro is done?

Drunk, Sleeping Fan Victimized by Beer Cups at Shea Stadium

2008-09-19T17:20:00.001-04:00

ASLEEP AT MET GAME

In the second game of a beer-filled doubleheader, a young man falls asleep in his box seat. Bad decision. By the time this action peaked, literally hundreds of people were watching, not only from the orange seats but also from the mezzanine and upper deck.

It is worth noting, to the masters of assmption out there, that the folks playing the prank on him were his friends, who knew he was okay. He was visibly breathing. And he cracked up for three innings straight after learning what had happened, laughed with the fans who had photographed him and even autographed people's beer bottles. He was a terrific sport who left the stadium on his own power.

Playing Aces in PLO

2008-09-19T14:32:00.000-04:00

by Andy Black

Players who are new to Pot-Limit Omaha tend to make more mistakes with Aces than with any other hand. They get themselves into really tough situations - ones where they can lose a lot of money. Avoiding these spots is one of the keys to playing PLO profitably.

Here's the kind of situation that newer PLO players sometimes find themselves in. Say it's a $2/$5 game where all the players have about $500 in front of them. There's an early position raise to $15 and a player in middle position with A-A-x-x re-raises to $50. Four players call the $50. Now the flop comes down J-7-2, rainbow.

The Aces might be good here, or they might not. It's very hard to know. This is the kind of spot where it's very easy to make a big mistake - either by putting in a lot of money while a huge underdog, or by folding the best hand.

Novice PLO players get in this sort of trouble because they don't really understand how Omaha differs from Hold 'em. In Hold 'em, if you start with a big pair like Kings or Aces, you know you're a big favorite before the flop. But this isn't the case with Omaha. For example, pre-flop, Ac-Ad-4s-7h will win only 51 percent of the time when heads up against Js-Ts-9h-8h. Throw a couple of other hands in the mix, and Aces become extremely vulnerable.

Because so many hands are so evenly matched, Omaha is a game where what you catch with the community cards is usually more important than what you start with. You're looking to make big hands - nut straights, nut flushes, and big sets.

Still, hands that contain Aces are usually a decent favorite when played heads up. And, with Aces, you always have the opportunity to make top set or, if you're suited, a nut flush. So you're going to want to play these hands, but you often want to be more cautious pre-flop.

If there's a raise in early position, you don't have to re-raise with A-A-x-x, especially if that re-raise would commit you for only a small portion of your stack. When all the players have deep stacks, a few will be happy to call your bet and see a flop. Then you're likely to find yourself in the sort of situation described at the beginning of this tip. You won't know if your hand has held up on most flops. And when you do hit your set of Aces, you're not likely to get a lot of action, as your opponents won't have much difficulty putting you on a hand.

However, there are some occasions when you want to play Aces aggressively pre-flop. When there's been a lot of action and a raise will allow you to get about three-quarters of your stack in before the flop, go ahead and make that big bet. At that point, you're looking to force some folds and, hopefully, play heads up. With that much money committed, you know the rest of your stack will be going in on the flop no matter what comes.

Of course, once you're in the hand, your Aces can lead to some very profitable post-flop situations. You might catch top set while an opponent makes a lower one or your nut flush might take a big pot from someone who made a lower flush.

So slow down with your Aces pre-flop in PLO. Your deceptive play will win you some big pots when you make a big hand. Plus, you'll avoid losing a lot when the board doesn't fall your way.

Saving Chips by Chip Jett

2008-09-17T14:30:00.000-04:00

The $50,000 HORSE tournament at the World Series of Poker is one of the most prestigious events in all of poker, but the structure does not allow room for mistakes. Typically, over 80 percent of the field is still alive halfway through the second day, but none of those players have enough chips to play more than two big hands. Everyone is in danger of going broke. In fact, it’s the same in nearly every HORSE tournament I’ve ever played in, which means it’s crucial that you never waste a single bet.

In no-limit tournaments a few players usually break out from the pack and acquire huge chip leads early on. The blinds and antes only become an issue for them towards the very end of the tournament, but that almost never happens in HORSE tournaments because you’re playing limit poker. The blinds and antes are an issue the entire time so saving chips whenever you can is vital.

In a HORSE tournament it’s particularly important to hold on to your chips in the Stud games because there’s an extra round of betting compared to the flop games, Hold ’em and Omaha. That’s why I think it’s best to play conservatively on Third Street in the Stud games.

For example, let’s say you have A-2 in the hole and a 5 up in Razz. This is one of the best starting hands you can have in Razz so you should definitely open for a raise. But a player showing a 6 re-raises you. For him to reraise you, it’s almost 99 percent certain he has two wheel cards in the hole. He has a very good starting hand, but, of course, your hand is still better.

If this were a cash game, you would want to re-raise him. However, in a HORSE tournament you should just call because you’re only a small favorite at this point in the hand. Not re-raising here is kind of like staying away from coin flip situations in No-Limit Hold ‘em tournaments. You’re avoiding a situation where you’re not a huge favorite. In a HORSE tournament you don’t want to push too hard when you only have a slight advantage.

If you put in three bets on Third Street and get two or more callers, pots odds are going to force you to stay in the hand no matter what you catch on Fourth Street. Playing this way, you might win a big pot, but you might also lose one. You simply can’t afford to play this way in a HORSE tournament because losing one or two such hands can cost you your entire stack.

I’d recommend seeing what falls on Fourth Street before committing any more of your chips because you will have a much better idea where you are at in the hand. If you and your opponent both catch good cards on Fourth Street, you become a much bigger favorite to win the hand than you were on Third Street. Now instead of being just a 52 percent favorite you might be as much as a 65 percent favorite, and you can start raising and re-raising to protect that advantage.

If you catch a bad card on Fourth Street, it will be much easier to muck your cards if you didn’t put in three or four bets on Third Street. For example, if you catch a jack and your opponent catches a 4, you’re going to be happy you didn’t cap the betting on Third Street because now you’re behind in the hand.

Another advantage to just calling a reraise on Third Street with the best hand is deception. If you and your opponent both catch good cards on Fourth Street your opponent is going to think he still has the better hand. You are in effect slowplaying your hand, and it could pay off handsomely because the size of the bets has now doubled.

Because every player in a HORSE tournament is just one or two hands away from going broke, it’s extremely important to save your chips whenever you can. Playing more conservatively on Third Street during the Stud games is a great way to accomplish this.

The pain of being a Met fan

2008-09-16T21:52:00.001-04:00

WE ARE ALL FEELING THE PAIN

A Note from Nelson DeMille

2008-09-16T14:25:00.001-04:00

Well, the summer is over and the presidential campaign season has begun. Book sales (especially fiction) traditionally take a dip every four years during the presidential race, which is why I decided to publish my new novel, THE GATE HOUSE, on Tuesday, October 28, a week before Election Day. There is a method to this madness, and if I remember what I was thinking, I'll share it with you. Meanwhile, let's all buck this silly slump in book sales for this election and pre-order THE GATE HOUSE (click here) or run out and buy it on October 28. The book is 688 pages long, and I guarantee that if you throw it at your TV set during the election returns, you'll knock out the picture. The book will survive.
THE GATE HOUSE, as you may know is the sequel to THE GOLD COAST, and as I mentioned in the last Newsletter, Grand Central Publishing has reissued THE GOLD COAST in the large trade paperback size, and will reissue the standard paperback on October 1. Both editions have a new cover, a new Author's Introduction, and a new Twenty-first Century price. You don't need to read THE GOLD COAST before you read THE GATE HOUSE -- you can read them concurrently or in reverse order -- it's only important that you buy both books. I've got a two-year old who'll be in college in 16 years.

Costco has done a wonderful promotion of the reissued GOLD COAST and if you get their newsletter you've seen this and seen the great review, by J. Rentilly, and also seen some very nice things written about me by Pennie Clark Ianniciello, Costco's book buyer.

I spent the summer outlining and researching my next novel, which will be the sequel to THE LION'S GAME, featuring John Corey, NYPD (ret.), currently with the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force. I've already begun the book and in the first chapter of the sequel Corey kills his nemesis from THE LION'S GAME, Asad Khalil. I think that was supposed to come at the end of the book, so now I'm not sure what to do. Maybe I need to rewrite Chapter One.

Anyway, I'm very excited about this book (as yet untitled - any suggestions?), and I'm happy once more to be spending my days with John Corey and Kate Mayfield -- especially Kate.

My Newsletter generates hundreds and hundreds of responses from you, and as I've said, I read each and every one of them, and I wish I could reply, and it's frustrating that I don't have the time to do so, but I appreciate all the emails and I thank you for taking the time to write. I get a much needed ego boost from the letters, but I also get taken to task by some readers for my use of profanity. As one lady wrote, "I read WILD FIRE three times and counted the F-word thirty-six times."

I need to say here that my original manuscripts contain no profanity whatsoever. But Grand Central Publishing has an editor known as the "F-Guy," who peppers my manuscripts with four-letter words. I would end this practice immediately, but it's been brought to my attention that the publisher has this right, as per the small print in my contract.

Having said that, I will speak to the "F-Guy" about this and try to clean up the next John Corey book. In fact, at the beginning of Chapter One in THE LION'S GAME sequel, John Corey says to his boss, "I am going to find that dastardly blighter, Asad Khalil, and kick him in the shins."

A side note here: I did a booksigning this summer with other authors to raise money for the East Hampton Public Library. I love libraries -- you know, those places where they give away my books for free. I mean, East Hampton is one of the wealthiest communities on the planet, so I think the residents who live in twenty-million dollar summer homes can buy their books. But I digress. At the signing, I met Alec Baldwin, of all people, and we chatted about his past involvement in the movie version of THE GOLD COAST. That's a long story, but I need to say here that despite what people may think of his politics or his personal life, he is a charming man, and as down-to-earth as any actor I've ever met. And I don't say that just because he loves my books -- he liked NIGHT FALL the best -- but I say this because he's an astute reader and he's bigger than me -- see the photo in my Photo Gallery.

Okay, so that's about it for this time. I'll get out another Newsletter before the October 28 publication date of THE GATE HOUSE.

Meanwhile, click here for my publicity schedule. I'm not doing much of a cross-country booksigning tour this time -- I need to work on the sequel to THE LION'S GAME -- but if I'm in your area, drop by and bring a copy of this Newsletter. You'll go to the front of the signing line and I'll tell you a funny story about Alec Baldwin.

Thanks for all your cards and letters and for your support over the years. And remember, no matter who wins the presidency on November 4, the other guy will lose.

Best regards,

Nelson DeMille

METS LOST - NO CHANGE TO MAGIC NUMBER

2008-09-15T22:28:00.002-04:00

PAINFUL

DEMO AT THE WINE LOFT BEGINS

2008-09-15T10:47:00.001-04:00

Wine loft construction begins

2 WEEKS LEFT

2008-09-15T07:57:00.003-04:00

Here we go again, and yes we're still one game up, and yes the starting pitching has been solid, and the middle of the lineup has been hitting the ball, but the losing is just unbelievable. There are 14 to play, this week it's 4 against the Nats and 3 more next week against the Braves. Watching sports for so many years I've never dealt with what the Mets put us through last year, and now what we are going through again. The amount of winnable games they have lost is unreal.

But...they are still ahead, and we'll track the magic number this year, and hopefully this time we'll get it down to 0.

UGH

2008-09-14T16:48:00.002-04:00

I can't take many more of these losses

Jessica Simpson Riles Up Philly Fans On GMA - My Fox Philly Overreacts

2008-09-12T08:05:00.004-04:00

My Fox Philly is claiming that Jessica Simpson "insulted Eagles fans" on Good Morning America this morning, and while I wouldn't quite go that far, she did talk some friendly trash to Philly Fans during an GMA concert in NYC. Jessica was promoting her new Country album released on 9-9 when Host Robin Roberts brought up the topic of Football.

She issued a warning to the Eagles Tuesday morning on Good Morning America.

Simpson yelled out "Go Cowboys!" during her performance Tuesday and then adding her warning to Philadelphia Eagles fans, "That's next week! We're gonna kick your butts, too!"

It was Dec. 16, 2007 when the "curse of Jessica Simpson" was coined after the Cowboys lost to the Eagles 10-6. Her boyfriend, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, played poorly with Simpson at the game.

I wont get to overboard on my opinion of Philly fans, but I'm not sure how that is insulting. Insulting would be to say they are a bunch of rude, stupid white trash. Or that they aren't loyal fans, or that they are ugly...but all it looks like to me is she said We're gonna kick your butts (or is it (you're butts"?). Irregardless (sic) Philly needs to get a Little thicker skin and not be such babies.

Waaaaaaaaaa..Jessica Simpson insulted us......Waaaaaaaaaa...Jimmy Rollins was mean to us...Waaaaaaaaaaa...To doesn't like McNabb.

Let's go Brewers!

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2008-09-11T16:40:00.000-04:00

The wine loft

2008-09-07T15:23:00.001-04:00

Pedro is still done

THE GREATEST QB IN JET'S HISTORY

2008-09-04T13:53:00.001-04:00

The Packers are not the only team starting their first season without the greatest QB in team history. The Jets are in the same boat. Yea yea yea..Namath, I know, but actually compare the two:

Won-Lost Record: Namath: 61-61-4 Chad: 32-29
Playoff Berths: Joe: 2 Chad: 3
Playoff W/L: Joe: 2-1 Chad: 2-3
Completion %: Joe: 50.2 Chad: 65.6
Yards: Joe: 27,057 Chad: 13,738
TD’s/TD%: Joe: 170/4.7 Chad:82/4.3
INTs/INT %: Joe: 215/5.9 Chad: 55/2.9
Yds per Attempt: Joe: 7.4 Chad: 7.2
QB Rating: J: 65.8 C: 88.9

All statistics per Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Now I get that numbers don't tell the whole story, and I never saw Joe play, but I saw every game Chad played, and before he was hurt he was as good as anyone, yea Joe has that Super Bowl, and he was a leader in it, but he wasn't the reason the won that game, and if Chad was the QB of that team he'd have won it as well. Pennington was responsible for two of the more impressive playoff wins in team history - the 41-0 beating of the Colts (and Peyton) in 2002, and the overtime victory in San Diego in 2004, and he was robbed of another in Pittsburgh by Herm Edwards’ poor coaching and our kicker's failure to make 1 of 2 game winning field gaols.

Not to disparage Joe, Namath’s impact went beyond statistics. He won the most important game in the history of the New York Jets, and they say the most important game in the history of the NFL. He was the first to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. He was a TV and media giant, and is obviously the most important player in the history of the franchise. But he was not the best quarterback the team has ever had, that was Chad Pennington.

It will be strange to see him in the ugly fish uniform, and I’ll always love him and thank him for all the good things he did for my team.

With all that said, I'd really like to see him throw 5 picks and get sacked 11 times Sunday..

PALIN DELIVERS A STAR-TURNING PERFORMANCE

2008-09-04T08:12:00.002-04:00

(copied from the associated press)

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Sarah Palin delivered. An embattled vice presidential candidate, a novice on the national stage, the head of a family suffering its "ups and downs," the first-term Alaska governor rocked the GOP convention with a star-turning performance.

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Wielding a stiletto and a smile, Palin belittled Democrat Barack Obama and praised her new boss, John McCain, jolting the crowd of GOP partisans.

"Don't you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States!" McCain said, hinting the controversy surrounding his pick. "And what a beautiful family."

Indeed, the family was on display for the TV cameras — five children, including a 17-year-old unmarried daughter who is pregnant. Their mother lacked the soaring oratory skills of Obama — a man she attacked as a tax-raising, terrorist-coddling, self-indulgent liberal. But the former TV sportscaster spoke in calm, TV-friendly tones reminiscent of Ronald Reagan. Like the former GOP president, Palin warmed the crowd with quips and jokes.

"What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull," she said, pausing for a beat and a smirk. "Lipstick."

She left the crowd smiling.

"For too many times, we've brought knives to gun fights," said Chuck Gast, a delegate from Maryland,

When asked if Palin brought a gun to the fight, Gast said: "Yes, I think she brings a big gun, like a moose gun."

It was the crowning moment of a roller-coaster week in which the first woman ever on a Republican presidential ticket has faced questions about how closely the McCain campaign scrutinized her. She also has heard a wide range of inquiries about family issues, her policy positions and her record of public service.

"Our family," she said, "has the same ups and downs as any other."

One speech does not a campaign make. Kept at arm's length from the media in the days leading up to the address, Palin now heads out on the campaign trail, where events are less rehearsed, crowds less friendly and the environment less controlled. Even as she spoke, airplanes in Alaska were unloading reporters and political operatives sent to pore through her personal and public life.

A big test comes at the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate with her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden.

But tonight was hers.

Facing down her critics with smiling resolve, Palin took crowd-delighting swipes at Obama and what she called the Washington elite. "Here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country," she said.

A new celebrity herself, Palin cast Obama as a little more than a fancy speaker with a compelling biography.

"The American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of 'personal discovery.' This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn't just need an organizer," Palin said, a clear reference to Obama's time as a community organizer in Chicago.

The Obama campaign had less than a warm greeting, saying Palin's speech was "written by George Bush's speechwriter and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we've heard from George Bush for the last eight years." The speech was written by Matthew Scully, who met Palin for the first time last week.

Selected by McCain only last Friday, Palin addressed the convention amid questions about her qualifications and relative lack of experience.

The first-term governor had top billing at the convention on a night delegates also lined up for a noisy roll call of the states to deliver their presidential nomination to McCain.

Watching her speech were her husband Todd and their children, including daughter Bristol Palin, whom the Palins disclosed earlier in the week was five months pregnant. Bristol's 18-year-old boyfriend and apparent fiance, Levi Johnston, was seated with them.

McCain shook up the presidential race by picking Palin, a little-known governor less than two years in office. Since then, a bright spotlight has been trained on the life and record of the Republican governor who has bucked the state's political establishment.

Days after Palin made her debut on the national stage with McCain, the campaign announced her unmarried daughter's pregnancy. Other disclosures followed, including that a private attorney is authorized to spend $95,000 of state money to defend her against accusations of abuse of power and that Palin sought pork-barrel projects for her city and state, contrary to her reformist image.

"Our family has the same ups and downs as any other ... the same challenges and the same joys," she said.

Noting that the couple's oldest son, Track, 19, was shipping out to Iraq in eight days with the Army infantry, Palin praised McCain as "a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by."

"He's a man who wore the uniform of this country for 22 years, and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who have now brought victory within sight. And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief," she said.

Largely unknown outside her home state, Palin told the convention: "I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids' public education better," she said, speaking of her home town of Wasilla, Alaska, with a population of about 6,500.

"When I ran for city council, I didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too," she said.

Before becoming governor, Palin served as mayor of Wasilla, she recounted, adding: "And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities."

Palin delivered her speech in a firm, cheerful voice. It was her first chance to introduce and define herself to the American public and, after it was done, her family joined her on stage. She cuddled her 4-month-old son, Trig, and waved at the adoring crowd like the beauty pageant contestant she once was.

TOM TERRIFFIC

2008-09-01T20:42:00.002-04:00

In 607 career starts Tom Seaver had 403 that were at least 7 innings and 3 runs or less.

2008-08-30T22:33:00.001-04:00

I don't ever want to see Aaron Heilman throw another pitch as a Met. Pure disgrace

BIG PELF TO THE RESCUE

2008-08-29T06:02:00.000-04:00

Is there anything Big Pelf can't do these days? He pitches like a Cy Young award winner, he's growning quite a nifty little beard, and now he's saving people's lives!!!

That was a pretty bad fall for the little fella' and big Pelf (who I am sure has no kids of his own) did a nice job comforting the kid. I bet that little Philly fan is going to be a Met fan from now on.

http://view.break.com/562764 - Watch more free videos

A STEVE FRANCIS KNICK JERSEY? REALLY

2008-08-28T17:34:00.003-04:00

Does this poor kid even know what he's wearing? Is he that huge a fan that he wears the blue and orange no matter what, or is he just drinking the MSG kool-aid with a serious splash of Absolut in it.

Steve Francis and the Knicks aren't quite synonymous with one another. Francis played a grand total of 68 games (I was stunned it was even that many when I actually looked it up) for the Knicks between 2005 and 2007. He averaged a hearty 11 points or so a game and between Dec 9th and Feb 6th (about 30 games) he saw action in all of 3 games...not exactly a fan favorite, or a great Knick.

The real question is what's stranger, that Rebook (or whoever actually makes Knick jerseys) would say, "Hey, make sure we a bunch of those Stevie Francis #1 jerseys out to Modells" or that a parent would be in the store (these days I'm betting you'd be lucky to find these gems at Marshall's) and say..."nice, a Francis #1 jersey, little Johnny will love this"...or, wait, yes there's even one more level to this..the kid wakes up and thinks "Nice, I've got basketball camp today, where's my Knick Stevie Francis tank?"

THE METS AND THE BULLPEN (updated)

2008-08-28T16:56:00.000-04:00

Simply put, it's been unacceptable.

This pen has blown way to many games. No one feels comfortable when we see the starting pitchers pitch count nearing 100 with a 2 (or even a 5)run lead, because we know here comes the awful tandem of Heilman, Sanchez, Feliciano, Smith and Schoeneweis. They gotta go. Every last one of them.

There's still 2 weeks left in the triple A season...I DEMAND they all be sent down, and bring up Eddie Kunz, Al Reyes, Ivan Maldonado, Willie Collazo, and Nate Field.

This has to be done, I can't sit on my couch with a nifty 3-1 lead after 2 comfortable hours of baseball thru 7, then have to endure 1 hour of 5 awful pitchers trying to get the last 6 outs....AND FAILING!!!!

Faithful readers...have I let you down yet? No, I have not..Willie had to go, he went...I offer solutions, Omar needs to act right now, send them down and let them remember what it's like to ride the bus and play in front of 3,300 fans who care most about the sausage race (pardon). We play 2 key games against the Phillies today and tomorrow, in Philly...we know that band box is a nightmare to bullpens, and withthe worst pen in the game I see nothing good happening. I WANT COLLAZO TO GET OUT UTLEY TONIGHT NOT SCHOENWEIS. WHEN BURREL SOMES UP TONIGHT IN THE 8TH WITH 2 MEN ON AND THE METS UP BY 2 WE NEED NATE FIELD TO GET HIM OUT.

Omar...this is not negotiable.

Am I being extreme? Hell yea I'm being extreme, and that's because I was the same guy last year who stayed calm and said, "we have 17 games left to play, all we have to do is go 8-9 and then Philly has to go 15-2 just to tie us"...well guess what, we didn't even go 8-9 and Philly not only tied us but passed us...I WILL NOT SIT BY IDLY THIS YEAR AND FAIL. Wake up Omar, bring up the reserves, and let's win this thing!!!!

Caylee Anthony Update

2008-08-28T15:15:00.000-04:00

According to sources close to the investigation, DNA tests that were conducted on a stain and hair samples found in the trunk of the car Casey Anthony was driving indicate that her daughter, 3-year-old Caylee Anthony, is dead.

This latest news comes as little shock after yesterday's revelation that test results of air samples that were taken from the car allegedly show that a decomposing human body had been inside the trunk.

Meanwhile, the state prosecutor's office has refused to comment on the partial immunity deal that has been offered to Anthony. Yesterday, it was reported that the deal would expire in 24 hours; however the deadline is now being reported as Tuesday. Anthony did meet with her attorney today but they have yet to comment on whether they are considering the deal.

As a result of these most recent developments, bounty hunter Leonard Padilla and his nephew, Tony Padilla, have announced that they intend to revoke Anthony's bond. According to published reports, the Padilla's have already started working on revocation paperwork, which could result in Anthony being placed back behind bars later today.

Tests Confirm Decomposing Body Was In Casey Anthony's Car

2008-08-27T21:42:00.000-04:00

The University of Tennessee has provided investigators with lab test results of air samples that were taken from Casey Anthony's car, which allegedly show that a decomposing human body had been inside the trunk.

Prosecutors have now offered Anthony partial immunity, in exchange for her admission that Caylee Anthony died as a result of an accident. The deal is set to expire in 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Leonard Padilla and his nephew, Tony Padilla, are now telling reporters that they regret getting involved in the case.

"Maybe we got duped a little bit. Maybe we overestimated her," Tony Padilla told

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2008-08-23T18:46:00.000-04:00

J E T S jets jets jets

EXERCISING THE DEMONS

2008-08-21T23:40:00.002-04:00

How to Win at Tournament Poker, Part 2

2008-08-17T12:53:00.001-04:00

by Chris Ferguson

Last week I talked about not adjusting for tournament play, answered three specific tournament questions, and stressed that there is little difference between tournament strategy and ring game strategy. This week, I would like to expand on that by answering a fourth question, and address the two situations where it's right to deviate from simply playing your best game.

The fourth question: Surely the different payout structure between ring games and tournaments means something, doesn't it?

Yes, tournaments differ from live action in that you are rewarded for how long you last, rather than for how many chips you accumulate.

In ring game poker, the chips you save by folding are just as valuable as the chips you win by playing. In tournament play, the chips you save are actually more valuable.

Consider a typical $1,000 buy-in tournament with 100 players, where first place is worth $40,000 out of a total prize pool of $100,000.

At the beginning of the tournament everyone has 1,000 in chips with a value of $1,000. The eventual winner will have 100,000 in chips and, in live action, would be entitled to a prize of $100,000. In a tournament, that same $100,000 is worth only $40,000, meaning that, at the end, each 1,000 in chips is only worth $400. As your stack grows, the value of each additional chip decreases, which means you want to be slightly more averse to taking unnecessary risks in tournaments than you might be in live action. (And if you are at all averse to taking risks in live action, you're probably playing over your bankroll.) Don't overcompensate for tournament play. Most people would be better off making no changes at all, rather than the changes that they do make.

Having said all this, there are two cases where adjusting will help:

1. When you are just out of the money.

If you are short stacked, you need to be very careful when committing your chips, especially with a call.

If you have a large stack, look for opportunities to push the short and medium stacks around - especially the medium stacks. These players will be a lot less likely to want a confrontation with you, and it should be open season on their blinds and antes.

If you have a medium or small stack, you need to be a bit more careful. Remember, though, that the other players - even the larger stacks - don't want to tangle with you. They just want to steal from you without a fight. Be prepared to push them around a little, and even to push back occasionally when they try to bully you. This often turns into a game of Chicken between the bigger stacks to determine which large stack will let the other steal most of the blinds.

2. At the final table.

Very little adjustment is necessary until you are one player away from the final table. Here, again, you should tighten up slightly because this is the next point where the payout structure handsomely rewards outlasting other players.

Look for opportunities to push around the other players, and the smaller stacks in particular. This is good advice throughout the final table.

What about heads up?

There are no more tournament adjustments necessary. You are essentially playing a winner take all freeze-out for the difference between first and second place.

Remember: Tournament adjustments should be subtle. It is rare that your play would be dramatically different in a tournament. When in doubt, just play your best game. And if you never adjust from that, you've got a great shot of winning, no matter what game you're playing.

CLASSIC FRANCESA

2008-08-16T01:55:00.000-04:00

WFAN's Mike Francesa likes Detroit Tigers backup thirdbaseman, Brandon Inge. He likes Brandon Inge. A lot.

Mike and the Mad Dog Glossary

2008-08-15T23:51:00.001-04:00

(THANKS TO THE MIKE AND THE MAD DOG BLOG)

Be careful: Mike and Chris' way of telling sports fans not to fall in love with a player or team ("Be Careful about falling in love with Pagan")

Let's be fair here: Russo's counter-argument to callers that attack someone ("Let's be fair here. If you are going to knock Rick Peterson, you gotta give him credit for John Maine")

This whole notion: When Francesa or Russo declares something to be fact when in actuality, they are making it up themselves ("This whole notion that Mike D'Antoni is going to make the Knicks a playoff team is a joke")

Pipe Down: Russo's way of telling a player to shut up ("Pipe down there Figueroa")

Tough Spot: This is usually a negative. 'Tough spot. Aaron Heilman. Can't trust him.' They rarely say, "I really like Chauncey Billups in a tough spot." Even though Mike and Dog don't trust a lot of athletes in a tough spot, you can earn your way out of this label. For example, they couldn't trust Eli Manning in a tough spot until the Super Bowl. Now he can basically retire and still be a legend. He proved he can perform in a tough spot. This phrase is used by both Mike and Dog.

Tricky Spot: This really means an awkward position. For example, Ian Eagle running into Marv Albert at the Garden. Or I'm sure that the Giants last game of the 2007 was a tricky spot. "Coughlin wants to get ready for the postseason but you have to try to end the Patriots' undefeated season. Tricky spot, Mike." And for clarification. This phrase is used primarily by Russo.

Timmy: Russo's son. ("I mean, let's be fair here Mike, Timmy can throw harder than Igawa")

Say Something Funny Mike (When Russo can't control himself and breaks out into laughter and tries to egg Francesa on to keep it going. Picture Russo hysterically laughing followed by "Say Something Funny Mike")

First time, long time (this term is announced by a fan calling to the show, who has been a long time listener of the show, but is making his first ever call in - hence, first time (caller), long time (listener)

I can't go too crazy - This is a Mad Dog special. Dog uses this phrase to throw cold water on enthusiastic callers("I can't go too crazy about the D-Rays in May. Talk to me in September.") or admit that he doesn't have strong feelings about a subject("I can't go too crazy about the Olympic torch protesters.").

A-Game - This is Mike's new terminology that he applies to a Yankees win in which the starter goes 7 innings, Joba pitches a perfect 8th and Mariano closes it out. "The Yanks need an A Game tonight."

Bad Job: This is Mad Dog's way of criticizing something. It can be applied to players, coaches, general managers, fans - even networks, as in "That's a bad job out of NBC on the Derby Broadcast."

I'm not a big believer in: This is mainly a Mike comment. It means he doesn't have much confidence in something. And just like other comments, this is mainly used in negative, eg. 'I'm not a big believer in starting someone on 3 days rest.'

The whole bit - Russo's phrase when he is alone and wants to keep the conversation moving along. Without Mike there to add any details, Russo will use 'the whole bit' to sum up a person or issue. 'Selig will make it into the Hall of Fame. Steroids, the whole bit.'

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

2008-08-15T20:32:00.000-04:00

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnnnnnnnnnnnd good afternoon, everybody! How are you today?"

MIKE AND THE MAD DOG

2008-08-15T17:28:00.001-04:00

1:04-6:25pm will never be the same.

THE END OF A GREAT ERA

2008-08-15T00:09:00.001-04:00

WFAN announced today it has signed a multi-year contract with Mike Francesa making him the sole host of afternoon drive (1:00-6:30PM) on the nation’s first and most listened to all-sports station. Mike began his career at WFAN in 1987 and has been heard in afternoons on the station since Sept. 5, 1989.

At the same time, Mike’s longtime on-air partner, Chris Russo, is leaving the company.

"Mike and Chris pioneered the genre more than 18 years ago and have shaped the sports talk format into what it is today,” said WFAN’s Operations Director Mark Chernoff. "As we embark on this next step in WFAN’s history, we wish Chris nothing but the best and look forward to all that Mike will do in a role in which he has excelled at for years."

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2008-08-14T18:58:00.000-04:00

Caught in the rain

Caylee Anthony Update

2008-08-11T07:09:00.001-04:00

There have been several new developments in the case of Casey Anthony and her missing 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony.

On August 5, Casey was formally charged with a felony count of child neglect and another misdemeanor offense.

Read the court documents
The following day, investigators executed a search warrant at Casey's home and removed several articles of clothing from Casey's closet.

According to the search warrant, Casey's mother, Cindy Anthony, recently told investigators that she had found clothing inside the vehicle Casey had been driving before she made her first 911 call. Cindy "removed the pants and washed them due to the fact that they smelled like the car," the report said.

Read the search warrant
Also on August 6, Bryan Crews, the attorney for the parents of Jesus Ortiz, a young man who some armchair detectives suspect is Caylee's father, held a news conference and said that his parents had never heard of Casey Anthony.

"This is the first they were ever told that Caylee might be a grandchild of theirs," Crews said. "They became interested in that, because that's all they would have left of their son, who died at age 20. This is a real surprise to them. I think another news station broke the story to them as a 'hello, big surprise' at their front door, and that was a very shocking event for them. Since that time, they've gotten unwanted media attention."

Crews said that the Ortiz family does not believe that Jesus is Caylee's father. Casey's parents also deny that he has any relation to Caylee. Despite both families' beliefs, the Orange County Sherriff's Office is investigating the allegations and has requested a copy of the police reports regarding the accident that killed Jesus.

During an interview on Fox News, Casey's father, George Anthony, admitted, despite previous denials, that his daughter had in fact stolen the gas cans from his shed. George said he found the cans in the trunk of the car Casey was driving when he went looking for a tire tool.

In addition to the gas can revelation, Cindy Anthony has come forward and told investigators that she has been receiving death threats via phone calls, e-mails and letters. Investigators are currently looking into the incidents.

On August 7, Mark Fuhrman spoke with Fox TV host Greta Van Susteren and said that he had met with investigators from the Orange County Sheriff's Office and was told about a "flurry" of calls Casey had placed to her parents on June 16. However, when questioned about Fuhrman's claim, Capt. Angelo Nieves had no comment on the alleged calls.

"We didn't discuss anything official with him," Nieves told Orlandosentinel.com.

While Nieves had little to say about the calls, sources close to the investigation have revealed that investigators have gone over every page of Casey's cell phone records and have not found a single call or text message to or from anyone named Zenaida Gonzalez, the woman Casey claimed was Caylee's babysitter.

Another interesting development occurred on August 8, when Casey refused to see her brother when he arrived for a previously scheduled jail visit.

"I've just been informed by the visitation supervisor that when the visitation session started, Casey Anthony was not at the visitation unit over in her housing area. A correctional officer came on over the screen and told Mr. Anthony that Casey did not wish to have the visit occur, and then he left," Allen Moore, public information officer for the Orange County Corrections Department, told WFTV.com, adding, "She did not wish to have the visit. No reason was given for this. It's the inmate's right not to conduct a visitation if they choose to."

Later that night, supporters and members of the community attended a vigil for Caylee Anthony.

"Your prayers and support means more than you can even imagine," George said, addressing the small crowd. "Thank you for giving me some strength."

On August 8, WFTV.com reported that investigators suspect Caylee may have drowned in the family swimming pool on June 16, the day Fuhrman said Casey had made a "flurry" of phone calls to her parents.

"A possibility being considered is Caylee could've gotten into the backyard pool on her own and was discovered too late," reads the article at WFTV.com.

The article also revealed that investigators are conducting further tests on Casey's car to determine whether there is evidence of decomposition.

The most recent development in this case occurred yesterday, one day after Caylee's third birthday, when Casey declined a scheduled visitation with her parents.

"Orange County Corrections does not inquire as to why an inmate decides to decline a visitation," Moore told Myfoxorlando.com, adding, "Cynthia and George Anthony were notified by phone that their daughter had declined today's scheduled visit."

Casey is scheduled for two more visits this coming week with her brother and parents. It remains unclear whether those visits will take place.