The Muck
Card Guards
Bernard Lee
George Lind III
Maverick Movie
Off the Felt
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SEP 17
Life on the Road: Krisztina Polgar On Her Experience at the PokerStars European Poker Tour
Krisztina Polgar , 1
A week full of experiences...
Once upon a time there was a little girl who always knew that a card game — namely poker — will play an important part in her life. Well, okay, this is not exactly the truth. I had other plans in mind as a little girl, but perhaps the best thing that could have happened was poker crossing my path.
While sitting in school, I felt that I needed something to satisfy my adrenaline addiction, and then someone unexpectedly entered my life who introduced this superb game to me, taught me the basics, and I've loved the game ever since — for more than four years now.
I love playing it and I grab every opportunity to sit to the table. So far, I have mostly played face-to-face. I like when there is a personal contact between the players, and to be honest muliebrity is often advantageous at the table. So why have I started to like online poker nowadays? I am going to speak about it a little bit later.
I graduated college last year as a communications-cultural manager and I was thinking a lot how to connect the worlds of media and poker, since both of them are truly exciting areas. And at this point the creative power of thought, which plays a huge role in every area of life, came into force. My phone started ringing about a month ago, I got the opportunity to accompany the PokerNews team to Barcelona, the first stop of European Poker Tour’s ninth season. When I had first learned what was waiting for me and how I could be of help for this professional team, I was really frightened because, although I am familiar with Hungarian media, poker is an area which needs great professional expertise and knowledge, and moreover I couldn’t use my mother tongue. It seemed to be a hard nut to crack, but I love challenges so by hearing the good news I was jumping for joy.
I am always very confident at the poker table and in other areas of life as well, but now I have stepped into the unknown. Unknown but apparently also very exciting.
I only had a week to prepare. I tried my best. I was traveling to the wonderful Spanish city on Aug. 19 and upon arrival I met the PokerNews team. I can say that every anxiety and fear slipped away immediately. I got into a very friendly, helpful, and incredibly professional atmosphere where everyone knows their duties and fulfills them completely. Although I had no knowledge and experience, it felt like I had arrived “home.”
Kristy Arnett and Lynn Gilmartin have been pillars of the team for years now. They are reporters and show incredible professionalism in the work they do. They were the ones who took me under their wings and I couldn’t have been in better hands. They answered all my questions with great patience, taught me, and I am very grateful to them for accepting me as member of the team. I know them as very valuable and interesting persons with whom there’s no way of getting bored because something crazy always comes to their minds (in a positive sense).
The girls threw me in at the deep end on my first day. I did interviews, followed them and tried to learn a lot from them, since they possess all the knowledge and skills. I felt increasingly confident with each day, I felt I know more and more and I would like to follow in their footsteps in many things.
Beside the lot of work, there were also chances to fool around, watch:
After sitting with Kristy so much in the PokerNews media room, we got on the same wavelength and started showing up in matching clothes.
Kristy and Lynn are both beautiful and very different characters. After I joined the team we were representing three continents — Asia, Australia and Europe — but let the pictures speak for themselves:
I had many positive experiences during that week. I worked with a fantastic team, very good people, got acquainted with many renowned and talented players, and last but not least, I have learned a lot. I expanded my knowledge in a field which I love and adore and consider a very important part of my life. I am grateful for every moment I could spend there.
But this story is not over yet…
I arrived home from Barcelona on a Sunday and since I couldn’t sleep the previous night because of the plane’s departure, I tried to get some sleep in the afternoon. As a result, I was no longer tired by the evening. I hopped on PokerStars thinking if I can’t rest, at least I will try my luck. I had $150 in my account and I usually participate in small-stake games, but I had a strange feeling. I caught a glimpse of the Bigger $55 — a $55 buy-in tournament.. What I did next cannot be called a professional bankroll management — I entered the tournament.
I thought, if I fail, I send money to my account. But to be honest, I was concentrating so much on being among the best that I only looked at how much it will pay for the first three places. I refused to pay attention to the others. The long and short of it is, being equipped with the loads of positive experiences gained in Barcelona, I sat down on the couch to play with 5,056 fellow players at 10 p.m. and finished second at 9 a.m., for which I won $29,500. If something, this was definitely the culmination of my happiness.
The week in Barcelona and the success after it in the game contributed to one of the happiest periods of my life and I hope I will have the opportunity again to show how committed I am to this beautiful sport, poker.
Mr. Poker, I remain your faithful devotee, both at the table as well as around it by walking with a microphone.
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SEP 07
Tennis Champ Rafael Nadal Featured in New PokerStars Mobile Ad Campaign
On Friday, PokerStars released its latest ad campaign featuring the company's new mobile poker app.
“I’m still quite new to playing poker and am focused on becoming a better player, so I really didn’t need to act very hard when shooting these scenes,” Rafa Nadal said. “Since PokerStars now has a mobile app, I can play with friends wherever I go, whether it’s on my mobile phone or tablet.
“My friends know I’m naturally competitive, which has served me well in my tennis career, I’m hoping some of the skills I’ve developed on the court will help me improve my poker game.”
The 30-second television spot, filmed earlier this year in Barcelona, is one part of PokerStars' global marketing campaign featuring Nadal. He will also be featured in outdoor and online ads in selected countries.
“Rafa is a highly competitive athlete, a strategic player and known for his integrity both on and off the court," said Alex Payne, PokerStars' Chief Marketing Officer. These qualities make him an ideal ambassador for PokerStars and a compelling spokesperson for the game. Rafa’s endorsement helps correct some of the misperceptions of the game, and emphasizes the great mix of entertainment and skill in poker when played responsibly.”
What do you think of the commercial? Let us know below and as always, follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
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SEP 05
Life on the Road: PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona
As a poker blogger, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to some great tournaments across the world. I’ve covered events in South America, the Bahamas, and even in Australia, but despite these great experiences, I always longed to visit Europe. That chance finally arrived in mid-August when for the first stop of the PokerStars European Poker Tour’s ninth season — EPT Barcelona.
Aside from a quick jaunt to England in my college days, I’d never visited Europe, so you can imagine how excited I was to travel to Spain and cover my first EPT. I arrived a day before the start of the €50,000 Super High Roller and took the opportunity to explore the city. I accompanied the lovely Lynn Gilmartin and Kristy Arnett, who were filming welcome videos for the PokerStars Blog and PokerNews respectively, as well as two cameramen and my fellow blogger, Emilis. Together we aimlessly wandered the city streets, occasionally stopping whenever the girls fancied a location.
We briefly visited the beach where it was not uncommon for women to bask topless. While this no doubt sounds agreeable to most male readers, you have to remember that the bad comes with the good and oftentimes the former outnumber the latter considerably. In other words, you might see some things you’d rather not at the topless beach. Also, in case you’re wondering, neither Lynn nor Kristy opted to let loose.
From there, we ventured down to the tree-lined La Rambla, a street in Barcelona that is known for street performers, living statues, and kiosks. It was there that Kristy took us all to a tucked away marketplace that served everything under the sun. Meats, cheeses, and nuts were aplenty, but what interested us was the vast array of fresh-squeezed fruit juices. The kaleidoscope of colors offered no easy choice, but ultimately I settled on an orange-peach concoction that pleased. Without a doubt, the best €2.00 I spent the entire trip.
After the girls finished filming at returned to the hotel, Emilis and I opted to take a bus tour of the city. For just €24.00, we got to see vast expanses of the city including the area where the 1992 Summer Olympics were held, the Plaza Monumental de Barcelona bullfighting arena, Port Vell Aerial Tramway, and Magic Fountain of Montjuic, just to name a few locations. The tour allowed us to get off at anytime and explore at our leisure, but given our time frame we opted to stay on the bus and take in a much of the city as possible. There was a lot we didn’t get to see, but I was happy with what we saw in such a short period of time.
That evening, Donnie Peters, who had flown in earlier in the day, invited me out. Our party included Kristy; Garry Gates; Kyle Julius and his girlfriend, Justine; and Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier and his fiancé, Erica. The dinner, which was at a restaurant at the marina, was decent, but the real treat was the company and conversation. Both Kyle and Jason were set to play the €50K the following day, but that didn’t stop them from having a good time.
While everyone else was enjoying wine, I ordered some sangria. What I didn’t realize until it was too late was that I had inadvertently ordered a large sangria; more specifically, I had ordered a full pitcher of sangria. Of course others wanted to sample, and I was more than happy to oblige. Four pitchers and a couple bottles of wine later, and everyone felt pretty good — except for Kristy, who uncharacteristically abstained.
This was my first time interacting with Jason and Kyle socially, and while I got the sense that they’d be lost without their better halves, both guys proved to be a blast. That part of the group, along with Donnie, extended the night by visiting a hookah bar, while the rest of us returned to the hotel to prepare for the €50K Super High Roller, which I had the privilege of working that event from start to finish.
It was a truly remarkable tournament; in fact, I rank it among my favorite events I’ve ever covered. I say this because of the eclectic mix of players. I’ve covered super-high roller events with Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel and the like on more than one occasion, but I’ve never had the chance to cover one with European players. At the EPT Barcelona, I finally had the chance to witness legends like Philip Gruissem, Juha Helppi, and Tobias Reinkemeier; in addition, I observed online legends I had only previously written about in Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies, Terje “Terken89” Augdal and Ignat “0Human0” Liviu.
In my opinion, the lineup of the EPT Barcelona €50K Super High Roller surpassed that of the $1,000,000 buy-in Big One for One Drop, and I wasn’t all that surprised to see Dan Smith take down the title. I watched him win a similar event back in January, and the guy is something special. His meteoric rise in 2012 is as impressive, if not more, than Seidel’s accomplishments the year prior.
After the €50K wrapped, it was time to cover the €5,000 Barcelona Main Event. It was a week’s worth of great action, but the highlight for me was watching Sahamies, who had taken fourth place in the €50K, navigate the 1,082-player field and make it to the final table as the chip leader. It was there that a fellow Finn, Joni Jouhkimainen, joined him and together the pair put on quite the show.
I’ve never seen so many four and five bets, and I learned a lot about the sheer power of aggression. The Finns are truly fearless; however, neither Jouhkimainen nor Sahamies managed to capture the title, finishing in third and second places respectively. It seemed to me the duo celebrated a bit too early and overindulged in drinks, which opened the door for Belarusian Mikalai Pobal to swoop in and claim the €1,007,550 first-place prize.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t briefly mention my first "football" experience. Now if you read football and thought the NFL, then you’re way off track. Outside the United States, football is the common name for what we Americans would call soccer, and believe me when I say it’s a big part of their culture. While in Barcelona, the hometown team took on Real Madrid. Now I know very little about the game, but I was told they were two of the best teams and the electric atmosphere surrounding the game backed that up.
Plenty of poker pros took the night off to attend the game at Camp Nou, which is the largest stadium in Europe with a 100,000 capacity, but at €250+ for a ticket, our gang opted to watch it at the Barcelona Sports Bar on La Rambla. The usual cast of characters were there, but my experience was exemplified by the inclusion of Marc Convey, Chris Hall and Neil Stoddart — three Brits who knew the game well. They were king enough to answer my naïve questions and provide me some background on the clubs and players.
The game started slow but definitely picked up steam in the second half. I got to watch Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo work their magic, and rousing match ended up 3-2 in Barcelona’s favor. It was only one match, but I took away a whole new appreciation for the game — I really like that there were no commercial interruptions.
My trip to the EPT Barcelona was full of great experiences. The poker action was the best I’ve seen, and there was no shortage of things to do in the city. Other than being a bit too hot and humid for my liking, I had an amazing time in Spain. It may have been my first EPT, but if I have my way, it won’t be my last.
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AUG 29
Jens "Jeans89" Kyllönen to go to Space; TwoPlusTwo Photoshoppers Win
Earlier this week, we told you about a report that Jens "Jeans89" Kyllönen has paid €160,000 to reserve a seat on Virgin Galactic's space flight. Well, as luck would have it, the TwoPlusTwo community started a thread about Kyllönen's space flight and you know what happened next — amazing Photoshops.
It should be noted that there are two gifs that didn't make this slideshow because we're not technology wizards and we can't figure out how to make them show up. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't see them. Here's the gif from "HighSteaks" and here's "fanapathy's" latest creation.
Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
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AUG 28
UFC Champion Georges St-Pierre's 888poker Commercial
Since UFC 151 was canceled, and a number of poker players are also MMA fans, we figured we'd help you get your "MMA fix" this week. Here is UFC champion Georges St-Pierre's new 888poker commercial.
Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
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AUG 23
Like McKayla Maroney, Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies is Not Impressed
The best meme to come out of the 2012 London Olympics is "McKayla Maroney is not impressed." Thanks to Ilari Sahamies, poker gets its own awesome meme too (in conjunction with Ms. Maroney of course).
Luckily for us, the posters over on TwoPlusTwo have more time than we do and can take photos from our awesome photog team, and make spectacular memes and gifs.
Next ›Thanks to TwoPlusTwo member "fanapathy" for making our day. Well done sir, five stars, and all that other jazz. You win.
Displaying: 1 of ?
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AUG 21
Jennifer Harman Featured in Reality TV Series on TLC
Poker pro Jennifer Harman will soon be featured in a new docu-reality series on TLC. Vegas High Rollers (working title) will explore the lives of five high-powered women in Sin City and provide an exclusive look at their one-of-a-kind lifestyles.
Harman, regarded by her peers as one of the best high-stakes cash game players in the world, has two World Series of Poker bracelets and more than $2.4 million in live tournament winnings. She plays in many of the biggest cash games in Las Vegas and was even a member of the "The Corporation," an elite group of poker pros who faced off against billionaire businessman Andy Beal at stakes of $100,000/$200,000 limit hold'em.
Today, she balances her career on the felts with her time at home, where she's a mother of two and the wife of poker pro Marco Traniello.
The other women highlighted in the show are designer Lana Fuchs; businesswoman Amy Hanley; entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs; and owner of Rain Cosmetics Lori Montoya. Also featured on the show is Kimberly Friedmutter, whose husband is a renowned architect responsible for much the Las Vegas skyline.
The series, produced by Evolution Media, has been greenlighted for eight one-hour episodes and is already in production.
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AUG 10
Pigskin Diaries: Fantasy Football Help (Quarterbacks)
In less than a month, the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys will kick off the 2012-2013 National Football League regular season. Why is that relevant? Well, over the next three weeks, countless poker players will be preparing for and attending their fantasy football drafts.
There’s no question that sports betting — especially fantasy sports betting — is prevalent in the poker world. Not all leagues are as baller as Daniel Negreanu’s $25,000 fantasy poker league during the World Series of Poker, but there are several four- and five-figure leagues that run. In fact, the poker community learned about Erick Lindgren’s debts because he hadn’t paid his entry for a high-stakes fantasy football league.
Former professional poker player Taylor Caby is perhaps the ultimate example that shows fantasy sports matter in our industry. He is founder and CEO of DraftDay.com, a real-money daily fantasy-sports website. He joined us on the PokerNews Podcast to talk about the site, the link between daily fantasy sports and poker, and the future of fantasy sports.
Still don’t believe me? Just troll Twitter on a Sunday afternoon during the NFL season.
Every Friday during football season, we’ll be bringing you the Pigskin Diaries right here in The Muck. Every week, I’ll make my selections against the spread and give a little fantasy advice. Last year, we finished 129-115-12 ATS in the regular season, and 6-5 in the playoffs.
During September, however, the focus is solely on fantasy football. This week, we’ll take a look at the quarterback position and examine who is undervalued (+EV) and who is overvalued (-EV).
+EV
Philip Rivers (Average Draft Position — Yahoo!: 69.8, ESPN: 60, NFL.com: 54.6)
Clearly, the three best quarterbacks in fantasy are Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees. Among that group, Rodgers is number one, thanks to his mobility (he averaged 284 yards rushing and four touchdowns over the last four years), but if either Brady or Brees score more points than Rodgers this season, no one should be surprised.
With that said, if you don’t draft one of these three quarterbacks, I suggest you wait. Matthew Stafford (ADP — 17.9, 13.1, 11.9) isn’t a terrible selection if he falls to you at the end of the second round, and Michael Vick (ADP — 43.9, 31.6, 36.5) is interesting if he slips to you in the fourth, but more than likely, those players will be drafted earlier than they should be. Rather than waste a second-round pick on Stafford, I’d much rather have either Rob Gronkowski (far and away the best tight end in fantasy football) or a solid starting running back such as Matt Forte or Darren McFadden. Instead of taking Vick in the third, I’m jumping all over absolute workhorses Michael Turner or Steven Jackson.
The reason I use Stafford and Vick as exceptions is because they both have very high ceilings. If you choose to gamble and reach for them, then go ahead, but do so knowing that you’re taking a risk. You can make the same argument for Peyton Manning (ADP — 50.7, 42.8, 49.4), who really looked like Peyton Manning in limited action against the Chicago Bears on Thursday night, but his injury risk is exponentially higher than Stafford’s or Vick’s.
Ultimately, what’s the big difference between Philip Rivers and Stafford? Rivers and Vick? Rivers and either Manning? Using ESPN standard scoring, we can see that Stafford outscored Rivers by nearly 100 points last year, but Rivers scored 24 more points than Vick last season while Eli Manning outscored him by just 27 points. Coincidentally, the 2011-2012 season was one of Rivers’ worst to date. He threw a career-high 20 interceptions, threw fewer than 28 touchdowns for the first time in four years, and lost a career-high eight games.
This year, Antonio Gates is fully healthy, and Rivers has a few new weapons including Marques Colston, Eddie Royal, Michael Spurlock, and Roscoe Parrish. If last season was Rivers at his worst, then he’ll be a great value in the late fifth or sixth round.
Ryan Fitzpatrick (ADP — 124.5, 140.1, 146.4)
Unless you’re playing in an insanely deep league, you’re not drafting Ryan Fitzpatrick to be your starting quarterback. However, if you take anyone outside the big three, you’ll need a backup. If you take Vick, Stafford, Peyton Manning, or Ben Roethlisberger, you’ll definitely need a backup. Fitzpatrick flew out of the gates in fall 2011, throwing for 841 yards and nine touchdowns in the first three games. His production leveled out as the season progressed; however, he failed to crack 200 passing yards in six of his last 13 games.
In February, Buffalo Bills wide receiver David Nelson told CBS that Fitzpatrick “actually cracked a couple of ribs” during their Week 8 game against the Washington Redskins. In the three games after suffering this injury, Fitzpatrick completed just over half of his passes, throwing only two touchdowns and seven interceptions. Even with this terrible stretch, Fitzpatrick finished 12th in scoring at quarterback, besting Roethlisberger, Alex Smith, Joe Flacco, Alex Smith, Andy Dalton, and Josh Freeman – all of whom are being drafted ahead of Fitzpatrick.
The list of quarterbacks being taken in front of Fitzpatrick also includes Tim Tebow (a backup), and Andrew Luck (a rookie on a terrible team). Please, unless you’re playing in a dynasty/keeper league, I beg you not to take either of these players before the Amish Rifle. He’s accurate, he’s consistent when healthy, and you can snag him very late in your draft.
-EV
Cam Newton (ADP — 12.8, 17.1, 11.1)
Oh, boy. While we love Killa Cam here at the Pigskin Diaries, drafting him in the first two rounds is a bit crazy. Sure, Newton wowed us as a rookie, throwing for over 400 yards in his first two games and finishing the season with 4,051 passing yards, 706 rushing yards, and 36 touchdowns. Over a third of Newton’s touchdowns came on the ground, however, and that’s what’s concerning.
Newton isn’t injury-prone (he’s an ox, and the injury card is played far too often for mobile quarterbacks), but rushing quarterbacks tend to have less success in back-to-back seasons. Vick (2002, ’05, ’10) has rushed for over 500 yards and five touchdowns three times, Daunte Culpepper (’02), Kordell Stewart (’01), Donovan McNabb (’00), Steve McNair (’97), Vince Young (’06), and Randall Cunningham (’92) have all done it once. All seven quarterbacks failed to do it again the next season, and in six of the nine seasons, the quarterback failed to reach both marks.
In Newton’s last four games last season, he ran for 188 yards, but only scored one touchdown.
It appears as if Newton will need his legs to be productive, as well. After Week 4, he never crossed the 300-yard passing mark, and in his last three games, he failed to throw for more than 171 yards in a single game. In fact, in the second half of the season, Newton threw for 1,658 yards, 10 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. That’s very pedestrian.
Additionally, defensive coordinators have a season’s worth of footage on Newton, and the rest of the NFC South has an entire training camp to prepare for the six games they play against the Carolina Panthers.
Killa Cam is extremely talented, but there is a ton of risk in taking him in the first three rounds, let alone in the first or second. I’ll pass.
Eli Manning (ADP — 50.8, 31, 60.7)
The number that pops out here is the average draft position in ESPN leagues. In what universe is Eli Manning worth a 31st overall pick? If Manning goes before the fifth round, there’s no chance I’ll draft him in any league this season.
I think it’s easier to discuss Manning’s value in an auction-style draft. Let’s say you’re budgeted $200 for 16 roster spots. If you spend a quarter of your budget for Rodgers, Brady, or Brees, that’s fine. They’re clearly the best, and you’re employing a sound strategy of “Stars and Scrubs.” Conversely, Manning is in no-man’s-land. He’s not great, he’s not terrible, he’s just a bit above average. When you’re in your auctions however, Manning might go for around $20, or 10 percent of your budget. Rivers, who we discussed early as being comparable to Manning, may go for half of that, giving you room to get stars at running back and wide receiver.
We talk about being results-oriented all the time in poker, and it applies in fantasy football, as well. Just because Manning is a two-time Super Bowl MVP, that doesn’t mean he’s an elite fantasy scorer. In terms of passing yards, Manning had by far the best season of his career last year, throwing for 4,933 yards. Before that season, his season average was 3,600 yards. He also threw for 29 touchdowns, compared to his previous average of 25 touchdowns, and threw a career-high 589 passes.
All of this being said, Manning still scored 112 points less than Rodgers, 107 points less than Brees, 79 points less than Brady, and, again, only 27 points more than Rivers. Not too impressive for an outlier season.
If Manning drops to you in the sixth or seventh round, grab him. But it’s not going to happen, and you shouldn’t reach for him.
Next week, we’ll be discussing running backs. See you then!
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AUG 06
Daniel Negreanu's Rant -- Post World Series of Poker
Look who's back! Daniel Negreanu finally found some time to let us know what's going on in his head. He recently posted his first
WeeklyRant since, well, we can't remember and we're too lazy to look.In his post-WSOP rant, Negreanu discusses PokerStars' acquisition of Full Tilt Poker, how his WSOP went, and more. It's a loaded video blog, so you're going to have to click play below to hear what he has to say.
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AUG 04
That PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker Settlement Was Kind of a Big Deal
The poker industry is always looking for (positive) ways to get into the mainstream media. When Black Friday rolled around, poker was in the mainstream media, but there was nothing positive about that. On Tuesday, poker was in the mainstream media again, this time however, there was definitely a positive to it. You already know about PokerStars acquiring the assets of Full Tilt Poker, so we're not telling you about that. Here's a look at the coverage that got.
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PokerNews Podcast
This week's Strategy with Kristy podcast features the audio of three PokerStars.tv interviews with PokerStars Team Online members Randy Lew and Mickey Peterson, as well as... more
2006 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Jamie Gold becomes latest player to auction off championship bracelet.
- 2 Strategy With Kristy: Hand Analysis with Daniel Negreanu, Randy Lew and Mickey Peterson
- 3 WSOP Announces 2013-14 Circuit Schedule: 10th Season, 22 Events, Three Added Stops
- 4 The Railbird: Gus Hansen Wins $1.57 Million in One Day Playing Primarily FLO8
- 5 Highlights from the 2013 World Series of Poker Conference Call
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