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For several months my intentions have been good but my execution has been nonexistent. I am referring to my blogging commitment and production and have been spending some time thinking about a reason and solution for this problem.

Actually, there are several reasons…… not making any excuses here…it is all on me but there are reasons that I am like I am. Being ADD, with a little OCD thrown in, is a big reason that my follow through is lacking….sometimes I have the best of intentions but then bright shiny objects appear, metaphorically of course, and distractions throw me off course. Every day I have the same routine….drink morning tea while checking email, reading all the overnight twitter posts and catching up on all the latest poker news, gossip, tournaments, etc.

All of this gets me ready for the day and each day blog posts write themselves in my head…. problem is there are so many that they become paralyzing and never reach the page…. Occasionally an idea becomes predominate and am able to hyper-focus long enough to get the idea into tangible form….not nearly often enough.
My biggest impediment seems to be that I am just too much of a poker fan…….there are so many great posts, blogs, and news outlets covering the poker world that by the time I get through all of it, my meager thoughts and reflections seem lame and irrelevant. Actually I do read some posts/blogs/forum threads that seem more trivial than mine may be so I have a self-edit button in my head that prevents me from adding to the ground clutter. These are some of my reasons for being such an ineffective blogger…… guess they are my excuses also.

In my real life, I am an artist who has been at it for over three decades……and have achieved a degree of success in my medium which fills any need my ego may have for recognition. Am also at an age that I know what that is worth in the grand scheme of things and hold dear the true friendships and family. I also work at maintaining a mental and physical health.
It is because of my deep and abiding love of poker that I keep holding onto the constant connection every day…. since Black Friday in April, the landscape has changed so much. While I spent far more than a “healthy” amount of time playing online, my interest has not waned. While being depressed to have this taken away I have been able to reevaluate other parts of my life and have struck a balance that was in jeopardy.

Now to renew my commitment to myself to be a giver as well as a taker in the poker community….now by that I do not mean at the poker table if I can help it…….. but to express a point of view and when possible to present pertinent information regarding our progress in Texas and the rest of the country to legalize poker online and bring casinos to the great State….

We’ll see how it goes……

The WSOP has come and gone and as each year comes to a close, there is a period of reflection and analysis and thoughts of how my life fits into the whole picture. Lots of time is spent reading blogs, reviewing play…. realizing the high level being played today by not only well known pros but by the average Joe/Jane. The following are two examples of many that I enjoyed reading and there have been many others in the past few days that are relevant. The first here is by a professional that breaks down the different aspects of being a player and the second by a passionate amateur that strives to gain knowledge and find her way while balancing a multi layered life.

http://www.cardrunners.com/blog/internetpokers

http://pokerlawyer.blogspot.com/ post “A Love Affair”

In my professional life I am an artist and have been successful at doing my work and have a long career teaching and lecturing around the country. As my poker interest (some say sick obsession) has grown in the past eight years, it has been quite a balancing act. My productivity has been greatly reduced which is due in part to my new found interest and also just a result of my age…..I am so far out of the profile of a poker player that if I ever had a big win it would make front page news everywhere…. in and out of the poker world.

In the Internetpokers blog, he refers to Outliers, the immensely popular book that emphasizes the importance of long term study and related work to become successful. The author sites a figure of 10,000 hours and in this blog, an analysis is done of what this really means. When I first read the book, it was not a new concept for me as I have heard variations of these themes for my whole life in the art community. In a blog from several years ago, I wrote about this from an art standpoint. It just hits home for both of my worlds. The following is an excerpt… just substitute poker related jargon in place of the references to art.

“Another point made that had an impact was from the book by Peter London, No More Secondhand Art. In chapter one he explains what it takes to really conquer your art and how just having a creative mind is not enough.

He describes what Monet and Rembrandt did to get the images we see. He talks about “drawing for ten hours a day, six days a week for forty years” and that Monet “excavated a huge hole, then diverted a river to fill the hole, planted it with lily pads, then built a Japanese bridge over the whole thing, all at a vast expense. Then he bought a boat, made a floating studio out of it and for twelve hours a day, for over twenty years, he paddled around that pond and painted and painted until his eyes glazed over”.

Most of us cannot make that type of commitment today and how hard are we willing to work and how much time are we willing to give, how much sacrifice are we willing to make before we are maximizing our creative selves and creating the work we strive for.

The next question is how hard will you do this without being recognized in some way? We all must ask ourselves if we are doing this for ourselves or other reasons like making money and/or fame? For me, I love the attention when a nice thing happens and I love it when a piece sells but I cannot imagine that I would not have my hands deep in the middle of my work and trying to figure out where it is going, it is part of my being.”
One of the things that I promote in addition to hard work when teaching and speaking to groups is creativity. As I have studied over the years, it just amazes me how related these two totally divergent parts of my life are alike. They are both subcultures that have a very recognizable demographic that are so different that it is scary. One is largely older females and the other is mostly very young males. Even with these major differences, the similarities are quite striking.

To be successful in either world, creativity is a necessary in addition to the long hours required . Creativity is this word that means different things to different people. It is really an easy concept but gets muddied up in some cases. Creativity simply is “problem solving”. This aspect comes more naturally to some but it definitely can be learned. In poker you see lots of different styles……some may be through thoughtful analysis, strictly math based, gut feel, crazy play with little thought and the list goes on and on. The creative player is able to use all of the tools available and use his/her problem solving skills to make decisions. It does not surprise me to see some great writers, musicians, and artists in the poker world… there are many creatives out there….

Another similarity is both are solitary endeavors. Yes, you have your art/poker associates or friends to bounce off of. You can study in groups, read books and prepare with others but in the end it is all on you to get the job done…. to be successful or not…… it is in your own being that your own fate resides. Having a good support system does give you a better chance to succeed but you and you alone must do it.

Of course, all of these skills no matter how hard a person works, no matter how skilled and creative a person may be, the luck factor comes into play……also being in the right place at the right time….. I have seen gifted artists that have never seen or heard, and have seen incredibly talented poker players playing in free pub leagues……. This is where another factor comes into play that do not see discussed very often and that is mental toughness……thick skin and tenacity.

A few weeks ago, I was watching an episode of the WPT and an interview by Mike Sexton and he said something that really made an impression. When asked the biggest difference he saw between young (internet) players and the older ones that have been around for a long time. He explained that the young ones have no fear of failure, do not look at money the same way and really have nothing to lose. I have really given this a lot of thought lately…… while I have the financial security to afford to play at a higher level it just hurts to lose a whole lot of money so that just puts limitations to a degree.

For the most part the younger players do not have families or responsibilities and if they go broke, they just find a way to reload and hit it again. As the older player matures and may have been broke several times they are not so eager to have to start over and may have responsibilities and do see the value of money. It is hard, hard work.

It seems that it all boils down to what are you willing to do, give up, compromise on, what you realistically can expect. While you can lie at the table, lie to your friends, build an image you want to project, the most important thing any player must do is not lie to themselves or start buying their own pitch. It is easy to talk the talk but not so easy to walk the walk. In the many poker rooms I have played in and the many games I have played live and online, the thing I see so often is players that do not know where they are or look at themselves in a thoughtful and many time, painful way…… I work on that myself everyday and not really pleased when I have to admit my limitations but in a way do take solace in that because of that knowledge alone does give me an edge in many situations. I try to grow with each new experience, read, listen and watch….I keep it real and delight in each new level of success.

Always know where you are……..

In the Sunday, May 8 issue of the Dallas Morning News there was an in depth article about the Chickasaw Tribe from Oklahoma and their efforts to move into the Texas market by buying legal horse racing tracks. They seem to be positioning the Tribe to be in place when and if gaming laws in the State are ever expanded.

In order for casino gambling to become available in the State of Texas, it will require a constitutional change which requires two thirds vote by both the State House and Senate with the final decision being made by the voters of the State. Some political observers think it is possible for this to happen by 2013 but as the current session of the Texas Legislature nears an end it is hard to believe that it will happen and will be a miracle if it gets any further. More likely it will be held over until the next time they meet in 2013. It is looking like 2015 would be the earliest Texans can expect any change if ever.

A bill that was passed in committee in the House and slated to be argued on the floor was pulled by the sponsoring legislator because the bill was weak and not seen as viable due to committee changes to the original proposed bill according to the May 10 Dallas Morning News. There is a bill still in committee in the Senate and all hopes for something coming out during this session that ends on Memorial weekend seem slim to none. The Hag is willing to be surprised.

The only hope that proponents of expanded gaming at this time is if Governor Perry (King of Texas) changes his stance which he has continually resisted or calls a special session to address the issue. Both of these things seem unlikely but we can only hope……. Pollyanna is alive and well……

When it comes to legalized online poker, the news is probably even worse. Black Friday shut down our poker rights almost completely for US poker players but even if the Federal Government were to pass legislation that legalizes and regulates online poker sites, Texas players would probably be excluded from playing because the laws currently being considered would allow states to opt out and with the current climate in the State, this governor would be one to opt out. The King is beholding to his solid base that includes the Religious Right and he has been rumored to have National aspirations…. he will do anything to keep his base intact.

All this news is pretty grim when it comes to rights for players. We still have Oklahoma and other states for live play and what a sad state of affairs it is indeed. Texas players will continue to play and support these other states and educate their children while education budgets are deeply cut here….jobs lost instead of added…..Texas education will likely fall from already low 44th nationally and the King will be able to tell his blind followers what a great job he is doing……

The Summer of 2011 promises to be busy and exciting for Pokerhag and hopefully for all of us low limit grinders. We will be in Las Vegas this summer for the WSOP and planning to make some changes to our approach this year.

Last summer, we went to the WSOP for the first time and the first piece of business was playing in my first WSOP event……..it was a $1500 buy in event #42. I knew there were a number of pitfalls here but being a kind of “bucket list” kind of thing so proceeded to play. It was so exciting getting to my first table and see Shannon Elizabeth, Lee Childs and Alan Smurfit, 2007 PLO bracelet winner, sitting there. Layne Flack was a table away and everywhere I looked there was another familiar face.

After about 3 hours our table broke and was moved to table with Nam Le…..Melanie Weisner came later short stacked and busted out quickly. Dean Hamrick, who eventually won that event, and Durrrr were both a table away on either side. It was an awesome experience and I was totally a fan boy for the day…watched Phil Ivey get his bracelet…my day ended after about 6-7 hours and was worth every penny…….once.

A couple of days later after hanging out at the Rio and star gazing, I started looking to see all the events taking place around town and played some cash games which was fun. We checked out the Venetian Deep Stacks and Golden Nugget Grand Series. The Rio was also running a well structured tourney each day for $200 and I assume they will continue this year. I ended up playing one of the events in the Grand Series, liked the structure and was able to get a min cash after playing for 13 hours. There were lots of regulars and a great mix of good players and not so good players…..was a really good experience.

What I really learned for my style and level of play is that the Nugget and Venetian series will work better for me. While I loved playing the WSOP, I will never play another event there unless it has a higher buy in so that the starting stack is larger. The NLHE $2500 will be the lowest one I will consider. With the lower buy in tourneys, after about 2-3 hours you just have to be willing to shove or you get blinded down to nothing. I got good cards in the beginning but had nothing to work with most of the next 4 hours….. and I was not being a complete nit…just had nothing to work with. If you got a hand, you would get action….was just not to be.

Now making my plans for this summer…..the Golden Nugget and Venetian have announced their schedules. These are great alternatives to the larger buy ins at the WSOP. The Venetian has the higher buy in events of the two running from about $300-$1000 or so and the Nugget running from $125-$550 with most being the $125 and $230. I think I will concentrate on the Nugget this year….there is plenty of action and my total focus this year will be making money……gotta build that bankroll.

http://www.goldennugget.com/downloads/gps_2011.pdf

http://www.venetian.com/uploadedFiles/The_Venetian/Gaming/PokerRoom/Deep_Stack/DeepStackIII11Fact%20Sheet.pdf

Wish List for Live Streaming of It is the middle of March and the 2011 WSOP is right around the corner….will be here before we know it and the burning question on my mind is what kind of live Internet coverage will we get this year????

Last year was a big disappointment since we were treated to 24 live streamed final tables in 2009. Instead of increased coverage in 2010 we only got a handful of streamed events toward the end. Surely some arrangements are being made to correct coverage this year.

Yes, I know there has to be sponsors step up……..yes, I do know it is expensive…….yada, yada, yada. It just seems incredible to me that with the millions and millions spent on these events between entry fees and broadcasting rights, it is unbelievable to think that it is not worth someone’s time and money to figure a way to make this work. It is hard to understand that there is not enough profit to be made here for some enterprising young group of people to make a proposal to ESPN for rights to stream events they will not be covering and that they could not sell time to four or five sponsors that could benefit from the coverage. For all the money that is spent on advertising in the gaming industry. between playing sites, casinos, other poker tours, etc….there has to be a way this could be done.

We have Live at the Bike series going on now that features cash games with commentary and then you have the events at Bay 101 that feature a table without commentary and very rudimentary sound. Last Summer, Ace Jones was showing some of the Grand Series at the Golden Nugget using one fixed camera over the table to see the board and one fixed camera on the players….. these things are being done on a shoestring….for a little more, we could have long hours of coverage everyday with a “Live at the Bike” kind of production.

The great thing about the 24 final tables that were covered in 2009 was having the players in the booth doing the color commentary and analysis. Some of those guys were really, really good. Some were Jimmy Fricke, Justin Bonomo, Daniel, David Williams and several others that I cannot think of right now. They were good and free…..you really got the sense that they loved doing it. It was really impressive to see how smart and articulate these guys are… the talent is there…just need a way to pull it all together.

I know that ESPN is spending a fortune doing the “November Nine” promotions…..and the ratings have gone down since the first year that was introduced. It has to be very expensive to not only bring back the players, set up the big production, and who knows what all that entails…….why not just keep the production crews there and expand live coverage during the 58 events???

The best players in the world are there…….you have the talent there……..why not capitalize and make it a 6 week media event on ESPN3 or even contract to do some through one of the less expensive live streaming sites that are readily available???

As an Avid Fan…………please give us complete coverage…… surely it would be a win-win for everyone!!!!!

This week we saw the addition to yet another poker tour when Full Tilt Poker announced the Onyx series. This will be a series of 6 tournaments with buy ins of $100K to $300K….certainly not for the average player but instead caters to the professional players at the nose bleed levels and the rich guys that can afford to give it a go.

Last year and earlier this year in Australia, we saw high roller events that did show there is definite interest. On about a week’s notice at the Aussie Millions, an event with a $250K buy in popped up and got 27 participants to pony up.

We also have the new Federated project still unfolding headed by Annie Duke and Jeffery Pollack that will sponsor events pitting the top rated 200 professionals in a series of non raked events that ends with a one million dollar freeroll.

While these are not tournaments for the little people…or even the middle sized people….the number of tournament series popping up all over the place is on the rise…….series with large payouts and the question is when is enough enough?

With the number of events on the rise, it is no wonder that there is more and more overlap. It has been that way for the past couple of years with the established tournaments around the world. Now the WSOP has expanded the circuit series, the Heartland Tour keeps growing, and the WPT has added some smaller events to feed into the larger tourneys. With this new trend toward the high rollers, we are starting to see them overlap as well.

It would be hard right now to schedule a poker tournament series without being in conflict with others. Maybe it is time for all of the tournament directors to express these issues with the powers that be in these new ventures. The Tournament Directors do have an association to discuss such matters. Now would be a good time for Full Tilt and Poker Stars to kiss and make up and realize that there is power in numbers……..together they can be stronger than standing alone. Why do you think shopping malls are built and that groups of casino owners flock to the same general area????

Will be fun to see how this all shakes out…..here at Pokerhag, we would like to see a unified approach to this issue. To see this happen would benefit all of the poker community…..the players whether it is the recreational player, semi-serious player, and the pros and it would be hard to think it would not help improve TV coverage and be a step forward in growing the market.

Today’s Dallas Morning News gave an update on progress made to allow casino/slots in Texas. The issue is heating up due to budget shortfalls and massive cuts, especially in the education area.

The size of the push by gaming interests is evident by the amount that is being paid to lobbyists and by who they are representing. In past years the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma was lobbying to defeat any gaming in Texas because of the impact it would have on the Oklahoma casinos that are predominately frequented by Texans. Now the Tribe is attempting to buy a racetrack between Dallas and Fort Worth. While they would lose some patrons in the existing casinos, the potential for a much larger market makes it a sure fire winner for them. They are contributing between $600k to $800k to this cause and are the largest lobby group. The lobbyists are being paid between $2.7 million to $4.5 million for their efforts by several groups between the Chickasaw Nation, Texas Gaming Association, Sam Houston Race Park, land Texans for Economic Development. The amount they are spending this go around is twice the amount spent two years ago.

Now……..what does this all mean? Basically it means that there is a lot of money in lobbying which is a no brainer. Is there more money in lobbying every two years when the issue continues to come up in the Texas Legislature or is there more money to be made by actually getting it passed?

The process requires certain things to happen. First it must pass both houses, then it goes to the King of Texas to approve. In the last session two years ago, the votes were in place to pass the gaming bill with a simple majority but since the King promised a veto the sponsors of the bill did not bring it up for vote since it would send a negative message for future efforts. It had been hoped in this past effort that we would have a new Governor this time around but the King kept his crown.

The King has indicated a veto again so the gaming interests are aware that in order to bring up for vote, they must already have a two-thirds majority in place to override a veto and some are thinking it will be tough but may be doable.

The primary opposition to this passing is the gaming legislation are religious based groups and the bingo industry…..but the bingo operators want to insure that they can have slots if gaming is approved. There are 478 charitable bingo halls currently and if they cannot add slots, they would be crushed.

Now…..even if the legislature does get the super majority they need to approve, it still has to go to the voters in Texas to vote on the amendment that would be required to approve. I personally think it would pass but in Texas…..you never know.

The big question that is always on my mind as stated earlier is, if the lobbyists are making this massive amount of money to get this thing passed every two years when the legislature meets………is it in their interests to get it passed????? What will be in it for them down the road when this gravy train ends???? Am I a cynic??????