Casino Planet Cash

We are almost there. The last day of the year. How are things stacking up for you, in terms of your win/loss total for 2009? Don’t do anything silly today to try and manipulate it into something you like better.

Me? I might play a little today, but I have a lot of other writing to do, including finishing this here recap. Following Part 1 (Jan.-Apr.) and Part 2 (May-Aug.), here’s the rest of the story:

September

In UIGEA news, a lawsuit brought by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) that challenged the law’s constitutionality was dismissed. This story was strangely spun by many (in particular, iMEGA) as good news because in rejecting the case the 3rd Circuit District Court made reference to the fact that individual states get to say what is and what is not unlawful internet gambling.

Fact was, this distinction had been noted in the UIGEA all along (i.e., this new case didn’t really change anything on that front), something I pointed out in “iMEGA Suit Claiming Unconstitutionality of UIGEA Dismissed.”

During the first part of September I was occupied with helping cover PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), and so there were a few posts this month reporting various happenings there. In the last one of those posts, I was inspired to comment on the repeat successes of guys like Daniel “djk123” Kelly, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, and Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko in “PokerStars WCOOP Concludes: It’s a Skill Game, Jo.”

Was watching the U.S. Open in there, too, and in “Matching Up Poker and Tennis” I attempt to draw an analogy that addresses the old luck-vs.-skill debate in poker. “The Poker Hall of Fame: Will Anyone Be Worthy?” notes how the new voting procedure appeared to guarantee that either no one or just one person would get in this year. And “When Winners Lose, and Losers Win” relates the story of that wild hand at EPT Barcelona between Tobias Reinkemeier and Roland de Wolfe in which de Wolfe mucked a winner.

As far as my own play was going, I was running good in August and early September, partly evidenced by “Shovels, Clovers, Valentines, and Squares” in which I tell about flopping a straight flush. Then hit a bad patch, some details of which I shared in “I Get Up, I Get Down.” I also see that I began and ended the month with a couple of posts about stack sizes in PLO: “Topping Off” and “Don’t Want No Short People ’Round Here?”

September also saw the Kahnawake Gaming Commission issue its so-called “final decision” on the UB insider cheating scandal, which I talked some about in “Final Decision on UltimateBet: None of My Business.” And, as you’ll recall, soon after came “The Sebok Surprise” in which the well-liked pro signed on with the beleaguered site.

October

The month began with the conclusion of the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, in which Barry Shulman enjoyed a couple of fortunate hands against Daniel Negreanu heads up to take it down. Talk about that some in “End of Story: 2009 WSOPE Main Event Concludes.”

Then our attention gradually turned toward Vegas and the upcoming conclusion of the WSOP Main Event. On October 7 I noted there was just “One Month Left to Hype the November Nine.” I think Harrah’s, ESPN, et al. ended up doing okay during those next few weeks to get us all (and others) interested in the sucker come November. Case in point, a week later in “That’s the Way We Do It” I admit how I was starting really to get into the ESPN broadcasts of the Main Event. And near the end of October I was marveling with everyone else at that hand in which Phil Ivey mistakenly mucked his flush, giving Jordan Smith an undeserved pot in “Not Exactly Ivey League.”

These posts from October all have self-explanatory titles, I think: “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge Debuts,” “The Poker Hall of Fame: Sexton Selected,” and “Kentucky Still Hoping to Be Master of Your Domains.” Well, maybe I should explain that last one. Had to do with the still-ongoing appeal of the appeal, now being considered by Kentucky’s Supreme Court, in that case regarding the commonwealth’s desire to block or seize domains hosting online gambling sites.

Then there are some posts in there with titles that definitely need explainin’. “Playing As If Your Life Depended On It” made references to both Tommy Angelo and The Seventh Seal. “Up, Up, and Away!” concerns our friend “balloon boy” (remember him?). And “Call and Response” does a little theorizin’ about the significance of blogs, Twitter, and how we use this here interweb to relate to each other.

Early in the month I made it to the movies to see a decent comedy called The Invention of Lying. I reviewed that one over on Film Chaw, then wrote about it here, too, in “First, the Invention of Lying; then, the Invention of Poker.” That post caused me to evoke James McManus’ new book (which I was reading at the time), Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker. I’d eventually review it here in “A Good Read: McManus Tells the Story of Poker.” Soon I’d additionally get the chance to review Cowboys Full more formally over on the Betfair site, where I’d also interview McManus.

November

First half of November was all about the WSOP Main Event final table. In “Post-Production is 20/20” I talked some more about Ivey’s mistake versus Jordan Smith, including sharing Barry Greenstein’s thoughts on the matter. Then in “Kopp Busted!” I talked about seeing ESPN’s coverage of another crazy hand, the one in which Billy Kopp lost it all to Darvin Moon with just a dozen players left.

Then we finally got there. In “2009 November Nine Just Hours Away… Time for Special Tactics!” I talked a bit about Phil Hellmuth saying he’d coached Jeff Shulman to employ a “special tactic” to “shock the world.” Then I gave an overview of the nine players at the final table in “2009 WSOP Main Event Final Table: Welcome Back, November Nine.”

Discussed that bizarro Hand No. 90 in which Darvin Moon made the big bluff then folded for next-to-nothing to Steve Begleiter in “Moon Begs the Question… WTF?” Wrote about the heads-up match a bit in “Comeback Kid Cada 2009 WSOP Main Event Champ,” then a few days later offered “Kudos to Cada: WSOP Champ on Letterman.” A final November Nine post, “Looking Back: 2009 WSOP November Nine on ESPN,” includes a list of the 32 (of 364) final table hands that made it into the two-and-a-half hour long ESPN broadcast.

You’ll recall it was just a few days later we learned “Pollack Moves On, WSOP Commish Seat Open.” Harrah’s still hasn’t filled that seat, and toward the end of the month I asked “Does the WSOP Need a Commish?”

Let’s see… the weird-ass juxtaposition of the month award goes to the post “The Sklansky Minute and John Cage’s Indeterminacy.” (See that one for yourself, if yr curious.) And “$1,356,946.50” relates how I happened to have been railing Isidur1 and Patrik Antonius when I saw them play the biggest pot in online poker history.

As the month concluded, we American online poker players were all fretting about the upcoming December 1 deadline for enforcement of the UIGEA. I wrote “The Door is Closing: Hoping for UIGEA Delay,” then the next day (Thanksgiving) got to say “Thankful, I Am” as we’d heard that indeed there’d be a six-month postponement of the deadline.

December

Month began with that House hearing on online gambling, discussed in “Talking Online Poker: House Hearing Today.” Then everybody put the subject on hold. ’Cos, you know, there was shopping to do. Oh, and that health care thing.

Read a couple more poker books near year’s end, both autobiographies. I’d review Doyle Brunson’s The Godfather of Poker over at Betfair, but also wrote a piece here — “Doyle Brunson’s Confessions” — in which I talked about how the book reminded me more than once of St. Augustine’s autobiography. (Not saying Doyle’s a saint, haha!) I also wrote here a “Poker Book Review: Victoria Coren’s For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair With Poker” — a funny, even “literary” book I’d think should appeal to any poker player who likes good storytelling.

Opined a bit on Scott Huff and Joe Sebok’s new Fox Sports show in “Poker2Nite Brings Poker to the World.” The post “Speaking of Poker: What You Can and Cannot Say, Part II” is also about their show, revisiting an old topic regarding the conflict between online poker sponsorships and television.

Mid-month saw the “2010 WSOP Schedule Announced,” inspiring a bit of photshopping (see below). In much less significant news, I finally got response to my repeated requests to UltimateBet which I related in “The Rest of the Story (UB Hand Histories).”

Of course, the big poker story in December was the ongoing Isildur1 saga, and I wrote about it a few times here.

“Out of This World: The Isildur1 Saga Continues” discusses Patrik Antonius’s interview with Phil Gordon about the mystery man while also pointing to some other stories then swirling about. In “Loving Life, Defying Death” I talked about railing Isildur1 a bit while also referring back to Doyle Brunson’s book (and the weird, repeated joke of some railbirds prematurely announcing Texas Dolly’s death). “Digging for Gold (Mining Isildur1)” took up the new controversy regarding the CardRunners guys’ collecting info about the sneaky Swede. Then came PokerNews’ interview with Isildur1 in which revealed he planned to pursue a “formal complaint.” I suggested “Grab Your Popcorn (Isildur1 v. Full Tilt).”

So that’s what’s been happenin’ here. No telling at the moment what 2010 will be like for yr humble gumshoe, but I imagine continuing to scribble away here will most definitely be part of the plan.

Big thanks again to everyone for coming around here and for all of the nice feedback. Be sure and make contact again in 2010. Have a safe and happy new year, all!

We are almost there. The last day of the year. How are things stacking up for you, in terms of your win/loss total for 2009? Don’t do anything silly today to try and manipulate it into something you like better.

Me? I might play a little today, but I have a lot of other writing to do, including finishing this here recap. Following Part 1 (Jan.-Apr.) and Part 2 (May-Aug.), here’s the rest of the story:

September

In UIGEA news, a lawsuit brought by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) that challenged the law’s constitutionality was dismissed. This story was strangely spun by many (in particular, iMEGA) as good news because in rejecting the case the 3rd Circuit District Court made reference to the fact that individual states get to say what is and what is not unlawful internet gambling.

Fact was, this distinction had been noted in the UIGEA all along (i.e., this new case didn’t really change anything on that front), something I pointed out in “iMEGA Suit Claiming Unconstitutionality of UIGEA Dismissed.”

During the first part of September I was occupied with helping cover PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), and so there were a few posts this month reporting various happenings there. In the last one of those posts, I was inspired to comment on the repeat successes of guys like Daniel “djk123” Kelly, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, and Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko in “PokerStars WCOOP Concludes: It’s a Skill Game, Jo.”

Was watching the U.S. Open in there, too, and in “Matching Up Poker and Tennis” I attempt to draw an analogy that addresses the old luck-vs.-skill debate in poker. “The Poker Hall of Fame: Will Anyone Be Worthy?” notes how the new voting procedure appeared to guarantee that either no one or just one person would get in this year. And “When Winners Lose, and Losers Win” relates the story of that wild hand at EPT Barcelona between Tobias Reinkemeier and Roland de Wolfe in which de Wolfe mucked a winner.

As far as my own play was going, I was running good in August and early September, partly evidenced by “Shovels, Clovers, Valentines, and Squares” in which I tell about flopping a straight flush. Then hit a bad patch, some details of which I shared in “I Get Up, I Get Down.” I also see that I began and ended the month with a couple of posts about stack sizes in PLO: “Topping Off” and “Don’t Want No Short People ’Round Here?”

September also saw the Kahnawake Gaming Commission issue its so-called “final decision” on the UB insider cheating scandal, which I talked some about in “Final Decision on UltimateBet: None of My Business.” And, as you’ll recall, soon after came “The Sebok Surprise” in which the well-liked pro signed on with the beleaguered site.

October

The month began with the conclusion of the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, in which Barry Shulman enjoyed a couple of fortunate hands against Daniel Negreanu heads up to take it down. Talk about that some in “End of Story: 2009 WSOPE Main Event Concludes.”

Then our attention gradually turned toward Vegas and the upcoming conclusion of the WSOP Main Event. On October 7 I noted there was just “One Month Left to Hype the November Nine.” I think Harrah’s, ESPN, et al. ended up doing okay during those next few weeks to get us all (and others) interested in the sucker come November. Case in point, a week later in “That’s the Way We Do It” I admit how I was starting really to get into the ESPN broadcasts of the Main Event. And near the end of October I was marveling with everyone else at that hand in which Phil Ivey mistakenly mucked his flush, giving Jordan Smith an undeserved pot in “Not Exactly Ivey League.”

These posts from October all have self-explanatory titles, I think: “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge Debuts,” “The Poker Hall of Fame: Sexton Selected,” and “Kentucky Still Hoping to Be Master of Your Domains.” Well, maybe I should explain that last one. Had to do with the still-ongoing appeal of the appeal, now being considered by Kentucky’s Supreme Court, in that case regarding the commonwealth’s desire to block or seize domains hosting online gambling sites.

Then there are some posts in there with titles that definitely need explainin’. “Playing As If Your Life Depended On It” made references to both Tommy Angelo and The Seventh Seal. “Up, Up, and Away!” concerns our friend “balloon boy” (remember him?). And “Call and Response” does a little theorizin’ about the significance of blogs, Twitter, and how we use this here interweb to relate to each other.

Early in the month I made it to the movies to see a decent comedy called The Invention of Lying. I reviewed that one over on Film Chaw, then wrote about it here, too, in “First, the Invention of Lying; then, the Invention of Poker.” That post caused me to evoke James McManus’ new book (which I was reading at the time), Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker. I’d eventually review it here in “A Good Read: McManus Tells the Story of Poker.” Soon I’d additionally get the chance to review Cowboys Full more formally over on the Betfair site, where I’d also interview McManus.

November

First half of November was all about the WSOP Main Event final table. In “Post-Production is 20/20” I talked some more about Ivey’s mistake versus Jordan Smith, including sharing Barry Greenstein’s thoughts on the matter. Then in “Kopp Busted!” I talked about seeing ESPN’s coverage of another crazy hand, the one in which Billy Kopp lost it all to Darvin Moon with just a dozen players left.

Then we finally got there. In “2009 November Nine Just Hours Away… Time for Special Tactics!” I talked a bit about Phil Hellmuth saying he’d coached Jeff Shulman to employ a “special tactic” to “shock the world.” Then I gave an overview of the nine players at the final table in “2009 WSOP Main Event Final Table: Welcome Back, November Nine.”

Discussed that bizarro Hand No. 90 in which Darvin Moon made the big bluff then folded for next-to-nothing to Steve Begleiter in “Moon Begs the Question… WTF?” Wrote about the heads-up match a bit in “Comeback Kid Cada 2009 WSOP Main Event Champ,” then a few days later offered “Kudos to Cada: WSOP Champ on Letterman.” A final November Nine post, “Looking Back: 2009 WSOP November Nine on ESPN,” includes a list of the 32 (of 364) final table hands that made it into the two-and-a-half hour long ESPN broadcast.

You’ll recall it was just a few days later we learned “Pollack Moves On, WSOP Commish Seat Open.” Harrah’s still hasn’t filled that seat, and toward the end of the month I asked “Does the WSOP Need a Commish?”

Let’s see… the weird-ass juxtaposition of the month award goes to the post “The Sklansky Minute and John Cage’s Indeterminacy.” (See that one for yourself, if yr curious.) And “$1,356,946.50” relates how I happened to have been railing Isidur1 and Patrik Antonius when I saw them play the biggest pot in online poker history.

As the month concluded, we American online poker players were all fretting about the upcoming December 1 deadline for enforcement of the UIGEA. I wrote “The Door is Closing: Hoping for UIGEA Delay,” then the next day (Thanksgiving) got to say “Thankful, I Am” as we’d heard that indeed there’d be a six-month postponement of the deadline.

December

Month began with that House hearing on online gambling, discussed in “Talking Online Poker: House Hearing Today.” Then everybody put the subject on hold. ’Cos, you know, there was shopping to do. Oh, and that health care thing.

Read a couple more poker books near year’s end, both autobiographies. I’d review Doyle Brunson’s The Godfather of Poker over at Betfair, but also wrote a piece here — “Doyle Brunson’s Confessions” — in which I talked about how the book reminded me more than once of St. Augustine’s autobiography. (Not saying Doyle’s a saint, haha!) I also wrote here a “Poker Book Review: Victoria Coren’s For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair With Poker” — a funny, even “literary” book I’d think should appeal to any poker player who likes good storytelling.

Opined a bit on Scott Huff and Joe Sebok’s new Fox Sports show in “Poker2Nite Brings Poker to the World.” The post “Speaking of Poker: What You Can and Cannot Say, Part II” is also about their show, revisiting an old topic regarding the conflict between online poker sponsorships and television.

Mid-month saw the “2010 WSOP Schedule Announced,” inspiring a bit of photshopping (see below). In much less significant news, I finally got response to my repeated requests to UltimateBet which I related in “The Rest of the Story (UB Hand Histories).”

Of course, the big poker story in December was the ongoing Isildur1 saga, and I wrote about it a few times here.

“Out of This World: The Isildur1 Saga Continues” discusses Patrik Antonius’s interview with Phil Gordon about the mystery man while also pointing to some other stories then swirling about. In “Loving Life, Defying Death” I talked about railing Isildur1 a bit while also referring back to Doyle Brunson’s book (and the weird, repeated joke of some railbirds prematurely announcing Texas Dolly’s death). “Digging for Gold (Mining Isildur1)” took up the new controversy regarding the CardRunners guys’ collecting info about the sneaky Swede. Then came PokerNews’ interview with Isildur1 in which revealed he planned to pursue a “formal complaint.” I suggested “Grab Your Popcorn (Isildur1 v. Full Tilt).”

So that’s what’s been happenin’ here. No telling at the moment what 2010 will be like for yr humble gumshoe, but I imagine continuing to scribble away here will most definitely be part of the plan.

Big thanks again to everyone for coming around here and for all of the nice feedback. Be sure and make contact again in 2010. Have a safe and happy new year, all!

The weekly Poker2Nite TV show gives poker fans an exciting look at the world of poker, plus the chance to play in the WSOP for Free. Use the included offer code with your Ultimate Bet Poker account sign-up and you will be eligible for the Poker2Nite Pro Challenge each and every Sunday.

If you think you have what it takes to win your way to the 2010 World Series of Poker, then the Poker2Nite Pro Challenge is just what you have been looking for. Here’s how you can win this coveted poker package from UB.com:

1. Sign up for an account at UB.com and use refferal code: Poker2Nite
2. Look for the Poker2Nite Pro Challenge invitation in your email
3. Finish in the Top 2 of the week’s poker tournament and you will be on your way to Las Vegas for the 2010 WSOP

The WSOP Pro Package includes:

*  Entry to the 2010 WSOP Main Event ($10K value)
* Up to $4K worth of expenses for flight and hotel, booked through UB.com’s concierge services
* Access to all UB.com parties and events at the 2010 WSOP
* A night with Joe Sebok and Scott Huff at Poker2Nite’s exclusive WSOP party
* Exclusive training session with Annie Duke and/or Phil Hellmuth

Terms & Conditions
New accounts only. Existing players do not qualify for this promotions. The Poker2Nite Pro Challenge takes place on Sunday at 2pm ET. After signing up for your account, watch your email for details. Prize is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash

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Sean G added a comment to yesterday’s post about “Poker2Nite” mentioning that the show’s hosts had put out a new episode of the Poker Road Radio podcast, and that on that episode (12/6/09) they discuss the television show, some early critiques, and their efforts to improve it.

Ended up listening to the podcast later yesterday and greatly enjoyed hearing Scott Huff, Joe Sebok, and Joe Stapleton (who, indeed, is a contributor and writes the “Weekly Misdeal” segments) talk about the show. There’s a terrific interview in there with new World Series Main Event champion Joe Cada, by the way, with Cada continuing to come off as a down-to-earth, likable dude as well as a willing, able “ambassador” of poker. Both before and after the interview the hosts talk about “Poker2Nite,” and having just watched the first three episodes I found their discussion very entertaining and revealing.

The fun they had at their own expense — e.g., laughing some at Sebok’s stilted appearance and delivery (especially on the initial episode) — reminded me a little bit of a passage near the end of Victoria Coren’s new memoir For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker which I reviewed here last week. Amid a passage discussing the Hendon Mob forum and some of the more rude and critical contributors she’d encountered there, she notes how the original spirit of the site had become altered over time.

“The original idea [of the site] was all about self-deprecating British humour,” she notes. “The guys played down how good they were. They played up the bumbling hopefulness of the game, the borrowing of money to get into tournaments, the impoverished Delboy dreams of greatness.” (For Americans, that latter is a reference to the central character in a popular British sitcom “Only Fools and Horses” from the 1980s, I believe.)

Referring to her own sponsorship by PokerStars (and the cynical responses of some on the Hendon Mob forum), Coren wonders “With sponsors to impress and carping railbirds to placate, is there any room for humorous modesty?” She goes on to quote her friend and Hendon Mobster Barny Boatman draw a contrast with American culture, where “players talk up how great they are, how much better than the next guy,” something he finds “a bit crass.”

I realized listening to the PokerRoad Radio podcast a couple of things. For one, I was laughing a lot thanks to the off-the-cuff wit of the hosts, a lot of which, in fact, was derived from that willingness to poke fun at themselves — that “humorous modesty” — that Coren wonders might be threatened in poker by things like sponsorship, corporatization, and what might be called the “professionalization” of the game. (And which, I suppose, Americans are in fact capable of, too, here and there.)

The other thing I realized when listening to the podcast was how these elements — the spontaneity and the “humorous modesty” — were largely missing from the television show.

One can see an attempt to bring in some of both in the most recent episode of “Poker2Nite” with the addition of a segment called “All In Blind” in which Huff and Sebok picked topics at random and discussed them without apparently having prepped too much beforehand. It will be interesting to watch tonight’s show and see how the guys continue to work on incorporating these elements that make their podcasts so entertaining.

Speaking of the pressures of sponsorship, they were adamant about how UltimateBet (or “UB”) had given them total creative control over the show, and how none of the decisions made about segments or their content had been dictated by UB’s preferences. “UB has not tried to tell us one thing to put on the show or leave off the show,” explained Stapleton. Having watched those three eps, I’d say there’s no real reason to doubt that claim. Indeed I can’t say I ever was all that conscious of the fact that UB could have had any sort of editorial input when I was watching.

However, I did find very intriguing Huff’s explanation for why in their discussion of the big $1.35 million dollar hand between Patrik Antonius and Isildur1 (in the second episode) they were unable to refer to the fact that the pair was playing the hand on Full Tilt Poker. The omission was not because of UB’s sponsorship of the show, but rather because Fox Sports Network would not allow them to mention a “dot com,” real money online poker site on the show.

Explained Huff, “We are allowed to mention ‘dot nets’ but we also have to be factual as journalists…. This hand did not take place on ‘fulltiltpoker.net’ so for factual reasons we can’t say it happened on ‘Full Tilt Poker-anything’ because if we say ‘dot com’ it’s illegal [i.e., forbidden by the network] for us to say it and they’ll just bleep it or take the segment out entirely, and if we say ‘dot net’ we’re being factually incorrect, so it also can’t be aired. So the only option is to not mention where it happened and only mention the facts we are allowed to report on.”

Kind of amazing, really, and indicative of the delicate spot the guys sometimes find themselves on the show, reporting-wise. Stapleton then added a bit more clarification to the situation.

“If Phil Ivey had happened to be playing that hand, or someone who was in the United States at the time, we wouldn’t have been able to report on it, as per Fox,” said Stapleton. “We can’t talk about anyone playing online poker for money in the United States [because] in the eyes of the network, we are promoting illegal activity.”

Indeed, I remember at the start of that segment reference was made of both Antonius (a native of Finland) and Isildur1 (thought to be from Sweden) as “Scandinavian sickos,” and Huff also had mentioned — seemingly unnecessarily — that Antonius was a “Monte Carlo resident.” And at the end of the narration of the hand, Sebok noted how the money had “shipped straight from Sweden to Monte Carlo.”

Pretty strange world, if you think about it. A show sponsored by a “U.S. facing” online poker site, airing on a U.S. network, that can’t even mention that people in the U.S. can play online poker for real money. Makes one appreciate how hard it can be to find grins in the midst of such a humorless, litigious context.

Anyhow, for those with FSN, the show airs again tonight (Wednesday), and the rest of us can watch online shortly thereafter.

(I titled the post that way because this whole topic recalled an earlier one — written two-and-a-half years ago — in which participants on an episode of “Poker After Dark” were bemoaning the fact that they were not allowed to say certain words like “gambling” and “money” when announcing poker shows.)

Finally had a chance to catch up with the first three episodes of “Poker2Nite” the UB-sponsored weekly show now appearing Wednesday nights on Fox Sports Net. I only receive a limited package which does not include FSN, meaning I haven’t been able to dial the show up on the crystal receiver when it airs. But all of the episodes can be viewed online. Search YouTube for the show, or just visit the show’s site.

The mere fact that any network would entertain the notion of a weekly half-hour of poker news is itself an indicator of the extent to which our beloved mutt poker has surprisingly dog-paddled its way into the cultural mainstream. What are we supposed to think of this? In truth, it is very difficult for those of us who are fully immersed in poker and the poker media to have any sort of reliable perspective when it comes to judging a show like “Poker2Nite.”

Someone like me — not only already familiar with practically all of the news and stories that appear on the show, but also with the now-lengthy “pokertainment” careers of the show’s hosts Scott Huff and Joe Sebok — will necessarily have a hard time making any sort of objective-sounding statements about the show’s quality (that is, to guess how the show probably looks to someone not like me).

The situation makes me think of having once seen a feature-length article in the late 1990s in The New Yorker about the group The Shaggs.

The Shaggs were this little group of teenaged sisters (the Wiggins) who were encouraged by their father to cut an album back in 1969 called Philosophy of the World. The album — full of oddball songs like “Who Are Parents?” and “My Pal Foot Foot” — would have certainly disappeared without a trace had not Frank Zappa, guest hosting The Dr. Demento Show in 1973, played “My Pal Foot Foot” and voiced praise for the band.

Gradually The Shaggs (who never made another record) developed a cult following. Later on, the iconoclastic Zappa would dub Philosophy of the World the third-greatest album of all time. Like others, I found The Shaggs through Zappa and came to appreciate their decidedly amateurish but weirdly infectious LP. It’s one of those you-have-to-hear-it-to-believe-it-type records that causes most to wonder “is this a joke?” (A question which is itself, one could say, a starting point for developing a philosophy of the world.)

Anyhow, I remember not knowing how to react when I saw The New Yorker piece. It was as if something the essential nature of which was private had suddenly been rudely exposed for all to examine. “How could this possibly play to a wider audience?” I wondered. “No one is gonna get it.”

Actually, I think I can say the prospects that people are going to “get” “Poker2Nite” are much better. The show is styled after other sports news shows like “Sportscenter” or the like, with Huff and Sebok seated behind a desk (most of the time) delivering stories, conducting interviews, and introducing prepackaged segments from the field (or “on fifth street,” as Sebok calls his segments).

The first episode (11/18) featured pieces on the WSOP Main Event conclusion, a short interview with Joe Cada by Lacey Jones, an longer interview with Lon McEachern by the hosts, and a report on Tom “durrrr” Dwan’s signing with Full Tilt Poker. The second (11/25) had some talk about Isildur1, a report from an Annie Duke-hosted charity tournament, an interview with Andy Bloch, and a bit about how poker players celebrate Thanksgiving. Last week’s show (12/2) mostly concerned the delay of the banks’ compliance with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, including an interview with Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas.

No surprise to see Huff — always terrific with the podcasts (in my opinion) — function as a great host for this sort of thing. He looks to me as though he’s ready to step in over at the Fox Sports desk at any moment. Trying to imagine how those unfamiliar with PokerRoad or Huff or Sebok or even poker are going to view all of this, I’m guessing most who stumble onto FSN and see Huff are going to think he looks a little young but is a fine, capable host. They might even think like me and find him funny and likable.

Next to Huff, Sebok appears relatively less polished and/or comfortable, and I’m not certain how he comes off to the wider audience. I’m a big Sebok fan, but I ain’t sure how others operating the remote control are responding. This is where I think of The Shaggs a bit, and have to admit that, yeah, their guitars are a little out of tune. Okay, a lot out of tune. And yeah, I know, little Dot Wiggins’ voice sounds a little weird.

Okay, maybe more than a little.

I think even more along those lines watching Dana Workman’s “Weekly Misdeal” segment included in each episode, kind of the analogue to “The Tight Laydown with Joe Stapleton” that appears at the end of each episode of The Poker Beat podcast. I’m not seeing any credits for “Poker2Nite” to clarify, but I know I’ve heard Stapleton is involved with the show and am going to guess he’s writing those lines for Workman, most of which concern inside jokes about the poker world. I generally like Stapleton’s humor, but I’m not going to lie and say I’ve laughed all that much thus far at the “Weekly Misdeal.”

But hey, like The Shaggs sing, “It doesn’t matter where you go / It doesn’t matter who you see / There will always be / Someone who disagrees.”

I’m glad “Poker2Nite” is on FSN and I did enjoy watching the first three eps. But I haven’t a decent perspective on any of this, really. I can say that while I had misgivings about seeing that piece on The Shaggs in The New Yorker, I’m genuinely glad for the PokerRoad guys’ increased exposure on “Poker2Nite.” And optimistic about the show’s potential moving forward.

And like I say, I know for certain that Huff, Sebok, et al. have a much, much greater chance at achieving mainstream appeal than The Shaggs ever did. Don’t believe me? Here, listen to the title track from the third-greatest album ever:

Vera and I do have a satellite dish and a hi-def teevee, but subscribe to the least expensive package available. So while we still get several dozen channels more than we need, we don’t get a few we occasionally want, including Fox Sports Net. Meaning I haven’t had the chance as of yet to see that Poker2Nite show hosted by Scott Huff and Joe Sebok which premiered last night.

As a longtime fan of the various podcasts produced by those two over the last three-plus years, I’m looking forward to seeing the show. I understand that UltimateBet — the online poker site that signed Sebok as both a sponsored pro and a “media and operations consultant” back in September — is the “presenting sponsor” for the show. Indeed, I believe episodes can be viewed over on the online site’s website, though I haven’t explored that yet.

Speaking of UltimateBet, you might have heard how the site has now “rebranded” to become UB.com. I first heard about that via Twitter when I saw Spaceman’s tweet “UltimateBet’s rebranding reminds me of when evil tobacco co. Philip Morris became friendly-sounding ‘Altria.’”

Haven’t too much to say about that, really, other than to express the usual cynicism most of us probably share regarding marketing. Makes me think of that line Raymond Chandler once had Philip Marlowe say regarding chess — a line from The Long Goodbye that usually gets misquoted as applying to poker — noting that the game was “as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you could find anywhere outside an advertising agency.”

As was the case when UltimateBet merged with Absolute Poker on the Cereus Network back in July 2008, itself a kind of “rebranding,” all of the new slogans and messages bear the burdensome weight of that legacy of four-and-a-half years during which some players were playing against opponents who could see their hole cards — i.e., the most massive cheating scandal in the short history of online poker.

So forgive me a little chuckle when reading the explanation of the new slogan “Raise. Stack. Own.” on the UB blog: “I will raise you. I will stack you. I will own you. — This is how winning players approach the game, no mercy.” Can’t say hearing the site say “I will stack you. I will own you” really encourages me to come back.

Neither does the site’s continued lack of response to my requests regarding hand histories.

I’ve chronicled my quixotic efforts to get UltimateBet — or UB — to send me hand histories here before, the most recent synopsis appearing in a post from a couple of months ago titled “On Those UltimateBet Hand Mysteries, er… Histories.”

Following Sebok’s signing with UB, I had been momentarily encouraged to think I would eventually get my hand histories sent to me, given his statements that when signing with the site they had indicated to him that would be one of the first orders of business. I wrote the site (again) in late September and received a quick response saying my request had been “forwarded to our upper management for further review of your request.” Then on October 1, I got a note from a “Poker Security Manager” saying that while I was unaffected by the cheating, “I will work on getting your data to you ASAP.”

Three weeks passed with no response, so I replied to the email I’d been sent. It was returned as undeliverable. I’m thinking that when the fellow said “ASAP” he might have been calling me a sap.

I griped a little at the time on Twitter about once again having appeared to hit a dead end in the quest for my hand histories. And to Sebok’s credit he responded to my whimpering, saying he was glad to hear about the problem and was doing what he could to get UB to be more responsive to these things. He also mentioned, though, that he had come to realize his efforts in that regard were going to take him longer than he’d originally hoped they would.

As I’ve said before here, I’ve got all kinds of respect for the Cub. I do worry, though, that when it comes to this business of fixing UB, you be running the risk of being rebranded yourself.

Listened to The Poker Beat’s latest episode last night, and — as I expected — the hosts didn’t seem to pull many punches with regard to the Joe Sebok signing at UltimateBet. Pretty clear all of those who spoke — host Scott Huff, Pokerati Dan, Gary Wise, and John Caldwell — are less than thrilled at Sebok’s decision to sign on with UB, expressing varying degrees of skepticism and trepidation in their conversation.

The good news there, of course, is that the content of PokerRoad’s most interesting show doesn’t appear to have been unduly affected by PR’s CEO having become a sponsored pro and “media and operations consultant” for UltimateBet. As I say, I didn’t really think it would — though I suppose that like with other matters we’ll have to wait and see how long things remain as they are at present over at PR. (Will be most interesting, of course, to hear the next episode of PokerRoad Radio, the show Sebok himself co-hosts.)

On yesterday’s episode, Pokerati Dan shared his funny story regarding his recent request to obtain his hand histories. As you might have heard, Sebok published a blog post informing everyone how to get their hand histories from UB, and Dan followed the Cub’s instructions. Apparently after his initial request, Dan was sent a form letter instructing him how to look at previous hands while playing at UB — i.e., a useless non-response. He did get another, less impersonal reply afterwards (not discussed on the show), but it didn’t jibe with Dan’s memory of his UB (mis)adventures. (Dan’s interactions with UB support are being chronicled in the comments to this Pokerati post, if you are interested.)

Some readers of this blog might recall my own struggles with trying to get hand histories from UB, a site which I joined in the fall of 2007, then quickly decided to leave on the heels of the Absolute Poker cheating scandal. Knowing that UB and AP were owned by the same folks, I didn’t see any reason to risk remaining on UltimateBet and so pulled my money off of the site a couple of months before the scandal broke over there.

Anyhow, it was in the fall of 2008 that I put in a request to UltimateBet to get copies of all of my hand histories — not so much because I was worried about having been cheated (I play at low stakes, and thus apparently below the range of the cheaters), but simply as part of my efforts at the time to get hand histories from all of the sites on which I have played. Incidentally, my requests to PokerStars and Full Tilt were entirely successful, with both sites able to supply me with four years’ worth of hand histories within days.

The response to my October request was that “unfortunately, due to the amount of information, we are not able to send you all your hand histories.” Of course, we’re only talking a couple of months’ worth of play on the site, so while I was skeptical, I didn’t pursue the matter.

Then on 12/14/08 Annie Duke appeared on Sebok’s PokerRoad Radio podcast and said “We’ll send anybody who requests it their lifetime hand histories.” So again I sent in a request, and this time was told it would take a couple of weeks, but I could get my hand histories. After three weeks of nothing, I wrote back, but received no response. Tried one more time later in January, but once more my email went unanswered.

So I gave up, but decided this morning to try again. My request concludes with the following paragraph:

“I played on UltimateBet for only a couple of months — Aug.-Sept. 2007 — and according to my records only played a small number of hands, relatively speaking. I also played low limit stakes, and so while it is likely I was not affected by the cheating that occurred on the site, I would like to see my hand histories nonetheless. UB’s response to my request will determine whether or not I wish to return to the site, and also whether or not I will be recommending to others that they consider playing on the site.”

I’ll note in the comments to this post what sort of response I get from my request (if any). Perhaps some — including those handling the hand history requests at UB — might for various reasons view my case as relatively unimportant. Indeed, I wouldn’t disagree that there are those who played on the site for whom there is much greater urgency here than is the case for myself.

Nevertheless, I was a customer at UB. And I’d like to know with utter certainty I wasn’t cheated while playing there. Indeed, I recall how during my last session on UB — not long after the Absolute Poker merde had hit the fan — a weird hand or two led to thoughts of the possibility that someone could see my hole cards. Which led to the realization that I couldn’t keep playing on the site, whether or not my paranoia was justified. (As it happened, the cheating was still going on at UB at the time — although as I say probably not at my low limit table.)

So, we’ll see. Can’t believe, really, we’re all chirping about UltimateBet again like this.

Of course, some are worried about other highly important stuff. No, I am not referring to Phil Hellmuth threatening to mastermind an alternative poker site/series to compete with the World Series of Poker/Harrah’s (check it out). I’m referring to the pressing need for casinos to ready themselves for the possibility of pot being legalized in California and Nevada. No shinola! What is this, poker news or freshman comp? Got nothing but love for my bud-loving buds, but legalization is still a huge longshot. And casinos letting players get high in the poker rooms? Pure fantasyland. (Of course, the author does suggest at one point he thinks most of his readers might well be high, so maybe I’m somehow missing the big picture here, man.)

To be honest, I think it is only slightly more possible that all 31 names of the cheaters alluded to in the KGC “final decision” on the UltimateBet cheating scandal will be named. And maybe a little more likely all these friggin’ hand histories will finally be shared. Even so, I think we can all agree these are still matters worth discussing.

Been fairly well immersed in PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker the last three days, so that’s what we’ll discuss today here on Hard-Boiled.

I have written wrap posts for three of the events thus far. Will be doing so again tonight/tomorrow morning, then will have a few days away to go work the “real” job before getting back at it next weekend. Was sitting up ’til after eight a.m. today watching my event finally come to its conclusion, some 20-plus hours after it began.

I tried to nap a little as the night wore on, but it is hard, really, not to keep tabs on the action since one never really knows when the final table is going to happen in these things — and I absolutely have to be at the computer when the final table begins. Sleep schedule all kinds of out of whack, dontcha know.

They have been drawing some enormous fields for these suckers. The event I was watching yesterday — Event #9, a $200+$15 no-limit hold’em event — had a $1 million guarantee, but drew over 11,000 entrants, making the prize pool more than twice that. Had a tourney on Saturday with more than 15,000 playing. And players are hopping on in over 100 different countries, too — truly the “World Series” of online poker, you’d have to say.

For those of you interested in following some of the coverage, head over to the PokerStars blog and look for the WCOOP posts. They aren’t too hard to find. The wraps initially appear in the regular rotation — amid the reports from EPT Barcelona — there “above the fold.” If you look down on the right-hand side of the page you’ll see links to all of the event reports, and if you go to the WCOOP page on the blog you’ll find ’em all as well, along with Otis’ interviews of winners.

If that’s not enough WCOOP for you, Scott Huff is doing a daily podcast over on PokerRoad which also is a neat way of catching up on the action. He, too, is interviewing event winners and PokerStars pros. Huff remains the far-and-away chipleader when it comes to poker podcasting, so if you like The Poker Beat and his other shows, give this one a listen, too.

Finally, most of you reading this probably are also aware Dr. Pauly has begun a weekly op-ed column over on PokerNews — if not, lemme pass that along to ya. In his first (appearing yesterday), Dr. P talks about the WCOOP, his thesis evident in his headline, “WCOOP: It’s Good, But Let’s Make it Better.” Some good ideers in there. Some tongue-in-cheekiness thrown in here and there as well. Check it out.

For now, I’m gonna try to enjoy a few hours of rest here on Labor Day before my next event begins later today. Maybe get outside a bit and enjoy this terrific weather we’ve got going. If you ain’t busy satelliting yr way into the next WCOOP event over on PokerStars, that is.