Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[boldie]

Is not Tikay one of the "Experts" on tonights show ?

yeah channel 845 the sky virtual dog racing one.

[tikay]

LOTS to catch up on, bear with me. And yes, I'm doing the Sky Show tonight, & I've been to the Des Wilson Prsss Conference earlier today. Then straight to Bristol, stay over & do the Sky Live Day tomorrow. Then straight back to London for Poker Week on Sunday (in Hyde Park....!) then dash across to Feltham for the Sky Poker "Sunday Showdown", then stay over again & do the Sky Show on Monday, then off to Paris on Tuesday for a few days serious Poker, then back on Friday morning, & straight down to Cornwall for Friday evening & Saturday morning for Poker Week, & back up to Feltham for the Saturday evening to do the Show.

It's a cinch, this reirtement lark. And I'm loving every minute of it.

[tikay]

Just bumped into tonight's two guests - Dale Gordon, one-time Footballer chappie, played for Norwich, Glasgow Rangers, & then, after a spell with lowly West Ham, he got his career back on track with Peterborough, Bournemouth, Great Yarmouth Town & eventually Gorleston.

The other guest is the absolutely donkable Sally James, of TISWAS.

[TightEnd]

Sally James now sells school clothing for a living

Strange but true

[booder]

Sally James now sells school clothing for a living

Strange but true

Sally James  +  School clothes                               thanks Tighty

[tikay]

Sally James now sells school clothing for a living

Strange but true

Sally James  +  School clothes                               thanks Tighty

...and booder expresses the thoughts of so many......

Oh, & the other Guest, the footie chappie, is a no-show, so instead we have Rick Parfitt Jnr. (His Dad is Rick Parfitt). Whatever You Want. Ba-doom-ba-doom......

[Robert HM]

Sally James now sells school clothing for a living

Strange but true

Sally James  +  School clothes                               thanks Tighty

Oh my formative years!

[tikay]

Welcome, Phil Spector to O J's "got away with murder" club.

But if you saw this man in court, would you find him guilty, or insane?

Don't do drugs - this is what it does.

[Karabiner]

Welcome, Phil Spector to O J's "got away with murder" club.

But if you saw this man in court, would you find him guilty, or insane?

Don't do drugs - this is what it does.

Just because he's got a dodgy hairstyle doesn't make him a bad person......

[kinboshi]

Welcome, Phil Spector to O J's "got away with murder" club.

But if you saw this man in court, would you find him guilty, or insane?

Don't do drugs - this is what it does.

Just because he's got a dodgy hairstyle doesn't make him a bad person......

[tikay]

On Wednesday, I took the train down to London for the Moneymaker Interview, & duly polled up to the Hilton Metropole in Edgware Road.

I have a bit of a problem with Chris Moneymaker, (at least, the at the table version), who's surly & incommunicative, & does not, I feel, carry the "World Champion" mantle too well. But off table, he is a solid pro. He turned up pretty much on time, & talked fluently. Much, much slimmer than when he won his Bracelet, he looks like he's been working out. Very likeable, really.

Gotta love, by the way, the name of one of his companies (which, bizarrely, makes ashtrays), "Moneymaker Gambling Inc".

Anyway, I did my research before we did the Interview, & I was shocked at his post World-Champion record in Tourneys. Since Jan '05, a PokerStars Invitational apart, he's had a total of 4 (four) cashes, netting about £7k in total. One assumes he played most of the 2005, 2006 & 2007 WSOP, for which his total take was about £5k, included within the £7k.

However, he plays a lot of cash, & presumably, via the wonders of sharkscope & such-like, his record there is very visible, & I believe he also does quite well in Online Tourneys.

I suppose, as Chris suggested, being World Champ is not all fun, as eveyone wants to bust you.

Anyway, whatever his record recently, we'd all love to swap with him I fancy. Once a World Champion, always a World Champion.

[totalise]

I reckon most people would be surly and uncommunicative at the table if they had to deal with the bs moneymaker has had to suffer since he won. Hes admitted he isn't one of the best players in the world, but it doesn't stop all the break-even/losing poker players around the world proclaiming in loud voices that he is a "donk" and that they would crush him if they played heads up.  I think hes been a great representative for poker and a massive influence on the game and because of that I'm an avid moneymaker fan.

[tikay]

Before we leave Mr Moneymaker, two things. PokerStars are the absolute dogs whatsits, they handle their "team" with huge authority & professionaliasm, & exploit them to the fullest, as they should. Well played 'Stars.

I've only really been in Poker even half-properly for 5 or 6 years, & in the last 5 years, I have seen 5 World Champions crowned.

To my mind, Raymer & Hachem tower over the other three - both in table skills, & the way they handle themselves off-table. Raymer, in particular, is a great Ambassador for the game, but Hachem is catching up fast. 'Stars did very well to sign up that duo.

[tikay]

I reckon most people would be surly and uncommunicative at the table if they had to deal with the bs moneymaker has had to suffer since he won. Hes admitted he isn't one of the best players in the world, but it doesn't stop all the break-even/losing poker players around the world proclaiming in loud voices that he is a "donk" and that they would crush him if they played heads up.  I think hes been a great representative for poker and a massive influence on the game and because of that I'm an avid moneymaker fan.

I'm sorry, but we shall disagree there - for me, Raymer & Hachem are great Ambassadors for Poker, in every sense.

But yes, his 2003 win was the breakthrough year for Big-Volume Tourney Poker.

[totalise]

I reckon most people would be surly and uncommunicative at the table if they had to deal with the bs moneymaker has had to suffer since he won. Hes admitted he isn't one of the best players in the world, but it doesn't stop all the break-even/losing poker players around the world proclaiming in loud voices that he is a "donk" and that they would crush him if they played heads up.  I think hes been a great representative for poker and a massive influence on the game and because of that I'm an avid moneymaker fan.

I'm sorry, but we shall disagree there - for me, Raymer & Hachem are great Ambassadors for Poker, in every sense.

But yes, his 2003 win was the breakthrough year for Big-Volume Tourney Poker.

of course, they can run independantly though. Seeing Hachem complain repeatedly at the 2006 WSOP about how bad he runs and "never catches a break" left a sour taste in my mouth.  I dint say that Moneymaker was the best representative, I think Raymer is the best by an absolute mile, but I'm still a fan of moneymaker and think he has done so much for the poker economy (either directly or indirectly) that he deserves a lot of respect.