Poker Is a Sport!

Poker Is a Sport!

There have been many people talking about poker as a sport in recent times. These discussions are primarily due to the new World Team Poker. World Team Poker (WTP) is a new concept in poker where countries choose a team and of course team captains where they compete against the rest of the world to see which country has the World Team Poker Champions. This new concept runs kind of like the olympic games with countries such as Australia, Israel, United States, Italy, China and more all competeting to see who is the best.

With even things like patchwork quilting we can compete to see who is the best. We can score teams around the world as the best patch work quilters. We could play games like monopoly and see which countries match up as the best. Is there anything which sets poker aside from other activities and card games that makes it a sport or is it "Just another cardgame"?

I consider poker a sport for many reasons. I believe it is a game that you could participate in as part of the olympic games. Poker is like most sports, it takes a lot of preparation to be able to play an A-Grade game. Poker takes a lot of stamina, skill, focus, concentration, poker is a game that can be played at an elite level and when it is shouldn't be taken lightly.

When people are chosen for poker teams it is obvious that the team coaches or leaders / captains choose the best players at their disposal. These players have proven themselves time and time again alike olympic swimmers, throwers, runners, and table tennis players.

Poker can take a lot out of a persons physical body. Competing at the olympic games as a poker player day after day is sure to be no easy task, it is not for the amateur or light hearted. Players have little sleep in large tournaments such as the WSOP, EPT, Aussie Millions. They eat when they can and have few breaks. Tournament play can go on for hours and hours and hours. These things cause weight loss and sleep deprivation and these show that poker can be a very physical sport. In saying this I am not talking a sit and go or a cash game where you can stand up and leave at any time you desire, I mean a deepstack tournament with a multitude of players.

Poker pays money, trophies and endorsements and is therefore in the same category as many sports that participants can win medals in. A professional sprinter also recieves these things, money for wins and places, they get paid out for their win, they recieve endorsements from shoe companies and take home trophys too! How many people that play card games such as solataire, hearts or the like recieve anything near what a poker player does; one who would take down the EPT at any given location?

I am really glad to be seeing World Team Poker ready and set to go.

World Team Poker features a unique concept of team poker with the thrill of international
competition between top professional poker players from countries throughout the world battling it out for “Pride, Passion, Country.” World Team Poker’s season will culminate in a World Team Poker Championship Event in the tradition of the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, or Baseballs World Series, where the teams will compete for the ultimate title: World Team Poker Champions!

With this statement made by World Team Poker Executives and it distributed throughout press worldwide; need I say that many people in the world agree with me that Poker IS a sport!

Congrats to WTP for making this statement beyond "just words" and good luck to participants and to each and every countries poker teams that are involved. Sorry to say though; I am going for the Aussies all the way! Go Aussies, bring home the first ever trophy from World Team Poker xoxo

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We Have The Right to Poker Freedom!

We Have The Right to Poker Freedom!

As I write this blog I find an emotion inside me that I don’t often have; ANGER! With all of the freedom of speech, freedom of lifestyle and freedom of choice available in developed countries I still find hypocrites. These are global government hypocrites that blurt the word FREEDOM as often as some people blurt out the words I LOVE YOU. Who are these people? These people give us the right to FREEDOM yet pull the wool over our eyes and also take it away! How dare they take the freedom to online game away from us; EVER!

Poker is well known as not just a game but a lifestyle. This “Lifestyle” is a lifestyle that most people who will read this blog post live in one way or another. It hurts no-one, it is a source of income and it keeps people entertained where they may otherwise be bored out of their minds to the point of even committing crimes.

I stopped and thought about a magician I once saw perform at Darling Harbor in Sydney. The guy pulled off some amazing illusions and alike other buskers had a hat in front of him for donations. At the end of his performance he said, “Don’t walk away but support me; support my lifestyle, you see if I was not doing this as a way of income and entertainment right now I would probably be robbing your home!”. I put $10 is in his little hat and thought to myself “I was just conned”. But was I?

It is likely he would rob my home; he looked like a robber anyway and also admitted to it. Imagine if no-one donated to this man! Imagine his lifestyle. No money, no self entertainment, his lifestyle pointless, fruitless and well lifeless. Taking away the right to play online poker, online casino games and other associated “gambling” takes the same from those who have this life. The Poker Players Alliance fights for us daily to legalize online gaming. How did it even get to this considering the historical fights for FREEDOM?!

As with every activity online gaming costs money, you can be a champion, you can be a loser but we know you WILL be entertained! STOP; STOP right now and imagine the next year without it!

There have been talks to block poker sites in Australia (It is in the governments hit list; basically compared to PORN!), the USA has already been hit with bans; it is the same in many European countries. Already here in Australia I cannot play on Carbon Poker, Unibet and many more!

To the Australian government hypocrites that promised myself and my family FREEDOM if my grandfather went to war, to the government of the USA who has soldiers dying daily protecting the USA’s FREEDOM, to the European countries governments that have FREEDOM slowly but surely awakening, STOP, all of you STOP and think of the definition of the word FREEDOM. Think of who has died to give it and the human suffering that has occurred. Think of not just yourself but others, because FREEDOM is not FREEDOM unless we are totally FREE to live the lifestyle we choose and this Sirs and Madams includes a lifestyle of online gaming!

Even if you don’t play poker or online game; remember:

Your lifestyle, hobby or enjoyment COULD be next! SO watch it! ;)

AMEN Poker Players Alliance!

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The Ancestral Hunting Method Used for Today's Poker Society

The Ancestral Hunting Method Used for Today's Poker Society

Our ancestors from centuries ago had no choice but to hunt for live prey to survive. Their daily and weekly hunts if not successful had consequences; their families would starve or be forced to eat basic fruits and nuts. The choices made by our ancestor hunters were very important in determining their success rate. These choices apply to our online poker and live poker games. For these hunters, times and places carefully determined; was the general key to success and a plentiful meal.

As a poker player completely reliant on poker as a source of food for our families (or self) we should look carefully at exactly what our hunting ancestors did. We should see these hunting ancestors as role models for our choices and determinations in poker prior to playing even a freeroll tournament.

These hunting role models take everything in consideration before their hunt.

1. Dress (camouflage)

2. Time (When the most easily caught prey is around)

3. Location (Where their prey are located)

4. Weapons (What they have at their disposal to catch their prey)

5. Energy (Are they energised enough to hunt)

The list could be much longer but the above points are for now sufficient.

In comparison to poker lets line these up again and I will show you my preparation.

1. I dress comfortably; wear a cap and usually sunnies with intimidating poker brand clothing. Or camouflage any poker knowledge by wearing a hot and attractive outfit somewhat like the red dress I am wearing in the pic beside this sentence.

2. When playing online I hit the tables when people in other countries will be tired and drunk. Friday and Saturday night USA and Europe time is good for me. When playing live, I try to have a good rest and hit the tables when I know most others are tired and again have been drinking.

3. I look for online poker rooms where there are plenty of fish and no sharks. You will not see me playing high stakes on fulltilt poker as I don’t have that much money for starters but also as I will be looking down the poker food chain for some nippers. Small rooms are good for me.

4. I go in with all guns blazing. I use everything I have been taught from trapping through to the mathematics that I know. I use all of my poker strategy!.

5. I make sure I am energised, alert, and have had a nice nutritious meal.

Before going off to play your next game of Poker think of our highly skilled ancestors, the hunters. Be prepared; alike our ancestors were for optimal success rate in catching your chips on the felt for your weekly meals.

Ensure you are at the right place at the right time, have had plenty of sleep and a nutritious meal and that you have all guns loaded. If you are playing live, dress for success.

The fact the we are alive on this earth today is perfect evidence that the hunters of yesteryears didn't starve to death and that they provided plentiful amounts of food for their families. For if their methods had failed, human life would not have sustained. What worked for them, works for us, take the knowledge they left behind and use it on your next poker hunt. Go for the successful kill or eat peanuts; it really is as simple as that!

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The Great Poker Debate! Online Poker or Live Poker, What's Best?

The Great Poker Debate! Online Poker or Live Poker, What's Best?

When we look at the words poker and rooms combined we are psychologically going to think one way or another and at times both ways. What do I mean by this? Really my meaning is simple.
Did you think of online poker rooms?

Did you think of poker rooms in your local area or of a casino abroad?

Did you think of both?

When I thought of writing this blog article and typed the words “poker rooms” I personally thought about online poker rooms. I paused and thought about poker as a whole and thought “I have forgotten about the brick and mortar rooms today; my bad!”. This made me add the word “debate” to my title and well; here I am now throwing a debate at you!

One would believe that the immediate thought of online poker rooms makes me an online poker player. This is the case, I rarely play in a live poker room; time and lifestyle till now hasn’t permitted me to play live too often. You may have stumbled across this article as a casual internet user and may play in live poker rooms; maybe you play in both. The questions are what is the best for us to make profit; live or online? And is there a difference? Let me look at a few of the differences and the way you generate profit from each of the poker playing types.

Structure and Convenience:
Obviously there is a huge difference when it comes to structural surrounds. With an online poker room you can play in any building or location that you like. I have even had discussion with people who have continued to play in an online poker room while they were on the toilet!!!! A Poker room made of brick and mortar is at a distant location and you must go there, stay there and then go home. Result of the debate on which type poker room is more convenient would indeed be online poker rooms and I guess that’s why I play online more – the poker room structure and convenience!

Cost Saving Poker Play:
Online convenience can be cost saving too! No need to transit is a saving; especially if the transiting is going to be 300 miles! There is no need for accommodation, flights, fuel for your car and you can eat and drink from your own refrigerator. There may be some small fees if you need to deposit or withdraw and the currency conversion also comes into place. This is nothing compared to the prior mentioned transit tho. The result on cost saving poker play: online wins again!

Poker Game Security:
There is no hiding the fact that there has been a ton of collusions, scandals and hustling on online poker rooms. These have been documented, investigated and dealt with. Online gaming software developers have embedded high tech security systems into their software to detect a lot of this nonsense. It still happens though with hundreds of thousands of players online it is always going to be hard to stop all cheats. Live poker games are seen to be the ants when it comes to avoiding security issues; in my opinion though a lot of things are overlooked by people. Hustling still exists, so does colluding and chip dumping. There is team tagging and all sorts of cheating. People in large tourneys chip dump live; they also work together to pot build in cash games. It is apparent though that scandals and card stacking in a players favour are all but impossible. One thing that is always overlooked though when playing live is personal risk. I would rather have 10k online and log off my PC then carry it out of a casino. I would also rather piss an online player off by sending them broke then one in a live scenario to be beaten in a car park and robbed or have my car vandalised. I know this doesn’t happen often: but it does! My friend Doogs had his car destroyed! Another friend strangled someone one day at the table. This is a real toss up BUT based on the pros and cons of each that I have quickly added up – online wins again! Go add them up for yourself and feel free to add more via comment.

Socialisation and Fun:
Online poker play can be a ton of fun, especially if it is risk free poker play with a bunch of friends from all over the globe. I played years ago with a bunch of friends on Party Poker – every night! We became close, enjoyed the time together and have mostly all met in person now. Online poker can be very social and fun. There is nothing like meeting people face to face though, no doubt about that. Live poker play is the winner here by a mile! One could think of annoying drunkards in either of the play choices and there is no avoiding them – again, live poker play wins this little part of the debate.

Profit Making:
Barry Shulman has won more than 2.6 million dollars playing live poker in two tournaments. 1.3mil in October and then another 1.3mil in January (give or take some $$). There is no doubt when it comes to big cashing that live poker plays wins. The weekly majors online just don’t cut it. You can’t win that much money in a few months without having 10 high stakes cash tables open at once and having a brilliant run in tournaments. Obviously I am not a big gun in the poker world, I don’t play stakes that high, but analysis tells me that this is indeed the case. On a weekly basis you can win more playing online though, you can play on multiple rooms and multiple tables if you want. Also the play never stops when tournaments are involved (also cash – but you can play cash games nonstop live also). In the long run I believe an online player at an elite level is going to win more money as they can play more. But a live player can win just as much with a good run over years with less time and effort spent doing it– I hope this makes sense. I would prefer to spend less time and effort to win big bucks so I choose live poker play here; but it is very close and some would oppose me and choose online.

Reading and Tells:
An online player can be marked, noted and branded. At the touch of a button you can see what type of player they are and how they have previously played. All of their stats are available on tournament and also at times cash play. You can instantly see their strength and weaknesses and also pick up on betting patterns and hand ranges at the table as you play with them. Live poker play you have the ability to read a person’s face, body movements and well; tells. If they are a gun player you are going to know how good they are and have a good indication of how they play; specifically if you have racked up against them before. Regardless of these physical indicators there is more data available at your disposal on an online poker player if you want to get technical and use it. Some people are not interested in this though and are happier to read a person face to face; then and there! They are better at reading a person’s live tells too! Better at reading live tells then using statistical databases on a PC. Mathematically online poker wins this debate; but to some players the maths doesn’t count. Realistically though one is better off having notations and statistics and pattern tells.

And the winner after debate ....

Well there really isn’t one. This blog post is informative and hopefully has pointed out some things you may have not thought of. The debate will forever continue. Back to the first lot of paragraphs! You are either an online poker player, live poker player or both and nothing anyone writes is going to change that fact. The debate of which form of poker playing is better will continue for centuries without a doubt. There really is no answer. For now I will continue playing cost effective, profit making online poker as time permits

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Poker Blog of the Month!

Poker Blog of the Month!

It is probably news to a lot of people reading this blog that Poker Down Under and Every Where Else was just named pokerweblog of the month. Out of the thousands and thousands of poker blogs out there this is indeed an achievement. You can view the achievement by visiting www.pokerweblogs.com and scrolling down the right hand side.

Usually I stay focused on the subject of poker in my blog but I think that this time I will make an exception. With poker comes reading poker blogs, poker books and reading poker strategy and it seems that these factors of a poker enthusiasts game combined is what has made this blog that you are reading one of only twelve of the year selected as the poker blog of the month.

What makes a Winning Poker Blog? Really I didn’t know until now. I simply blogged! I honestly didn’t take an ounce of notice. I wrote articles on suggested subjects, things that I thought were important and at times as directed. I had discussions with my readers, replied to comments and thought up the next subject. There is more to a winning poker blog then this though. All of the little tasks one cannot see in the back add to this achievement.

A blog must be neat, clean cut and appealing to a variety of audiences. A blog has labels and links and many other things that people overlook. A blog in summary; takes a lot of work to make it successful. It is primarily the writing and information in the blog that makes you read it, but you need to remember how you got here à to be able to read it!

I have my blog on a number of sites; you may have arrived here through any one of these. Networked Blogs on Facebook? Pokerwebblogs? BlogCatalogue? Womanpokerplayermag? Maybe you searched my name or a topic? My point is a winning poker blog goes beyond just writing. How can anything be “winning” if it is never seen? People have to have a reason and a path to return and to let others know about it too.

I am unlikely to be selected as blog of the month again; ever! After all there are only 12 each year. If you were to look at the amount of poker blogs that are available and how brilliant they are you would understand what I mean. In the next 5 years; globally, only 60 will be chosen. Mine has made its mark and alike my blog others will follow. Have a good look at my blog, have a VERY good look. Also have a look at the variety of things you can do in the backend of your blog and DO THEM! You could be next!

My last blog post indicated I know what it takes to be a “winning poker player” alike Joe Hachem and for those that hadn’t picked up the other person I had mentioned at the bottom of the blog Amanda De Cesare. I hope you took this advice, Joe’s code has gotten him where he is and Amanda is doing a brilliant job following it. As for blogging, it seems I am the queen this month so again; take the valuable advice I have written in this blog post; now and in the future. I am rarely wrong regardless of what critics may say.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed in any way to make this fine blog! Especially to the guys who taught me other blogging aspects that I now share with you. Thanks mostly though to the people who have taught me the finer aspects of poker and writing after all – that’s the main reason a poker blog is out there; to share knowledge and valuable information.

For now I am off to do some more writing. This time; with a BIG SMILE on my face and the knowledge I too can one day be like Marsha Waggoner - time to step into some big live poker tourneys I think!

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