Coping with Changes in the Online Poker World

Life After Black Friday

We are now five weeks past Black Friday, the day that the world of online poker in the USA was turned completely on its head. Instead of focusing on the related issues such as the status of money at Full Tilt Poker, I instead wanted to focus on the day-to-day reality of the change.

How has it affected me? For starters, it has increased boredom in my life. After a hard day's work I used to look forward to spending some time on Full Tilt Poker, be it playing in one of several blogger private tournaments or messing around at the cash tables. Like many, I really liked playing at Full Tilt. Now it was gone. I have been able to still play at some of my less favorite sites, like UB, Bodog, and Cake, but it is just not the same.

I find that I have been watching more televised sports, especially since post-season play in the NHL and the NBA has been so spectacular. I have watched a few movies and have spent more time cruising around the internet.

What I have really felt, however, is a loss of some of the closeness with some of my blogger friends. Without a regular weekly tournament like the Mookie/Dank, I find that my communication with other bloggers has greatly decreased. Just after a great event like Survive Donkey Island invigorated the blogger community, it is now like we are in a period of extended vacation. Thankfully, some of the bloggers have continued to post on a somewhat regular basis. At least posting and commenting on posts keeps us connected. But, to tell the truth, I really miss the regular routine. A couple of the play money tournaments have been okay, but they are just not the same.

Softball Update

Is it really May? My last softball game was played in frigid, windy conditions. I only got two at bats but went 1-2 with a single (naturally), bringing my batting average down a bit to .714. Ha ha -- I love that -- bringing my average down to .714!


My trip to Las Vegas is getting a little closer and the desire to play some live games is again on the increase. A road trip this weekend might be in order.

Lightning Strikes Began Five Years Ago Today

It is hard to believe, but Lightning Strikes began five years ago today. Yowsa!

I detailed how the blog came about and posted some of my favorite screen shots two years ago on its third anniversary. Looking back at my early posts, it was a pretty lonely place. The only people who seemed to read the blog and comment on it were some of my friends from the old Online Poker Tour and a few miscellaneous people. And then things started to pick up about the time I read about this private blogger tournament called The Mookie. A blogger named Big Pirate posted a comment. Hmmm … who the heck was he?

I played The Mookie for the first time on October 18, 2006. Early on I was dealt K-K and re-raised a raise by some guy named Columbo, who then went all in. I, of course, called. Columbo pushed all in with 10-10! What kind of tournament was this? I found out when he binked a 10 on the river. Out in 54th place out of 60 runners. Welcome to The Mookie! Mookie himself wrote a comment on my blog post after the tournament. I was thrilled.

I decided to play The Mookie the next week, and BOOM – I won! Damn, I thought, I just might be rolling over these donkeys every week! I was so psyched to see my winner's profile posted by Mookie. It was cool that the next tournament was called The Mookie – Lightning Strikes! Although I didn’t do too well in the tournament, I was starting to get noticed. Then, on November 3, 2006, I thought I really started hitting the big time when SirFWALGMan , one of the bloggers who seemed to be really popular, commented twice on my blog, including giving me a great tip on playing Full Tilt SNGs to win tokens.

So yes, those were my humble beginnings. Sometime along the way I added a counter to my blog. Since adding the counter, I have had over 40,000 page views from the United States and more countries than I ever could have imagined. Some of my early commenters and supporters have disappeared but have been replaced with a nice group of good friends and fun people.

Thanks to all the people who have read my blog, commented on a post, or just generally added some spice to my life through the blog. You are all cherished and appreciated.

Josie Sucks

Since Josie tends to, uh, shall we say ... EMBELLISH her accounts of poker hands and tournaments, I thought I would document what really happened in her tournament tonight. I went all-in pre-flop and she called with the VJ: J-10! gg me

Am I bitter? Well .................................................... nah. Just sayin' ...

And hey -- we had a great crowd tonight for the Very Josie and the Mookie. Congrats to Gary for his VJ win and to Miami Don for his Mookie Victory.

Hey You -- WPBT People -- Yeah You ...

This past WPBT gathering in Las Vegas was fun, right? As much fun as it was, there were some comments that I heard way too many times. Most often they were a variation of one or more of these statements: 1) I have not posted in my blog much in the past year; 2) I have not been playing much online poker; and 3) I have not played in any online blogger events in a long time.

It is touching to see the many friendships that have been built over the years. However, the thing I found a tad disappointing is how many of the bloggers have gotten away from their roots. There was a time when it seemed like there was an online blogger tournament going on almost constantly. MATH, WWdN, The Mookie, Riverchasers, … However, now it seems like the only time we can get a big group together is if AlCantHang sets up another BBT or someone with lots of blogger influence (read Dr. Pauly) announces a tournament or a series. Other than that – deadsville. The Mookie has largely settled into a small one or two table SNG. Most of the other tournaments are long gone.

There were several people at the last WPBT that I had either not met, had briefly met, or had perhaps just heard of based on previous blogger tournaments or blogging in general. Had I ever actually played against these people more than a scattered time or two? If only there was some way to rebuild a little of what has evaporated over the years, I thought.

So … now is the time! My suggestion: carve out some time this Wednesday night to play one, or maybe even two blogger tournaments. The choices:

The Very Josie

You may have met Josie in December in Las Vegas. You know – the short Italian chick who loves to taunt and brag? Well, she hosts a tournament the first Wednesday of every month at 9 pm Eastern at Full Tilt – The Very Josie (password is pokerbaby). Her tournament has an old-time feel to it – fun with more than its share of garbage talk and donkelicious play. As an added incentive, whoever felts the queen of overblown self-evaluation of poker prowess will get their entry fee refunded by me. Yes – a bounty on VeryJosie. Talk about easy money …

The Mookie

And starting an hour after The Very Josie begins – The Mookie, the still-surviving blogger “home game” (password is vegas1). Of course, Mookie is long gone, but the Buddy Dank Radio crew still hosts a lively, fun tournament. The past two weeks have shown an increase in tournament players, including some oldies but goodies. There was even some primo trash talking last week – yowsa!

Don’t make excuses – just be there.

Catch ya on the flip side …