2009 World Series of Poker running thread

Visa gift cards? Interesting. Never thought of that.

 

Yeah, you can buy them for like $50 to $200 (the ones I've seen) at most super markets or pharmacys. I even think I've seen them at K-Mart

 

Or, if you think you're good enough, you can buy the $20 card and roll the dice.

 

Yes, but some sites have like a $50 minimum deposit so you'll have to go to Ultimate Bet, which has a $10 minimum.

 

The one I used to play (FullTilt, maybe?) had a $25 minimum. I haven't played in a really long time.

I'd be curious to see how my wife would react to me asking if I could drop a couple hunny in online poker seeing as how we're saving for a house. I'm guessing I might be looking for a new wife soon, although I'd LOVE to start playing again.

 

You don't want just any gift card, either. I haven't deposited in awhile (actually, I'm on a self-imposed break for awhile with the kid coming), but you specifically needed All Access Gift Cards last time I checked.

(Plus, nobody's good enough to start with $20 and be sure they will make it. Unless they want to play the true penny tables to start with.)

FullTilt I think still has a $50 minimum, and last time I played there they didn't have true penny tables. PokerStars I think has a $10 minimum and does have true penny tables for a lot of games.

 

I used to play the 0.50-1.00 or 1-2 tables quite a bit. Every now and then, I'd venture into the 2-4 tables. Had a few good runs at 2-4, but the bad days more than canceled the good ones out.

 

That event, and the past champions invitational, are I think designed to add a little extra glamor to the event. People like seeing recognizable figures play for large amounts of money.

 

That's a good point zag, but if there are satellites for it you never know.

 

Let me ask you this -- if you had to rank the past few champions -- like say right when the whole thing started to get popular -- start with Varkonyi (Carlos Mortensen won it the year before) for argument's sake (because for the most part before then it was an event played mostly by pros and usually won by pros) -- how would you rank them?

I think last year's winner, Peter Eastgate, and Greg Raymer is the two best.

Joe Hachem is also an extremely good player, though he whines too much and I think he is a notch below the other two.

Chris Moneymaker is very average but solid, Jerry Yang is ultra-agressive and he got really lucky and that makes him dangerous.

The two worst players were Jamie Gold and Varkonyi, who has cashed exactly one time since 2002 in WSOP events and has not won another tournament.

What's funny is Moneymaker is often credited with the poker boom, but Varkonyi was the first real nobody who won it and his victory inspired a number of other amateurs to take a shot and that's why the field ballooned the way it did the next year.

Moneymaker's story did inspire the internet poker boom, though.

 

If you have a chance - go this site to nominate poker writer Andy Glazer for the Poker Hall of Fame

http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/pokerhalloffame/halloffamevoting.asp

Andy was THE poker writer and his untimely death caused him to just miss the poker boom and the chance to be appreciated by a much wider audience. Andy was to poker writing what Chip Reese was to high stakes cash games.

 

AMEN, Chris. Very, very well-said and a great gesture that is long overdue.

I got to know Andy briefly in the year before he died. We were supposed to get together for lunch as I tapped his endless knowledge of the poker world in an effort to bring some of that on as business.

The guy could flat-out write and his knack at taking an once-esoteric game and bringing it to life for a wider audience was unparalleled. Not to mention, sorely, sorely missed.