My two cents, that is...

This is the most special time of year in the poker world. Thousands of professional poker players fly into Las Vegas for part or all of the six-week long World Series of Poker. Many thousands more who aren't professionals but love the game fly in to check out the spectacle that surrounds the WSOP. They are on a much tighter budget, but want to have a taste of the most anticipated, intense, grandiose and celebratory poker gathering each year. They too want to take a shot, but there is no reason they have to blow their wad in the process.

The following advice is geared to those players and fans looking to get the most value from their visit.

1. Take a shuttle. Everyone's usual first advice when landing at McCarran airport is to not get taken by your cab driver, who would prefer to take you via the I-215 tunnel costing you a few extra dollars. My advice, if you don't have a friend to pick you up or you aren't traveling in a group, is to take one of the several reliable shuttle services outside of baggage claim. Depending on your destination and time of day, it may take you an extra 20-30 minutes to get there, but for $8 and a dollar per bag tip you can happily spend the extra cash on other parts of your trip.

2. Where to Stay. Most people get caught up in the status of where they stay. Checking out a new luxurious property is great, but even if you get a decent rate you are usually paying more premium prices for all the amenities on that property. Personally, unless I plan on entertaining in my room, I would rather I find a decent room at a convenient property to where I'll spend the majority of my time. Transportation costs add up, so if you can walk or take public transportation occasionally it really saves money. I don't care that much about the prestige of the hotel, but rather that I have a decent bed, shower, responsive air conditioner and really thick window curtain that cuts out all the light. I don't plan on spending much time in my room, except to sleep, so why invest much in it.

3. There is a tournament for you.While your poker bankroll may not afford the higher buy-ins common to the WSOP, there are numerous special event series around Vegas during the summer months. Hundreds of more affordable buy-in tournaments ($120 on up) can be found at events like Caesars Mega Stack, Venetian DSE III, Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series, Binion's Poker Classic, and the Rio's Carnivale of Poker. There are tons of different times and games offered to suit your schedule.

Extra tip - Learn from professional poker players and spread your risk (e.g. 2+2 marketplace). Before you arrive, talk up your trip and tournament plans to poker friends and family. If they each invest a little, they can get a piece of your potential win, while you lessen your risk and actual cost to play.

4. What to Pack. Poker players aren't known for their fashion sense and I don't really care what you want to go around in, but understand that it's very hot outside (100+) both day and night, and very cold in every casino so be prepared for both. My advice is to bring at least three pairs of shoes; one very comfy pair for all the walking you'll do, one pair of flip flops for casual or pool time, and one pair of dressy black shoes for going out to the clubs or nice restaurants.

Extra tip - A small day-pack packed with drinks, snacks, iPod/headphones, an extra layer, and even your own hand sanitizer can be a real lifesaver for regular tournament players.

5. Restaurants. There are so many great options both in the major casinos and off the strip so I won't pretend to give you advice on where to eat. I would suggest stocking up with some snacks at a local grocery store. They can really cut down on impulsive in-between meal purchases and sustain you during deep runs in tournaments.

Extra tip - If you enjoy gambling and are feeling lucky, always CCR (credit card roulette) your meal with your friends. Run hot for a week and you won't pay for a meal.

WSOP

6. Access. One of the greatest aspects of the WSOP, unlike most sporting or entertainment events, is you can get close access to all the most famous poker players in the world. Every top player in the world has to roam the same halls, Poker Kitchen and bathrooms that you do, so make sure to keep your eyes open. When you enter the Amazon room, you can look for the lingering crowds which usually give off where top players are playing, or you can wander on your own to check off various stars you recognize from TV and online fame.

Extra tip - I always recommend spending time in the "mothership" featured table area. They always have some top recognizable player at the table and it's nice to sit down for a while and take in the experience.

7. Make friends. It's who not what you know, right? Poker players love to be appreciated and recognized in a respectful way. You can often befriend poker players during the series. You might be able to join them in a drink (e.g. hooker bar) or a meal. Poker players are typically very generous, especially around the WSOP time when they meet up with all their friends.

8. Network. The same goes for dealers, staff, press, and poker people working in the Rio. Treat them kindly and they might share information to which most people don't have access. Notice all the poker companies that promote at the WSOP. They often have special promotions, swag to give away, and private lounges to relax in.

Extra tip - Keep an eye out for promotional parties and charity poker events. Some companies sponsor exclusive parties for their pros and fans that can be a blast. If you have some money you can invest in a charity tournament (e.g. Wounded Warrior, Ante-up for Africa etc.), it's often a great opportunity to play with notable poker players and celebrities in a more intimate setting.

9. Know where to look. While the convention area of the Rio is pretty massive, there are certain places to keep an eye out for famous players. The red carpet area leading in from the valet and self-parking area is a key point to view players. Media companies often interview players on break there. There are also two or three radio/podcast companies that establish sets where they regularly interview poker pros.

Extra tip - Linger under the misters attached to the white awnings along the red carpet to give you a quick refresher from the oppressive heat and catch a poker player on a smoke break.

10. Winners like to celebrate. Only 61 people will feel like true winners, with a bracelet and the first place cash prize to back it up. Almost every one of them, and often some final tablists, will want to celebrate their achievement. They will often go clubbing, treat friends to a restaurant or pool party. So while you may not hit it big in your low buy-in tournament shots, that doesn't mean if you network well you might not be able to enjoy a little piece of this year's WSOP success story's celebrations. In the end, you may not be a true poker 'baller' but by using some of these tips you can squeeze out a lot of fun and value on your WSOP-time Vegas poker trip.

I removed the newspaper from the protective plastic sheath commonly found during the rainy months in Oregon. As I unfolded the newspaper, I saw the disturbing lead story on the main page "Portland poker rooms face shutdown under bill at Oregon Legislature." I braced myself for yet another assault on the liberty of American poker players. This time in my own back yard.

A quick glance at the large accompanying color photo gave me some hope to battle the articles apparent poker scene negativity. Pictured was a young, attractive woman playing poker at a local Portland poker room. The description indicated that she was a 29-year-old lawyer who enjoyed playing poker in her spare time. In selecting that particular picture, the newspaper revealed their sentiments. They could have chosen some grisly older veteran gambling away his family's fortune or some compulsive underage teen sneaking into a club, but they chose to demonstrate that talented, hard working, educated, and even attractive women also enjoy playing poker. Poker is ingrained in American culture and shouldn't be demonized unnecessarily.

Oregon's elected officials would be wise to look objectively at the facts before trying to further limit poker. There are nineteen poker rooms throughout the state of Oregon. Four of them are larger Native American owned casinos beyond most limits of the state. The remaining 15, nine of which are situated in Portland, operate under antiquated legislation that "make such games legal only for religious, charitable and fraternal organizations." The new speaker of the state house has given the okay for the proposed legislation to go to committee in an effort to reign in their claimed "explosion" of gambling.

The reality is that most of Oregon's poker rooms have been operating for years in modest circumstances. They charge no rake, generating revenue from a daily entry fee that typically runs between $5 and $10, tournament fees and the proceeds from food and alcohol sales. Except for a couple smaller poker rooms, they all have between five and fifteen poker tables available for play.

The poker room owner interviewed in the article explained that he averages 150 players a day and employs 15 people. He feels they are bringing a lot of value to the city. The poker room works hard to create a welcoming and safe environment for their players. City and state officials assert that complaints have been made regarding broken rules and have closed down some poker rooms over the last few years. But the fear of abuses at clubs and secret high stakes games are largely unfounded gossip. The local club owner asserts "It there weren't places like this, basically all the games would go underground. That's where you have the sleaze."

If the goal of future legislation is to improve oversight of clubs, transparency of the game and further protecting players, then they will find little opposition. But elected officials should be careful to not shroud their arguments behind moralistic purposes that ultimately reveal their hypocritical tendencies of representing the powerful state lottery, horse-racing, and Native American interests who would like nothing more than to press their advantage. Oregon is a progressive state that has resisted the heavy hand of government in the past. Oregonians desire the freedom to make their own responsible decisions of whether to bet or fold. Even the attractive young female lawyer types.

Since I began my position with PokerTrip Enterprises in October, I've been responsible for the smooth operation of both their sites; AllVegasPoker.com and ThePokerAtlas.com. Much of my time has been focused on improving the core information and the team that provides the information for both sites. Lately, I've been ramping up our poker tournament schedule coverage in North America so we are without a doubt the most accurate and complete provider available.

Having recently put together a report on our coverage, I thought it might be interesting to see what is the poker community's awareness of the state of live poker in North America while at the same time gauging the opinions and priorities of live tournament players.

The first seven questions are factual in nature, with the answers provided at the bottom. The last five questions are seeking feedback on what information is most valuable to you. Please leave your answers (can be multiple answers) to the second five questions in the comments section.

1. How many US States currently offer licensed live poker?

A. 5

B. 15

C. 25

D. 35

E. 45

2. How many of Canada's 10 Provinces offer live poker?

A. 2

B. 4

C. 6

D. 8

E. 10

3. Rank these states in order of how many licensed live poker tables they have (most to least)

A. Florida

B. New Jersey

C. Nevada

D. Washington

E. California

4. How many live and licensed poker tables are there in North America?

A. 1,000-2,000

B. 3,000-4,000

C. 5,000-6,000

D. 7,000-8,000

E. 9,000-10,000

5. What poker brand (not corporate owner with different brand names) has the most casinos that features poker rooms in the US?

A. Isle Casino

B. Ameristar

C. Hollywood

D. Harrah's

E. Station

F. Horseshoe

6. Name the only four poker rooms in North America with over 100 poker tables?

7. How many licensed poker rooms are there in North America?

A. 150-250

B. 350-450

C. 550-650

D. 750-850

E. 950-1,050

8. What is your favorite North American focused poker tour to play?

A. WPT (World Poker Tour)

B .HPT (Heartland Poker Tour)

C. WSOP-C (World Series of Poker Circuit)

D. MSPT (Mid-States Poker Tour)

E. DPT (Deepstacks Poker Tour)

9. What information do you most appreciate in a tournament description?

A. Breakdown of the buy-in (what goes to prize pool, house entry fee, staff fee)

B. How many starting chips you receive

C. Blind level lengths

D. Details about any late entry, add-ons, re-buys, re-entry, bounties

E. Prizepool guarantee and/or first place guarantee

10. What most attracts you to play a live tournament?

A. Buy-in size

B. Prizepool guarantee

C. The structure (e.g. longer blind lengths and slower increases in blinds)

D. % Return (low overhead of house and staff fees relative to buy-in)

E. How many people entered in the event?

F. The reputation, prestige or location of the event

11. What's the best way to briefly communicate the structure of a tournament?

A. Starting chip stack and blind level lengths

B. Starting chip stack and starting blinds

C. Starting chips stack, blind level lengths, and starting blinds

D. Typical length of the tournament

E. Something else - suggest something

12. What additional tournament information do you really value?

A. When are the breaks and how long do they last

B. When is the dinner break time and the length

C. How many levels are being played that day

D. When will play end for the day

E. Something else - suggest something

***Answers: 1. D, 2. E, 3. E A C B D, 4. D, 5. D (15) 6. Hawaiian Gardens, Commerce, Bicycle, Foxwoods, 7. C

This past Sunday I played a couple online poker sessions. In the first, it was short-handed and I rarely ever had the best hand at showdown bleeding off three or so buy-ins. A little later in the day, I sat down at a full six-max table where I started making hands and quickly racked up a four buy-in win before the table dissolved. What was remarkable was not my poker, but how detached and frankly spacey I felt while playing. Throughout the sessions, I felt as if I were in a meteor shower of fragments of my existence. These tidbits from my past shot by leaving their trail of influence on my poker perspective.

I'll share a few of the fleeting memory comets, with my brief poker interpretation in bold...

As we climbed into the back of the Bedford truck heading off into the barren northern Kenya savannah, our teacher instructed us to remove all vestiges of our culture. If we were to truly understand this new Samburu culture of semi-nomadic pastoralists, we must remove comforting and coloring elements of our culture (i.e. possessions, money and even our music). We must focus all our pure senses on appreciating their world with as little influence from our own. To fully immerse yourself in poker, its language and art, one must abandon previous perspectives.

After two days journey, we stood at the precipice. The sheer rock outcropping dropped off more than two thousand feet before us. How I had arrived at this point was a mixture of purposeful and haphazard steps. Each had brought me to this point. One misstep now and I would be at my peril. There was an incredible thrill and rush as the wind and rain blew over us threatening our comfort and safety. There is a very visceral feeling to poker, to winning and losing, to competing that isn't matched in many areas of our lives.

I was tired from the day's unexpected hours sequestered in a local police station due to my expired visa. My body was angled away from my captor. At the point when the captain reached out his hand in a firm but forgiving gesture that I could go, I lazily reached out my left hand to meet his. A flash of anger came over his face as I unthinkingly extended an insulting left hand to meet his. Unfamiliar with the local culture, frustrated by being locked up, and too lazy to be properly formal I almost undermined hours of hard work to get released by my gesture. No matter how much careful hard work we put in, in no-limit hold'em one is always at risk of ruin with one miscalculated or thoughtless misstep.

The young toe-head boy found the family dog burrowed deep under his parents bed. Despite the murmuring growls, he crawled under the bed face first to retrieve the dog. What he received for his trouble was a dog's paw scratching at him and scar on his eye that could have left his sight impaired for life. If a situation gives the signs of being precarious, heed the warnings and don't venture too far or pay the price.

The dusty and dented country bus throttled towards them on the pothole filled tarmac. Every inch of the bus, inside and above it were filled with every type of human and their wares. The bus was so crowded there were people with limbs that couldn't fit in the bus. The bus came to a stop in front of us as they toot urged us to join the melange. We chose not to cram ourselves on bus, seeking another less crowded and risky ride. Life is not a race. It's not who gets there first, but who gets there at all. It's better to pass up some opportunities if they seem unwise.

A campground worker offered to give the two of us backpackers a lift in his pickup out of the small town to an area where we could try to catch a ride to the nearby national park. There were no structures there, no other people, not even many sounds at that time of the day. Only a lone bulbous Baobab tree in our proximity. Few cars passed and none stopped as we awaited a ride. Then I heard a sound, like a heavy stick hitting the ground. There was nothing that would have naturally caused this as the air was very still. Then I sensed something, turning to see a short thick puff adder snake recoiled and starting right at us. It had dropped out of the tree at the sight of potential victims. Even when the environment seems calm and clear, keep your senses keenly aware of everything around you. You never know what danger lurks.

There were other fragments that streamed by that cosmic Sunday, but those are the ones that have remained with me. I've always enjoyed how poker can act as a metaphor for life and as this blog exemplifies how life's experiences can provide lessons and metaphors for how to approach playing poker.

In the wake of last week's blog on Poker and Nostalgia, I was contacted by one of the top PLO players in the world. He asked me to pick up the torch on a heartfelt issue in poker - fair rake. For a game to survive and prosper, a fair rake must be charged that allows some proportion of players to profit in tandem with the poker room's take. Anything short of a "fair" rake and the game economy will degrade and deteriorate over time.

Online poker rooms already recognize that different games like LHE need a different rake structure. The poker rooms can and do charge different rake structures, offer different buy-in amounts, and different rake caps for different games and limits. The most successful rooms work in concert with their players to evaluate and adjust their rake when it is out of "popular" balance.

Despite playing at astronomically different limits from my high stakes PLO friend, the dynamics of the game are similar across all limits.

1. Given four cards with their myriad of possibilities and combinations, many more players will see a flop than in Hold'em. They will often have proper odds to do so despite 3 and 4 bets pre-flop.

2. Because the equities between made and potential drawing hands are so much closer than NLHE, players will play much deeper into hands inflating the pot. Thus the average pot size and rake paid per hand is considerably larger than NLHE.

3. Therefore with the same rake structure as NLHE on PokerStars, the effective rake for PLO is significantly higher than its NLHE counterpart. PLO specialists have calculated that the game's current rake is 1.5-2 times more than NLHE in bb/100. The ratio increases along that scale at the lower stakes.

The "rake-reduction PLO cause" is being spearheaded on 2p2 by "Napsus." He established three posts to explain, educate and plea his case to PokerStars, the largest poker room in the world, to reduce their effective rake.

In his first post, "Napsus" details how rake, time to act, and ratholing all affect the game.

In his second post, "Napsus" polls the PLO community on what should be the minimum buy-in for PLO at standard cash tables on PokerStars. The poll documents that 87.77% of 2p2 respondents feel that the minimum buy-in should be raised to create a better and fairer playing environment.

In his third post, "Napsus" summarizes and polls the community on whether they should be treated as two different games. 96.75% of the nearly 300 respondents say the game should be treated differently.

In reaction to the community feedback, PokerStars responded by moving the minimum buy-in in regular PLO games from 30bb to 40bb. Although an easier response than reducing rake, it shows PokerStars will listen to community feedback. When the community organizes around "fairer" practices, it can affect change. The SSPLO community feels it's paying an effective rake of 18-22bb/100 on PokerStars now, which drives many players to seek alternative European sites.

The PLO community is asking for their game to be considered differently from NLHE, just as Fixed Limit games are. In PLO it's so easy to get potstuck. More people see pots, the pots get bigger and you stick around due to the size of the pot all leading to more and bigger raked pots. It's harder to overcome gigantic rake when edges get smaller. As the overall pool of players improves, the differentiation decreases and the rake becomes a bigger obstacle to staying in the game.

I'm glad to lend my blog to furthering a worthy cause, that of treating PLO players more fairly so they can continue to develop their game and potential profitability playing something they love. PLO is a game that attracts the aggressive action player; the most profitable for a poker room. Let's hope PokerStars and other sites realize that treating that community to a fairer rake is in their best long term interests to grow the game.

The end of the year is the time when you see lots of Top 10 lists, so I thought it would be fun to put together a few (5) poker themed top 10 lists. Have a Happy New Year!

Top 10 Worst Moves In Poker Over the Last Decade (listed, not ranked)

1. Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and the Full Tilt team - The level of mismanagement, fraud and player mistrust has never been seen as Full Tilt continued to enrich its owners despite operating in worsening legal and economic conditions. Only with PokerStars stepping in 20 months later have funds been returned to rest of world players while over $150 million is still owed to U.S. players who will likely wait many more months for a chance to collect their funds via the U.S. Department of Justice. Lederer, Ferguson and the entire Team Full Tilt took huge hits to their once sterling reputations within the poker industry. Ray Bitar has been identified as the leading scapegoat, but a meltdown of a nearly $1 Billion dollar valuation company can't be pinned on one person's malfeasances.

2. Joe Sebok - The once very likable poker pro and personality ruined his reputation by choosing to represent himself as the people's savior of a reformed Ultimate Bet, who continued to deceive and defraud players despite Sebok's claims.

3. Viktor Blom - In my estimation, the player who has both won and lost the most money in online poker over the last few years. Tremendous aggression, fearlessness, no bankroll management or tilt control led to Blom losing $4.2 million in a single day to Brian Hastings on Full Tilt. A PokerStars and new Full Tilt sponsored role haven't diminished the Swede's ability to win and lose millions of dollars consistently.

4. UB/Absolute - The super-user scandals at both sites that eventually merged has no peer in the level of cheating conducted by online poker sites violating player trust. It is estimated that well over $20 million was stolen from players by individuals using the poker site software to see their hole cards. Russ Hamilton took a lot of the blame for the UB super-user scandal but UB ownership and management were also involved. Absolute pro Mark Seif went to great lengths to deny cheating at Absolute and was ultimately proved completely wrong.

5. Prahlad Friedman - Spirit Rock did the unthinkable. He forgave being the largest cheated super-user victim to become a paid proponent of a falsely reformed UB, thus becoming twice cheated and losing the respect of the poker community.

6. Jose Girah Macedo/Haseeb Qureshi - The falsely self-hyped Portuguese player, in concert with Qureshi, misrepresented and cheated players of money, sponsorships and even Lock Poker contests.

7. Annie Duke, Jeffrey Pollack and the Epic Poker League - Duke, as League Commissioner, staked her reputation on the free spending Epic Poker League following up her years representing the failed fraudulent UB. Pollack and CEO David Goldberg mismanaged and overspent based on overly optimistic predictions and left players with over $1.4 million in unfulfilled promises before going into bankruptcy.

8. The host of high-profile multi-accounters - The pressure to succeed is tremendous in online poker. Unfortunately prominent players like Joshua 'JJProdigy' Field, Justin 'ZeeJustin' Bonomo, Nick 'StoxTrader' Grudzien, Sorrel Mizzi, Nick ' gbmantis' Niergarth, Mark 'TheV0id' Teltscher, Brian Townsend all violated poker site rules and other player's trust by various forms of collusion, ghosting, account sharing and multi-accounting.

9. Poker rooms that cheated players - A mention must go out to all the online poker rooms that cheated players by suddenly closing for whatever reason and not returning all player funds. Sadly there are dozens of examples; going back to Dutch Boyd with PokerSpot.com to UB/Absolute, Doyle's Room, Purple Lounge, and the Everleaf Network.

10. Phil Hellmuth (I call him the teflon don) Over the last decade, Hellmuth has had more disrespect for players at the table, extremely self-indulgent WSOP entrances, name dropping fiend, verbal gaffes and regrettable quotes, questionable poker strategy books, and long-time association and profit off of the sleazy Ultimate Bet. Despite all that, his WSOP success has kept him relatively immune from a tarnished public reputation.

Top 10 Most Popular Poker Players in 2013 (predicted list, not ranked)

1. Antonio Esfandiari - A massive 2012 will propel Antonio into an even more visible brand in 2013.
2. Marvin Rettenmaier - The german pro will continue to shine and realize his place amongst the best tournament players in the world.
3. Phil Ivey - New training website and TeamIvey will keep Ivey in the public spotlight.
4. Dan Smith - Unknown to most fans, but his results have been too huge to ignore in 2013.
5. Jason Mercier - With his huge 2012 slump behind him, Jason will again see positive results and visibility.
6. Daniel Negreanu - The ever-present one will once again be the top spokesperson amongst poker pros.
7. Bertrand Grospellier - Diversified appeal from gamers, Euros, and even fitness/MMA fans.
8. Sam Trickett - Tremendous at cash games and tournaments. Needs to be more visible rather than just killing the high stakes games in the anonymous Macau poker scene.
9. Gus Hansen - The face of the new Full Tilt is on a roll online and should be a force in 2013.
10. Phil Galfond - A new training site and an emphasis on value laden advice and interviews will keep this player in the spotlight
* Honorable mention to the continuing emergence of top former gamers and now high stakes pros Benjamin Spindler and davin77.

Top 10 Online Poker Industry Predictions for 2013

1. Legal and regulated online poker returns in Nevada with a dozen or so sites live by year's end.
2. New Jersey and other states will continue to push their own online gaming process forward but none of them will go live during the calendar year.
3. Companies and individuals with ties to previous US facing online poker over the last few years will have difficulty getting licensed.
4. The majority of U.S. players don't receive their funds back from Full Tilt due to DOJ delays and legalistic difficulties put in place to recover funds.
5. The biggest and best run online poker brand, PokerStars, continues to leverage its lead internationally and due to its tremendous resources will find a way (i.e. buying the Atlantic Club in Atlantic City) of climbing back into the U.S. market via New Jersey regulation eventually.
6. One more of the rogue online poker sites will have funds seized and be closed down to U.S. traffic.
7. The Merge network will implode due to defections and worsening climate for its business.
8. A U.S. government agency will raid some bitcoin co./individuals to send a message to that rogue industry. (Semi-related as there are some smaller poker sites that allow their usage)
9. The worldwide online poker scene will continue to struggle overall dealing with heavy handed government regulated markets and recovering and uneven economies.
10. No federal poker legislation will occur again in 2013 due to the myriad of competing interests (state lotteries, tribal interests, horse-racing interests, moralists, typical legislative gridlock and infighting).

Top 10 Luckiest Poker Players Over the Last Decade

1. Chris Moneymaker (2003)
2. Greg Raymer (2004)
3. Joe Hachem (2005)
4. Jamie Gold (2006)
5. Jerry Yang (2007)
6. Peter Eastgate (2008)
7. Joe Cada (2009)
8. Jonathan Duhamel (2010)
9. Pius Heinz (2011)
10. Greg Merson (2012)

Obviously anyone who wins the most visible poker tournament of the year (the World Series of Poker Main Event) against many thousands of good players has to be considered the luckiest player. They win millions of dollars and fame for years to come. Most never see that level of success ever again.

Top 10 Personal Online Poker Memories (sequential, not ranked)

1. First deposit of $50 on Party Poker, tripled it, then lost it all before I ever read a poker book.
2. Joined CardRunners, studied, got involved in the community and mastered freerolls.
3. Deposited $50 on UB, starting at .01-.02 with extreme discipline.
4. Befriended and regularly railed my first poker pros online; GreenPlastic, Stinger, LatestLines2, and MuddyWaters.
5. Traded to get money on Full Tilt and slowly moved up NLHE stakes making several thousand dollars.
6. Switched to PLO after a significant NLHE downswing and never looked back.
7. Railed many epic high stakes matches amongst the top pros; Dwan, Sahamies, Blom, Sahamies, Ivey, Antonius, Hansen, Galfond, Hastings, South, and Cates.
8. With emphasis on creating and running PokerCurious, found my groove in two tabling Rush PLO funding parts of the development and hundreds of freerolls for members.
9. Black Friday ended online poker for the last 20 months (recently playing PLO freeplay for fun on Winamax).
*10. Make my first deposit onto a 100% licensed and legal Nevada online poker site in 2013 to play when I'm there on business (*forward looking)

Several thoughts came to me the other night as I sat next to a doctor who was also waiting to pick up his daughter from ballet rehearsal. Although he's a friendly guy who showed surface interest in knowing about my work, his eyes betrayed a confusion and disbelief of why I work and play in the poker world. In a crowded waiting room with very little time, there wasn't the opportunity to try to share with him my perspective.

Isn't that what blogs are for, anyways? I've addressed how my experience in poker has enriched my experience and perspective numerous times. In fact, I recall a blog I wrote in February of this year entitled "12 Things I Learned from Poker." Instead of rehashing blogs of old, I decided to share some present examples of how playing poker influenced decisions in my life in a positive manner and let that speak for itself.

1. Limits - I read in the newspaper yesterday (yes, some people still receive and read them) that a majority of homeowners under 40 are underwater. That means they suffered from the real estate collapse that saw home value decrease below the value of what they owe on their mortgages. Many of these people were enticed with ever decreasing mortgage interest rates and their sky-rocketing home values to refinance and take larger and larger 30 year mortgages. I chose not to do that because I felt comfortable playing at my present limits. We had refinanced to what historically was a decent rate for a 15 year mortgage that would have our home paid off right before my first child started college. Having more money back then would have been nice, but there was more risk too with moving up levels of debt too. I was satisfied playing at the limits I was at instead of moving up levels too quickly.

2. Stay in the game - We live in a cut and run society. When you experience hardship, be it in business or in your relationship, the trend is to flee and look for a seemingly better new opportunity. Poker has taught me if you are making good decisions and getting unlucky, you can keep playing and see things out. In a recent PLO session, I found myself losing buy-in after buy-in. My opponents were making unprofitable spewy plays but outdrawing me. I stayed in the game and things finally returned to normal and I climbed out of my losses and into significant profit by staying in the game despite being down significantly. The same approach applies to sticking out tough work and relational situations where it seems that things are going against you when you can discern that you are making plus EV decisions.

3. Play within your bankroll - Being an entrepreneur and contractor, you are bound to experience periods of unsteady income or no income at all. Although it has been unpopular with my family, I've often had to make decisions to live within our means. As a result our levels of debt and being over-extended are much less than others who spend more freely in good times and even bad. Those lessons are directly related to the concept of playing within your bankroll. The concept is to play so you never go broke, even if it requires you moving down levels or cutting back on where your ego would like you to play.

4. One big session - Every day we are faced with challenges. We often make impulsive decisions thinking they don't have a long term effect, but the decisions we make today affect tomorrow. Each decision affects our image and identity. Each rash action (e.g. wild party binge, social media gaffe, anger and thoughtlessness, illegal action etc.) without thought of the future can have ramifications In poker, we can often focus on particular winning or losing sessions, but when you start to look at your time in poker as one big poker session that is when you realize it's key to always make optimal decisions as it affects your ultimate winrate.

5. Manage your emotions - Last night we received a call and email from the high school wanting us to explain our daughter's missing a class yesterday. Calling back today, they didn't want to accept the explanation that it was a confusion of schedule on the first day of a new trimester. I reminded the lady that my daughter was a straight A student who hadn't had a previous tardy or missed class in her first year and a half of high school. I would need to see a pattern of behavior before I start to mistrust my child and treat her like a deceitful student. One of the most valuable skills developed in poker is learning to manage your emotions as you play the game. Don't get too high when you win and don't get too low when you lose. Keeping all your experiences within a greater context helps you to remove the excesses of emotion and focus on making sound decisions.

6. Don't be predictable - In a busy world, people love to make quick assessments and judge people by stereotypes. You benefit by not being so easy to read. I'll use the humorous example of @PokerGrump on Twitter. He loves to tweet about playing and winning with 2,4 or his new favorite hand 3,6, which he calls the Spanish.Inquisition. He profits because he realizes that people are quick to type him or assume he's an older reg who plays a tight range. We can all benefit from being unpredictable and difficult to type.

In the end, I'm not saying playing poker or being involved in the poker world is any better or worse than any other occupation. I'm simply saying that what you do isn't as important as how you do it and what you take from it.

Every name has a history. Most are born with one. It is a name given before you are even known. It is your identity marker all your life, but can you ever say you really earned it?

Nicknames, on the other hand, can be attributed for random reasons but rarely stick unless they somehow fit. My first nickname, "Winci," was given to me in the hospital by nurses and family members who said I winked at them soon after my birth. It conveniently combined letters from my first given names, William and Lincoln. Unfortunately, it was also ripe with rhyming teasing potential "stinky, pinky, dinky" that after much elementary school ridicule motivated me to forcefully change my known name in 3rd grade to Bill. I didn't encourage another nickname for decades after.

When I moved to Portland 18 years ago, I became a partner in a fairly new business called Zimba arts and crafts. I was passionate about art from Africa, especially the Shona stone sculpture found in Zimbabwe. I used to make yearly buying trips there. In the following years, my very first email address created was Zimba32@aol.com (no longer used). My first online poker username on UltimateBet would become Zimba32. Even as my business grew and evolved to the more polished Imba Gallery and Sculpture Garden, the Zimba nickname stuck online.

In the nascent online poker world, I enjoyed having an online identity separate from my real world identity. I appreciated the anonymity, especially when it came to making or losing money playing poker. My real life as small business owner, suburban husband and father were unattached from my online persona. They had no bearing on how I was received. I had moved out West partially out of a desire to escape the highly status filled judgmental East Coast environs.

I found it freeing that I wasn't judged by anything that had come before. My Zimba identity was defined by my online actions alone. The two worlds didn't meet. Whether it was on the forums or at the poker table, Zimba was shaped only by my online actions. As a private and non self-promotional person, I relished redefining myself as Zimba and knowing that that poker world wouldn't follow me home. There was one other important reason why this separation of identities was highly valued.

During the later years of running my gallery and as Zimbabwe continued to plunge into greater trouble and anarchy, I had befriended a Zimbabwean artist and musician. To navigate the highly chaotic and combustible world that was Zimbabwe required establishing some contacts you had to trust. The spiralling inflation, rampant corruption and increasing violence forced businessmen like myself to try to find local contacts to help insulate us from potential harm on our buying trips. While you were there to spend money supporting the artistic community, everyone was trying to survive and took drastic actions. That environment bred a fierce self-motivated perspective that was highly toxic and eventually ruined the relationship with my artist. He couldn't let go of the concept that my gallery and support would ever end and pursued me doggedly for years after. He would call dozens of times a day at home or work. He would send threatening emails insisting I owed him money and needed to keep supporting him. He hired lawyers in Zimbabwe and the US all in a desperate attempt to gain a continuing source of funds for his relatively lavish lifestyle. We got caller ID, stopped answering the phone, hired a lawyer to respond to all contacts and generally became quite defensive. I found any linked open identity online was a new avenue for him to try to pursue me.

I know for many years of my CardRunners Zimba blog, people would question why I never mentioned my real name and even referred to my wife as Mrs. Zimba. Those choices were influenced by my desire to have my online life in the poker world remain unassociated with that episode. As the years have drifted by, I am slowly feeling more confident that episode is drifting into the past. But it also reinforces my belief in the power of the independent Zimba nickname.

Nowadays, some of my information team that I manage refer to me primarily as Z or Zimba. When I network with people in the online poker world, they know of Zimba from CardRunners, PokerCurious, PokerInside, Gosugamers, EpicPoker etc. A couple people I interviewed recently knew of Zimba in the poker world, without knowing that was really me.

You don't have a choice of what proper name is given you, but you often have an influence on what nickname you receive or encourage. Zimba seemed to fit me and I'm proud of the small mark the name has made in the poker world. I'm particularly excited for the future of Zimba. Within the next few months at PokerTrip Enterprises, we will roll out a new site and start to work with some of the biggest brands in poker as legal and regulated online poker returns to the US (Nevada to start). Zimba will once again be seen on the virtual real money tables!

If the first few weeks of my new job are any indication, it will be a struggle to carve out the time and energy to blog as regularly and thoughtfully as I have for many months. Maybe this will force me to learn the art of brevity in expressing myself.

I'll start today by sharing my biggest pot ever won (*so what if it was play chips). I haven't had the time or inclination to play since the new job started, but all the talk of Full Tilt Poker relaunching and U.S. players trying out the software again spurred me to log onto Winamax over the weekend to get in an hour or two of fun.

When you combine freeplay and PLO you are destined for a table full of players who want to play every hand and hate folding. You can certainly nut it up and grind out a consistent if wild swinging positive result, but to really benefit big you have to play looser than you might ordinarily and swing to the fences with the rest of them. This night, players were spraying around buyins like it was election ad dollars. The entire 5 person table was very deep and eventually when I pressed my AAxx double suited hand pre-flop I found the entire table calling my eventual all-in. Unfortunately, in PLO you are a big dog to a table full of random hands, despite having the best individual equity. This night, my hand 'boated' up and I won 30 buy-ins!

On the business side, I'm now managing an information team that contacts, collects and inputs information from poker rooms and casinos across the country. I am tasked with increasing the efficiency of the remote team. I find that while I have no problem increasing my own work rate, managing the part time team will require different solutions. So I am actively seeking outside inspiration.

I wanted to share one such inspiration via a Tweet about d.Mindsets:

Their brief but insightful advice in leading a team was...

Focus on Human Values
Show Don't Tell
Embrace Experimentation
Be Mindful of Process
Bias Toward Action
Radical Collaboration
Craft Clarity

Each instruction requires more research and understanding, but I like their approach and I will explore the concepts further as time allows.

The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you lived at all.   - Leo Rosten

I’m excited to finally announce my new poker journey. I am joining the team at PokerTrip Enterprises as their Operations Manager. The Las Vegas company runs AllVegasPoker.com and ThePokerAtlas.com, two sites that provide an excellent service for poker players across the country. The timing is ideal because PokerTrip is entering a highly ambitious phase of growth and innovation. Under the stewardship of CEO and WSOP bracelet winner Jon Friedberg, PokerTrip is in the process of a massive expansion and hiring a number of key positions to meet the goals of being the best information resource for poker players. PokerTrip recently became the first marketing affiliate to become licensed for the upcoming regulated Nevada online poker market which has opened many new opportunities for partnerships in the live and online poker world.   

And by every crime and kindness, we birth our future. - excerpt from the upcoming movie “Cloud Atlas”

Anyone who has followed my blog knows that I have always had a strong entrepreneurial spirit and that I enjoy participating in early stage growth for promising companies. I have run my own small businesses like the international art gallery, PokerCurious.com, and most recently exploring a fantasy sports venture project over the last 9 months. I have also enjoyed working with small teams that grew sites like CardRunners, Gosugamers.net, PokerInside, RakeMeBack and others. I’m thrilled to be part of a new small and talented team who have a vision to take PokerTrip Enterprises to new heights.  

There was considerable interest in the position and I feel a large part of why I was selected for the position is the positivity, dedication, experience and acumen that I have demonstrated over the last seven years in the online poker world. I mention that because I feel it’s important that anyone trying to develop their career be consistent in action and image across all communication platforms; be it a prepared CV, your blogs, forum posts, or your tweets. Your image, nobility and experience are constantly on display. For instance, I have never made a penny from the Zimba blog, and yet consistently posting for over five years has led to so many opportunities.  

The grass ain’t always greener on the other side. It’s greener where you water. - excerpt from Justin Bieber’s song “As Long As You Love Me”

Although in my role as Operations Manager I will be contributing on many levels within the company, my initial focus will be on managing and growing the information team that populates information for nearly 700 rooms in North America. We strive to be the top source, with the most accurate and up-to-date information, for venues, tournaments and special events for the North American poker world. In addition to the information team, we are currently looking for other positive, experienced and motivated individuals to join our team to help us reach our goals. Other positions that we are looking to fill include a Sys Admin, WEb (Ruby & PHP) Developers, Web/Mobile/Graphic Designers, Affiliate Manager, and a Marketing/Community Manager. If you have any great leads, feel free to email me at Bill@AllVegasPoker.com   

Despite the changes in the poker world since Black Friday, I feel quite optimistic about PokerTrip’s opportunities and vision for the future. I will be ‘watering the lawn’ and keeping you updated on my blog.