Hungry For Victory!

After a nasty foul from behind by West Ham player, Mascherano, Tottenham Striker, Jermaine Defoe, made a jestful biting gesture which has since caused quite a stir.
(Credit to Nemesis for finding this lovely sequences of pics)

P.S. The Tottenham claims the victory 1-0, gaining a much needed 3 points.

Double Footballing Joy!

Jeff Samadzija wakes up the echoes in Notre Dame Stadium

Gomez and the 77th minute winner

1st DC United take the away leg against The New York Red Bulls on a lovely 2 man attack between Jaime Moreno and Christian Gomez who scored in the 77th minute to seal a 1-0 win.

Then, a nailbiting comeback win for Notre Dame in "the other football". Trailing 17-13, with 61 secs left in the game, no timeouts and starting from their own 20 yard line, ND went the distance with 3 passes. The final pass was a 45 yd touchdown grab by Jeff Samardzija in which he broke 2 tackles and ran to the house with 20 seconds left. ND win 20-17

D.C. United Commence The Playoff Run.

They start their attack at The New York Red Bulls for the "away" leg of the matchup.

DC stumbled into he plyoffs after dominating the regular season. Lets see if they can regain their winning form and overcome the Bruce Arena (Of failed Team USA fame) managed NY team.

Neteller Fires a Warning Shot To It's US Customers

It appears Neteller (my absolute e-wallet of choice), a UK publicly traded online payment company may start blocking US customers from depositing into gaming sites.

Neteller Press Release

Buisnessweek Tackles the shady way online punters may be forced into using less secure online money movers.

Forcing Players Undergroud

George Will Make a Good Few Points

Syndicated US Columnist George WIll Tackles the Internet Gambling Bill. I've copied the entire article rather than link it for the simple reason that it speaks reason.



By George F. Will
Newsweek
Oct. 23, 2006 issue - Perhaps Prohibition II is being launched because Prohibition I worked so well at getting rid of gin. Or maybe the point is to reassure social conservatives that Republicans remain resolved to purify Americans' behavior. Incorrigible cynics will say Prohibition II is being undertaken because someone stands to make money from interfering with other people making money.

For whatever reason, last Friday the president signed into law Prohibition II. You almost have to admire the government's plucky refusal to heed history's warnings about the probable futility of this adventure. This time the government is prohibiting Internet gambling by making it illegal for banks or credit-card companies to process payments to online gambling operations on a list the government will prepare.

Last year about 12 million Americans wagered $6 billion online. But after Congress, 32 minutes before adjourning, passed its ban, the stock of the largest online-gambling business, Gibraltar-based PartyGaming, which gets 85 percent of its $1 billion annual revenue from Americans, declined 58 percent in one day, wiping out about $5 billion in market value. The stock of a British company, World Gaming PLC, which gets about 95 percent of its revenue from Americans, plunged 88 percent. The industry, which has some 2,300 Web sites and did half of its business last year with Americans, has lost $8 billion in market value because of the new law. And you thought the 109th Congress did not accomplish anything.

Supporters of the new law say it merely strengthens enforcement; they claim that Internet gambling is illegal under the Wire Act enacted in 1961, before Al Gore, who was then 13, had invented the Internet. But not all courts agree. Supporters of the new law say online gambling sends billions of dollars overseas. But the way to keep the money here is to decriminalize the activity.

The number of online American gamblers, although just one sixth the number of Americans who visit real casinos annually, doubled in the last year. This competition alarms the nation's biggest gambling interests—state governments.

It is an iron law: When government uses laws, tariffs and regulations to restrict the choices of Americans, ostensibly for their own good, someone is going to make money from the paternalism. One of the big winners from the government's action against online gambling will be the state governments that are America's most relentless promoters of gambling. Forty-eight states (all but Hawaii and Utah) have some form of legalized gambling. Forty-two states have lottery monopolies. Thirty-four states rake in part of the take from casino gambling, slot machines or video poker.

The new law actually legalizes online betting on horse racing, Internet state lotteries and some fantasy sports. The horse-racing industry is a powerful interest. The solidarity of the political class prevents the federal officials from interfering with state officials' lucrative gambling. And woe unto the politicians who get between a sports fan and his fun.

In the private sector, where realism prevails, casino operators are not hot for criminalizing Internet gambling. This is so for two reasons: It is not in their interest for government to wax censorious. And online gambling might whet the appetites of millions for the real casino experience.

Granted, some people gamble too much. And some people eat too many cheeseburgers. But who wants to live in a society that protects the weak-willed by criminalizing cheeseburgers? Besides, the problems—frequently exaggerated—of criminal involvement in gambling, and of underage and addictive gamblers, can be best dealt with by legalization and regulation utilizing new software solutions. Furthermore, taxation of online poker and other gambling could generate billions for governments.

Prohibition I was a porous wall between Americans and their martinis, giving rise to bad gin supplied by bad people. Prohibition II will provoke imaginative evasions as the market supplies what gamblers will demand—payment methods beyond the reach of Congress.

But governments and sundry busybodies seem affronted by the Internet, as they are by any unregulated sphere of life. The speech police are itching to bring bloggers under campaign-finance laws that control the quantity, content and timing of political discourse. And now, by banning a particular behavior—the entertainment some people choose, using their own money—government has advanced its mother-hen agenda of putting a saddle and bridle on the Internet.

I've Been Listening toThis Song ALL DAY LONG

It seems the first full weekend of migration from Party to PokerStars was destined to abuse me.
After 3 sessions of beatings I surrender to a break.

So It Is Written. So It Shall Be Done!

Bush signed the Port Security Bill (with the internet gambling enforcement rider) into law today resulting in this little beauty from PartyPoker.

The President of the United States has signed legislation that now causes PartyGaming to have to cease taking wagers from U.S. customers. We will also suspend accepting deposits from U.S. customers and examine potential offerings to U.S. customers that would be within the new law. This will not affect the Play For Free games and your Account will remain accessible. Non-US players and all Play for Free games will not be affected. If, like us, you think this new law is unfair and unjust, have your say now at the Poker Players Alliance.

On The Good News Front

PokerStars have officially come out with a business as Usual response to the new law.

Death by Gutshot (Am I a Cockbastard?)

Tis said that death by a gutshot wound is a quite painful demise. Well I experienced this exquisite pain twice last nite at the MCPL Pub League.

With 24 runners in the tournament I didn't really play a hand in the first few minutes but I did witness a few notable movements.

1st: "Like a Rhinestone cufflink..." (Isn't there song about that?)A very well dressed guy talked another player out of calling with his AQ on a A 10 6 6 board only to show the folder his massive A 2. During the whole should I stay or go decision process I added into the fray, asking the gentlemen where he got his cufflinks because I thought they looked quite nice (they were shiny and MadYank likes shiny thingys). His reply was "Thanks, I think I got them at target." My response "DOH! Thanks for embarrasing me!" After this exchange the AQ holder decided to seek fortunes in other pots.

2nd: "These any good?"
A hand developed between "Rhinestone cufflink guy" (heretofore referred to as RCG), a new player who had limited/no live game experience, and a league regular.

Preflop:
New guy calls.
Regular raises.
RCG re-raises.
New Guy calls.
Regular Allin.
RCG Call.
New Guy call.
Flop 5 3 10
New guy check
RCG check
Turn: 10
New guy check
RCG check
River: 6
New guy check
RCG check
Showdown:
Regular: AdKd
RCG: 88
New Guy: JJ are these any good?New Guy rakes in a massive pot

3rd: Death by Gutshot (Ok. double gutshot)
The next hand I'm in the Big Blind with 56offsuit.
Preflop
New Guy calls
Button raise to 100 (blinds were 25-25)
I call
New Guy calls.
Flop: 5 3 6
"Yum Yum" says me. lets go for ye ole check raise here.
New Guy checks.
Button bets out 200.
I raise to 700.
New Guy thinks briefly then calls.
Button moves allin for a total of 1875
I move allin for a total of 2125
New guy thinks longer this time then calls.
Button produces AA
I show my top 2 pair
New Guy turns over 97offsuit.I immediately proclaim "He's got a Gutshot!"
Turn: 8
Instant Gutification glory for new guy
River: Big Fat Blank
And new guy has chopped 2 more heads including mine.Oh the joy and irony of getting whacked by a gutshot whilst wearing a gutshot Shirt.

Next on the agenda
Whilst finishing my pint, I got to chatting with Greg (Ze Tournament Organizer) about the joy and agony of Omaha in all it glorious forms (Pot Limit, Limit, High Only, Hi-Lo). Once the lovely Claire has busted out tof the tournament and a table has broken we set about to play a friendly Pot Limit Omaha tournament with 5 of the other "bustees."I most graciously baptized our table as the "loser's lounge"It rapidly came to a fiery end. It seems that PotLimit Omaha played by some who barely understand the game and wih no money or points at stake can get a bit reckless. Thus, this little exercise took all of about 12 minutes to finish.

We felt a bit unfullfilled after the brevity of that idea so we decided to fire up another tournament, but this time make it LIMIT Hi-LO. Well it lasted a lot longer and much schooling was done on what the heck qualifies as a low and which is better than others. One particular hand, I bet on the rive with some semi nuttis hand only to be called a "Cockbastard" by Greg. I immediately announced "Cockbastard has been declared!" He then called stating "I wasn't going to call, but once I annouced cockbastard, I had to"

Not far later, Greg promptly dispatched me with a Gutshot draw, to which I could only return the favour and announce "Cockbastard" and then wish all a goodnight.

PS
I then went home and promptly (OK after 4 hours) finished 5th in a Limit 7 Card Stud HiLo Tournament on PokerStars. :)

Gone in 16 hands...

My stay in the PokerStars Million guarantee was brief and flameful. On hand 16 I raised with AdKd to 120 (blinds 15-30) and received one caller (on the button) in the form of a scandi who had been playing crazy in the fisrt 15 hands.

The Flop was 10d 6d 2c.

I bet 220 into the 285 pot and the button raised to 720. I thouht for 20 secs then moved all in with my remaining 2200 chips with my overcards and nut flush draw. He called rapidly and he had AhAc. MARVELOUS. No diamond for me and I was history.

When they said "Repent!." I wondered what they meant.

Something Pokerish?

After a long road of rather mundane pokering I finally final tabled in a tourney again.

$2K for a chop in the $30 Deepstack NLHE on Pokerstars.

10 Hours to get there. If we hadnt made a deal, I imagine it might have gone anther 2-3hrs.

The structures in these is brilliant in that it allows a tremendous amount of patient play. The early stages still have a lot of players who eject themselves by verplaying marginal hands into monsters but hey, there is profit to be made in them there nutters.

My normal formula is to to call small and then snap up HUGE pots from these players with clearly limited deepstack experience. This, ideally, leads to a very comfortable stack by the end of the 2nd hour allowing absolute patience and much play.

The major drawback is, of course, they take a looooooooooong, loooooooooooooooong, time and it can be frustating to bubble after 6 hours play.

OK then. I'm off to rest. I Imagine I may play the Stars $215 today. I have a feeling that $140K score is heading my way today :P

Security or Privacy?

A recent agreement between the US DHS and The European Union over airline passenger data has some Europeans in a huff.

Their concerns revolve around data protection and personal privacy.

1st) The new agreement DOES NOT increase the amount of data shared. It simply formalizes theexchange mechanisms and ensures more stringent requirements upon US Government agencis and any sharing

Data Sharing Agreement Reached

2nd) This data was ALREADY being shared, shortly after the Sep 11 attacks.

3rd) Where does the line between security and privacy exist? In normal life, I am highly in favor of coming down strngly on the privay side. Now when the question turns to Air Travel wherein 300-3000 lives can be put at risk by a terrorist or group of terrorists then clearly security must probe quite a bit farther.

4th) The details

name
address
country of citizenship
payment method (including credit card information)
passport details

These are all quite reasonable bits of information to ask for regarding foreign passengers coming ino The USA. All of thse bits can be bounced against watch lists and produce red flags which when added up generate a risk assessment of particular flights or passeners.

5th) Right vs. Privilege

Remember, for NON-US Citizens, entry into the United States is a PRIVILEGE NOT a Right. Just as entry to any other sovereign country is the same. If you do not wish to fulfill the required entry requirements (including providing the required information) it's simple, don't come to The USA.

Finally. The real truth abot Zidane's Headbutt.

What happened to Materazzi?



Zidane Vs Materazzi The Movie! - video powered by Metacafe

Bloodletting

I'm Feelin a bit ghoulish after a few wicked outdraws.

OK Then!

It seems youtube remove "The Little Green Bag" Video below. BAH!

So I give you Morphine!

Anyone Seen My Little Green Bag?

More Music for the people.

Yak Ja Rong Dung Dung

And Now for Something Completely Different.

Thai Singer, Palmy.
The song is called "I Want to Shout It Out Loud"

Feeling down? Listen to this a few times it's fairly uplifting!