New poker portals

I was very bummed when MSN shutdown all our groups. My poker group had over 5000 members, 4 years of an active forum and 96 pages of original content. I have reopened free-standing poker portals (only 5 pages to start) - please check them out - http://www.worldpokerasia.com/ http://www.professor77.com/ http://www.pokernation.ws/

Apology to poker players owed by FBI Assistant Director Mark J. Mershon

FBI Assistant Director Mark J. Mershon said the multibillion-dollar onlinegambling industry is "a colossal criminal enterprise masquerading as legitimatebusiness."That's funny because I just had an FBI background clearance done (requiredin adoption proceedings) and there was no mention of me being charged with beinga collossal anything. I am deeply offended by Asst. Dir. Mershons ill-consideredcomments and I ask on behalf of all American online poker players for at leastan apology and at best his resignation!

Yours, Mark Pinsker, JD / Professor77

Doyle Brunson plays poker with Santa Claus

Doyle Brunson is your backer at DoylesRoom Poker

Poker 101 with Professor77 : Online Omaha high/low Cash Game

Vote Greg Raymer for U.S. Vice President, 2004 WSOP Champion

BC: Generally, I promise not to mention politics while interviewing someone outside that domain, but, since you gave me permission beforehand, allow me to ask you what your political inclinations are?
GR: My mindset is very libertarian. I believe in individual freedom, and that you should be allowed to do anything you wish that does not directly harm another person. I also believe that you are responsible for yourself, and that the government has no DUTY to help you (except to protect you from others). That does not mean I am against all government programs that help people, but such programs should not be undertaken merely because they help people, but only if they are economically beneficial to the majority.
BC: Also, are you thinking of becoming a politician? If so, what kind of office do you desire? What types of positions would you support?
GR: In many ways, I would not make a good politician, at least not the way the business of politics presently works in our country. I am not very good at compromising. If you convince me you are right, I will agree with you, but until you do, I will do what I think is the smartest thing to do. Having said that, I am currently talking to some people who run the Libertarian Party about the possibility of running to be the party's official candidate for Vice President of the United States. With a few exceptions, I would support the official planks of the Libertarian Party.
BC: I too am a Libertarian, and am frankly surprised that more poker players are not. Isn't personal freedom the major benefit to becoming a professional poker player in the first place? One comes and goes as they please, and avoids statist bureaucracies altogether. Even better, you're free from having to deposit your brain into the self-mutilating, anti-intellectual cauldron of political correctness.
GR: Every successful poker player is intelligent enough to succeed in almost any career, but many of them are much too independent in their attitude to do well in modern corporate America. In a team environment, it is sometimes more important to get along than it is to be right, but most of us poker players just want to be right. Having said that, my experience with large corporations makes me believe that getting along and being inclusive and such ideas are taking over to the point that there is not enough focus on getting the job done right. To work as a team, you need to not be selfish, but you shouldn't take it so far that you favor the mediocrity of the group over getting the job done as intelligently and perfectly as possible. Basically, in most modern American bureaucracies (and probably most of the rest of the world, though I wouldn't know first-hand) the balance is out of whack, and there is too much focus on the team, and not enough focus on the results.
BC: Back in April, you went to Washington D.C. along with Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer, to protest the government's attempts to ban online poker. What impression did you have of Congress from your visit? What's your overall opinion of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA)? Did your visit to Capitol Hill have anything to do with your desire to become a lawmaker?
GR: My impression of the Congressmen we met was generally positive, but my impression of how business gets done in Congress was pretty negative. There is too much emphasis on getting elected or re-elected, and not enough emphasis on voting intelligently with respect to each bill in and of itself. My overall impression of UIGEA is that it is a load of
BS. The bill accomplishes nothing much in reality, but it gives the impression that it does. It is a further example of politicians passing a law not because they are trying to do the right thing, but because they think it will help them get re-elected.
BC: What books or individuals had the most influence on your development and game? What players do you respect the most?
GR: The biggest influence on my game was David Sklansky's book "The Theory of Poker". It was one of the first books I bought, and it taught me all of the most important basic concepts applicable to any form of poker. I still consider it the most important single poker book anybody can read if they want to improve their game. I respect all players who behave as ladies and gentlemen at the table, and who do their best to win within the rules. There are also many great players whom I respect for their talents, too many to mention them all. For the most part, they know who they are.
BC: Lastly, let me ask you about your own book. We're been hearing rumors about it for a couple of years now. Is it close to completion? Can you share with us what topics and issues it will address?
GR: I have a bad combination of being busy and lazy. I was approached by Two Plus Two Publishing about writing a book just after I won the Main Event, and was very excited by the idea. Two and a half years later, and I am still far from done. When finished, the book will be a tournament strategy book, not a life story type book. I doubt I will ever write a life story type book, as I don't consider my life to be that interesting. I could have finished this book a long time ago by getting a ghost-writer or co-author, but I wanted the book to be all mine. When it comes out, I am going to deserve all the credit, or all the blame.

No Limit - Winner best director at Australian International Film Festival

Vote for America : Vote For Poker

VOTE FOR PEACE

VOTE FOR FREEDOM

VOTE FOR POKER

VOTE DEMOCRAT !

http://www.pokersingapore.net/ http://www.worldpokerasia.com/ WWW.MYSPACE.COM/POKERNATION

Lou Krieger: Is poker still the "American way"?

Professor77 asked:

> "Not only is poker good for you, it's the American way, where winners play > fair, have the right stuff, and nothing else matters, except, perhaps, a bit of luck> every now and then." Lou Krieger
> Lou, this is one of my all time favorite bits of poker insight. However, after the Frist and the gang's "Act" when I read it now I just get depressed. Any new insights or changes to the old in light of our new laws?

Lou Krieger's response was:

Thanks for the kind words about my writing. I believed it then, and when I wrote it poker was still marginalized, not at all mainstream, and yet the game of poker was still a big part of American mythology, and skill at poker -- it didn't have to be practiced at the poker table either; poker skills could be demonstrated in business negotiations, politics, and other phases of our lives -- was one of the ways we have always defined ourselves as a people.I still believe that. And yet poker historically carried the moralistic connotations because it was a gamble and many people believed (and still do) that gambling is not good for you. Bill Frist hijacked the most American of our virtues -- our freedom of choice and our ability to choose how and where we choose to spend -- or win -- our money. He did so for one reason only: to pander to the religious right, a group that has had the Republican Party in thrall for years.So far his actions seem to have hurt investors overseas and the large, publicly-traded rooms, such as Party and related organizations such as Neteller. He's also hurt affiliates, those who were earning a living writing for poker sites, and I guess he's made his deal with the devil and is happy with it. I fully expect Kyl, Goodlatte, and Leach to come back in 2007 with a harsher bill that would make playing poker online illegal. I also expect their bill to have exemptions for horseracing, fantasy sports, and state lotteries.But I'm not giving up. I am nimble and will find a way around this insanity until such time as the USA decides to join the rest of the world and regulate online gambling rather that try prohibition.I'm still playing. So are a lot of others. And the number of online players will continue to grow worldwide. There's a game out there and the lunacy of legislators who want to protect me against myself is not going to stop me. I doubt that it will stop many others either.

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