We’re all jacked up on expired poker energy drinks we obtained at the 2009 WSOP and ready to lay waste to the entire poker world so buckle your seatbelts it could be a wild ride.
If you’re looking for snap judgments and completely subjective statements, you’ve come to the right place.
This week we’re highlighting everything from the 2+2 poker forum to Zoom Poker to Gavin Griffin.
Poker’s In List: March 18-24, 2012
Gavin Griffin Getting Real: IN
In case you missed it Gavin Griffin gave a brutally honest interview this week where he talked about some of the highs and lows of playing poker professionally.
Griffin talked about the difficulties of having a relationship while playing poker, the fear of dropping down in stakes and losing sponsorship. Honestly you should just read the Griffin interview here.
Some poker pros are guilty of only talking to the media when they’ve just made a big score or are running well but ultimately, as Griffin himself states in the article, it’s the struggle that makes things precious.
Cates and Grundy Heads-Up Match: IN
Dan “jungleman12” Cates has been away from the online poker game for far too long.
That all may change shortly, however, as Ben Grundy’s sponsor SharkStaking.com contacted Cates via Twitter about a heads-up match against Grundy.
Cates said he was interested and will be back on PokerStars when he returns to Europe, although he didn’t give a timeline for his return.
Grundy is widely considered to be one of the best PLO players in the world but Cates was in the middle of beating the living bejesus out of Tom Dwan in their heads-up challenge before Black Friday hit and put an immediate halt to their games.
For some reason Cates has shied away from the online games since Black Friday, unlike peers Phil Galfond and Brian Hastings who moved to Canada to play online poker.
The Zoom Poker Experience: IN
The Zoom Poker beta finally got rolling on PokerStars last week and it awoke the inner degenerate in us that’s been missing since Full Tilt and Rush Poker went away.
People love to press buttons and there’s something very compelling about the ability to immediately fold your hand and see another one magically appear.
We thought we’d try it out for a few minutes just to see how it compared to Rush Poker. Those few hands lasted for five hours so we’ll give it an emphatic pass.
Is it a gimmick? Not real poker? A way for rooms to generate more rake? Yeah, maybe. But it’s fun.
Poker’s Out List: March 18-24, 2012
Vicky Coren: OUT
British poker celeb Vicky Coren is officially off the market, much to the chagrin of poker bloggers around the globe.
Earlier this week Coren and actor David Mitchell announced their engagement in the Times.
Mitchell is well known for his role in the popular U.K. series Peep Show. The two met over a year ago while filming a quiz show.
We truly thought we had a shot with Vicky and even followed her GQ guide to being a modern man, but sadly it was all for naught.
The time for high fiving our fellow poker journalists and saying, "Dude, she's totally into me" are indeed at an end.
We’ve giving Coren a big OUT for leading us on over all these years.
2+2 Poker Forum Banning Daniel Negreanu: OUT
Come on guys, get real. Banning Daniel Negreanu for spamming?
One of the greatest things about the 2+2 poker forum is you never know who might stop by to comment on a thread.
Players like Tom Dwan, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein and even Allen Kessler have been known to frequent the popular message board and provide perspectives you won’t find anywhere else.
Negreanu was banned for posting his popular Vlog where he talked about the upcoming iSeries live.
We understand why the moderators want everyone to adhere to the same rules but spamming online dating sites is a bit different than Negreanu talking about an upcoming tournament.
2+2 poker forum, you are an OUT this week. Flame away!
Australian Whistle-Blower Daniel Tzvetkoff: OUT
Could this guy be any more OUT?
Payment processor Daniel Tzvetkoff will appear as a witness in the Black Friday trial against Chad Elie and John Campos.
According to the TheAustralian.com.au, the 29-year-old came out of hiding for the trial and his documents are the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s case.
Originally accused of stealing over $100 million from the poker companies themselves, Tzvetkoff was arrested in April 2010 in a Las Vegas casino and accused of laundering over $1 billion in payments from U.S. players for poker sites.
Facing 75 years in jail, Tzvetkoff struck a deal to be an informant for the US government and is now the star witness.
To sum up, this guy is one of the major reasons why millions of Americans are not allowed play online poker anymore.
So thanks for that.
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