Entries from April, 2008
Reader Mail: Chiu On This!
Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under Reader Mail
Get ready kids, class is in session. Take out your notebooks and pens; it’s time for a little Reader Mail. Email us at pokerfromtherail@fulltiltpoker.com with comments, questions, or any general musings about this crazy, wacky world in which we live. On to fun time:
Tags: David Chiu, WSOP
The Pros Speak: Max Pescatori
Posted by The All-In-Uit | Filed under The Pros Speak
Max “The Italian Pirate” Pescatori may be known to most poker fans because of his famous red, white and green bandana, but this accomplished tournament player is also a WSOP bracelet winner and feared high-stakes cash game professional.
At the recent Irish Poker Open, even in the midst of the tournament director asking players to take their seats, Max was more than happy to answer some of our famous pressing Poker From the Rail questions.
Tags: Max Pescatori, Phil Ivey
The Week at FTP: The Comeback Kid
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
The good news: you’re heading into heads-up play at the WPT World Championship where you’re guaranteed to walk away with at least $1.7 million in prize money.
The bad news: your opponent is Team Full Tilt’s Gus Hansen and he’s got a 5-1 chip advantage.
Tags: David Chiu, Gus Hansen
$@&! Slow Rollers
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under Bloggers Corner
As you can see, I just love the slow rollers. I mean, they’re the people who make poker worth playing. Really… they are. And I can dunk.
Now I know everyone has probably slow-rolled at least once in their poker career and that’s OK, so long as it’s not a regular part of your game. For most folks, it was a “This is the first time I’ve ever played live and I didn’t realize I had the best hand” kind of thing, which is perfectly understandable. It happens and, usually, someone at the table explains that what you just did is a breach of poker etiquette. You learn and you move on. Or, maybe you’re playing a really casual home game with some of your friends and you slow roll the nuts just, well, because it’s what’s expected in that game. Fine… no problem.
Tags: Slow Rollers
Heads Up: Clonie Gowen Versus Thomas Wahlroos
Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under Heads Up
Welcome back to another round of the Full Tilt Poker Heads-Up Challenge, where we take 64 of our top pros and see who can hula-hoop the longest. OK, not really, but that would be kind of cool, wouldn’t it? I must say that I’m completely disappointed at how we as a society have forgotten our hula-hoop roots, but that’s a story for a different post… This week’s match is our first four seed versus 13 seed adventure, with Clonie “Not a real cyclone” Gowen taking on Thomas “Not a real walrus” Wahlroos. This match has it all: action, adventure, sex, drugs, rock and roll, hula-hoops… Oh wait, we have none of that. Nuts to that, on to the showdown:
Tags: Clonie Gowen, Thomas Wahlroos
Reader Mail: Pocket Jacks Suck!
Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under Reader Mail
Ah, Reader Mail – it’s where common sense comes to die. Today is a very special “theme” edition of the mailbag, with all of the questions relating to specific poker hands. I know, talking about poker on a poker blog – unheard of! But I shall try my best to guide all of my minions through this dangerous minefield of a game that we call No-Limit Hold ‘em. Email us at pokerfromtherail@fulltiltpoker.com with any comments, questions, or stories ending with the sentence: “and then I threw my laptop out the window.” Let’s get it on:
Tags: Pocket Jacks, The Hammer
The Pros Speak: Andy Black
Posted by The Captain | Filed under The Pros Speak
Andy Black is unlike any other poker player you’re ever likely to meet. He is, in fact, unlike any other human you’re likely to meet. And that’s what makes spending some time with him so fascinating.
Raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Black took a path less travelled and headed south to Dublin where he eventually earned a law degree at Trinity College. Again, however, he veered “off course”, choosing to pursue his passion for poker rather than his love of law. Following two heart-breaking appearances at the WSOP Main Event in the late 1990s, Black turned his back on the game he loved and disappeared from site for five years. He disappeared to England, nursed his wounds, and took up Buddhism. It was a break that served him well.
Bright, gregarious, and maybe just a little nuts, Black is, if nothing else, an original thinker. We were lucky enough to corner him for a brief conversation and, well, we’ll let Andy speak for himself. Enjoy a look at poker and philosophy from one of the game’s brightest minds:
Tags: Andy Black, Phil Ivey
The Week at FTP: WPT Action
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
It’s that time of year again – the days are longer, the weather is warmer (or really friggin’ hot, depending on where you are), and poker is again the name of the game in Sin City.
With just over a month until the first event of the 2008 WSOP, the game’s biggest names are already gathering in Vegas. For some, it’s a chance to return home and rest up before the six-week poker orgy that is the 54-event series. For others, it’s a chance to sharpen up their games and build their bankrolls in preparation for the upcoming madness. And, for just about everyone, it’s a chance to play the World Poker Tour’s $25K World Championship at the Bellagio.
Is Jerry Yang A Better Christian Than Me?
Posted by The All-In-Uit | Filed under Bloggers Corner
If you were trying to work out whether poker and Christianity are compatible, you’d be forgiven for being completely confused. Between the right-wing UIGEA-toting political zealots and the Jerry Yangs of this world, even I’m not sure whether I should pray for my soul, or the ability to read souls.
Luckily for our inquisitive readers out there, I can happily say I undertook a post-graduate course in Theology. I may not have completed said course, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a bash at the question – surely the fact that I didn’t complete Introduction to the New Testament won’t have that much of an impact.
Tags: Jerry Yang
Heads Up: Andy Bloch Versus JJ Liu
Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under Heads Up
Not all single elimination tournaments are created equal – welcome to the best. The Full Tilt Poker Heads-Up Challenge takes 64 of our top pros and pits them against one another in a Mortal Kombat style showdown to the death. OK, well not to the death, but you get the idea. There will not be blood, but there will be poker. Oh yes, there will. This week’s match is the last of our three seed versus 14 seed face-offs, with Andy “I’m a hell of a lot smarter than you” Bloch taking on JJ “Supreme fashion sense” Liu. Check out the full bracket below − on to the fight:
Tags: Andy Bloch, JJ Liu
