Is the Happy Hour schedule going to stay the same forever, or are you guys going to mix it up any time soon?

While I’m not the resident Happy Hour guru around these parts (unless, of course, you’re talking about happy hour at your local bar), I have been hearing whispers about some impending changes to the schedule. Once again, please don’t quote me on this (if you do, I might get fired), but I’d say be on the lookout for perhaps some more game-specific Happy Hours in the near future. I know that we already have a Limit-specific Happy Hour, but we’ll probably take a foray into the Omahas, Studs and Mixed Games of the world fairly soon.

I can also say that we might or might not be planning a new promotion centered around Happy Hour, so stay tuned for more potential details on that potential debacle. I joke, I joke, I kid, I kid. We’ve absolutely never held a promotion that could be classified as a debacle. Fiasco, maybe. But debacle, never.

I was just watching the latest Poker After Dark, which was a cash game as opposed to the standard tournament format. Any chance they’ll be switching formats completely? I thought it worked so much better as a cash game.

Once again, I’m not the resident Poker After Dark expert around here, so I can only speak from my extremely limited knowledge. I also saw the Poker After Dark cash game and was extremely entertained. I mean, who doesn’t love watching Phil Hellmuth make a complete ass-hat of himself? And that kid Tom Dwan (Durrrr, to all you online fan-boys out there), man, can he play or what? He’s going to make himself a lot of money one of these days. What? He’s already made millions? Looks like it’s time for another crying jag for me…

In terms of whether or not they’ll be permanently switching formats, I seriously doubt it. I do know that there’s another cash game on the schedule for later in the year, but I really hope they don’t do away with the tournament format altogether. Cash games can often be fun to watch (with the right mix of players), but there’s no end-game to look forward to (other than making large piles of money to take home). I just feel like the tournament format provides a little more excitement than the cash game does. And you can take that statement to the bank (wincing)…

You’re welcome my son. I take my duties as Jesus very seriously.

God complex aside, yes, FTOPS IX is almost here. Satellites are running, the last few pro hosts are being confirmed, and we’re all ready to rock and/or roll. Let the donkaments begin! Seriously though, it almost feels like Christmas around here. We all get so giddy and excited, we’re like a bunch of five-year-olds waiting to unwrap their presents. The fun begins on August 6^th, don’t miss out.

That’s it for now folks. Until next week…

Post from: Poker From The Rail

Reader Mail: It’s Happy Hour!

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This time around, we’re talking about the man, the myth, the swine legend that is Allen “Clever Piggy” Cunningham.

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of sitting across from the quiet Mr. Cunningham at the poker table, all we can say is consider yourself lucky. It’s not that Allen is a bad guy. Far from it – he’s one of the nicest, mellowest people you’ll ever meet. He’s also a bad-ass motherfucker who’ll take every last chip from your stack and get you to thank him for the experience.

Yeah, we like Allen a lot. That’s why it’s nice to report that he’s achieved not one, but two, career milestones this past week. First, he won his first-ever WSOP-C title and champion’s ring, so he has a little more jewelry to flash along with his five WSOP bracelets. If that’s not enough, the more than $499K Allen took home for first place put his career tournament winnings at more than $10.1 million – good enough for fourth place on the all-time money list.

Of course, we all know that Allen – like Chuck Norris – thinks fourth place is for losers. Look for him to take this title by the end of the summer*

*This is a Big Donkey prediction and therefore, should be treated with the same gravitas as if you gave a blindfolded midget three shots of Jose Cuervo and asked him to throw darts at pictures on the wall.

OK, let me start by apologizing to Steve Martin for my homage to Navin R. Johnson’s famous phone book scene from The Jerk. Sometimes, you just can’t improve on the original. (And if you’re too young to remember The Jerk, my advice is rush right out and pick up a copy – as soon as you finish reading this blog, of course.)

Anyway, all of that is just my way of saying that FTP released a pretty big update with some cool new features that you probably want to check out. Open up the game (go ahead, we’ll wait) and check out the lobby. See all those smiley faces? That’s Happy Hour where you can earn double and triple points just by playing in ring games and tourneys. Sweet, huh?

If you’re a tournament fan, you probably want to check out the new Shootouts that the programming geeks have created for your pleasure. Playing like a combo of an SNG and MTT, shootouts give you a chance to win an entire tournament just by winning two or three individual tables. Last, but certainly not least, there are completely new Tournament Leaderboards so you can follow all of your progress as your tournament game improves. You can even create custom Leaderboards to track your favorite events.

Now, pardon me while I play the Poker From The Rail four-player, $1 SNG. The winner quadruples their bankroll.

Post from: Poker From The Rail

The Week at FTP: One Clever Piggy

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