What is it with women and poker?

Many people especially men get amazed with me when they found out that I play poker. I mean what is it with women and poker? I know that it is hot but I just kind of get annoyed when men get a little bit sexist when it comes to the game of poker. Women have the right to play poker as men do. So no need to get amazed. It does not mean that since poker is dominated by men, poker is already a men’s game. poker is neither a men’s game nor a women’s game. It should be a game for everyone; well, except of course for the young.

Men are having a hard time whenever a female beat them. Just because we are female do not mean that we are weak. In fact, if anything, we are smarter and wiser because you fall victim to our charm. Serves you right because you are always underestimating us. I remember playing poker last night with a couple of friends and some people I barely know. Most of them are guys, and only two of us are girls. Guess what happened? In the end, only that girl and I were left battling. Who won? Of course I won. I always win. Just so you know. Laugh out loud! It really amazes me when guys easily think that you are so into them. Just look at them flirtingly, show some skin, and they will get easily distracted.

Actually, if you ask me, since men keep on attacking the weakness of our gender, the real weak gender is men. Because men, cannot simply function properly without a woman behind them. Whether you like it or not, we control you. We are your inspiration, and you cannot get the pleasure you get every night without us. Us women, on the other hand, can function without men. We can live without sex, and we can certainly build our own house with your help. We are in the modern age now you know. Machines can easily replace men if they think they are so strong that women will always need them.

I know I sound mean. For your information, your gender is the mean one. Women will not act this way if you had not been underestimating us for how many centuries already. Just because you are physically stronger , does not mean that you are the leader, the president, the history, or the God. It does not work that way. Actually, there should not be any gender issue if only you treat us an equal. As something that compliments your very existence. Which is I think is the truth.

I never said that my gender is the supreme gender. I believe in a complimentary world, where every men compliments women, where night compliments day time, where black compliments white. A world like this one is a better world to live.

Not a world wherein you get amazed just because we beat you in poker.

Countries that want online poker to be legalized.....read to see the irony

I just recently read in this Poker blog that France is already catching up to the beat of online gambling. I did not know that they haven't started. I thought France was supposed to be an advanced country? I do not know. The article said something about European Infringement something which means that France i think has to consider some strict provisions in opening their doors to online gambling.

It seems that many are getting really hooked huh and it seems that some countries are already realizing the benefits of online Poker to their economies. Ironic though because while some are really opening their doors for Poker and legalizing it. United States of America are exhausting all its efforts to ban online Poker. Do they what they are doing? Sad to say, but i think other countries know better. Hello? If politicians are not sick, then why will they put a ban to something the state or the economy can profit from? Unless it has something to do with politicizing the very nature of the Poker industry...hmmm sounds highly suspicious.

I am sure the bill to legalize online Poker in France will have many supporters who are open minded. I know that like most things Poker has its implications but at the same time it also has benefits that many can reap from. What the United States government should do is to make sure that there will be strict implementation of these online Poker sites. No need to put a ban on it. The Poker industry and the government should work out something out like the one that recently happened in Canada.

The government of canada worked together with the Poker industry to settle something that turned out to be a charitable benefit. I am not sure if you are familiar with that Poker news. I am actually fond of reading Poker news that is why i know a lot when it comes to what is happening inside the Poker world. Anyway, going back, i think aside from France, Italy is also starting to make its way in legalizing online Poker and sports betting. I am just not sure though, i came across some site that are already starting to make their promotions.

If France and Italy are already making its way to legalize online Poker, the government of united states are trying to put a ban it. Why? I want to hear first hand the reasons of politicians opposing online Poker. Maybe i can learn something from them. Laugh out loud!

Seriously, i am kind of thrilled that online Poker is booming. That will only mean huge earnings right? I hope though that there will be more Poker Rooms that are not so discriminating. I am hoping to find an online Poker Room where regardless of which country or continent you came from, you are always welcome to play. I wonder when this will happen. In Asia, online Poker is not that yet popular. I am sure it will be once the Poker industry realizes the market size of Asia, the largest continent.

I need Patrik Antonius to kiss me

I seriously have a crush on Patrik Antonius! He is so hot and best of all, he loves playing Poker In case you do not know, Patrik- spelled without a C- is considered to be one of the greatest Poker players in the world. In fact, he easily got a replacement team after his contract in this European Poker team expired.

Team Full Tilt right away offered their welcoming hands to this hot boy because they know that their company will benefit by having Patrik play for them. I got to know Patrik when i was writing an article about him. He made the headlines last week since he is the latest addition to the Full Tilt team. I decided to check who he was, and then i got hooked. He is good looking and so talented as well! Aside from being a pro Poker player, he is also a tennis player. Imagine that? I bet he is a model too! With those eyes, height, and bone structure, modeling agencies will be dumb not to get him! I read from his website that since he could not play tennis anymore because of his serious back problems- awwww- he decided that he would just focus on playing Poker. After all, his passion, he says, in playing tennis and in playing Poker are just equal.

While my Poker training seems to be by books and by mentors, his was just plainly with friends. I wonder who would win if time would come that we would battle. Hmmm do not underestimate my Poker skills, i know i can be as good as anyone provided that i am just in the right mood, if you know what i am talking about. I hope that day comes, laugh out loud! Even if it comes, i think i will just lose since i know i will be conscious around him. Hahahaha.

I wonder if he has a girl friend or whatever, his lover or ex lovers are really lucky. Too bad, his website is just all about Poker and not really his personal life.- Duh, who would blog or write about their personal live? Patrik is not Paris Hilton or Lohan you know. Laugh out loud!

I hope he gets to read this by chance. Hahahaha. Oh well, i am just really trying to get over someone. Good thing, he does not know about this blog, or else i will be embarassed and he might get jealous over Patrik because Patrik is way better than him! -not really. Awww.

Oh mi god! I just saw in his myspace page this one: Una relacion which means he is in a relationship. Too bad. Haha. As if. Yes, i can speak a little bit of spanish as well. Como estas?

Anyway, I do not like the fact this website is so advertorial, i mean all he talks about there is Poker, can't he talk about something else like his experiences in other things. Oh my, this just in. Turns out that Patrik is already a father! Okay, that screwed everything. I gotta end this post.

Get A Move On

I am feeling the urge to jump down our balcony since i haven't been winning in any of my Poker games which is really frustrating me. I do not know if it is about me or is it just about my recent break up with my boyfriend that i could not focus. I am not used to being like this. I used to be the Poker shark you know.

I was at my friend's house last night and we played Texas Holdem with a couple of other people in the neighborhood. I really do not like it when there are other people i do not know in the table. I guess i was traumatized with the things that had happened to me before. I got cheated- just in case you did not read my preview posts. I consider cheating to be foul. Good thing, i got my money back or else there would be a huge fight since i am the type of person who really fight for my right.

Anyway there was not any cheating or stuff like that last night. It was a clean good Poker game. But why do i feel so glum and so unlucky the past few days? Is it because i allow my personal life to mess my game or to get into my game? I do not know if other people can sense it, maybe those Poker bastards and bitches sensed that i am vulnerable so they kept calling me.

If i am happy my Poker games are good as hell. But if i am depressed, gloomy, sad, or whatever adjectives you want to call it my Poker game is as bad as hell. Obviously, my moods, personal shitdoms are indirectly running my game. My moods determine the outcome of the play.

I hate it that my eyes are so transparent. I hate it that i cannot show a Poker face when i am gloomy or angered. Playing Poker is about suppressing your emotions, and deceiving those who are weak. Why do i feel like i am the weakest link now? This is not fair. Maybe i need to get back with him. He used to make me happy. He used to be the reason why i want to win in each of my game. Now that my reason is gone. I have no drive or motivation to win anymore. I am gone.

I know this should not be the case though. Many people are relying on me. My siblings get their tuition from me. What will happen to us if i stop playing Poker? We will die. We will all die. -Just kiddng.

Playing Poker is my way to live. I cannot give up on it or even think about giving up on it. I have to consider the future, and the present. Not the past. The past is history. Shit happens and there is no other way for me but to move ahead with my life and forget. Like everything else, it is hard. But i have to do it.

Poker Nation and Moneymaker

Paris Hilton and Pam Anderson play it and Cinderella-story stars like Chris Moneymaker make millions at it. Small wonder Online Poker is so explosively popular.

In case you haven't noticed the card-by-card coverage of Texas Hold'em tournaments on TSN and ESPN -- and for that matter every other sports network -- Poker is in the midst of a major renaissance. Television ads, billboards and Web-based click-through banner ads blare the praises of Online Poker.

The companies that run the real-money games tease new players into free sites, where you can play and learn Holdem and other forms of Online Poker without risking a dime. But as you learn the game and build a stake of chips playing against beginners, you are faced with the lure of trying your luck against real players for real money. Free dot-net sites all have easy links to dot-com versions.

Poker Tournament in Las Vegas are major sporting events, festooned with ads for online poker sites and featuring athletes who look like they could barely climb a flight of stairs.

Blame Chris Moneymaker. A nobody from Tennessee, Moneymaker put up $40 and built it into $10,000 in qualifying tournaments held in online poker rooms. What he qualified for was the 2003 World Series of
Poker the first live Poker Tournament he had ever played in. He won.

Moneymaker was no rookie player. He honed his Poker skills playing at the PokerStars.com website, winning a few online tournaments as he gained experience.

It is that image that PokerStars -- and all of the hundreds of Poker websites that have sprung into existence since 2003 -- have leveraged into a truly massive enterprise.

How big is hard to know and the business landscape is complex. A handful of the big Online Poker companies are publicly traded, so their revenues are easy to get. The vast majority of the business, though, is privately owned and offshore, nestled on Caribbean atolls and tiny island banking havens away from the reach of the U.S. authorities.

Annoyed that Americans were gambling away about $6 billion a year online, the U.S. Congress tried to stop the bleeding by passing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006. The act made it illegal for credit card companies to transfer funds to further online gambling and effectively criminalizing the act of receiving a bet.

While the law remains virtually untested, its impact was felt around the world.

Stock in Gibraltar-based PartyGaming Plc, which ran the world's biggest online poker system, fell from a total market value of $9 billion to about $1 billion almost overnight. PokerStars and a host of other privately owned Online Poker companies moved in to soak up the business that PartyGaming walked away from. A website fronted by long-time professional Online Poker player Doyle Brunson brought in Pamela Anderson and Nicky and Paris Hilton for their star power. Many other sites bring in top-ranked pros for people to play against and continue to brazenly do business in the U.S.

My favorite Poker Quotes

Almost everyone has their favorite quotes from exceptional movies. But putting movies aside and moving on with Poker, do you have any favorite quotations from established Poker players? Do not use google and search Poker quotations just so you can say you have a favorite. It will be pointless. Poker quotations can be found when you observe a lot every game or interviews of the greatest Poker players. Poker Reviews can only do so much in writing articles about Online Poker or Poker Rooms. What really matters is the things these greatest players say or do when they are in Poker Tournaments.

Just take a look at these quotes i have collected from several Poker enthusiasts and Poker's greatest players.

“Poker is generally reckoned to be America’s second most popular after-dark activity. Sex is good, they say, but Poker lasts longer.”
- Alfred Alvarez

“I never go looking for a sucker. I look for a Champion and make a sucker off of him.”
- Amarillo Slim

“Poker is a game of people… It’s not the hand I hold, it’s the people that I play with.”
- Amarillo Slim

“In the absence of any mathematical explanation, one thing is for certain; if you engage in games of chance long enough, the experience is bound to affect the way you see God. Successfully draw to an inside straight three hands in a row, and you’ve got to be blessed. But if you’re the person drawn out on, the one whose trip aces just got snapped for the third time, you will go home feeling cursed.”
- Andy Bellin

“If you know Poker, you know people; and if you know people, you got the whole dang world lined up in your sights.”
- Brett Maverick

“Poker reveals to the frank observer something else of importance”it will teach him about his own nature. Many bad players do not improve because the cannot bear self-knowledge.”
- David Mamet

“It’s hard work. Gambling. Playing Poker. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Think about what it’s like sitting at a Poker table with people whose only goal is to cut your throat, take your money, and leave you out back talking to yourself about what went wrong inside. That probably sounds harsh. But that’s the way it is at the Poker table. If you don’t believe me, then you’re the lamb that’s going off to the slaughter.”
- Stu Unger

“The strong point in Poker is never to lose your temper, either with those you are playing with or, more particularly, with the cards. There is no sympathy in Poker. Always keep cool. If you lose your head you will lose all your chips.”
- William J. Florence

“There are few things that are so unpardonably neglected in our country as Poker. The upper class knows very little about Poker. Now and then you find ambassadors who have sort of a general knowledge of Poker, but the ignorance of the people is fearful. Why, I have known clergymen, good men, kind-hearted, liberal, sincere, and all that, who did not know the meaning of a flush. It is enough to make one ashamed of the species.”
- Mark Twain

And last, but not the least:

“There is more to Poker than life.”
- Tom McEvoy

Though i really like the last quote, i do not agree with it. So there. I think Poker just comes second to life.

Casinos are helping out addicts? Huh? How?

That last word is not usually mentioned in gambling circles, to be honest. It is one of those tags that society in general uses to label some people and to be frank, sometimes it is overused, giving card games such as Poker a bad name. Yet the reality remains. There are people who get hooked too much and cannot control themselves, leading to the erosion of his relationships and life in general. I think it is important that a person realizes the serious effect of live or Online Poker. Though there are little Poker Reviews written about gambling addiction- Poker Reviews normally tackles Poker Rooms, Poker news, and Poker personalities- a person should still have self discipline and make sure that they do not allow themselves to get that hooked on Poker that it would ruin their lives.


Not all is lost, though. In fact, at the Viejas Indian Reservation, there is good news for all involved. A group of addiction counselors were trained on the dangers of compulsive gambling. This was part of a movement that casino operators are starting - to help those who are addicted to gambling. Interesting, no?

According to Mark Sauer of SignonSanDiego:

“We don’t deny there is a problem,” said Bobby Barrett, incoming tribal chairman of Viejas, chairman of the California Tribal Business Alliance and a certified gambling counselor.

“We are concerned with the health and safety of the people in our casinos, and with the risk to people within our own tribal communities.”

Self-help, 12-step programs have mushroomed. There were 10 Gamblers Anonymous meetings a week in San Diego County five years ago; today there are 35.

The number of certified counselors who offer the therapy they say is needed to straighten out a pathological gambler is shockingly low.

“I’m the only one I know of actually doing treatment in the county,” said therapist Suzanne Graupner Pike, who has treated troubled gamblers in Vista since 2003. “There’s no money in it.”

The reason for that, Pike said, is the “impulse-control disorder associated with problem gambling is not considered a disease, like alcohol or drug abuse, and hardly any insurance companies cover it.”

And the patients, Pike added wryly, have no money left.

Most gamblers with serious or severe problems, who make up about 4 percent of California adults, according to the state study, have related psychological problems, such as depression, which are covered by insurance, Pike said.

“Society needs to realize we have a medical crisis (with problem gambling), and there should be federal, state and local funds available for education and treatment, just as with other addictions,” she said.

Barrett said the state’s fledgling Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling has a $3 million annual budget. He said that is not nearly enough, noting, “All of that funding comes from California gaming tribes.”

Lefkowitz said there are two basic types of problem gamblers: those who thrive on action, who tend to be men; and those who gamble to escape, generally women.

Now I am not saying I am biased, but it never occurred to me that women would be a great part of this gambling addiction problem! I guess it is a good thing, what they are doing in California. It is just wishful thinking on my part, I guess, that this sort of thing should never have happened in the beginning. Of course, there are some things we cannot control. Still, activities like this one brings hope to those who need it.