http://www.pokerimestari.com

We were contacted by the owners of pokerimestari.com today and asked to review their site. No one at WiseHandPoker reads any language that doesn’t start with ‘E’ and end with ‘nglish’, but we took a look a look over there and it looks like a great portal for anyone who can actually read what’s going on over there.

The easy thing for us about this review is the fact they link to a bunch of sites we’re not affiliated with. The deals they have up for Titan Poker and PokerStars are competitive with any I’ve seen of late (actually, that they have an affiliate deal with Stars at all is pretty crazy…Stars is next to impossible to get to agree to affiliate work, and they generally spurn it), and the fact they’ve managed to make the kind of connections bodes well for their future.

Players of ‘nettipokeri‘, the word for online poker over there, should be looking around pokerimestari.com and finding those good deals if the ones we have here aren’t suiting their fancy. We’re happy to tell you as much; the world is a big, big place and we’re happy to share a small piece of it with someone else in the world of pokeri.

I wrote this article last year on Memorial day and I find it fitting to share it with you again. My son in law returned safe from Iraq last month and we are all very thankful for it. However there are almost 5,000 others who have not.

A loss of a brother,sister,mother or father,cousin nephew or best friend is the hardest thing for me to deal with in life. It is not easy for anyone to lose someone but when we do there are others to help us through the tough time.

I started my Charity Poker Tournament after losing so many friends in Law Enforcement to not only help the families but to make others aware Fireman and Cops are here to help and we sometimes sacrifice our lives for you as the men and women of our military are right now.

Thank you to everyone who does something to make this world a better place to live.

Since the poker explosion in 2003, which in part owes thanks to ESPN’s coverage of the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and amateur player Chris Moneymaker’s remarkable win, poker players have adopted dreams of becoming not only millionaires, but world famous celebrities.

We have all witnessed the fame and fortunes so many poker players have received over the past few years. The World Poker Tour has made several unknown individuals household names, as have Internet poker sites. So many of today’s players were still in junior high or high school when they started watching poker on television, well before they were legally old enough to gamble.

Some of the most famous players had their dreams planted in their minds either by reading about the game of poker, or seeing something on television which gave them the lust for victory. Most of the time, it takes hard work and dedication to make your dream become a reality, but we have seen several people make millions playing poker, winning a huge tournament only to return to being just an average player.

I was listening to a very successful poker player, Gavin Smith, on his radio show from the Mirage Poker Classic a few weeks ago. He and his co-host, Joe Sebok, were discussing the amount of poker players who probably still have money in the bank from playing poker on the tournament circuit, those who are actually successful at their trade. Their final estimate was around 200 people. I found this to be very interesting!

I started to think of how many people have been playing the tournament trail recently, and could this just be some kind of fad that will diminish soon? We all have dreams of being at the final table on television in a major event at the WSOP. We all see the rich and famous going weekly to these extravagant parties, driving fancy cars and eating at the best restaurants. But what price do these people have to pay for their new found fame and fortune?

Several of the poker players I talk with tell me of multiple times of not knowing where their next meal might come from, or where their life is heading. Watching ESPN the other night, they were talking about how Howard Lederer in his early days of playing poker back in New York he would sleep on a park bench in Greenwich Village at night. I never slept on a park bench, but when I was younger and had just moved to California I lost my job and had to spend the cool wintry nights in the back seat of my car for awhile.

I guess if I were twenty-one years old and living at home I would spend all my allowance and hard earned money bluffing on the Internet trying to gain fame and fortune. I would probably even get together with my buddies and bring my roll of hundreds and play Monopoly for $10k a game.

Dreams are what the world is made of. They’re what we are made of. Or are they?

As I sit here and write this, my daughter’s 24 year-old boyfriend, who did one tour in Afghanistan, is already being sent back to Iraq in a few weeks. What about his dreams? What about the dreams of 3,500 U.S.A. military men who have lost their lives fighting to protect a country from dictatorship?

Poker is a game, and some say life is a game. Both are very, very tough at times. So, if you’re to be one of the lucky ones who wins a bracelet or two, remember all those other dreamers who are not able to be here with us today. Remember your tough times and try and continue to be the person your family would be proud of. We tend to forget those who have fought to protect this country from our enemies. Memorial Day gives us a time to reflect back and thank those heroes who never had the opportunity to fulfill their dreams of coming back home to the loved one who so patiently waited for them, and to start a family or raise the one’s they already had.

I have a dream. Do you? You should, and if you don’t, start working on one today. It could be as small as dreaming for a new outfit, to as big as winning the lottery. It can be as small as hoping you and your sibling will be able to get along, to as big as everyone in the world getting along. No more poverty, no more racism, no murders. No more wars.

But since most of you reading this are poker players, start dreaming of winning the Main Event and becoming the poker ambassador for the next year, living with the title of World Champ for the rest of your life. But do not forget those who allow us the freedom to live out our dreams, the men and women who have given their lives to keep America the Home of the Brave and the Land of the FREE.

My friend brian showed me this thign the other day. Basically you get unlimited .10 freerolls on sports bets. If you run it up past $20, you can cash out, or you can just keep running it up. If you bust, they give you another .10 to start out with. So far it’s just been a fun way to have something extra to root on (especially when baseball season is the only thing going, which I find monumentally boring).

I never wanted to get into real sports betting because I’ve seen what it’s done to people, but this is like fantasy sports betting since there’s really no risk.

If you want to sign up, click THIS LINK TO CENTSPORTS.COM!

After you’re signed up, start making ridiculous 5 team parlays. The worst that happens is that you lose it, and they give you free money to start over again. If you signed up after seeing this, be sure to send me a message and we can get some trash talk goin. - shronkdaddy@gmail.com

Well, I am officially done with my junior year in college. I am excited and scared about only having one more year left. I am not a big fan of school, but not knowing what my life will be like in a year is a little terrifying.

With exams recently, I haven’t had much time to get any poker in. It’s been bad as of late when I can find the time to play. It seems like I have been suffering a lot of variance most of this school year. I went on a huge heater last summer; I hope I can do that again this year.

It looks the the tournament back home is having a hard time getting people to play. I wouldn’t be surprised if they cancel it. None the less, I am sure there will be some cash games this summer. Hopefully I can rake in some dough from those.

I have relieved I like playing live a lot more than online. I just have a feel in a live game that I believe gives me an edge.

As some of you may know, about 60 lbs ago I was co-captain of the basketball team in high school. There was another kid named Henner Derstein, and we were the only two 3pt shooters on the team.

With three games to go in my junior year, some punk from Upper Merion took out my legs on a layup and I fell to the floor and dislocated my right shoulder (and tore every tendon and ligament).

At the banquet at the end of that year, Coach Engard said that I had “the potential to be the best shooter to ever come through Souderton (my high school).”

All summer Henner and I came up with our own elaborate shooting routine. Before and after every practice and before and after every game one person would stand about 3 feet from the basket on one side and shoot free-throw style. You had to stay at that spot until you made 10, then moved on. It usually took Henner and I 11 or 12 shots to get the 10 makes. See, we understood shooting, as we had both studied it. Coming onto the court and blowing up 3s right away is just going to fuck up your mechanics. Each day you have to re-teach all your fast-twitch muscles - that’s your “touch.” Lots of shooters have great mechanics, not many have great “touch.”

So anyway, in December I suffered my fourth shoulder dislocation (this one more serious than the 2nd and 3rd since after the 3rd time, they went in and totally reconstructed my shoulder. This latest dislocation surely blew out any repairs they had done.)

My rehab for my should was coming along much slower this time; in fact, today was the first time I had shot a basketball in over 6 months.

So I woke up at like 6am and was bored out of my mind by 7am, so I decided it was time to really start to try to learn to shoot again, and I went to Walmart and got a new basketball (both of the $160 balls that I stole from Hatboro Horsham were left back in philly).

Walking up to the court and dribbling, I noticed a little rust, but I could still handle the ball well and could still do some of my old “And1Mixtape” tricks.

So I walk up to the rim. About 3 feet away. Bounce the ball twice. Knees bent. Smooth release.

Airball.

Not even close.

I shot from 3 feet away from the basket for a while. About 20 minutes and 40 shots later, I got my first make.

I made three more 3-footers in the rest of that hour.

It doesn’t seem fair that you should have to relearn something - especially something you’re an expert on. In that summer with Henner, I probably shot over 10,000 shots. And that was when I was already a good shooter. I can’t even imagine how many it’s going to take to get back ANYTHING that resembles my old shot.

That’s the depressing moment. The moment you realize that no matter what you do, you’ll never be as good at something as you used to be.

My friend brian showed me this thign the other day. Basically you get unlimited .10 freerolls on sports bets. If you run it up past $20, you can cash out, or you can just keep running it up. If you bust, they give you another .10 to start out with. So far it’s just been a fun way to have something extra to root on (especially when baseball season is the only thing going, which I find monumentally boring).

I never wanted to get into real sports betting because I’ve seen what it’s done to people, but this is like fantasy sports betting since there’s really no risk.

If you want to sign up go here: www.centsports.com

WPT/PokerRoad Bounty Tournament!

WPT.com and PokerRoad have teamed up to put together a great tournament with bounties and added cash, as well as a chance for you to get a 100% deposit bonus on the WPT’s real-money site.

This is for only NON-US CUSTOMERS at this time. (contact your congressman to change that).

Sign up to play on the WPT’s site, receive a 100% deposit bonus, and compete in the $10 bounty tournament against Antonio Esfandiari, Jody Trainer (former Canadian Player of the Year), Joe Sebok, and Super-Producer Court Harrington of PokerRoad Radio (all of which have $50 bounties on them, as well as PokerRoad gear).

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to the PokerRoad Radio page on PokerRoad.com and click through the WPT banner at the top of the page (or use the bonus code ‘ROAD’ when signing up at WPT) in order to get your deposit bonus. THIS PART IS VERY IMPORTANT!

2. Deposit at least $11 (the buy-in for the tournament). The more you deposit, the more WPT will match in bonuses (up to $100).

3. Register for the tournament:
- Tournament Name: WPT Canadian Open
- Date: May 11 02:00 UK (6pm Pacific on May 10th)
- Added Cash to Prize Pool: $300
- Type: Bounty $50 per bounty player (plus PokerRoad gear)

4. Play in the tournament and get to chat and play with our bounties: Antonio Esfandiari, Joe Sebok, and Court Harrington.

5. Take the thing down, collect your bounties and gear, and go on to run it up huge on WPT’s real-money site!

The click-through bonus banner can be found on the PokerRoad Radio page. Sign up now and take out Court “Nitzilla” Harrington, and hand Joe his third career “Seventhbok.”

The average finish time for a horse in the Kentucky Derby over the last 104 years is 124.3 seconds. How exactly is this event on ESPN for seven hours and on CBS for two and a half. Thats 34,200 seconds minus 124.3 seconds, which means that today on TV you can watch Kentucky Derby Coverage for 34075.7 seconds (around 9.4 hours) without actually even seeing the race.

If you have read my story about “Keeping Things in There Proper Perspective” than you will know there was a tragic reason for me writing it.

The Coble family lost there 3 year old twin girls and 5 year old son in a terrible car accident.

I have told you of the miracle of the Coble family who lost their three children that May 4th morning last year. The Miracle, Mrs. Coble was pregnant with triplets. Two girls and a boy.

Well Mrs. Coble gave birth last night and the triplets are in serious condition in a Mission Viejo Hospital.

I am sure with all our positive prayers these babies will pull through and live a normal life.

The Cobles deserve as much.