Problems getting paid from Full Tilt and Poker Stars

As I’m sure most of you American Players have found out recently, Full Tilt and Poker Stars (and I’m sure other sites as well) are having major difficulty paying their US players.  I am hearing stories of players waiting 6-8 weeks to get a check from Full Tilt then finding out the account was closed and the check is no good.  I also know people who are still waiting for E-checks requested in May.  As of today neither Full Tilt or Poker Stars are even accepting requests for E-Checks.

Now, I hear a lot of grumbling that its a scam and that the sites are in financial trouble and trying to stall paying the players.  I seriously doubt even if they were in trouble, they would alienate their best players just to earn some interest on the accounts.  In the world of online poker, being seen as fair and supportive of your players is the only way to stay ahead.

Now with that said, I have done some checking and it seems that the biggest problems have to do with the poker rooms choice of banks.  Most of the sites we all use are sending money to US bank accounts to pay off their US players.  This is causing trouble because of the USIGEA, which made it illegal for US banks to process online gaming transactions.  Now of course there is not an actual law that forbids online poker or online gaming, the Wire Act was written for Sports Betting.

If your having trouble getting your money from your chosen poker site, stop just whining about, and get out there and tell your congressman that this has to change.  The first thing you can do is visit The Poker Players Alliance and send and email to your congressman, and then get involved.  Once our voices are heard, the Government will realize that Prohibition will not work and lawful regulation is the best choice.

The 7 Stages of Ace King

Psychologists often refer to the 7 stages of grief that accompany any significant loss in an individual’s life. We certainly think AK qualifies, and know the stages all too well:

1) Denial: “There’s no way I could’ve missed the flop. They were suited. I can call here, I probably still have the best hand. Shoot, I should raise to narrow the field”

2) Anger: “I raised preflop. The board is 239. What the fuck are they calling on? Oh, now they’re re-raising me? Well, we’ll fucking see about that. Fine, your 23o hit? Congrat-u-fucking-lations. Cap!”

3) Guilt: “Man, I missed the turn and they’re still betting into me. I am such a terrible player. I should really let go of this hand. Let go if it, dumbass. Let go. See, this is why you never make money at poker because you can’t lay a hand down you stupid fuck JUST FOLD.”

4) Depression: “Call”

5) Forgiveness: “It’s ok, you have to look that guy up every once in a while with A high. He might’ve been on AQ or AJ, and you would’ve had the best hand then. It’s good for your table image anyhow. People won’t mess with you now.

6) Acceptance: “Ok, next time I’ll just limp and see a flop.”

7) Recovery: “Hey, AKs, alright – RAISE!”

I found this on a great website Part Time Poker.com check it out

One reason Gas is so expensive

I was watching the news the other day, and saw a report about a city council meeting in the Bay Area. The meeting was about whether or not to allow Chevron to expand their refinery there. There was a lot of outcry concerning this. Even with gas at almost $5.00 a gallon, people are still suffering from NIMBY* Syndrome. I did a little research and found that the last oil refinery built in the US was in 1976! Click here to read the article

Not only to do we not build more refineries, we haven’t built a new Nuclear Power plant and even had a wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts shelved because of public outcry.

Everyone agrees that we need new power plants, and refineries but we also need prisons, halfway houses and other public works, but no body wants it near them. Hence the NIMBY Syndrome (Not In My Back Yard)

When will people realize that if you want to fix the problems we as a nation face, you have to relent and let the projects go through.

Why do we chase those pocket pairs….

I have to ask myself, why is it so damn hard to get rid of a player with a pocket pair. It has happened to me several times today. I am against someone who is holding a pocket pair (say 77) the flop comes all over cards, I put a bet out there and get a call. The turn is another over card, I bet he calls. Then the one that pisses me off the most, the river comes a 7 and gives him trips. Now mind you more often than not, I will win the hand because the trips never comes, but I get confused about the logic.

Can someone please tell me why people hold on to that pocket pair so long?

Think before you scream Racisim

I found this story on Fox News. You have to read it to see how stupid some people are.

Apparently a Texas county official found the term Black Hole racially offensive. I guess he never took science class.

Now come on…..

The Worst Ten Presidents

I Stumbled onto this story in US News and Worldly Report about the 10 worst presidents in history. And I started thinking about where G.W. Bush will rank in this poll after he leaves office.

After Reading the list, it becomes painfully obvious that Dubya will rank in the very top of this list.

Several presidents are remembered for their lack of Conviction. For Example James Buchanan didn’t have the backbone to stand up what he thought was right and felt that the Constitution did not give him the powers to hold the Union together. Conviction is one area Dubya has never faltered on, in fact over the years he has shown that nothing will stand in his way when he has a plan, especially that pesky Constitution

Warren Harding was remembered more for his womanizing than his governing skills. He was known for letting his cronies ransack the government for their own gain. I think even Harding could learn from Dubya, between Halliburton and the numerous oil companies, I think he has set a record for the amount of government corruption while in office.

When we look back at his eight year in office, what will we remember? Four (maybe Five) dollar a gallon gas? The unending war in Iraq? The Valerie Plame Scandal? The prison on at Gitmo? The lack of Habieus Corpus? The no fly list? The lowest approval rating in history?

The one thing I can guarantee is that G.W Bush will have a place on this list for a very very long time.

The Definition of Irony

George W Bush has expressed his Birthday Wish as a world free of Tyranny. I personally find this hilarious, coming from a man who has invaded another sovereign country using trumped up intelligence and caused more tyranny than any US president ever has.

But hey, we only have to wait until January for one less tyrant.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4286721.ece