More Old MSN posts, including the end of my poker career.

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Sunday, April 22, 2007 at 8:39pm | Delete
Thanks for the comments Gohn! We could have a lot of fun comparing lousy jobs I'm sure, I've had more than most people. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of poker content. My bankroll is still en route from stars, moving into the 2nd week now. It's worse than the old Prima days now that neteller is gone. About all I can report on is some spectator moments at the Edmonton 1/2nl tables. I've heard people say that these casino games are as soft as the microlimits online, and from first glance that seems about right. Roughly 4 people to the flop, going to showdown most every hand. Sure to be a lucrative game when my money comes in. In other news, I've basically worked as a ranch hand for the last week. I pitched hay, shovelled shit, drove a tractor, piled wood. My friends and I basically lived a Steinbeck novel this week. And speaking of novels, I received a letter back from a publisher about my own novel. They haven't forgotten me and will look at my manuscript sooner rather than later. That's all for now. Tomorrow I'm on the highway again at 5am. I've found that when I'm leaving my family for these extended drives on prairie highway to go do hard labor in a ditch somewhere that country music seems to fill my mp3 player. Can't listen to it any other time really, but for this trip I've loaded a ton of Willie, and Waylon and Hank Williams 3, etc. Talk to y'all in a week or sooner.
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Great post off of 2+2
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Saturday, April 14, 2007 at 9:53am | Delete
There has always been a lot of speculation about the future of online poker. Will the sites eventually rake all the money there is to be had. Will the sharks eat up all the fish, making the games essentially unbeatable rock gardens? A poster on 2+2 posted this great analogy. I can only really see two possible outcomes:

A) Online poker profitability will be cyclic and when there gets to be too many sharks and not enough fish, then some of the sharks will leave and the shark:fish ratio will improve again. This would be similar to what is seen in predator-prey models such as the classic "foxes and rabbits" model: B) Online poker stabilizes to an unprofitable equilibrium and nobody can really make any money other than the sites themselves. This would be similar to what happened in the American gold rush and would be better modeled by the "rabbits and sheep" population model where both agents compete for the same foodstuff (grass):



What better day?
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Friday, April 13, 2007 at 7:06pm | Delete
What better day to formally announce my return to the workforce than Friday the 13th. Yep. It is with a heavy heart that I once again submit myself to the rigors of indentured service. On Monday I'll be heading to the Promised Land of Alberta, great receiver of the prairie exodus, and I'll sink into the muck and filth of the sewer. Literally this time, not figuratively.
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God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut
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Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 9:26pm | Delete
I'm deeply saddened by the news today that Kurt Vonnegut has died. This man was my hero when I was younger. I had no idea there was such a thing as humanism before I read Vonnegut. Breakfast of Champions was the first novel of Mr. Vonnegut's that I'd ever read. I believe I read it because I'd heard that Vonnegut had been banned at one time, and this had a tremendous appeal for me. It was beautiful, funny, new, disturbing, and even today I would count it amongst the top 10 novels that I've ever read. At the time that I discovered Mr. V I was struggling with a lot of troubling questions. Most of my own friends were dead or wasted lives, victims of an extremely fast lifestyle. Most of those in the 'dead' column were suicides. Perhaps this is why the often black humor of Vonnegut's writing had such an appeal for me. Ironically, it was through the humanist writing of Mr. Vonnegut that I came to embrace a more spiritual lifestyle. I had a belief at the time, that the surest way to success as a writer, was to read the works of great writers, and in turn, read the works of all the great writers that they gave so much as a passing mention to in their works. In the case of Vonnegut, I was lead to 2 important works; Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (which he frequently referred to as the Atheist's bible), and the works of Herman Hesse, whom he referred to as the worst writer that ever lived. The former set me upon a lifetime interest in great quotes, and I swear at one point in my life I spoke in nothing but quotes (annoying prick that I was). The latter, Herman Hesse, introduced the idea to me that spirituality could be a personal experience, that it didn't have to involve churches or temples or dogma. I've had many a friend that "hated reading" only to read and reread "Breakfast of Champions", "God Bless You Mr. Rosewater" "Slaughterhouse Five" and eventually the entire Vonnegut catalog. I think that this, more than anything, defines Kurt Vonnegut as a great writer, as one of the Immortals; his ability to appeal to the everyman. Here's an article from Vonnegut on why he believed he did not get the nobel prize for literature, and if you don't know Vonnegut, you will after this short piece;
Have I Got a Car for You!
By Kurt Vonnegut

(Kurt Vonnegut / vonnegut.com

I used to be the owner and manager of an automobile dealership in West Barnstable, Massachusetts, called “Saab Cape Cod.” It and I went out of business 33 years ago. The Saab then as now was a Swedish car, and I now believe my failure as a dealer so long ago explains what would otherwise remain a deep mystery: Why the Swedes have never given me a Nobel Prize for Literature. Old Norwegian proverb: “Swedes have short dicks but long memories.”

Listen: The Saab back then had only one model, a bug like a VW, a two-door sedan, but with the engine in front. It had suicide doors opening into the slipstream. Unlike all other cars, but like your lawnmower and your outboard, it had a two-stroke rather than a four-stroke engine. So every time you filled your tank with gas you had to pour in a can of oil as well. For whatever reason, straight women did not want to do this.

The chief selling point was that a Saab could drag a VW at a stoplight. But if you or your significant other had failed to add oil to the last tank of gas, you and the car would then become fireworks. It also had front-wheel drive, of some help on slippery pavements or when accelerating into curves. There was this selling point as well: As one prospective customer said to me, “They make the best watches. Why wouldn’t they make the best cars, too?” I was bound to agree.

The Saab back then was a far cry from the sleek, powerful, four-stroke Yuppie uniform it is today. It was the wet dream, if you like, of engineers in an airplane factory who had never made a car before. “Wet dream,” did I say? Get a load of this: There was a ring on the dashboard, connected to a chain running over pulleys in the engine compartment. Pull on it, and at the far end it would raise a sort of window shade on a spring-loaded roller behind the front grill. That was to keep the engine warm while you went off somewhere. So, when you cam back, if you hadn’t stayed away too long, the engine would start right up again.

But if you stayed away too long, window shade or not, the oil would separate from the gas and sink like molasses to the bottom of the tank. So when you started up again, you would lay down a smokescreen like a destroyer in a naval engagement. And I actually blacked out the whole town of Woods Hole at high noon that way, having left a Saab on a parking lot there for about a week. I am told old timers there still wonder out loud about where all that smoke could have come from. I came to speak ill of Swedish engineering, and so diddled myself out of a Nobel Prize.
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Tourney win
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 8:25pm | Delete
POKERSTARS GAME #9137309447: TOURNAMENT #45175225, FREEROLL HOLD'EM NO LIMIT - LEVEL XIV (2000/4000) - 2007/03/28 - 19:41:22 (ET)
Table '45175225 109' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: theone421 (7621 in chips)
Seat 2: zirt81 (10300 in chips)
Seat 3: Time4Lenny (6785 in chips)
Seat 4: 12knights (13110 in chips)
Seat 5: Ermm (12993 in chips)
Seat 7: The Onanist (37011 in chips)
Seat 8: bugsy1974 (190 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 9: str8loc0 (7280 in chips)
theone421: posts the ante 200
zirt81: posts the ante 200
Time4Lenny: posts the ante 200
12knights: posts the ante 200
Ermm: posts the ante 200
The Onanist: posts the ante 200
bugsy1974: posts the ante 190 and is all-in
str8loc0: posts the ante 200
str8loc0: posts big blind 4000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to str8loc0 [Ks 9h]
theone421: raises 3421 to 7421 and is all-in
zirt81: folds
Time4Lenny: folds
12knights: folds
Ermm: folds
The Onanist: folds
bugsy1974: folds
Iamcpow is connected
str8loc0 said, "odds...****ing odds"
str8loc0: calls 3080 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [2c 7h 8h]
*** TURN *** [2c 7h 8h] [Ah]
*** RIVER *** [2c 7h 8h Ah] [Th]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
str8loc0: shows [Ks 9h] (a flush, Ace high)
theone421: shows [Qd Kd] (high card Ace)
str8loc0 collected 14230 from side pot
str8loc0 collected 1520 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 15750 Main pot 1520. Side pot 14230. | Rake 0
Board [2c 7h 8h Ah Th]
Seat 1: theone421 showed [Qd Kd] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 2: zirt81 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Time4Lenny folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: 12knights folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Ermm folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: The Onanist (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: bugsy1974 (small blind) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: str8loc0 (big blind) showed [Ks 9h] and won (15750) with a flush, Ace high

I won a ticket to the Team Canada WSOP final this Sat. I finished in 80th out of 1750, and could have finished higher, but didn't really care to. The top 100 won a ticket to the final, and I was already late picking up Janet. I started going all in with marginal hands, figuring I'd either get lucky and double up enough that I could leave the game and coast to a higher finish or bust right out. So I busted out, but I won some cash and the ticket. There was one really interesting hand in the tournament, a hand that was instrumental in my finish. Here it is. I'm kind of proud of this hand, because my instinct was to fold, but I took a moment and looked at the numbers involved and decided I couldn't fold. Here it is. Thoughts are welcome.
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Wilson Turbo Poker
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 1:04pm | Delete
I finally bought Wilson Turbo Texas Hold Em. This is a software program that has been highly reccomended from some pretty reputable people in the poker biz. Jim Mcmanus, author of Positively Fifth Street credits Wilson's turbo with his final table showing in the WSOP. (For some reason I feel like I already told you this). So far I'm having fun with it and learning a lot about limit hold em without jeopardizing my bankroll. I'm sure this program will pay for itself in no time. In other news, I've resigned myself to the fact that neteller is gone, and I can no longer use my poker account as an ATM machine. It's going to take a week or 2 to get money out now, I guess I'll just have to plan ahead.
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#$#%#$^% Neteller!
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Monday, March 26, 2007 at 9:23am | Delete
Neteller Exiting Canada, Turkey
Published: Monday, March 26, 2007
Author:

Online payment processor, Neteller, announced today that it is withdrawing from both the Canadian and Turkish markets. Cited as reason for the decision were “Recent actions by regulators, payment processors, and online gaming operators have increased the uncertainty around certain activities related to online gambling in some jurisdiction.”

The primary reason for the closure to Turkish customers is legislation passed on February 28, 2007 “which prohibits certain forms of online gambling to be offered by any “unauthorised” domestic or foreign company to citizens in Turkey.” Neteller apparently see this as a signal to get out, even though the company does not actually engage in online gambling. Online gambling transactions are no longer available in Turkey as of March 26, 2007.

No specific reason was given for the cessation of online gambling transactions for Canadian residents. Unlike Turkey, customers in Canada can still engage in online gambling transactions until April 9, although InstaCASH transactions are no longer available as of Monday. Non-gambling transactions can still be made, which includes peer-to-peer and pre-paid debit transactions.

Neteller says that the elimination of its Canadian business will have a “…material negative impact on the Group’s results for the full year ending 31 December 2007.” Considering that in the first half of 2006, 85 percent of Neteller’s $5.1 billion in revenue came from North America, this is not hard to believe.

The company does not expect to make any more layoffs, even at its Calgary office, and says its shares will remain suspended from trading.

Neteller reiterated that it still expects to announce within 75 days of March 21 a plan to return frozen U.S. customer funds, and that all customer funds are safe in segregated accounts.

Below is the complete press release regarding the Canadian and Turkish markets.

*********************************

NETELLER Announces Service Changes to Canadian and Turkish Market

Monday, 26 March 2007 – The NETELLER Plc Group (“NETELLER” or the “Group”) (LSE: NLR), the leading global independent online money transfer business, today announced several significant changes to its services in a number of markets.
The Group continually assesses the risk profile and status of the markets its serves. Recent actions by regulators, payment processors, and online gaming operators have increased the uncertainty around certain activities related to online gambling in some jurisdictions. The Board of Directors of the Company reached a decision, on 25 March 2007, that the risk to the Group’s ongoing business in Canada and Turkey has increased in the light of such developments. The Board has therefore concluded that the Group will no longer process transfers related to online gambling sites on behalf of Canada or Turkey resident customers.

Reduced Service to Canada

• Cessation of Canadian transfers to gambling merchants: the Group will cease processing online gambling related transactions for Canada-resident customers with effect from 12.01 AM MST Monday 9 April 2007.
• Suspension of InstaCASH transactions: As of today Monday 26 March 2007, at 12:01 AM MST, Canada-resident customers were no longer able to deposit funds using NETELLER’s instaCASH service either directly or from any online gambling site.
• Non-gambling services continue: Canada-resident customers will continue to be able to use their e-wallet accounts for non-gambling transactions, including peer-to-peer and pre-paid debit transactions.
• Available customer funds: Customer funds, including those of Canadian residents, are held in a pooled, segregated trust account and will be available for withdrawal by customers, on demand. Canadian customers continue to be able to use their e-wallet accounts for non-gambling transactions.

Reduced Service to Turkey

In light of recent legislation passed in Turkey on 28 February 2007, which prohibits certain forms of online gambling to be offered by any “unauthorised” domestic or foreign company to citizens in Turkey, NETELLER has decided to implement a voluntary phased withdrawal of the payment services related to online gambling that it offers customers to the Turkish market.

• Withdrawal of local bank funding options: Local bank deposit options for Turkey-resident customers were withdrawn on Friday 9 March 2007.
• Cessation of Turkish transfers to and from online gambling merchants: The Group has ceased processing online gambling related transactions for Turkey-resident customers with effect from 6.01 AM GMT Monday 26 March 2007.
• Non-gambling related services continue: Turkey-resident customers will be able to continue to use their NETELLER e-wallet account for any non-gambling related money transfers and withdrawals. Customers located in other parts of the world are not affected by this change, and NETELLER continues to service these customers in the normal manner.

Group Business Impact

The Canadian business of the NETELLER Group would likely have contributed significantly to the Group’s revenue and profitability during 2007 and the loss of this business is now likely to have a material negative impact on the Group’s results for the full year ending 31 December 2007. The Turkish business of the Group does not represent a material proportion of the Group’s overall customer base, revenue or profitability.

The Group does not anticipate making further significant reductions in staff as a result of these service changes as the Board believes that its Calgary-based operations are appropriately sized to handle the remaining non-North American business of the Group. The Group will continue to focus on the growth markets of Europe and Asia.

Other Updates

The Group’s shares will continue to be suspended from trading on AIM in view of the continuing uncertainties the Group faces. Further announcements will be made as appropriate.

The Company is working towards the finalisation of its audited annual results for the year ended 31 December 2006 and will announce the date on which these will be published to the market in due course.

The Company would, in light of recent press comment concerning its announcement of 21 March 2007, like to make clear that the 75 day period referred to in that announcement was for agreement of a plan of distribution with the United States Attorney's Office. It would remain to be determined, as part of that plan, the precise timing of the distribution of funds to US customers.

Further information is available on the Group’s website in the form of updated FAQs.

About the NETELLER Group

Trusted by millions of consumers in over 160 countries to move and manage billions of dollars each year, the NETELLER Group operates the largest independent online money transfer business in the world. The Group specializes in providing innovative and instant payment services where money transfer is difficult or risky due to identity, trust, currency exchange, or distance. Being independent has allowed the Group to support thousands of retailers and merchants in many geographies and across multiple industries.

The Group is quoted on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market, with a ticker symbol of NLR. NETELLER (UK) Limited is authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to operate as a regulated e-money issuer. For more information about the Group visit www.netellergroup.com.

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