November 2014 ~ InulPoker Running

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Robinson signs new Giants contract

Huddersfield Giants half-back Luke Robinson has signed a new three-year deal.

The 30-year-old has made 201 appearances for the Giants since joining them from Salford in 2007.

He told BBC Radio Leeds: "I'm ecstatic really. I've been at the club for a long time but it feels like there is more to come from the journey.

"I want to win something here and the club has made massive strides in the time that I have been here."

He added: "I like to get stuck in and it takes its toll but I feel good and I feel like I can keep going.

"I'd like to play as long as I can so fingers crossed I can just keep playing well."

Hull FC release winger Crookes

Hull FC have released winger Jason Crookes by mutual consent, BBC Radio Humberside reports.

The 24-year-old featured on only three occasions for the Black and Whites last season and went on to finish the campaign on loan at Championship side Featherstone.

He joined the KC Stadium side from Bradford Bulls on a three-year deal in September 2012.

In total he made 16 league appearances for Hull FC, scoring five tries.

Blackpool to host Summer Bash event

Blackpool's Bloomfield Road will host the Championship Summer Bash over 23-24 May 2015, with Bradford versus Halifax on Saturday among the headline games.

The newly-created event, based on Super League's Magic Weekend, sees champions Leigh play Featherstone on Sunday.

Day one also includes Cumbrian rivals Workington facing Whitehaven, while Sheffield take on London.

Sunday features the Heavy Woollen derby between Batley and Dewsbury, and Hunslet will play Doncaster.

Saturday will also see the final of the inaugural League One Cup, a knock-out competition including the third-tier clubs and National Conference League amateurs West Hull and East Leeds.

Blackpool Borough occasionally staged fixtures at the stadium and played their final few home matches before the club was uprooted to Wigan in 1987.

In recent years the venue has hosted play-offs and Northern Rail Cup finals - a knock-out competition open to professional clubs outside Super League, as well as the Northern Rail Nines.

"The Summer Bash is a tremendous addition to the new-look Championship and I am sure rugby league fans everywhere will embrace the event and take the opportunity to spend a weekend at a venue which has a rich tradition of creating fantastic memories for the sport," said RFL chief operating officer Ralph Rimmer.

"Blackpool is the perfect home for the Summer Bash - not only are there plenty of accommodation choices but the resort offers our fans many other attractions over the extended Bank Holiday weekend.

"With the dawn of a new era for rugby league and the restoration of promotion and relegation in 2015, every minute of every game matters and that will ensure the Summer Bash will produce drama of the highest quality."

Widnes fined for crowd trouble

astleford and Widnes played out a thrilling tie but a pitch invasion at full-time led to police and stewards intervening

Widnes Vikings have been fined £20,000 by the Rugby Football League after fans ran onto the pitch following August's Challenge Cup semi-final defeat by Castleford Tigers.

The Vikings lost the match 28-6 at Leigh Sports Village on 10 August.

Police and stewards had to intervene to restrain spectators from the Widnes section.

The club has been instructed to pay £10,000 immediately, with an additional £10,000 suspended for 12 months.

Widnes, who the RFL acknowledged for their full cooperation with the investigation, must also pay £4,000 costs.

The RFL said in a statement: "Rule D1.10b states that clubs are 'responsible to the RFL for the actions of their spectators and all persons purporting to be their supporters, and are required to use their best endeavours to take all precautions to ensure that their spectators and all persons purporting to be their supporters do not threaten, abuse or assault third parties'.

"Clubs must also ensure that 'their spectators, or people purporting to be their supporters, do not damage property, or invade the pitch, or pitch surrounds, or throw missiles on the pitch, or act in a disorderly or improper manner before, during or after the conclusion of matches'."

Widnes chief executive James Rule said in a joint statement with the RFL that the club apologised for the disorder.

"We will continue to work with the police, the RFL and Halton Borough Council to implement banning orders to all involved," he said.

"Whilst we accept the tribunal's ruling and recognise our responsibilities as to the behaviour of our fans, it is important for us to recognise that the acts were not representative of our true supporters and the spirit of Widnes Vikings."

England can 'flower into something special'

If you walked into the England dressing room moments after their 16-14 defeat by New Zealand, you would immediately be swamped by a feeling of frustration lingering in the air.

That's the view of former England skipper Jamie Peacock as Steve McNamara's side stare Four Nations elimination in the face.

Steve McNamara 'frustrated' by defeat

England dominated the Kiwis for large periods without having the killer instinct to translate that into points. And it was the same story against Australia just six days earlier.

Those narrow defeats mean England will not meet the Kiwis again in next Saturday's final - unless Samoa beat Australia by eight points or less on Sunday.

Leeds Rhinos forward Peacock, former England international Jon Wilkin and ex-New Zealand half-back Robbie Hunter-Paul analyse England's performance in the Four Nations and assess what the future holds between now until the 2017 World Cup.

Dan Sarginson was not selected for the first game against Samoa, but has done wonderfully well against Australia and New Zealand

Peacock: "England created numerous opportunities to score but they weren't clinical enough. It's been a long time since they have played down under and not looked out of place. England have been competitive and not just hanging on in games, they have been dominating games without winning."

Hunter-Paul: "England played for the full 80 minutes against the Kiwis - moving the ball, moving in numbers and using those numbers to create space and opportunities. They could have been more clinical with their final passes but I'm extremely optimistic about where this young team is going.

"There's something special about this England squad that we may see flower over the next few years."

Peacock: "If England don't get to the final then they will feel it is a missed opportunity.

"There will be a feeling of frustration inside that England changing room. Frustration because they have not managed to win one of games against Australia or New Zealand when they should have done.

"And, if they don't get there, it will be a final that they will not want to watch because as a player you think 'we should be there, I should be playing in this'. I don't think the players will be sat watching the game in their team hotel - it hurts too much."

"Steve has made a lot of right decisions and the team is growing," says Jamie Peacock

Hunter-Paul: "In the short-term he is the right man. I've garnered a lot of confidence from what Steve has done in this tournament. After last week's defeat by Australia he has responded well. He shook the team up and I liked his game plan. New Zealand and Australia took their opportunities and turned them into points - they were the only differences."

Peacock: "No. I think Steve has done well because England have been in transition. Over the past few years he's lost senior players like myself, Adrian Morley, Gareth Ellis, Keith Senior and Jon Wilkin. And they were still 30 seconds from making a World Cup final last year.

"Since then they've lost the world's best player in Sam Burgess and their captain Kevin Sinfield. But they were a hair's breadth away from beating Australia and New Zealand. They've still looked highly competitive and like they deserve to be in the same arena as Australia and New Zealand. They don't have to go back to the drawing board and reinvent the wheel.

"Steve's made a lot of right decisions and the team is growing. Now the 2015 Autumn home series against New Zealand is a must win for Steve."

Wilkin: "As a group you learn to win together. When you're with a group of people for a long time you understand what it takes to win games in pressure situations. Leeds Rhinos have been masters of that for a number of years. They can sense when a game is on a knife edge and tip it in their favour.

"England have not tipped the crucial games in their favour for a long time. It is almost like performance anxiety. England think too much towards the back end of games and try to do things differently."

25 October: England 32-26 Samoa

25 October: Australia 12-30 New Zealand

1 November: New Zealand 14-12 Samoa

2 November: Australia 16-12 England

8 November: New Zealand 16-14 England

9 November: Australia v Samoa (Wollongong, Australia)

15 November: Final (Wellington, New Zealand)

Peacock: "The more times you're involved in close games, the more on-field battle experience you have, you tend to work out as a player what you need to do to win games. If you're winning by six points with five minutes to play, or if you're six points behind with five to go, you think 'how do we have to play to see this out?'

"It is a learned experience and one which we developed over the years at Leeds. But the older players also have to use their experience to tell the younger players. There's no 'Eureka' moment - you develop a feeling for what needs doing over time."

Hunter-Paul: "Developing that winning experience is about bedding in with the players around you. That comes with a mixture of training, playing and bonding together - you've got to get the balance right. Steve McNamara has done a good job of getting the players to buy into that unified family of England - 'we are Team England'.

"Keeping the crux of the group together allows the players to develop appreciation of one another and things start to become natural and they read each other better. That was the good thing when my brother Henry and I played together for New Zealand - I knew innately when he was going to make a break or put himself in position for an offload. His body language used to change - he used to get a little more excited. So I just headed north because most of time he got a break, put me in and I got all the glory!"

Peacock: "There is definite progression. I look back to when I was playing at the 2008 World Cup and we were a million miles away from beating Australia and New Zealand. This side isn't. They have progressed to a point where I think they will be winning these close games in the next couple of years. It's the smallest margins separating them and they can get them right."

The 2014 tournament is the fourth edition of the Four Nations and sees Australia, New Zealand, England and Samoa taking part.

France, Papua New Guinea and Wales featured alongside the 'big three' in previous editions. Samoa secured their place by beating Fiji in a play-off.

The teams play each other once in the pool stage with the top two nations going through to the final on 15 November.

Australia beat England in the 2009 and 2011 finals, but lost to New Zealand in the 2010 showpiece.

Hunter-Paul: "If this tournament has not been proof then I don't know what is. England have done that with a young side, not a team of old heads on their last hurrah. You can't buy a forward pack like England have got. You can have the best full-back and halves in the world but without forwards they can't do a thing. It is a golden era of forwards for England."

Wilkin: "It is but I believe the Australia and New Zealand players are silkier and more skilful in the crucial moments of games. That's what sets the teams apart at the moment."

Man of Steel Daryl Clark has made an impressive contribution to England on his first tour

Peacock: "They will be huge contenders if they learn from this experience down under. The majority of the squad are going to be at that World Cup in Australia and New Zealand - most are under 30 now and they will have three years more experience then.

"Players like Sam Tomkins, who now have World Cup and Four Nations experience, need to realise they are now leaders. I remember coming to that point in my career - you realise you're not a junior player any more, you're a senior player. That realisation comes from within yourself and that your role in the team has changed. If you've got the ability to analyse yourself you have the ability to step up and change your behaviour.

"England will also learn from this experience of going on tour down under. It's difficult as an England player there - it's a completely different feel to everything. The pitch, the food, the hotels, the environment, smells - everything is different. And your body and brain has to get used to that."

Hunter-Paul: "I think England are on the right track - and it is exciting. Those, like Daryl Clark and Dan Sarginson, who have made their debuts on this tour have not looked out of place. In fact it is quite the opposite - they have brought the X Factor.

"What they will bring back from the Four Nations is immeasurable. Those will come back knowing they can mix it with the world's best - your mentality as a player changes after that.

"At first you go out there and think 'ooh I'm playing against the big scary Australians'. But, for example, I went down there in my first Test, took a left foot step and split them. Then I thought 'this is the best Australia have got and I've split them'.

"Those things play on your mind and that's the psychology of great players at that level of competition. Once you have set that platform in an international arena it is hard to come back down."

It was a try 100% - pundits react

"It was one of the most important moments in England rugby league international history. It was a try - 100%."

Four Nations: England still believe in final despite Australia loss

That is the view of former England international Jon Wilkin after Ryan Hall's last-minute 'try' was ruled out as Australia defeated England 16-12 on Sunday.

It left England needing to beat New Zealand by 10 points to guarantee reaching the Four Nations final.

That it is not as simple as it sounds. New Zealand, who dramatically beat England in last year's World Cup semi-final, have a 100% record in the tournament after beating Australia and Samoa in their opening two games.

Wilkin and former England international Paul Sculthorpe, along with ex-New Zealand half-back Robbie Hunter-Paul, analyse England's performance against the Kangaroos and assess whether they can reach the final on 15 November.

Hall's try was not given by video referee Bernard Sutton. The England winger got on the end of Liam Farrell's kick and seemed to touch down but Sutton ruled the ball had bounced up on to his fingers, meaning Hall had not applied downward pressure.

Wilkin: "The referee said the ball was on the upward and that is what has forced the finger up but I disagree with him. At full speed it does not look like a try but when you slow it down it does.

Hall seemed to touch the ball down but the try was not given.

"But as a player there's nothing you can do. In rugby what sets us apart is that we just get on with it. There will be no whinging to the referee. But the lads will think that it is a difficult decision to take."

Sculthorpe: "England have been hard done by. Ryan Hall's touching the ball on the way down - that's grounded. The ball is on the floor, you can see the finger go up - there is pressure on the ball. As a player you're watching the replay and you have to think you've scored. Some days those go for you, sometimes they don't. Today it didn't go for England."

Hunter-Paul: "I think Hall is intentionally trying to ground the ball, that's the only reason why he has thrown his arm forward. And by that rationale the ball is going down and the little finger is on it. That is a try. The fact Ryan Hall has reached forward is to try to get a hand on the ball."

Sculthorpe: "Yes. With the way they played in the first half, England were convincingly the best team and led 12-4 at the break. But fair credit to Australia they came back and changed the way they played after the break by taking off one of the big guys and bringing on Ben Hunt. Australia speeded the play-the-ball up and England stopped doing what they did best, playing quick and going in numbers. You could see the momentum change in the game.

"We have been here several times before - England playing well but Australia nicking a win. England were in front and shut up shop. It took until the last five minutes for England to get back playing again and get on the front foot.

"England will go back to their training camp, look back at the video and regret switching off. They knew the game was there for the taking."

25 October: England 32-26 Samoa

25 October: Australia 12-30 New Zealand

1 November: New Zealand 14-12 Samoa

2 November: Australia 16-12 England

8 November: New Zealand v England (Dunedin, New Zealand)

9 November: Australia v Samoa (Wollongong, Australia)

15 November: Final (Wellington, New Zealand)

Hunter-Paul: "In that opening 40 minutes England were moving the ball around and moving the Australia defence around. They were tiring out that Kangaroos defence, but in the second half they just tried to punch holes and play very safe. You can't do that against Australia."

Wilkin: "Australia had the majority of possession in the second half - that was the difference. Australia controlled the game, got on the front foot, chose the right kicks and slowed the game down at the right times.

"That allowed Australia to strangle England. I've played for England when Australia are strangling you and it's nearly impossible to change."

Sculthorpe: "Yes they can. They will take a lot of confidence from Sunday's performance because they know Australia were there for the taking. They've got to do what they did well against the Kangaroos - play quick on the Kiwis and pressure Shaun Johnson. He's their talisman and England must stop him playing.

"Australia have always been the number one team in the world and the way England shut up shop maybe showed there is a mental block playing against them. That's something they've never had against the Kiwis."

The 2014 tournament is the fourth edition of the Four Nations and sees Australia, New Zealand, England and Samoa taking part.

France, Papua New Guinea and Wales featured alongside the 'big three' in previous editions. Samoa secured their place by beating Fiji in a play-off.

The teams play each other once in the pool stage with the top two nations going through to the final on 15 November.

Australia beat England in the 2009 and 2011 finals, but lost to New Zealand in the 2010 showpiece.

Wilkin: "It's going to be difficult because I think New Zealand are the best team in the competition. But of course England can win. England need a complete performance, long gone are days when New Zealand are just a big, robust team with not much structure around them. With Johnson and Kieran Foran they've got best two half-backs in the competition. Stopping their effectiveness is crucial."

Hunter-Paul: "New Zealand are definitely beatable. I think the Samoans proved that in running them so close on Saturday before losing 14-12. New Zealand still have a long way to go before they are the finished article.

"It is more of a daunting task playing Australia on Australian soil than it is playing New Zealand on New Zealand soil. They have been able to scalp New Zealand recently and that will be a big bonus for them."

Wilkin: "The key players will have to be aware of it because should it come to it, they need to know where they stand. First and foremost, Steve McNamara will be talking about performance but they will have strategies in place should it be a tight game."

Sculthorpe: "Last year's 20-18 World Cup semi-final defeat by the Kiwis was heartbreaking. I wouldn't say revenge is on the players' minds, but it will have taught them that they are capable of beating the Kiwis. That can spur them on."

Hunter-Paul: "At international level you don't have revenge on your mind. The class of athlete that you are going up against, the dynamic of ability out there, puts a different swing on the match.

"The World Cup semi-final will play a part and England will be desperate to right the wrongs of the Australia match."

23 November 2013: New Zealand 20-18 England

12 November 2012: England 28-6 New Zealand

23 October 2010: New Zealand 24-10 England

7 November 2009: England 20-12 New Zealand

15 November 2008: England 22-36 New Zealand

Poker is not a crime

In my last blog, I wrote about my involvement in the business and media side of the Italian poker industry. This time, I want to talk about my broader role as an ambassador for the game. Even though the "boom" was several years ago now, there are still a lot of misconceptions about poker and people confuse Texas Hold'em with video poker or pure gambling games like roulette. I continue to host a show on Italian TV called Poker1Mania and I try to use it as a platform to help people understand why poker is a skill game.

I've also been invited on several other Italian talk shows as a guest, including a program called Campionato dei Campioni that focuses on football matches (Americans would call it "soccer"). Football is wildly popular in Italy and I was excited to appear on the show not only to demonstrate my love for football, but also to try and explain more about poker as a skill game and how it carries many similarities with traditional sports. My appearance on the show was really well received and I was so happy to have the opportunity to talk about poker to a whole new segment of people. The experience confirmed for me that there is still a lot to do in terms of erasing people's misconceptions about poker, not just in Italy but around the world. I really want people to understand the deepness of the game and the mental challenge poker can provide. PokerStars has done such a great job promoting the game, but we still have a lot to do.

I'm passionate about the legitimization of poker for many reasons. First, of course, there is the personal aspect, but on the other side, I feel a great responsibility to be an ambassador, not only for PokerStars and Italy, but for the game as a whole. I think it's something everyone involved in the poker industry should do, whether you're a player that's fortunate enough to get some media attention or if you just play recreationally. Everyone who loves the game needs to spread the message that poker is a game of skill--not just for the good of the game, but for their own good as well. Consider this post a call to action. We need everyone's help.

I don't want to say that as a community we've loosened up a bit when it comes to spreading this message, but back when poker was first regulated and taxed in Italy, the media attention helped a lot of people better understand poker. By selling licenses and taxing games, the Italian government has raised several billion Euros. Most of these funds were used to rebuild the historical city of Aquila, which was devastated by an earthquake back in 2009. Because of that, people discovered that regulated poker can bring great benefits to society. At that stage, the media viewed poker very positively, but now I think people are starting to forget about all the good it did.

Our entire society is changing in terms of how we socialize. Five or ten years ago, people were just going to disco clubs, pubs and cinemas for entertainment. Now people like to stay online, to communicate on social media sites like Facebook, and to play games against each other through the internet. Instead of being afraid of that type of change people need to realize it's just the evolution of society and no one can stop it.

Poker is not a crime. We need to embrace the future, not fight it.

Luca Pagano is a member of Team PokerStars Pro

My chance at the Million Second Quiz

I grew up in family games. My parents, both gifted Bridge players, taught my brother and me about strategy and deductive reasoning using board games. My mother would look at me across a colorful Mastermind board, surveying my latest attempt to crack her code, and ask "Now what do you know?" Needless to say, my love of games extended to game shows, especially where strategy was concerned. From a young age, I'd watch shows like The Price Is Right and Jeopardy and critique the contestants' strategy. Why didn't they understand probability? Why didn't they know how to maximize their Daily Double betting? I knew that if I were given the chance, I would be awesome.

One day, my inbox dinged with an e-mail from NBC, and it was an invitation to try out for a new game show. This was my shot! I was excited! And then I read the description of the show. Trivia. Trivia?! I have a horrible memory and a penchant for forgetting things I've already learned and should remember. Traveling so often, I am more out-of-touch with current events than I should be and way out of touch with celebrity/pop culture. I had conflicting feelings about this amazing opportunity that fell into my lap. On one hand, I didn't want to pass up the opportunity, on the other hand, I knew I was drawing stone dead, and I didn't want to be embarrassed on national television.

After giving it a lot of thought, I decided any potentially fleeting (or forever-lasting) humiliation was worth it, and so I did the only thing I could do: I crammed. My memory is atrocious, but I do a lot of work to make up for that in poker, so I figured I could do the same with trivia. I theorized about what kinds of questions they were likely to ask. I figured they ask about Oscar winners, Olympic cities, about classic television shows. I made online flashcards using a website called Quizlet and I studied them over and over until they were memorized. I went to a website called infoplease, which offers timelines and list of things like each year's most pertinent current events and most relevant celebrities. I reviewed People magazines and read TMZ. I played the Million Second Quiz app to be certain I was getting the right ratio of history, politics, general knowledge, and entertainment. For entire 8 to 10-hour days, I studied. I fell asleep playing their app. I made Miranda ask me random questions about Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter's name or the first battle of the American Civil War. I breathed, ate, and slept Million Second Quiz.

The thing is, I still wasn't certain I'd be cast. I'd been in for in-person interviews. I'd given them pictures of my family and friends to supplement tv interviews. They'd sought me out personally, so it seemed like I'd be a shoe-in. Then two weeks went by and I didn't hear from them, so I figured I was out. Then, on the Sunday morning after I'd gotten back from Barcelona, I got an e-mail advising me to report the next morning by 10am. The e-mail was cryptic and non-specific, and I had no idea what I was in for. I understood there were to be twelve contestants, all vying for the "Money Seat." I'd been ushered through the process thus far, so I thought my show chances were fairly polarized--either not make it and be home by 1pm, or be on the show and be home by 10. Boy was I wrong.

I went through a long day of filling out long forms full of rules and legalese, to sitting in rooms crowded with other hopefuls, to watching television presentations from a psychologist telling you what to do if the show causes a nervous breakdown. Finally, after three hours and my third room, I looked around at the other seventy people present and realized I was one of a huge number of potential contestants. There were people who had waited in line in the street and people who won a chance by playing the app, and we were all huddled together in the same huge room. But I had already been interviewed and producers liked me. That had to count for something, right?

Well, sort of. After sitting in a room for 4 hours and taking quizzes on computers, they finally called my group at 5:45 pm. They took my phone and I texted people to make sure they DVR'ed the show. I was going to be on!

The timing seemed right, and I thought I'd at least get my two and half minutes of TV game show fame. I eagerly followed the production assistant, only to find myself in another room where thirty people were already waiting. I waited, and waited, and waited some more. I finally got to try my hand at the show at 4am, on no sleep and little food. I lasted one bout and lost 11 to 8. Game over. GG.

My Million Second Quiz experience did burst my game show bubble a bit, but I have to look on the bright side. Look at all that I learned. I know the first winter Olympics was in Chamonix, France. I know Kim Kardashian's father was OJ Simpson's lawyer. And I know I won't be going on any more trivia game shows any time soon.

Vanessa Selbst is a member of Team PokerStars Pro

Good start to 2013, but more to come

I'm not generally one for sentimentality, but I can't help but be reflective at the start of a new year. January 1 sort of compels you to think back on the last year of your life--the things you accomplished or didn't accomplish--and think about how you might do things differently for the upcoming year. I have to say, 2012 was phenomenal.

This is the first year of my recent poker career that poker and law school weren't competing for my time and attention. In January 2012, I took my last finals, closed up my twenty-pound textbooks, and crossed my fingers that my diploma would come in the mail. Then I threw myself whole-heartedly into poker. Feeling like parts of my game had deteriorated and never one to be content with mediocrity, I channeled my energy into thinking analytically about my game, plugging my leaks, and playing creatively. How could I take my game to the next level?

NEIL2569_PCA2013_Vanessa_Selbst_Neil Stoddart.jpg Winning something huge couldn't hurt, but more on that in a minute

I exchanged intense law school study for intense poker study. I played wherever and whenever I could. I froze in Deauville in February, flew over the snow-capped Swiss Alps in March, wandered the streets of Berlin in April, and soaked up the sunshine in Monte Carlo in May. I played EPTs, WPTs, LAPC, Bay 101, and Premiere League. Comfortable enough with my NLHE and PLO games, I set my sights on mixed games. I read books, played on Pokerstars, watched videos, and picked brains. The payoff was tremendous.

My World Series was incredible. Going into the World Series, there's always a sense of optimism and excitement about bracelet chasing that can quickly get squashed by daily bust outs and long hours. This year was different for me, though. I won my second bracelet and made several deep runs. I came really close in the first event I played, ending up 4th, so it was disappointing to get so close right off the bat and not get there. That deep run set the tone for the rest of my series, and it made me push myself harder. I was relentless in my pursuit of a bracelet, which would eventually come in Event 52--a $2500 mixed game tournament. I capped off my Series with my deepest run ever in the Main Event, making it to Day 6 and taking 73rd.

2012 was a whirlwind year for me, and so it was hard to believe that 2013 could be any better, especially when it would start with another trip to PCA. Historically, PCA has not gone very well for me. Although I always have a ton of fun with friends, PCA and poker do not agree with me. It might be that the waterslides especially agree with me, because I often find myself busting out of tourneys within the first few hours and then spending the rest of the day drinking piña coladas by the pool next to some Manta Rays and tipping my friends' tubes over in the lazy river.

I'm happy to report that 2013 seems to have broken my PCA curse. I played a lot of poker and went on very few waterslides as a consequence. In one week, I got engaged, made it deep in the Super High Roller (although eventually busted out on a huge bluff), won the High Roller, and rose to the top of the Women's All Time Money List. I have spent the last few months really thinking about my game and fine-tuning spots that I believe I had played sub-optimally over the last year. The hard work paid off - I played some of my best and most focused poker this trip. Although I returned home in my same pasty shade of winter white, feeling "in the zone" this early in the year feels amazing.

But I'm not done.

If there's anything that 2012 taught me, it's that I must continually look at poker as a learning process. There is always more to learn, more to do, and more to accomplish. I'm ready to accept that challenge. Bring it on, 2013, I'm ready for you.

Vanessa Selbst is a member of Team PokerStars Pro

Family road trip

Moving our United States home base recently meant packing two adults, two huge suitcases, several large carry-on bags, one mostly-deflated air mattress, three pillows, and two five-pound dogs into a cherry red hybrid, New York City bound.

Although I had driven cross-country before, I usually crammed all of the driving into two or three days, aiming to take the most direct trip possible. This time, however, we had a few extra days to kill, and since Miranda had never seen much of the interior of the United States, we decided to take a more circuitous route. The plan was to go from Vegas to New York, with stops in Tucson, Austin, Memphis, Louisville, and Niagara Falls before leaving Miranda in Albany with her folks, while I would head to Florida to play the World Poker Tour event and get in some golf with my grandmother.

I knew I wanted to spend some time visiting friends and checking out Austin, a city everyone raves about. As a result, we didn't see much in Tucson--getting there well after dark and leaving before the sun came up, but we did get to see a brilliant desert sunset somewhere in Arizona. The drive to Austin took fourteen long hours and spanned 900 miles, but the 80-mph speed limit of Western Texas helped take the edge off. I've been told it pretty much never rains in Austin, but we managed to make it there for a day of blustery breezes, overcast skies, and sometimes downpours. We tried not to let that dampen our spirits and we basically went on an eating tour of Austin. We had amazing oysters, doughnuts to die for, and authentic Texas barbeque at Franklins, which our friend Scott was kind enough to wait in line for from 8:30 AM to 10:30. I really loved the vibe of Austin and hope to make it back there some day soon.

The next day was Memphis, which was charming from the get go. It has an amazing little downtown, which feels like a quintessential southern town: a cobbled main street with functional trolley cars, an old fashioned Walgreens, historic buildings, and southern hospitality. Everyone we met in Memphis was as nice as could be. The drive to Louisville the next day was another long one, and we arrived there road weary and a little cranky. We hid out in the hotel and ordered in. The next day, I was super excited to see the "Welcome to New York" sign and know we were so close to home. We only had one more stop--Niagara Falls. A snafu with hotel reservations, which we discovered at 11:30 PM after unloading all of our things at a hotel on the American side of falls, meant we had an unexpected trip to Canada, but the remarkable view from our hotel room was well worth it. The next day we got up early and walked along the falls, stopping to pose for a family photo before making the last leg of our trip.

Although this was not the most expeditious route to get from California to New York, I'm glad we did it. It was our first journey together--the four of us (yes, I am counting my dogs. I am one of those people). Sometimes it was too hot or too cold or too rainy. Sometimes we had rowdy sing-alongs to iTunes playlists, sometimes we tried to listen to a book on tape and tuned it out. Sometimes we were tired, sometimes we were amped and raring to go. But some things were always consistent: me, my family, a few of our things, seeing parts of the country I wouldn't normally get to, and bound for the next phase of my life.

Vanessa Selbst is a member of Team PokerStars Pro

My New York City

I recently decided to give up my bi-coastal life, and have moved my US-base from Las Vegas back to New York City--Brooklyn, more specifically. I have lived in New York intermittently for a lot of my life, but haven't been here with any regularity since I went to law school in 2008. I missed it: the yellow taxis, the skyscrapers, the masses of people, the food--there's nothing quite like it. There's life here. People are out in the streets, walking, playing, laughing, lounging. This exists on every block and this is why I could never get bored in New York. From the throngs of people on the subway, to the bodega clerk to the old Italian woman with the ancient Rottweiler, the environment is interactive, electric, and diverse. These people live here, and now I'm one of them again.

Admittedly, New York can be an intimidating city, but once you figure out a few basics, it stops being so scary and starts becoming a world of excitement to unlock, little by little. Here are some things I love to do in New York City.

1. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Take the subway to York Street and get off in DUMBO. Hang out on a bench in Brooklyn Bridge Park and read a book, taking in the view of the iconic bridge, its neighbor, the Manhattan Bridge, and the Manhattan skyline. Then, weave through the masses of people as you make your way along the one-mile stretch of bridge across the East River. Stop half way through for amazing pictures and to read about the bridge's construction.

2. Go to a museum. The Natural History Museum on 79th street is one of the largest in the world, and takes several days to really get through. The museum is located on Central Park, so conclude your visit by strolling along some of the park's winding paths and appreciating the wildlife in the middle of a metropolis.

3. Visit the Highline. The Highline is an old elevated freight train line that fell into disrepair after they stopped using it in the 1950s. It's been converted into a park, complete with various sitting areas, plantings, and views of the west side of Manhattan. It's a great place for an evening stroll or an afternoon in the sun.

4. Catch a show at the Upright Citizens Brigade. This is a small theater that does cheap and hilarious improv shows nightly. Lots of super funny and famous folks have come up through this theater, and I, myself, took improv and sketch classes here in 2007.

5. Eat food. New York has about a bajillion restaurants that are little, independently owned and operated places. In order to find a good one, use Yelp. Unlike in other cities, where Yelp isn't as widely used, in New York, it's not uncommon for a place to have 500 reviews or more--pretty good sample size! Visit Chinatown for dumplings and Little Italy for everything (ironically, they're on the same block). Eat pizza at Lucali.

6. Shop. Go to Union Square farmer's market and/or Christmas market and buy some local produce or art. Go window shopping in SoHo, with quirky boutiques and dozens of artists selling paintings lining the streets.

7. Catch a professional sports game. It's baseball season right now and while the Yankees have the most history, the Mets are my favorite baseball team. They play at the all-new Citi Field in Queens. Take the 7 train, packed with super fans in jerseys and orange and blue, all the way Mets/Willets Point Station. Eat a Nathan's hot dog and drink a beer and (hopefully) watch the Mets win.

Vanessa Selbst is a member of Team PokerStars Pro

My goals for 2014

I'm not necessarily one for New Year's "resolutions." People tend to make grand declarations with good intentions and then fall off the wagon by February 1, and I want to avoid that trap. Setting goals, however, seems different to me somehow; less absolute. I can go into the year, reflect on the year that's passed, and set objectives about the upcoming year. It also helps that I attend the first tournament series of the year at PCA, and every reporter I talk to asks me about my goals for the year. Lest I stammer a series of uhhs and umms for several minutes, it's best to go ahead and think my goals through ahead of time. Here are my goals for 2014:

Poker

I go into every year hoping to make three major final tables and to play the best poker I can. Luckily, I've kicked off the year right by final tabling the PCA Super High Roller and High Roller, so only one to go! I'd really like to win an EPT Main Event. There's nothing quite like playing for four or five days and making a final table--it's such a feeling of accomplishment. I've final tabled EPT High Rollers, but never a Main Event. The fields in Europe are so massive and tough that it would be quite a feat to become an EPT winner (after that: a Triple Crown).

Balance

A question asked of me in interviews is "What lesson did you learn last year?" or "What was your poker 'fail' of the year?" I had great success last year-it was the second highest winning year of my career-but what people might not realize is that I also had great failures. My year was a series of lulls (entire tournament series without a single cash, an entire WSOP with only one small cash) punctuated by huge final tables. I attribute some of that inconsistency, particularly during WSOP, to the fact that I put too much pressure on myself to play every event. I've learned this lesson over and over--if I play when I don't want to play then I won't play well.--and I want to try harder to remember this year, to make it a precept of my career. I play best when I'm living a balanced life. When I'm spending quality time with friends, attending family celebrations, petting my dogs, enjoying being married, staying active, and making sure that my mind is thinking about and working on more than just poker. It's not enough to show up; my head has to be in the game. When I'm well rested and I've decompressed, I play my best poker.

Non-Profit Work

This fall, I worked pretty intensively to get an idea off the ground regarding my non-profit, Venture Justice. I've connected with some really awesome organizations that are working for accountability for police misconduct and abuse of authority. During my down time from poker, I basically spent every waking minute designing prototypes for web pages, thinking about apps, interviewing developers, and meeting with community organizations. It's a project I'm really excited about, but I've determined that I can't handle a second full time job on top of the full time job that is playing poker professionally. By the end of the year, I want to find and hire a dedicated, smart, social justice-oriented person to oversee day-to-day operations and get the project up and running (or at least further along in the development stages).

Social Media

I'm really bad at regularly using social media. This means not only am I not communicating important poker stuff via Twitter, but I'm also dropping the ball on my personal Facebook page. I don't know whose birthday it is, I missed the pictures of my friends' new puppy, and I didn't see that so-and-so got engaged. Likewise, they don't know anything about my life unless Miranda posts it. I've vowed to post more regularly this year, and have so far posted a very cute photo of my dogs taking a bath, a funny video about monkeys, and a new profile picture. I haven't posted anything in a week, though, so I have to get back on my game.

Random

I've been told I often look angry or perturbed. I'm usually not (despite what the media would have you believe), but sometimes I'm off in my own world, so I don't notice people saying hello to me. It sounds cheesy, but I really want to make a conscious effort to smile more so that my outside matches my inside.

So what's next? Taking some time off and lounging around home and then going on my honeymoon in early February. After that, you can find me at LAPC, smiling and playing mindful poker. Of course, you don't have to remember this, because I promise to announce it on Twitter.

Vanessa Selbst is a member of Team PokerStars Pro

Envy: your biggest limitation or your biggest drive

Over the years I have turned my passion into a job. I've gotten results and satisfaction. I have a major sponsor. I have created a successful business.

Inevitably, this has put me in a position to perceive a feeling of envy toward me. I'm not surprised to be envied, I am surprised, however, that most people ignore that envy can be their biggest limitation, both personally and professionally.

All of us have experienced a feeling of envy toward someone or something. It is part of being human. I've experienced it myself, many times.

Envy is often either cause or consequence of our surrender before a difficulty or failure, where others have made it, perhaps out of luck. Or at least that's what we want to see.
Envy turns into helplessness to twists of fate. Or worse, it stops us from seeing the true nature of things.

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This does not allow us to analyze. It stops us from improving. It won't let us grow. We're just waiting for something to happen. Often this is not anything good. And even when something good happens, we are unable to appreciate it, because, after all, we believe it is due.

In poker, in work, and in life, an attitude like that can be a disastrous attitude, our true major limitation.

Living a life in constant competition, after heavy defeats and frequent disappointments, I realized how important it is to try to learn something from anyone, especially those that I used to envy: those who had made it.

From these people I discovered that behind every success there is always work. Always. Sometimes it is not directly related and not so obvious, but often the fruits are harvested after many years of sacrifice.

Conscious of this, I strive constantly to transform envy into a positive feeling, a great incentive. It's like drawing power from braking. And this can really change your life.

"That businessman or that collegue of mine is more successful than me even though I have more experience and professionalism?"

We must go beyond the simple "he was luckier." We must strive to see that, for example, success is not only having more experience or expertise, but also being able to create your own personal network. It means having a more developed emotional intelligence, a deeper understanding of what would happen in the next wave, and having developed the right knowledge. It's also a million other factors.

"That player wins a coinflip and therefore the tournament, and I don't?"

We must stop thinking, "he's lucky, I am not, so there is nothing to analyze."

Let's move to a deeper level of thinking: "Why was his coin flip crucial in allowing him to win the tournament?"

"Why we didn't we play our coinflip at the start of the tournament?"

These are questions that eventually get us to: "How has he earned the chips that have allowed him to get to play a crucial coinflip?"

Maybe before winning that coinflip, he could afford to lose others.

Instead, when it happens to us, we are already out talking about another lost coinflip.

Turning envy into a learning experience is the most important lesson that poker has forced me to learn, a lesson that has allowed me to achieve many of my dreams, those I once used to envy.

Luca Pagano is a member of Team PokerStars Pro

Digging deep

Editor's note: In the run-up to the WSOP Main Event final table, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst coached final table player Jesse Sylvia who eventually finished runner-up for $5,292,889. Here she explains how it's helped her think about her own game.

Since returning home from WSOP Europe, I've been thinking about my own game a lot as part of helping Jesse Sylvia prepare to play out the WSOP Main Event final table.

I keep asking myself, "What do I do that works?" A lot of times, especially the last couple of years, I've done

things differently than other pros. I've taken very unconventional lines, and experimented to see which things work and which things don't. But I haven't had to articulate those things to anyone. Now that I'm trying to articulate the underlying reasons behind why I make various plays, I'm thinking a bit deeper and much more specifically about what it is I'm doing and why it works. While ultimately the idea was to help Jesse become a better player and dominate the WSOP Main Event final table, it has the nice benefit of helping me to become a better player as well. I find that whenever I'm talking about poker a lot - whether it's with friends or when I'm coaching someone - I play better and I take more creative lines. I don't fall into that monotonous, robotic style of play that a lot of people, myself included, can fall into sometimes.

It's fun to talk about poker, especially with people that are getting better. Their wheels are constantly turning and you see them thinking at a higher and higher level. Watching a student make that progress is inspiring, and it becomes really enjoyable to be able to move forward with more advanced concepts. I've coached probably more than 80 students in my lifetime, and coaching someone who has a knack for the game and gets it is still one of my favorite parts of my career.

Obviously I didn't teach Jesse everything. He's a really good poker player and was before he came to me. But preparation for his Main Event final table was important. There's so much information available before going in. It's not every day you can prepare for a multi-million dollar stakes game knowing exactly what the chip stacks will be, who your opponents will be, and how they've played in the past based on your own experience.

There was also another interesting twist to the final table - because it aired live, the hole cards were streamed 15 minutes after the hand ends. Everybody had so much information about how everybody else was playing.

So, some of our conversations were geared toward making adjustments based on the information he had. Learning how to make adjustments based on new information before other people react to the same information is a new, fun challenge that doesn't often come up in a poker tournament.

Poker and mental training: the synergy to succeed

Success in poker comes through various factors. One of these--the most substantial in my opinion--concerns the psychological aspects: ability to read the opponents, presence at the table, and mindset. They are all just as important to have as they are difficult to implement when the action at the table becomes too tense, fatigue prevails, and concentration wanes.

I am an online Texas Hold'em player, and I decided to be coached by a mental trainer not on game techniques but on what can be defined as "tactical" aspects. I managed substantial improvement in terms of achievements, awareness about how I play, and how much I am able to be consistent and to control my personal approach to the game.

In particular, I was able to cope better with some critical stages of tournaments (or sit&gos) like the pre-bubble phase. The key was overcoming those fears and obstacles which were slightly holding back my game. Moreover, my trainer helped me to strengthen my mental routine of reasoning which allowed me to be much more self-confident in many situations at the table. What's your opinion and how do you evaluate mental training in poker?

Here my opinion: undoubtedly, poker is a game with a constant mental component, not only through tells, but also and essentially because it is a game in which the mental discipline makes the difference. Certainly, it is very important to spot tells, to have a psychological take on the table, or to read the opponents, but being psychologically solid above all means approaching a tournament with the correct mental state. For this reason, I strongly believe in mental training, an approach derived from sports psychology.

Here's what you can learn from a mental trainer:

Analytical capability: Too often in poker even great players tend to take for granted one's own way of playing. One example is the die-hard habit of blaming bad luck when things go wrong. First of all, let's learn to dig deep into our gaming and its possible technical-tactical gaps. Let's learn to be self-critical and to make a self-analysis of our gaming.

Defeat one's own demons: By working with a mental trainer, it is possible to sort out and best use our strong points but also to identify our weak points like the fear of being eliminated and the related incapability of playing the critical phases of tournaments (i.e. the pre-bubble stage), a wrong management of money leading to a too-passive attitude in the game (or to an excessive indifference towards losses), difficulties to cope with specific types of players (the bête noire), etc.

Decision making skills:It's important to have a clear mental decision-making procedure so that each time you sit at a table you can control all necessary variables in order to cope at best with the many decisions you have to make (type of players, specific stage of the tournament, choice of starting hands, level of aggressiveness, etc.). This is a fundamental element to optimize our play at both critical phases and in boring stages of the game.

If you can find a good mental trainer, you can make the same improvements. It's even better if the trainer (who doesn't necessarily have to be a player) has a good knowledge of poker peculiarities. It's good if the trainer knows all the dynamics and problems, especially those concerning the decision-making process specific to poker.

I sometimes turn to a mental trainer in the comfort of an online contact both at the end of a session or after a live day to evaluate the the feelings I experienced and the the hands I played. It's an important phase of analysis of what has happened to me. Even if you don't want a trainer, these are exercises you can do on your own.

It takes discipline and perseverance to succeed. Those two factors, in my opinion, remain the key words of this game.

Luca Pagano is a member of Team PokerStars Pro

The business of poker, beyond the felt

Ciao from Italy.

I'm writing after another successful tournament series in San Remo. This was the sixth time the EPT has come to San Remo, and almost 800 players participated in the main event won by Ludovic Lacay.

One reason why I'm always keen to see things go well in San Remo is because it was my company that actually helped start the Italian Poker Tour and began attracting pros from all around the world to Italy to play poker. Let me explain.

I've always had a business-like approach to poker. As a player I like to calculate everything at the table -- the risk, the investment, the reward, everything. I've also always had a very entrepreneurial attitude, from even before I started playing poker. In fact, when I was just 19 I started an information technology company and was teaching people how to use computers.

It was after that I got into poker as a player. I started out playing for play money on PokerStars, in fact, and eventually moved over to the cash games and became a winning player. And it didn't take that long before I started thinking about combining my interests and creating a business in the poker industry. That's when my father and I decided to start a company that organized poker events.

We began by running poker cruises about ten years ago. Then we decided to have the very first poker event in Italy at the Casino San Remo in 2006. At the time, PokerStars was not in the Italian market yet, so we were just running the Italian Championship. Then after a couple of years of these Italian championships, my company together with PokerStars created the Italian Poker Tour (IPT).

It has been great to see the tournaments grow over the years and turn into something important for the community of Italian poker players. It has also been good for me personally, being able to combine these interests of mine while also giving something back to the poker community. Poker is my life, but I don't want to reach the age of fifty and be saying to my children that their father only played poker! Not that that wouldn't be okay for some people, but maybe because of my entrepreneurial mindset I've always thought I could do more.

I really do think that businesses are very important and can improve society by bringing in new services and products and in other ways. And as I was saying before, I still adopt a business-like approach at the tables, too. Poker can sometimes present extreme situations that require logic and clear thinking and making tough decisions. I think it definitely helps me that I get to do the same thing quite often while running a business.

So let me suggest to poker players who have these same business-like interests, definitely try to explore ways to combine your passions. Doing so can be fun and profitable, and you can help both yourself and the poker community, too.

California dreamin'

Last summer I went to the States to play in the World Series of Poker. I was supposed to stay for a month and a half, but I decided to extend my trip after the WSOP was over. I was in need of business inspiration and went looking for it in California.

I've always run business together with poker. I've actually been able to improve my poker game by improving my business side. That's the way I approach poker, from a very business-oriented focus. I feel that I can do some good poker things but I have a feeling that I also can do some very good business things. For me the trick is the combination of the two. There are a lot of things that you can learn in poker and apply to business and vice versa. I do think I've found the right balance, but it took me a while.

Californians have a very different approach to business than most of the rest of the world, and it seems to be doing wonders. Most new technology ideas come from the San Francisco area. All these amazing new businesses start there. A lot of foreign people are moving to the Bay Area to run their own businesses and to study. It cannot be a coincidence. Something dynamic is happening there. What's inspiring them?

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I spent a couple of days at Stanford, walking around and meeting people. I visited Google and Apple. My goal was to understand the way that people enjoy their lives there while attending to business. When you have a feeling that you've found your place in life you should follow that instinct. Californians seem quite good at that.

My own instinct is to move to California in a few years and do the same thing I'm doing in Italy - run businesses and play poker. But I want to understand why my instinct is taking me there. As a businessman and as poker player, you learn to listen to your feelings. But hard data is always helpful too.

That trip to California gave me a vision. Well, I always had a vision, but now it's more clear. Now I know how to pursue it. It's good to have a goal. Knowing what the next step should be is something that makes me feel really happy. And the next step for me is innovating. In my opinion, the poker industry needs some new big thing right now. That's what I want to bring to the poker industry. That's my mission.

I've got a tough challenge ahead of me. If I want a holiday along the way I'll go to Miami Beach or the Bahamas. But if I need more inspiration, I'll go to California.

Luca Pagano is a member of Team PokerStars Pro

I'd rather be lucky AND good, by Vanessa Selbst

by Vanessa Selbst
As poker players, we know theoretically that there are many factors beyond our control that are subject to luck, but we never really dissect just how they come into play. We lament the two-outers we suffer and celebrate the flushes that come in on the river. But luck is so much more than just how the cards play out. I must be blessed, because I had luck on my side throughout the Partouche Poker Tour main event in Cannes, and that is how I won. Here is a list of just some of the lucky things that happened for me at that tournament a few days ago:

1. I heard about the tournament at the last minute, and only played it because I was on vacation at the time, and was going to be in nearby Barcelona one day before the tournament anyway.

2. I managed to get a seat during Day 1A, which was the same day all the satellite qualifiers played, and I had many of them at my table.

3. I got KQ vs. a bad player's 8 on a 7-9-2-J-T board, with no flush possible, on Day 1. That pot was one of many to vault me into the chip lead.

4. On Day 3, I got seated at the table with three of the top ten chip stacks. The other very big stack, who had position on me, got repeatedly bad beat by the fish at the table, on whom I had position.

5. On Day 4, I cold 4-bet and then 6-bet all in with A-3s and did not run into a monster hand. The 5-bettor folded.

6. Despite threats of airport closures due to strikes, I made it back to Cannes completely stress-free for the final table.

7. There was a cheating scandal and it turned out that one of the players at the final table had cheated his way to get there. He was one of very few players that I never played with throughout the tournament.

8. At the final table, I had a mediocre seat draw. Fabrice Soulier, a good player, was two to my left with a lot of chips, and Tobias Reinkemeier, also a good player, was on my immediate left. Tobias busted first at the final table. Fabrice got coolered or bad beat repeatedly, and he could never put his stack to use against me. All of a sudden, my seat draw became amazing.

9. Speaking of which, I coolered Fabrice with 8-8 vs K-T on a KT48 board, at the final table.

10. I ran K-K into A-A 5-handed on the button versus the cut-off, when we had a very aggressive dynamic together. Because it was the first hand back from dinner break, I was suspicious of the 4-bet and thought A-A was a strong possibility, so I did not get the money in pre-flop. An ace came on the flop and saved me my stack. Any other time during the final table, I'd have gone broke.

11. Heads-up, I had a very good feeling that Raphael would 5-bet me if I 4-bet his first 3-bet. I knew he did not want to be run over and thought I would try to run him over, and I knew he would try to establish that early. I was NOT planning on 4-bet bluffing his first 3-bet. My luckiest hand might have been picking up Q-Q on the 5th hand of heads-up play, having him randomly decide THAT was the hand to 3-bet K-6o, and then having him 5-bet bluff shove 80BB with it. If I pick up Q-Q even the second time he 3-bets, I think he just folds to my 4-bet. But I got it the first time, and I won the tournament with it.

12. During the two-month break (there was a break before the final table played out), the Euro improved dramatically against the dollar, and I made over $150,000 more than I would have in September.

Pic courtesy of Winamax

When I look back on all the luck I had in this and ANY tournament, and just all the ways there are to be lucky or unlucky, it's much easier to stomach the bad beats that come from the cards. The cards are just a small part of the game, which includes every factor present during the entire course of a tournament, whether it's your personal life, your table position, or the weather outside.

So the next time you get aces versus kings all-in preflop and the king comes, just consider it a cooler rather than a bad beat. You could have had the kings where no king came, and you would have lost your money just the same. And think about the different factors playing to your advantage to get you to that point in the first place. It's an interesting perspective if nothing more, but a little humility can go a long way towards giving you the impetus to improve your game.

At the very least, it might make you think twice before telling that next bad beat story. Trust me, the player sitting next to you at the poker table will thank me.

InulPoker Running

Instruction

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Sunday, November 30, 2014

Robinson signs new Giants contract

Hull FC release winger Crookes

Blackpool to host Summer Bash event

Widnes fined for crowd trouble

England can 'flower into something special'

It was a try 100% - pundits react

Poker is not a crime

My chance at the Million Second Quiz

Good start to 2013, but more to come

Family road trip

My New York City

My goals for 2014

Envy: your biggest limitation or your biggest drive

Digging deep

Poker and mental training: the synergy to succeed

The business of poker, beyond the felt

California dreamin'

I'd rather be lucky AND good, by Vanessa Selbst

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