Monthly Archives: April 2012

The Beat: Legends of the Game; Tom McEvoy

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Thomas K. McEvoy was born on November 14, 1944 in Grand Rapids, MI. He learned to play poker at the age of 5 and played so often he would regularly get in trouble throughout elementary school for his habit. McEvoy began his work career as an accountant, playing poker on the side. After being laid off from his job, he decided to make poker his life and started playing full time.

McEvoy’s first major tournament cash was at the 1982 WSOP where he placed 6th at the $1,000 Razz Event. The following year would prove to be his best showing at the WSOP in his career. He won his first bracelet at the $1,000 Limit Hold ‘em event defeating Irish poker pro, Donnacha O’dea. He also was the Main Event champion that year. He finally defeated Rod Peate to secure the 1983 World Championship in what was the longest heads-up match in WSOP history. The record would last 22 years until it was broken by the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event in 2006 by Chip Reese and Andy Bloch. McEvoy’s main event victory was the first time anyone had won the title by qualifying previously through a satellite event. Since his two wins in 1983, McEvoy would go on to win two more bracelets. The 3rd of his 4 WSOP bracelets came in 1986 when he bested Alma McClellend at the $1,000 Razz Event. Six years later he won his 4th bracelet defeating 1986 Main Event champion, Berry Johnston at the $1,500 Limit Omaha Event. However, since his 1983 win McEvoy has only cashed in one other main event, finishing 371st in 2006.

AGP Remembers “Amarillo Slim” Preston – December 31, 1928 to April 29, 2012

Poker legend “Amarillo Slim” Preston died Sunday morning at the age of 83.

Born Thomas Austin Preston Jr. on Dec. 31, 1928 in Johnson, Arkansas, “Amarillo Slim” became one of poker’s most well known personalities and a great hype man for the Texas road gamblers and the early World Series of Poker.

Preston, always unmistakably adorned in his trademark Stetson hat and custom cowboy boots, won the World Series of Poker’s main event in 1972, just the third year the event was held.

After winning the event, he sought to help change the image of poker and became, as he says in his 2003 autobiography, titled Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People, “a touring ambassador for the sport.”

Preston was adapt at bringing attention to the game of poker and to himself.

He appeared on the Tonight Show 11 times where, according to Preston’s autobiography, “Johnny and I got along like ham and eggs.” He also appeared on other television shows such as 60 Minutes and Good Morning America, as well as on several game shows.

“People have been making all this fuss about Moneymaker but Slim was Moneymaker before Moneymaker was alive,” Poker Hall of Fame Member Crandall Addington told Card Player. “Slim was instrumental, the front man, the golden voice that helped poker grow and he helped people realize the game was not just full of gangsters, thugs and leg breakers.”

Preston’s autobiography is full of colorful gambling tales, such as beating Minnesota Fats in pool with a broom, that helped embellish his reputation as a world class gambler and hustler.

Preston was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1992. He won four total WSOP bracelets.

His family released a statement Sunday that was posted to the World Series of Poker website.

“We hope everyone will remember our beloved Amarillo Slim for all the positive things he did for poker and to popularize his favorite game, Texas Hold’em,” the family said.

Famous quotes from Amarillo Slim:

The Round Up: Not so Rosey Outlook

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Maybe Chicago is cursed. Jay Cutler dropped to a phantom knee injury during the NFC Championship Game. Not to be outdone, Derrick Rose blows out his ACL on a jump step and unceremoniously ends the Bulls chances of winning the NBA Championship. Knee injuries have ruined several great careers in the Windy City, including Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus. Is Rose next? The biggest question has been, “Why was he still in the game?” Bulls Coach, Tom Thibodeau stated, “The team needed to learn how to close out games.” The #1 overall seed had clearly closed out several games during the season and Rose was not a part of many of them. They were 32-7 with Rose and 18-9 without. It’s hard to question a coach that is likely to win Coach of the Year two seasons in a row, but Rose is injury prone and the Bulls were up by 12 with a minute remaining when the tear that ruined their chances happened. The NBA needs Rose to stay healthy as his style, charisma and talents are great for a game that is slowly climbing in popularity, a popularity not seen since the Jordan, Bird and Magic days. Rose could be the next Jordan or the next Sam Bowie.

The Injury:

The Odds:

The Bulls have dropped from 7-2 odds to win the NBA championship to 15-2, while LeBron James and the Miami Heat have jumped from 2-1 favorites to 3-2.

Bonehead of the Week:

New studies validate Drake’s “YOLO” theory. Monks outraged.

drake and monks

Chart-topping Hip Hop artist Drake recently brought his extraordinary theory of “You Only Live Once”, also known as “YOLO”, to the forefront of popular culture with the release of his song “The Motto”.

In the tradition of other poetic works that transcended their particular genre or niche, such as Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade”, Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”, Whitman’s “Song of Myself”, Poe’s “Annabel Lee”, and Blake’s “Little Black Boy”, Drake hypothesizes in deep, profound poetic verse that the average human has will only live once.

The Dan Truth: NHL Eastern Conference Semis Preview

nhl playoffs

Now that the NHL quarterfinals are over and done with, just eight teams are left standing. In the East, the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals have moved on. The St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators and L.A. Kings represent the Western Conference survivors.

The first round was certainly one to remember and will be very hard to top, but these 8 teams will certainly give us a show. They are chasing after the greatest trophy in professional sports after all!

In Thursday’s The Dan Truth (which I know everyone read) I gave my predictions for the Western Conference Semi-finals, now it’s time for the Eastern Conference. So here we go (cue dog bringing in the Bud Light).

70-year-old man still holds out hope for NFL Draft selection

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Virgil Samuelson stands waits by the phone just like any other potential draftee during the stress-and-tension-filled madness that is the NFL draft.

But Virgil isn’t your normal draft hopeful.

Virgil graduated from the Southeastern Institute of Education with a Varsity Letter in Football after playing four years for the football program as a linebacker.

But that was in 1943.

Despite his almost terminal age of 70,

AGP Home Game Week 14 Recap: Beware of Those “Jack Eyes”

scab jerry

Week 14 is in the books and this year continues to be an exciting one. This was the 3rd game of the year where a first year player won a regular season game. The game featured 7 AGP regulars, no guests and went by relatively quick as it was over in a little over 3 hours. Here is how it all went down that night.

The game started fast and furious with the first victim being recorded in about 35 minutes. The victim? ”Quad Steak” Bryan Knepper. He was the recipient of some made hands that were a bit stronger than his trips. In a terrible string of bad luck, Bryan took two consecutive massive hits to his stack. Bryan twice made trips, only to see them destroyed by a full-house each time. Barely finishing up his quad steak burrito from Taco Bell, Bryan was all-in holding K-J. He’s called by Jerry with 7-5. The 7 hits and Bryan doesn’t catch up, railed in 7th. After sulking for a moment and questioning his purpose in life, Bryan called the Poker Abuse Hotline. They talked him off the ledge by explaining that bad beats and donkeys calling with 7-5 are a part of no limit hold ‘em. He rushed out of the secret game location and into his fiancé’s arms.

Kyle “someone please give me a nickname” Phillips would be next to go, but not into Bryan’s fiancé’s arms. Kyle, who we later discovered was angry because he lost a game of golf to Alan, never could get anything going. He played two pair like it was a royal flush and that would prove to be bad chip stack management. Kyle was eliminated by Jerry’s A-J when it outkicked his A-9. Jerry also collects the bounty by defeating Kyle.

The Dan Truth: NHL Western Conference Round 2 Preview

nhl playoffs

As the Western Conference gets set to move into the conference semifinals, it does so by entering uncharted waters. There’s a serious void in this year’s proceedings. Teams with previous postseason success, particularly in recent years, are absent from the proceedings.

Detroit, winner of the Stanley Cup 11 times (most recently in 2008), - gone. Vancouver, last year’s Western Conference Champion and two-time Presidents’ Trophy winner, - gone. Chicago, the Stanley Cup Champs in 2010, - out. And San Jose, which made the conference finals the last two years, - booted from the tournament.

So as we move into a new era, the final four teams in the West this year are the St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings and Phoenix Coyotes.

The number of Stanley Cup titles for that quartet? Zero.

Here’s how far-fetched the idea seemed that these four teams would be the ones left standing, even as recently as the start of the playoffs: The Blues, who knocked out the Sharks in five games, have reached the postseason twice in seven seasons since 2005-06 and haven’t won a playoff round since 2002. The Kings, who eliminated the top-seeded Canucks in five games, have reached the postseason twice since 2002 and had last won a playoff series in 2001. The Coyotes, who beat the Blackhawks in six games, had been 0-7 in playoff series since moving to Phoenix in 1997. And Nashville won it’s first-ever playoff series a year ago. They’re considered the veterans of this quartet!

But that’s why they drop the puck. So let’s take a look at the semi-final match-ups.

The Beat: Handling Aggressive Players

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Poker strategy can be complex. It is not easy to come up with a strategy to counter every opponent’s play. Everyone plays different and can vary their play in certain situations. There is one type of player that can be difficult to counter and that is an aggressive player. We can get a general sense that a player is aggressive when you see them raise multiple times within a hand or continues to play back at you when you raise. An aggressive player will generally enter the pot with a raise unless they are strong. An aggressive player plays lesser hands and tends to push around the table to test them or make them second guess their own play. So how do you play them?

The most important thing when playing against aggressive players is to keep your emotions in check. Constant aggression is one of the most difficult things a poker player has to deal with. Many players, amateur and pro alike, make their worst decisions facing pressure from an aggressive player over a series of hands or game. A common mistake is to improvise and start firing back in situations you wouldn’t normally do, which can ultimately put you in some difficult spots in critical moments. Aggressive players can even cause you to start playing like them, trying to counter their aggression with your own. The most important tip to remember is fighting back is not a legitimate strategy to countering an aggressive player. However, we tend to do this because it’s a natural reaction to protect our own egos. The correct way to deal with aggression is to try and throw them off course. One thing an aggressive player will try to do is lure you in when holding a strong hand. They will slow their betting down with the hopes of getting a call, so later they can punish on the river. In this situation if you see the aggressor slowing down then don’t make a play at the pot. Check it down or fold. Another thing to consider is check-raising. Aggressive players, especially the over-aggressive ones, will immediately be thrown off track by the lack of action. They will think they just walked into a trap. Whether you are trapping or not is not important. The thing to remember is that you are trying to use that aggression against them. Usually an aggressive player will react to a check-raise in one of three ways:

College Freshman trademarks word “I”. Entire US Population recieve Cease & Desist

college kid

- A local Community College Freshman, just days before being kicked out of his parents house for being fired from his job last week, ingeniously filed a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the word “I”. Long considered to be public domain, “I” has never attempted to be trademarked, hence has no legal ownership.

“I just thought about it the other day after hitting the 3-footer in my basement,” explains the newly wealthy teenager. “Everyone uses the word, but no one ever thought about getting it trademarked. So I did.”

The fall out began almost instantaneously as the single largest Cease and Desist campaign in American history spread from coast to coast like wildfire. Every single citizen of the United States of America received a letter informing them of their violation of the newly minted trademark and demanded they stop immediately.

“I had my lawyer send (letters) to the Maternity Wards at all the hospitals. I figured we’d better let them babies know that it was NOT alright to learn my word, at least not for free. Anyone can use it if they want to pay a nominal fee based on the way they use it and the amount of times it is said.”

Legal actions would have placed an injunction on the patent, but no potential pursuant could derive an acceptable manner to declare their intent without violating the trademark.

“We had several people inquire about applying for an injunction, but no one could say “I want”, or “I would like to”, or any derivative of the word without being sued themselves,” a local attorney explained. “It really is a fascinating situation.”

With retropay on royalties nearing nine figures, the only thing on this teen’s mind was celebrating.

“Dude, I’m gonna get my friends to come over and bring some girls,” he explained. “I’m gonna be all like ‘COME AT ME, BRO!’”