Tao of Poker

Reader Mail and Other Links

First of all, here are some interesting links that I was sent recently.

Chops pointed me out a story called Odds and Ends from the WSOP. Apparently, we both got mentioned! Way cool.

Of course, Shana Hiatt is engaged. That was quick, eh? She gets the David Caruso Award for Killing Your Career after she decided to leave the WPT. The lucky guy who gets to be Mr. Shana Hiatt is Todd Garner. He directed XXX and 13 Going on 30. Yeah, I saw both flicks.

A female friend of mine directed me to this hilarious stripper related news bit: OK, girls. Line up for your mug shots. By the way, I know that strippers who work the day shift are usually not as good looking as the ladies who work the nights and weekends... but the "Exotic dancers" who got pinched during a recent raid in Tampa is a sorry bunch. After seeing some of their mugshots, it's no wonder they had to perform sexual favors to get decent tips.

Moving on...

It's been a while since I dipped into the mail bag. Unfortunately Timmy has not sent me an email in a few months. Here are a two random emails that I got in the last two weeks or so.

Dear Dr. Pauly,

Greetings from Melbourne, Australia. I wanted to personally thank you for keeping me informed and entertained during the WSOP. I really enjoyed reading your blog during the tourney and I'm still enjoying reading about your extended stay in Vegas. It sounds like you are having the time of both of our lives!

I too am one of the many casual poker players who has enjoyed the occasional poker night with the boys but is now playing a lot more after watching the 2004 WSOP on ESPN and the WPT (screened here in Australia by Fox). In fact, all I pretty much do these days is work, sleep and play poker. (Sound familiar?) With the 2005 WSOP event coming up, I had to decide if I wanted to find out who won as it was happening, or to try and avoid the result and watch it on TV when it airs on ESPN later in the year. Poker isn't as big in Australia (or at least it wasn't before the WSOP) and I thought I might be able to hold out until ESPN - but as the tourney started I couldn't help myself and I stumbled upon your site via Google. Just as well! With Joe Hachem winning, the result was splashed all over the news down here and I would have been really pissed if I hadn't been following it. In fact, I knew the result almost straight away, reading your blog at 3am in the morning, between hands of our Saturday night/Sunday morning freeze out game.

Joe Hachem arrived home a couple of days ago, and the media is going nuts. Poker is going thru the roof down here, the casino's can't even keep up with the demand. Here in Melbourne, at the Crown Casino, I tried to get onto a 4/8 table at 2.30am the other night and the list was about 50 names long. Seven empty tables and at 4am they were sending dealers home at the end of their shifts! I sat there and cried as I watched the punters paying to see every flop, whether they were raised or not... and I couldn't get any piece of that action.

Mate, all the best with your writing and poker. I have your site bookmarked and I will continue to check in and see what you are up to.

Cheers,
Steve (Melbourne, Australia)

Steve,

Wow, I'm flattered that you were following the WSOP through my poker blog. Pretty cool. Without a doubt, Joe Hachem accelerated poker's popularity "down under." I can definitely see a trend of more Australian poker players entering the WSOP and other big events in the near future. Thanks for reading and keeping me up to date on the Melbourne poker scene.

See ya,
Pauly

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Pauly,

Enjoy! Top 10 Signs You Are Spending Too Much Time Reading the Tao of Poker.

10 You start your day thinking "Who were the Pros Pauly Took a Piss Next to?"

9 You wonder how much Sookhee charged Phil Ivey for all those massages (on ESPN last night) and how did Pauly miss the story?

8 You can't help but wonder why Pauly doesn't get Flipchip over to the Redneck Riveria to capture the madness.

7 You are counting the days until Red Stripe offers Pauly a big sponsorship deal.

6 You pause in the middle of your day to wonder "Who were the Pros Pauly Took a Piss Next to?"

5 Your day doesn't officially begin until Pauly begins his blogcast.

4 You ran a prop bet on which of the Poker blogger's would be the first to leave Vegas.

3 You only watch ESPN's WSOP 2005 Coverage to look for Pauly in the background.

2 You count the days until Pauly becomes Wil Wheaton's press agent.

1 Favorite Poker Pro? Seven words "Like buttercups and a fresh mountain spring."

I've been enjoy your posts,
Thomas

Thomas,

That was some funny shit. Thanks for sharing!!

And thanks for reading,
Pauly

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You should be reading... Scurvy Dog's Sound of a Suckout and Shirley's Poker Babes.