“History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce." ~ Karl Marx The Brink of Catastrophe On Thursday April 14th 2011, the online poker world was on the brink of catastrophe. Online poker operators who had knowingly and wilfully flouted legislation by transacting with US customers were teetering
Flight of the Concorde One of the most expensive aircrafts ever built, the Concorde was a joint project between the British and French governments. Eight years of studies, three years of development, and four years of construction resulted in the creation of six prototypes by March 1969, but the project
Cards Must Speak And So Should Poker Reporters “The writer must be a participant in the scene while he's writing it — or at least taping it, or even sketching it. Or all three.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson Hawkins’ 18th Ring Mired in Controversy A few days ago, at the
‘I have a bridge to sell you’ In the late 19th century, New York City was bristling with potential and promise. Every day, thousands of plucky immigrants, mostly from Europe, sailed past Lady Liberty and arrived in the land of opportunity. One opportunity which was presented to many was the
"No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong." ~ Albert Einstein Experimentation For about a fortnight back in June 2021, the small inlet of Balluta Bay, close to where I live in St. Julian's, Malta, underwent an ‘experimental beach re-nourishment’. The idea
"The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike, the devil will come, and Faustas must be damned" - Christopher Marlowe Shortcut In my two previous articles in this series, I argued for the curbing of Late Registration and Unlimited Re-Entry in poker tournaments. The running theme of these
The English romantic poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said: “Advice is like snow - the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.” Poker players are a strong-minded, strong-willed bunch who perhaps need advice to be delivered in the right
In January 2019, myself and my Chip Race co-host Dara O’Kearney interviewed a poker player and broadcaster whose popularity had transcended the game of poker. A former gymnast, paratrooper, little league coach, ballroom dancer, WSOP bracelet winner, WPT champion and Poker Hall of Famer, Mike Sexton was everything you might
March 2011: Bots Discovered on Pokerstars Before he was writing about the surveillance method of the NSA or breaches of trust by Facebook and other big tech companies, the Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Gabriel Dance penned a New York Times article about bots invading the world of online poker. It was
The Freeze Out ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.’ Down the years, this well-known saying has become a tired cliché about the virtue of persistence. While apathy or idleness might, and I stress, might be ignoble traits, knowing when to quit is no bad thing. A lot
The Origin Of Late Registration I’m old enough to remember when there was no such thing as late registration. If you wanted to play a poker tournament, you had to show up at the beginning. Games rarely started on time, mostly because the organizer waited for the usual suspects to
Laptop Controversy after Tamayo Victory Last week, poker veteran Jonathan Tamayo won the WSOP Main Event for $10 million after a superb final table performance. The man who, just three days prior, had been mercilessly mocked for his nitty fold with pocket queens stood triumphant in the Horseshoe Casino, a
