Even though I’ve been extremely busy with various life/web projects I’m glad to say I’ve got a bit accomplished and have the Speed Cubing guide about 80% finished to my liking and also am actively reviewing potential advertisers again after taking a brief hiatus from our overwhelming email load. Thanks to everyone who writes in with very kind words and know that even though I don’t have much time to respond I read every letter we get and think they’re pretty cool :)

I’ve recently been introduced to a very cool website called GraphJam.com which is basically 1000x cooler than you would think. I’ve been working through all of the pages and I literally can’t stop reading them they are so flippin’ hilarious. the level of comedy on these is certainly top-notch stuff so do yourself a favor and browse them ASAP.

In the Poker news arena, anyone who follows the game must have heard by now that Phil Ivey has made the WSOP 2009 Main Event final table, which is amazing and exciting for me personally and the sport in general. The guy is awesome and the level of excitement come November will reach a peak that hopefully will pull down huge TV rankings and revitalize interest in the game of Poker.

And since I’m being my usual random, scatter-brained self I’d also like to post this YouTube video my wife just sent me because 1) It is unquestionably f’n cool/amazing/impossible. How does he play the hardest song on the hardest difficulty level while also one-hand solving 2 rubiks cubes?? he’s using his elbow to strum 2) I think it’s cool that we will soon be able to time travel in the next few years because he’s going to work on that project once he enters High School and finally 3) I’m pre-voting for him as president 2050. enjoy.

I actually missed the first follow-up to my Chess and Poker Fridays idea (big surprise)  but at least I have a valid excuse: I was judging a weiner-dog race! I was pulled from the crowd after the regular judge didn’t show and let’s just say….I rocked it. But anyway, let’s get back on track with the content I have pre-promised. The WSOP has started!

Only a few events have been completed as of this writing, but unquestionably the most talked about recent bracelet winner is the super-talented and hardworking Phil Ivey. Phil took down the 2-7 NL WSOP event and and more notably took home significantly more money in side bets with his fellow pros! In a recent Cardplayer Magazine article Daniel Negreanu stated that he had a standing bet with Ivey that if they both played in any WSOP event and either of them won a bracelet, the other had to cough up a little bit of side bet money ($200k). Well, the 2-7 NL event qualified, and apparently Ivey had placed quite a few other side bets as well. In the same interview Phil is quoted as saying, “I have a lot of big bets on winning a bracelet, so I really don’t have a choice. I have to play every event now….Hopefully, I can win a bracelet in the next couple of weeks, that way, I don’t have to play every event.” That dude rules, to the purported tune of $3-10 MILLION in side bets. Instead of taking it easy, though, Phil is plowing his way through more events as we type.

I also found some more Chess videos that at least kept my attention for a few minutes :)

And last but not least………Happy Birthday TETRIS! Light on graphics but heavy on enjoyment, Tetris has captured the free time of many millions by practically forcing them into turning and twisting the tetrominoes and placing them into row-clearing formations. My wife is practically a pro at this game (no joke, she’s played it since she was a kid and it shows) and while I have my moments I generally suck at it, I still like it enough to give it some much-earned props here on the World stage that is the Chess and Poker Blog. Happy 25th birthday Tetris, you bastard!

Your humble narrator has randomly decided to start a new tradition here on the Chess and Poker blog that I think I’ll creatively be calling “Chess and Poker Fridays”. In an attempt to sharpen my scattered attention span I will post dual-content blogs that cover both Chess and Poker and will at the very least try to make them interesting. Please don’t notice, though, if I happen to post them on Thursdays or every third month etc etc :) First things first…I’ll start with Poker and one of my favorite online players,  the former #1 ranked online poker player in the world Chris Moorman.

For those of you not well-versed in Poker forum traditions (aka normal “have a life” types) I’d like to introduce you to some of the most thought-provoking posts you’ll find there by way of “The Well” format. Occasionally, a top player will decided to participate in what is known as “The Well” which is a thread dedicated to the featured player where fellow forum members may ask them any question they like and reasonably expect an answer, especially if their questions concern Poker. I’ve enjoyed reading several “Wells” lately and would like to review some of the more memorable strategy-related answers given by some of the best players around, online or live. This first one reviews a Chris “Moorman1″ Moorman Well from PocketFives.com with responses when asked about:

Standard lines based on stack size:

really tough question to give an accurate answer too as it really does depend on the table. I doubt I’d 3 bet fold 30bbs tbh, 4 bet shove stack is ideal between 30 and 40bbs, anything more doing it light would be spew unless you had a solid read. 10-20 bbs I dont care who you are its just wait for a hand/good reshove spot imo.

What separates him from the average-to-above average LAG (loose-agressive) player:

The main thing is experience. Also I feel like I’m pretty good at getting inside other peoples heads and knowing what their breaking point is.

How to stay focused with a big stack late in a tournament:

You can’t keep running people over, every1 has their breaking point. Know when your opponents have had enough and this time have it and hold….. easy game :)

What a common mistake for MTT players was:

Overvaluing overpairs early in tourneys

If it’s better to bet out big draws or check raise with them OOP (out of position?

prob bet out unless the natural sizing of the bet would be worthy of a check raise all in

How do I improve (from a top player)?

IMO you should try and make your opponents make more mistakes against you than you are making yourself rather than making yourself mistake free and relying on your opponents making non forced errors against you.

Three skills that set him apart:

Not sure on 3 skills that set me apart but I would say I’m good at knowing when to 3 barrel, double barrel, fire 1 bullet or just check fold. Also I’d like to think I was good at taking advantage of different players styles and closing out final tables when I have a stack. The more experience you gain the better you become at the game so I just try to log hands/tourneys and try and play my a game as often as possible.

What the biggest post-flop mistakes MTT (multi-table tournament) players make:

not having a plan for turns and rivers or not giving themselves fold equity/widening peoples ranges etc. For example some boards will be bad c bets unless u are willing to double/triple barrell and then you have to consider opponents stack sizes and see if its possible, if there is 4k in the pot and your oppoents has 10k back and the flop is 566 if you think a lot of medium pocket pairs are in his range and you hold air then a cbet would be unproftable, however if in the same situation your opoonent had 25k you would have the ammunition to fire 3 bullets and have a lot more chance of getting him to fold on the turn/river.

Biggest mistakes he continuously sees his opponents making:

not balancing their ranges enough in certain spots

Why he keeps his opening raise size fairly large (2.75 to 3x) even late:

I like to play big pots and put people to decisions for their whole stack which is obviously easier with a bigger open. also you get less multiway pots.

If he’d prefer to grind a 30bb-ish stack or go for a huge chip stack:

huge chip leads ftw imo

Good Poker stuff there imo. And now I’d like to share a couple of interesting videos I came across while mindlessly wandering through YouTube today. The first features the eccentric and later troubled former World Chess champion Bobby Fischer in an interview with Dick Cavett that I watched for the first time (sorry I’m pretty lazy when it comes to research, the vid is circa 1971) and I found him to be very enigmatic and engaging. Heck, he’s was a chess genius from Brooklyn what more does it take to be interesting :) The second is a tape recorded interview from another former Chess Champion Alexander Alekhine. I have read about Alekhine several times previously and reviewed his games, but he comes across much nicer than I imagined. Actually, he seems like a really nice old guy that played Chess very well. Despite the fact that the recording is VERY old and for some reason I feel like Alekhine is going to invite me to Transylvania, lock me up in his castle, force me to write a series of letters and then travel across the seas to embrace/bite/vamp-out-on my Mina, I really liked listening to the short video….creepiness and all.  Especially when Alekhine proclaims that Chess does not require a strong memory (woot) and that “a lifetime is not enough in which to learn everything about Chess”. So enjoy, and if you really like the “Chess and Poker” combo posts, drop us a comment eh. Pavlov’s dog sort of thing.

For those of you not “in the know”, Jig-a-loo is THE preferred spray-on lubricant used by Speed Cubers. What are Speed Cubers? Well, they are the entirely not-geeky individuals that have developed methods for solving the Rubik’s cube in a staggeringly fast manner, usually in less than 1min and frequently less than 20 seconds! I have recently become fascinated with the idea of becoming a speedcuber, and have been furiously practicing the art by learning the varying array of algorithms and ideas needed to solve the cube in such a quick amount of time. And I have to say, I absolutely love it!

To that end I am currently working on a speed-cubing Rubik’s cube guide as we speak that is not only helping me learn the way of the speed cuber but also will provide our users with an awesome guide that they too can use to learn how to solve the cube in sub-1min times and more in the near future. In an upcoming post I will document some of the things I’ve been researching, such as how to lubricate your cube effectively and make it turn and slice like butter (very cool). Hint: I get to use my Jig-a-loo! I’ve always received emails from people wanting to know if we were planning on featuring a speed-cubing guide, and since I am a creature of inspiration I had to simply wait around until the bug bit me and forced me to learn a new obsession. The time is now fellow geek speed cubers so keep your eyes peeled for more :)

Keeping with my trend of getting “into” things about 2-3 years later than everyone else (they haven’t invented hover boards yet right) I finally purchased the Wii gaming console. Have you heard about these things? They have motion controllers and are way, make that WAY, unbelievably cool! I noticed three Wii’s in a local store and debated buying one for the entire weekend, which for people with ADD means that I totally forgot about them until somebody asked me how my wiikend went (at least that’s how it spelled out in my mind anyway). Oh, yeah, go buy the Wii, right now, focus. Do not let your mind wonder why they call those things kids wear at the pool “Floaties” or “Water Wings” and not “Super Cool Air Muscles with Spider Man Tattoos Flexed Mightily for all Lifeguard Babes”.

3hrs and one very satisfying debit card sweep later, the Wii was finally in my possession and just looking at the crisp white glossy box….the universe felt somehow more complete. I hadn’t purchased a gaming console since the Playstation 2 so I had to figure out how to connect it to my TV old-person-where-does-the-dang-red-one-go-I-give-up-oh-ok-that-works-sweet style but once it was hooked up the Wii instantly breathed to life. Of course, everyone in the house had to give it a try six maybe seven times, and even after it was lil kids bedtime the wii stayed awake with us, tempting us to skip jobs/chores/hygiene and stay up for 9 straight days to master bowling and probably tennis. I think we’re going to like it just fine, and as soon as I can bowl a simple 300 (which shouldn’t be that hard right) I’ll be able to master the other games as well. Next on the list….ginormous-mega flat screen imo. Then it’s time to buy more games….but which ones?

*bonus points if you got the revenge of the nerds reference in the title :)