tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53541667146716051202024-03-13T09:29:46.505-07:00Knircky's log fileknirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-32172909537319546932014-06-10T16:28:00.002-07:002014-06-10T16:28:28.166-07:00Peer to Peer SportsBetting in 5 steps using Bitcoin<br />
<h2>
Peer to Peer SportsBetting in 5 steps using Bitcoin</h2>
Peer to peer betting using counterparty is here. Counterparty is a protocol that runs on top of bitcoin. It is one of the bitcoin 2.0 initiatives and allows additional financial applications that cannot be done with bitcoin alone. This includes:<br />
<ul>
<li>Smart Property - basically you can create your own coins and asset.</li>
<li>Distributed Exchange (DEX) - which is a distributed (peer to peer) version of a stock market, where anyone can sell any asset for any other asset to anyone.</li>
<li>Betting - Binary and CFD. You can use this for hedging or leveraged financial transaction (CFD) or just a simple bet that an event will happen or not (binary).</li>
</ul>
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So here we are now interested in the betting part, particularly the binary bets because this is used for sports betting.<br />
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Before we explain how this works lets talk about why peer to peer sports betting is important.<br />
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Sports betting is huge:<br />
<a href="http://www.covers.com/articles/articles.aspx?theArt=338696" target="_blank">The worldwide sports betting industry is worth anywhere between $700 billion and $1 trillion according to Sportradar, a company that monitors the gambling activity of over 55,000 sports matches a year. The estimation was reported by the BBC and says that more than 70 percent of that action is placed on football matches in the legal and illegal betting markets.</a><br />
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So the market is big and most of it happens illegally. If illegal there is a problem: trust. You either need to trust your (mafia) bookie or you need to trust some off-shore casino. Both are really bad options since they are illegal, even if you can trust them you don't know if some government will take them down.<br />
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If its legal (i.e. you you fly to Las Vegas to bet on your favorite team) or you bet in Europe there is yet another problem: the vig (<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">vigorish)</span> is about 10%. This 10% fee leads to the fact that most players lose and the house makes a huge profit. While sportbetting is naturally a fair market between all the players in reality its effectively gambling because just like betting on roulette its pretty much impossible to win (with the exception of some very few that make more than 10% on avg per bet).<br />
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Both of these problems are now solved using bitcoin:<br />
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1. Betting can be done without a casino and trusted 3rd party by betting directly peer to peer. There is still a 3rd party feed provider but its much easier to trust a publication of a result and also much easier to verify this than trusting a bookie or casino.<br />
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2. Betting is now done Peer to Peer where players set their odds directly and without vig. Because you don't bet against the house but against other players there is no adjustment to the true odds between the two. The only fees we have to pay is to make a bitcoin transaction and the feed provider also receives potentially a fee. Since providing a feed is much cheaper and easier than being a casino and holding the risk of losing the bet this will be much cheaper. I.e. currently 1% vs 10% the bookie tends to charge.<br />
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This is big for two parties:<br />
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a) Sport bettors: The people who like to bet on sports can now have a real fair market. Sport betting thus can become a true skill game vs gamble that it is now. Today unless done professionally you will have practically no chance at beating the house. But in the future one will simply have to be smarter than the average player to be able to make a profit.<br />
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b) The bitcoin economy. I love bitcoin and use it all the time. But to be honest there is nothing in my world that I can't do without it. But now we have an actual application that is only possible because of bitcoin: Peer to peer betting is clearly superior to betting vs a casino. Just like email is better than snail mail. So every bettor should essentially move away from their old school casino and use bitcoin to bet on their game. This means that 1 trillion USD should ultimately flow into the bitcoin economy. But because the game is much better (less money wasted in fees and more money won by players) the market can actually be bigger, simply because for many people its not stupid any more to bet on games. So players naturally will bet more and bigger and more players will do it in the future.<br />
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So here you have it why I think you should care. But enough with the philosophical stuff. Lets take a look how this works:<br />
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There are 5 things you need to do make your bets on counterparty. I will show this and post screenschots so you can get a feel for it even if you are not ready to invest real money.<br />
<h3>
1. Get a counterwallet.co</h3>
Go to counterwallet.co and create a new wallet using a secret pass-phrase.<br />
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<a href="https://www.counterparty.co/about/" target="_blank">Counterparty is a global marketplace and financial platform built on Bitcoin, which makes powerful peer-to-peer financial instruments available to anyone with an Internet connection. Trade assets, launch projects, secure funding, and make financial agreements that protect and enhance your wealth – cheaply, safely and easily. Just as the Internet shattered the barriers preventing the open exchange of information, Counterparty allows you to engage in business with whomever you choose, with no gatekeepers or middlemen collecting fees or restricting its use.</a><br />
<h3>
2. Send over some bitcoin and by some XCP</h3>
Counterparty runs on top of bitcoin, so your counterwallet contains already some bitcoin addresses. So sent some bitcoin over there. Once you have bitcoin in the bitcoin address of your wallet you can buy some XCP via the distributed exchange (that's how I do it) or you can buy XCP some place else (i.e. bter.com).<br />
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When you buy XCP with the DEX I suggest to overwrite the market price with something a bit higher, you will get the market price anyway (the DEX chooses the best price for you either way) but I have had issues with using the market price that is suggested. The volume on this market is currently very low that is probably why.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0mT9l7hJXNlzfTqMDUAPqkWIgkhAayH1XpAzWhyaUSxIZHUIljYV7oNDssJRKNuGjNbAhSpswT6LQ3GPP2LPjQkKTLTxHzjhFLuX3Ug9o7bZANO76DDvi_UFK7iqie66ji9Web0-RFuw/s1600/dex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0mT9l7hJXNlzfTqMDUAPqkWIgkhAayH1XpAzWhyaUSxIZHUIljYV7oNDssJRKNuGjNbAhSpswT6LQ3GPP2LPjQkKTLTxHzjhFLuX3Ug9o7bZANO76DDvi_UFK7iqie66ji9Web0-RFuw/s1600/dex.jpg" height="345" width="640" /></a></div>
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Why do we need XCP?<br />
XCP is the counterparty currency and is used to make peer to peer bets and other things such as creating assets. It is needed for counterpaty to bet with and to take money into escrow and pay it out automatically.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMr4h9V_mUbD4H45dUcvODVCempuiuq5VimRca61I2Pp4_ehsRpcbRzjMSLa4TB4zerx8uE2fblhGQ6FmcJAof0H5t53jEvk5Wtr-k92LvUmROHmj2r1eSaiFZih1WYv2MNT551kB8lHvE/s1600/wallet1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMr4h9V_mUbD4H45dUcvODVCempuiuq5VimRca61I2Pp4_ehsRpcbRzjMSLa4TB4zerx8uE2fblhGQ6FmcJAof0H5t53jEvk5Wtr-k92LvUmROHmj2r1eSaiFZih1WYv2MNT551kB8lHvE/s1600/wallet1.jpg" height="385" width="640" /></a></div>
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Once you have aquired some XCP your wallet should look something like the above. Notice you need both BTC and XCP in your wallet. Everytime you make a small transaction a tiny amount (0.0002) of bitcoin is used as a transaction fee, so without BTC you can essentially not do much on counterparty and of course the XCP are needed for making the bets themselves.<br />
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<h3>
3. Find your Feed to bet on.</h3>
In order to make a bet you need a feed. This is a bitcoin address that will publish a result in the future so you can bet on the outcome now.<br />
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In this example we will use a feed to bet on the World Cup. Lets assume we think Brazil is going to win the Cup and we want to bet on Brazil to win.<br />
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Go to http://xbet.io > WorldCup > Winner of World Cup<br />
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Xbet.io is a website of a feed provider. You can find feeds for different kinds of sport bets and also see what has been bet on these feeds so you can understand the market conditions (granted this market is quite tiny right now).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL5aZc9ipgBqLETSPVzeVvE_rM9w9q5wko7V_JwY_u510vMGL6IUDLeBjm3_CriHJStQ957lYqx_8GcPnqtRNcyTAT6P2N1cWLD9ZGuUbf4NkYh2V0XpzF_IYEPrKtkPD9lxFY_GCwyBx0/s1600/xbet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL5aZc9ipgBqLETSPVzeVvE_rM9w9q5wko7V_JwY_u510vMGL6IUDLeBjm3_CriHJStQ957lYqx_8GcPnqtRNcyTAT6P2N1cWLD9ZGuUbf4NkYh2V0XpzF_IYEPrKtkPD9lxFY_GCwyBx0/s1600/xbet.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can see all your choices above. The first line is Brazil. If we want to bet on the fact that Brazil will win we need to chose the "Back" side. "Lay" means we are betting against that outcome. The different colors are different odds (top line) and the amount of XCP that is waiting for the counterbet. If this is confusing click on the "i" icons. The xbet guys have done a wonderful job explaining everything.<br />
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We can thus currently bet 9 XCP for 4.2 to 1 odds that Brazil will win. We can also create a new bet if we want. But lets just take the existing odds so we can make sure that the bet will be matched right away (we know there is a counter-bet already available).<br />
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So I simply click on the purple box and the Bet Maker pops up:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDB-0E-Gna30FdXrgd6CJLOz7q1LI4ZNh3kfvMn5F357p1FdEzyh7zC-AEg-WduuaDkk65bVNDBm7M057pqv1bzH_w-Yq7Gmp6VpGGmGIuvYmvAuooLyJZybaXPGB2bhSFHmZHpSTCtzOH/s1600/feed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDB-0E-Gna30FdXrgd6CJLOz7q1LI4ZNh3kfvMn5F357p1FdEzyh7zC-AEg-WduuaDkk65bVNDBm7M057pqv1bzH_w-Yq7Gmp6VpGGmGIuvYmvAuooLyJZybaXPGB2bhSFHmZHpSTCtzOH/s1600/feed.jpg" height="640" width="510" /></a></div>
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I can now define the bet I want to make. I need to enter my bitcoin address (the one in my counterwallet that has both BTC and XCP) and I can define how much I want to bet and at what odds. When done click submit.<br />
The code that is generated is the feed + the betting logic that we just created with the help of this website. So we now have the feed that we can use to make our bet.<br />
<h3>
4. Enter the bet in counterparty</h3>
Now go back to counterwallet and click on Betting and enter the code you just created in the Address/Bet Code field.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPogsKA2RPYy1JjLeZb_mXtPpciPbC-DgRJV0H4Mw18DnOpeoRUJaEbzZcbegxNDodkAvAp-P6ogC8DNNTIM9Zbq_1qJ3h23hJfuEiIRNQ6vdsb0oLRUswtmKdWusImnliuZh4CWsGJ7m/s1600/bet1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPogsKA2RPYy1JjLeZb_mXtPpciPbC-DgRJV0H4Mw18DnOpeoRUJaEbzZcbegxNDodkAvAp-P6ogC8DNNTIM9Zbq_1qJ3h23hJfuEiIRNQ6vdsb0oLRUswtmKdWusImnliuZh4CWsGJ7m/s1600/bet1.jpg" height="428" width="640" /></a></div>
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After you paste in your code can now verify all the details of the bet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXN_fH0EOARJygAH_2QojgiMhA7u2olbjKBFzAHs9mB4hqAjfUDXJzGjWLMrUaS0SK-Prk7CzDJF8oiUwZe9hDb5OV4_FfME6jgrSspMUtGPLMabjC1-lL2y3oC7n9wf0rvZ0-MYmqj9uq/s1600/bet2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXN_fH0EOARJygAH_2QojgiMhA7u2olbjKBFzAHs9mB4hqAjfUDXJzGjWLMrUaS0SK-Prk7CzDJF8oiUwZe9hDb5OV4_FfME6jgrSspMUtGPLMabjC1-lL2y3oC7n9wf0rvZ0-MYmqj9uq/s1600/bet2.jpg" height="386" width="640" /></a></div>
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All that is left to do now is to review once more and actually make the bet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZd102B94VKPLJjHHOKbwWjCE-MOQ0yKcnlxHtEx6xdgcT8sGdoC6wIzKf69G6-R_xMZetNaAMSjK9lPD3cjrjGwgaB7l__wHWF5B14N_ndX5CZwvpGELuYEQ-1-nbD1r52UIM_Esv5gtZ/s1600/bet3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZd102B94VKPLJjHHOKbwWjCE-MOQ0yKcnlxHtEx6xdgcT8sGdoC6wIzKf69G6-R_xMZetNaAMSjK9lPD3cjrjGwgaB7l__wHWF5B14N_ndX5CZwvpGELuYEQ-1-nbD1r52UIM_Esv5gtZ/s1600/bet3.jpg" height="386" width="640" /></a></div>
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Click the bet button.</div>
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<h3>
5. Watch for your bet to be countered</h3>
Now we have sent the bet to the bitcoin network. We now need to wait for the transaction to be written into the next block in the blockchain. This will take a few minutes and counterwallet reminds us of this fact nicely.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9fWZHR-exAX31VG7vjSBUXreldK7i_2hHaiFghZmMqaPS3dEHJomaPEY8YvNbrvNyQxOFUKrq4srYgPWyDr3lEa-fOwcF09YVkymuMJpBqwe_SwPY96udBCr4dQhFLAlBAcGumx8GF6l/s1600/wait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9fWZHR-exAX31VG7vjSBUXreldK7i_2hHaiFghZmMqaPS3dEHJomaPEY8YvNbrvNyQxOFUKrq4srYgPWyDr3lEa-fOwcF09YVkymuMJpBqwe_SwPY96udBCr4dQhFLAlBAcGumx8GF6l/s1600/wait.jpg" height="386" width="640" /></a></div>
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Because we chose odds where there was already a counterbet existing our bet was matched immediately. Essentially what counterparty does here is look for a counterbet and then escrow the funds from both accounts. You can see this by the message that we sent 1 XCP and some other address sent 3.2 XCP, this is due to the odds of 4.2.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_Ewc0jjRSzyfAaeMvrow6dO6R3tuuJ_iQM2OcDBu3G9CD8ZWGg6pJgxREtDu8Yof4okULNU_G8T7PbFKFIfPsIIzwRamoPtAmJwAUo8g6Okdcl-kjY4FqSMJ2kzeXD82VLbSaxnjHumF/s1600/bet_match.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_Ewc0jjRSzyfAaeMvrow6dO6R3tuuJ_iQM2OcDBu3G9CD8ZWGg6pJgxREtDu8Yof4okULNU_G8T7PbFKFIfPsIIzwRamoPtAmJwAUo8g6Okdcl-kjY4FqSMJ2kzeXD82VLbSaxnjHumF/s1600/bet_match.jpg" height="556" width="640" /></a></div>
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That means the bet is made and now in a pending status until the feed will publish the result of the outcome, in this case the conclusion of the World Cup.<br />
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In the mean time I can review all the bets I have made in the "My Bet History" tab. I think this view needs a bit of work from counterparty. It is hard to recognize which bet is which and some of the details of the feeds are missing in the overview. I have been told by the developers (you can talk to them via the chat in counterwallet) that they are working on fixing this. The whole functionality just came out 2 days ago and has not been marketed at all so lets be a bit patient.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrimnfakviuocGD79v_cfVZjPCQKuPz_Nm3U7faIdtbngEfo9jCOEF5uoEJzAGshSwd-hdH9YgwaiHpTC8X-FoUfsTtRn1XSnfjtEsZrNrWiXwfbDU51hjJ4gCQWlfsGTkMkG_-4e_NkHw/s1600/bet_overview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrimnfakviuocGD79v_cfVZjPCQKuPz_Nm3U7faIdtbngEfo9jCOEF5uoEJzAGshSwd-hdH9YgwaiHpTC8X-FoUfsTtRn1XSnfjtEsZrNrWiXwfbDU51hjJ4gCQWlfsGTkMkG_-4e_NkHw/s1600/bet_overview.jpg" height="346" width="640" /></a></div>
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Below is the view from the "Open Bets". This is what it looks like when you make bets that have not been countered. I created some odds that have not been accepted by some other bettor just yet and they are waiting to be be countered.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkq6eHrOXgC_AGDZ4neXoycOXg1gjEVy1HbKTbof5kKRlMAGflMWas5h6xLiac9vg4pJMVr6ZuFVFLH6340YGLABq_eAcduLv5G4ZOtibYDfamiAz0XyiTyoPWqVcdgQlIwSm4L9LNNBeR/s1600/bet__open_overview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkq6eHrOXgC_AGDZ4neXoycOXg1gjEVy1HbKTbof5kKRlMAGflMWas5h6xLiac9vg4pJMVr6ZuFVFLH6340YGLABq_eAcduLv5G4ZOtibYDfamiAz0XyiTyoPWqVcdgQlIwSm4L9LNNBeR/s1600/bet__open_overview.jpg" height="346" width="640" /></a></div>
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In summary I think this is very powerful. Dealing with counterparty and bitcoin might feel a bit clunky at first and many things take some getting used to, especially the waiting for bitcoin block confirmations.<br />
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On the other hands the bets work quite well. Once you have the XCP and you know how to get your feed it is quite amazing that one can simply create whatever bet that is desired. The xbet.io site in combination with counterparty.co is a wonderful solution that comes just in time.<br />
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I believe this has the great potential to completely change the sports betting market. I have personally never been into sports betting for the simple reason that I know that I would not be able to make any money against the house. Now I can just imagine trying to learn it. People who already bet on sports must be drawn to this even more as their profits should rise quite a bit with the reduced fees.<br />
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If the above is true than bitcoin will also gain from this as new people will join the network and money has to flow in. We will see what the future holds, but I think it is looking swell.<br />
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I have written this article as I have seen no media coverage of this so far and wanted to give people an idea of how peer to peer betting can work today without needing to risk your won real money. If you like what I wrote I would appreciate some BTC or XCP tips at my bitcoin address: <span style="background-color: #ccdadf; color: #2b363c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 32px;">15ZBYrd8VgtX43K7R21Zwo6Biu5Z7fMeqn</span><br />
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Thank you and good luck with your bets.<br />
<br />knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com111tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-71791556753502495642013-11-07T14:08:00.002-08:002013-11-07T14:08:44.655-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5St5WdnLIH-s4DMpMOeJDqEPXAcjwV-d4QAvbJXUtSUwAFQ1SlBC6p6dakCcNiRYgaFeegKpm8I61EC_epgx9bdfel32683Oh5qfeH4n9LzHVzlozxSI3AahsckYg0REQI0KXePGt8gZ/s1600/DP+online.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5St5WdnLIH-s4DMpMOeJDqEPXAcjwV-d4QAvbJXUtSUwAFQ1SlBC6p6dakCcNiRYgaFeegKpm8I61EC_epgx9bdfel32683Oh5qfeH4n9LzHVzlozxSI3AahsckYg0REQI0KXePGt8gZ/s640/DP+online.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Delaware Park is online now. Not many people seem to use it just yet but a great step forward.</div>
knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-64029702574419005532013-06-04T17:32:00.002-07:002013-06-04T17:32:32.044-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOf7ErIjVV6YJUJcuWZ2s7FWQrt4yj3Ai1OcN2HB5X1oW53JJLj2-S1JQfy_MIlEHm6EvTouJHiZhcDi5wQ02Yv9WVbhUhcQln1SIOe1lIKaSypQBbbdq8ZBD582A8dxn_-ynB51bwuydj/s1600/rake+vs+win+cumm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOf7ErIjVV6YJUJcuWZ2s7FWQrt4yj3Ai1OcN2HB5X1oW53JJLj2-S1JQfy_MIlEHm6EvTouJHiZhcDi5wQ02Yv9WVbhUhcQln1SIOe1lIKaSypQBbbdq8ZBD582A8dxn_-ynB51bwuydj/s320/rake+vs+win+cumm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-62439788608342235632013-02-03T18:00:00.002-08:002013-02-03T18:23:15.016-08:00Something is wrong with this pictureBelow is a picture of my personal chart that shows the problem with rake for my game.<br />
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Over the last 50k or so hands, I won about $1500 paid roughly $1380 in rake and won about $120. This is 50nl, the first 20k hands is FR the rest 6max. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBciMgsa5D7N9kmRSsQziAqml_7j4xCewkqJtl_nFtQLgKcVlUFR7WKDaYeQ_zzjMZ6BHkNqpXs3ha7YBjj4i2BEFyzxauL_D0cqT5a_4dfCpShkbX-W1nWShpm-HAc1mWLZqRHwRnqG-e/s1600/chart_winNrake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBciMgsa5D7N9kmRSsQziAqml_7j4xCewkqJtl_nFtQLgKcVlUFR7WKDaYeQ_zzjMZ6BHkNqpXs3ha7YBjj4i2BEFyzxauL_D0cqT5a_4dfCpShkbX-W1nWShpm-HAc1mWLZqRHwRnqG-e/s320/chart_winNrake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you also think about my "playing pleasure" you will see that there is a long stretch of a slow downswing after the 20k hand mark. This is where I switched from FR to 6max and there is probably somewhat of a learning curve happening. The critical part to note here is that I actually won but because of the rake I ended up losing slowly. Slowly winning instead of winning is a big difference when it comes to playing pleasure.<br />
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The site of course should be quite happy. They make about 10x the money they actually move.<br />
<br />knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-4571275141901146402012-11-15T12:36:00.001-08:002012-11-15T12:36:34.185-08:00All right, I wanted to add a few charts.<br />
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First off a nice guy from 2+2 simply sent me his database. It is important to understand that the data in my DB contains:<br />
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- Hands I have bought. most of the 50NL+ data comes from that source<br />
- Hands I have received from a user on 2+2. All of the stakes smaller than 50nl comes from that source<br />
- 50 NL data I played myself <br />
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I think this is relevant because the data 1 user sees vs the data dataminer collects will be different in that data from the data miner will be more broad.<br />
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Another thing to note is that the Nr. of hands is higher than Nr. of hands I actually imported. The data you see is aggregated user data. I imported data into poker tracker 3 (takes a few days) and then exported the user data into a different tool that lets me run data better and do my own calculations.<br />
So one hand that I import can potentially be seen by 9 users and thus get me a hand count of up to 9.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYO3EWiXfWI9e9p4dli8rJUsPv-99SuwRz4HUEAETz364qCFFY-DDxoMeoFq0eVLc4NCHoFwJ5S7erzEXlKZiDh-yiqFxNYzx51QDOS2BHV75GDXnCzzqr1S6dZvjPjboTx9YikWbvPL5L/s1600/overview_table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYO3EWiXfWI9e9p4dli8rJUsPv-99SuwRz4HUEAETz364qCFFY-DDxoMeoFq0eVLc4NCHoFwJ5S7erzEXlKZiDh-yiqFxNYzx51QDOS2BHV75GDXnCzzqr1S6dZvjPjboTx9YikWbvPL5L/s640/overview_table.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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So this is the overview.<br />
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Lets look at a two questions:<br />
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<strong>1. How many winners?</strong><br />
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There is no simple answer to that. In fact I don't think I can answer that question unless I had all the data available to me. But I can show you what my data says.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-R6xR4oGSbjA70Oi4-Vmga4iEVUfnZov98zxGXNMhAsrrg6xPhtxOjHTFHm-reyW-_cfaB3BV7dW84DLbvlGmqaBk92t7yOxpUk4l9y-a0U5q_xZo6tFoaOc3Bhv5BU_cq_OPdzrYDqc/s1600/Winner_overall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-R6xR4oGSbjA70Oi4-Vmga4iEVUfnZov98zxGXNMhAsrrg6xPhtxOjHTFHm-reyW-_cfaB3BV7dW84DLbvlGmqaBk92t7yOxpUk4l9y-a0U5q_xZo6tFoaOc3Bhv5BU_cq_OPdzrYDqc/s640/Winner_overall.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The above chart shows all players in my DB ( I certainly dont have all their data)</div>
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The games must be easy to beat. But the avg hands per player is very low (180) and over that sample its pretty much luck to win or lose. Im not sure if the fact that I have 80k players will even it out or not. To really answer the question we would have to look at all the data (which is impossible unless you are a site). However this is in line with what others report.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjcGj4Ru_qPdB1DQ7TdSSb75nzJfiU_nxvWSRAyStdrpznJQNYRusPn2a9DXVgNIMtZTcdAKxRerbmutRaBOl1NA5UHq2Vdxs8XMlzQtHOJMICU13cMUCp7YB99Md1JO7rF8R44s9AHdp/s1600/Winner_2k_levell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjcGj4Ru_qPdB1DQ7TdSSb75nzJfiU_nxvWSRAyStdrpznJQNYRusPn2a9DXVgNIMtZTcdAKxRerbmutRaBOl1NA5UHq2Vdxs8XMlzQtHOJMICU13cMUCp7YB99Md1JO7rF8R44s9AHdp/s640/Winner_2k_levell.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqeXvXfIKajFAYyxYyDKznLbzSToWUlUMDSK7eaqnWbxDiaL6-ElI7mTNq3dJJfGBdVjz2fNSsRMqC2QRFrHnBfzMq1d3svInhhy7QNYrVRCatIkHfb98F2mxz_8GBdRuSDAtTAjuxI9X/s1600/2kwinner_levels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqeXvXfIKajFAYyxYyDKznLbzSToWUlUMDSK7eaqnWbxDiaL6-ElI7mTNq3dJJfGBdVjz2fNSsRMqC2QRFrHnBfzMq1d3svInhhy7QNYrVRCatIkHfb98F2mxz_8GBdRuSDAtTAjuxI9X/s640/2kwinner_levels.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8L3BNdhrXlyMW7Oq5QVgDMX25soJqKOxZCoihpWbvSxpNsnnzif4-yBLIxNWDiIeI7fh5qNy0K3Kn5HcPqjHFEEdIeP7bWPzeusBl-mMSlAfFQj_DhW1FvDceaDks31CE4IBHHrkxFA4f/s1600/2kwinnerpie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8L3BNdhrXlyMW7Oq5QVgDMX25soJqKOxZCoihpWbvSxpNsnnzif4-yBLIxNWDiIeI7fh5qNy0K3Kn5HcPqjHFEEdIeP7bWPzeusBl-mMSlAfFQj_DhW1FvDceaDks31CE4IBHHrkxFA4f/s640/2kwinnerpie.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The above 3 charts show data for players that have played more than 2k hands. You can see that less than 1% of the players I have fit into this category. You can also see in thes chart how many players lose because of the rake and that in a natural game 70% of players actually would win.<br />
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<strong>2. How much is raked vs won</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
So now lets look at how much money are people actually taking home.<br />
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The easiest way to understand this as a %-tage:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjcGj4Ru_qPdB1DQ7TdSSb75nzJfiU_nxvWSRAyStdrpznJQNYRusPn2a9DXVgNIMtZTcdAKxRerbmutRaBOl1NA5UHq2Vdxs8XMlzQtHOJMICU13cMUCp7YB99Md1JO7rF8R44s9AHdp/s1600/Winner_2k_levell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HHhBQbNALfwi2QUU7zGoCBCzQRYUytvPBX4uJ9hnzX_D3lfcVPbiESL5mr2ZggA3EN9TxNJDWxq5mnPA3H3T2uTGbnJoK1yr0OtZrCJ4skSFWpXqbaJwl0Hza10L8LmlH5L1fkAbohQx/s1600/rakeVSwin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HHhBQbNALfwi2QUU7zGoCBCzQRYUytvPBX4uJ9hnzX_D3lfcVPbiESL5mr2ZggA3EN9TxNJDWxq5mnPA3H3T2uTGbnJoK1yr0OtZrCJ4skSFWpXqbaJwl0Hza10L8LmlH5L1fkAbohQx/s640/rakeVSwin.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is the amount of money transfered by the poker hands in my DB</div>
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To me this is the most essential chart about the poker economy. It shows the true size of the economy (well in my case the hands I have imported) and it shows where the money goes. It was really eye openeing to me and explains why the rakes in different games can actually so different without being a problem. I was really surprised when I played in Macau and I saw all the pros from EU sitting there. I could not imagine that the rake (5 times as high as in the US) could be beatable. But it is. The reason is the same for Macau compared to Vegas as 50NL compared to 4NL. Simply: the games at 4NL and in Macau are easier.</div>
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I still think the rake is too high at 4NL, but at 50NL its a big problem.</div>
However changing the rake a little (like stars did last year) is not going to be a solution. I am sure that this chart would have looked much greener in 2006. So it wasn't a problem back then. If we change the rake today we have the same problem tomorrow. The way we rake is a structural problem that needs to be solved.<br />
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What could we do to have a system that workes well for 2006, 2012 and forever in the future.<br />
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I think there is a simple answer. Stop raking hands and rake the money transfer. Have sites keep a %-take of the money that is transfered and make that more even across the levels. We could still rake hands to collect the money not as radically so long as we make sure that the balance overall is not broken (i.e. via regulation).<br />
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Now lets look at the 2k winners above. Over 2k hands already 20% of players become losers due to the rake alone. Those are the small winners. Think about turning these from losers to winners. That would make way more loyal customers. It would broaden the economy. If we could then also prevent rake abuse we should get a very healthy and growing economy. Think about the share of winners that the rake will turn to losers when we play 50k+ hands. <br />
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I think this is something that we as players need to focus on. We need to demand two things:<br />
<br />
1. the right to play<br />
2. the right to a fair market<br />
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When I look at regulation it is very important to me that part two of this equation is thought of as well. I hope I can make some of you aware of this as well.knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-11613414555665709052012-01-23T18:49:00.001-08:002012-01-23T18:49:49.032-08:00Phils blog is down so her is an alternative link<br /><br /><a href="http://www.rakeback.com/news/2012/1/phil-galfond-proposes-tons-of-changes-to-online-poker-20">http://www.rakeback.com/news/2012/1/phil-galfond-proposes-tons-of-changes-to-online-poker-20</a>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-85444915140042554022012-01-23T14:24:00.001-08:002012-01-23T14:32:10.052-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwd064XtoCehPpI_uQAFmOvBQ-zIBNII_TqgowfRifCae-ULb1stQ339hmbQfK5G8aRIcCK23qeVxxjp1wJxJD1mTEshOD4_qXcHPrFbXFaV6XLPDzFcgpX4sbxRzvFVXSKaKOis1WqqYK/s1600/Winner%2525+1k%252B.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwd064XtoCehPpI_uQAFmOvBQ-zIBNII_TqgowfRifCae-ULb1stQ339hmbQfK5G8aRIcCK23qeVxxjp1wJxJD1mTEshOD4_qXcHPrFbXFaV6XLPDzFcgpX4sbxRzvFVXSKaKOis1WqqYK/s320/Winner%2525+1k%252B.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700957108141486082" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnew0VRg8BpKSXpE2lshBn8DlZxp3aQR_bdFo2Ev4naB5reoLzRLYk96pS1v1WHNk-ks7z107Mo3mZAkpiQyzVhKulyv8v3gdylCQN5f4Do3TBFdP9QXdCvgUkK_fNy42aPvEuoBo0KRdu/s1600/Winner%2525+no+filter.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnew0VRg8BpKSXpE2lshBn8DlZxp3aQR_bdFo2Ev4naB5reoLzRLYk96pS1v1WHNk-ks7z107Mo3mZAkpiQyzVhKulyv8v3gdylCQN5f4Do3TBFdP9QXdCvgUkK_fNy42aPvEuoBo0KRdu/s320/Winner%2525+no+filter.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700957014901894626" /></a><div><br /></div><div>Comparing winner and loser with and without rake at various levels reveals the difference rake makes.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is clear to me that the reason why the games are dried up so much must be the rake. There is simply too much money going out of the system that has to be replenished.</div><div><br /></div><div>Essentially when we lose we feel bad. The amount we lose and how often we lose has a direct effect on how much we enjoy the game. The same is true for winning. The more we win the more we love the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the rake at low stakes we are creating a big imbalance between these two, where people must eventually feel too much losing pain and quit.<br /><div><br /></div></div>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-67438883505666095502012-01-23T13:27:00.000-08:002012-01-23T14:01:55.711-08:00<div>I imported 10nl hands into pt3 today and I am getting the following results.</div><div><br /></div><div>Comparatively 10nl players pay a lot less in rake than 0.50Nl players. The ratio between what people win and pay in rake is 5:1 @10nl and 1:1 @0.50nl.</div><div><br /></div><div>I would assume this trend is even higher on high stakes to the effect that rake is negligent.</div><div><br /></div><div>10 NL could certainly affort to pay for WPA without much problems. Though very few losers would become winners thru it. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlqRucm9IFG3RYQns1s9DaX2hTArqJFiH-vZ9-7PG2-I4WINKrN555N1LrJwPDKvU9WD1LXN6VmSzUJP2m5d_Q8D0RBsCkHyvpFrxouHQgTikSAJeC5CRb2C3MHOIF01gVZUwHiCYUTxl/s1600/rake+to+win+ratio.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlqRucm9IFG3RYQns1s9DaX2hTArqJFiH-vZ9-7PG2-I4WINKrN555N1LrJwPDKvU9WD1LXN6VmSzUJP2m5d_Q8D0RBsCkHyvpFrxouHQgTikSAJeC5CRb2C3MHOIF01gVZUwHiCYUTxl/s320/rake+to+win+ratio.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700948994112765970" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 66px; " /></a> </div><div><br /></div><div>Interestingly there are still many players that would be affected by the change in win rate with WPA as you can see in the scatter below even on 10nl. You can see winrates shifting from left to right.</div><div><br /></div><div>The results below are filtered for players with ptbb -10 to 10 range. The winrate is displayed as $ won per hand.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtY0wHrfpFfwV3dT5SHyMXV79oyIYrWfxYa9i-YT5NCBaq7H6E_pxqYTqa0JOxLSY-SeRZQZb1R0TOfGW2DnckRchw_VBgM44fTpLC6kcMlKhB0RxFMG7UQ3mAdL4iHEBumAlgpuxc_ro7/s1600/10nl_scatter.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtY0wHrfpFfwV3dT5SHyMXV79oyIYrWfxYa9i-YT5NCBaq7H6E_pxqYTqa0JOxLSY-SeRZQZb1R0TOfGW2DnckRchw_VBgM44fTpLC6kcMlKhB0RxFMG7UQ3mAdL4iHEBumAlgpuxc_ro7/s320/10nl_scatter.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700949088292253794" /></a><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span ><br /></span></div></div>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-54011243984741239502012-01-23T03:08:00.000-08:002012-01-23T03:21:34.162-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJn43iGAJ539HC-mpm_OJJFHHJfe16zLnoJdd6oXxBeOviHYj2mJTSt3LUIkti7mUHTYsUJ4qpYdwhb7oQMBy0Llmi-d6B0zZ7f1aNkyNsJS7uOn59ZXKyo4lP6OT7tz_rrTM_76WY_xiT/s1600/amounts.jpg"><img style="width: 320px; height: 212px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700782893598746802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJn43iGAJ539HC-mpm_OJJFHHJfe16zLnoJdd6oXxBeOviHYj2mJTSt3LUIkti7mUHTYsUJ4qpYdwhb7oQMBy0Llmi-d6B0zZ7f1aNkyNsJS7uOn59ZXKyo4lP6OT7tz_rrTM_76WY_xiT/s320/amounts.jpg" /></a><br /><div>This chart shows how much the loosers lose and the winners win. Again filtered for players with 1k+ ands in my DB. </div><div> </div><div>The crazy thing is the amount of rake that is being payed in realtion to how much is won. When I saw this first I was very shocked because this essentially means WPA cannot work on 50nl alone. The winners would have to pay everything back to the site that they win.</div><div> </div><div>This to me shows just how sick the rake has become. I don't think it is hard to imagine that the games are drying out when the same amount of money is raked as is being won. I think that ratio is way to high. It also makes it clear why winning is prolly not that easy. Though i am still surprised as to the amount of winners there are.</div><div> </div><div>On the other hand this chart shows just how much would have been won without rake, and what a huge difference this makes. Essentially the winners would make roughky twice wihtout rake. This shows me what I had always assumed: the rake is about as much as decent winner makes in the game (at 50nl). </div><div> </div><div>For WPA to work higher stakes would have to take some of the burdon of lower stakes it seem.</div><div> </div><div>I will try to get some higher stakes hands and comparer the results. </div>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-63847383984150148882012-01-23T03:00:00.000-08:002012-01-23T03:04:02.231-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifN4LmB6GDiZz3EHBdH99ppGL103rxSm5UKkSKB6bc_P4SO8L5tPBK4mBx2oePIscXrJQlcwTU3H6X_-wcHZ3sAMUBuYERFmOLhOzEtw6VYwh9Or9WjEjnq5mX9A2OiDZl6LVxFYU7vXMD/s1600/WPA+vs+Winners.jpg"><img style="width: 320px; height: 212px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700780673727420290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifN4LmB6GDiZz3EHBdH99ppGL103rxSm5UKkSKB6bc_P4SO8L5tPBK4mBx2oePIscXrJQlcwTU3H6X_-wcHZ3sAMUBuYERFmOLhOzEtw6VYwh9Or9WjEjnq5mX9A2OiDZl6LVxFYU7vXMD/s320/WPA+vs+Winners.jpg" /></a><br /><br />This is another example showing that 17% of 1k+ hands players would turn from losers to winners with WPA.<br /><br />It is a bit odd that so many players of the 1k+ hands that I have are winners. Maybe having 1k+ hands means we are dealing with regs.knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-79031710113773862082012-01-23T02:42:00.000-08:002012-01-23T03:02:43.421-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHx-diZMpXzVatv4qFrt4wuayDAHAVdKePiSBk8PRCm5qJap94ea9TPM9vIeZe2O16UWH1Q8pqdjUqbpgXlZ9Ji3OaKRbjGsnHydy9mNGCtZzCdCo3musM1cEMIUhJy8v_4390KPyBksk/s1600/Scatter.jpg"><img style="width: 702px; height: 219px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700776174082116306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHx-diZMpXzVatv4qFrt4wuayDAHAVdKePiSBk8PRCm5qJap94ea9TPM9vIeZe2O16UWH1Q8pqdjUqbpgXlZ9Ji3OaKRbjGsnHydy9mNGCtZzCdCo3musM1cEMIUhJy8v_4390KPyBksk/s320/Scatter.jpg" /></a><br /><br />This is an example of how loosers would become winners with WPA. You can see how many players would shift from slightly looser to winners and all winner increase their winrate.<br /><br />The winrate is a simple (amount won/hands) and for wpa (amount won +rake /hands).<br /><br />I have filtered the results to players of which i have 1k+ hands.<br /><br />The sample is for 50nl FR on stars.knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-46544731247386593152012-01-21T18:13:00.000-08:002012-01-21T23:18:08.394-08:00Re: Phil Galfond: Let's make some changes<p style="margin-top: 1.714285em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.714285em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 252); orphans: 4; line-height: 23px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; " >I have been a actively following Phil Galfonds post about how to improve poker. Since the discussion is a little chaotic on 2+2 i decided to post my ideas how to improve the game here .</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.714285em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.714285em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 252); orphans: 4; line-height: 23px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; " ><a href="http://www.philgalfond.com/lets-make-some-changes/">http://www.philgalfond.com/lets-make-some-changes/</a> </span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.714285em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.714285em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 252); orphans: 4; line-height: 23px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; " ><a href="http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/phil-galfond-lets-make-some-changes-discussion-1153511/">http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/phil-galfond-lets-make-some-changes-discussion-1153511/</a> </span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.714285em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.714285em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 252); orphans: 4; line-height: 23px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; " >First of I want to reiterate what the goal was that Phil posted: </span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.714285em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.714285em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 252); orphans: 4; line-height: 23px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; " >In determining if a rule or feature is “good for the game,” I believe the goals are as follows:</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.714285em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.714285em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 252); orphans: 4; line-height: 23px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >1. <span style="background-color: transparent; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: underline; ">Make playing poker an easy and fun experience for both pros and recreational players</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.714285em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.714285em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 252); orphans: 4; line-height: 23px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >2. <span style="background-color: transparent; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: underline; "> Close loopholes that allow unethical players to gain an advantage over those who choose to be more honest.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.714285em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.714285em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 252); orphans: 4; line-height: 23px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >3. <span style="background-color: transparent; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: underline; ">Promote the play of more hands</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.714285em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.714285em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 252); orphans: 4; line-height: 23px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="text-align: left; "><span >I think those a fabulous goals. I have come up with what I believe a way to solve all three of these objectives.</span></span></p><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >I will state all my solutions in an overview/summary then explain how they would work and also explain how they would achieve the goals Phil defined.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >I am working with three assumptions:</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >1. These ideas are to improve the current situation of the existing economy. I.e. i am not trying to increase the amount of players etc. but simply try to make poker as good as possible with how ever many players we have at the moment.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >2. The solution should not be overly complicated and work everywhere, so they should apply for all games (HU to FR) and stakes. </span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >3. Everything should be targeted as making the game environment better and more enjoyable as a whole which means for as many as possible. thereby it is not important who benefits as much as how many.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >The solutions that I am proposing are the following</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >S1: A Global Wait List (GWL)</span></div><div><span >There will be a global wait list that everybody has to sign up to play any game. The List will then seat players (FIFO) or create new tables when enough players are available. Payers that get seated have to play at least one (or more) hand(s) or post.</span></div><div><span >Key Purpose: Fairness of how seats are distributed. Avoid bum hunting by seat selection. Faster table creation (esp for HU and when fewer games are running).</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >S2: Breaks vs Sit-Outs (BSO)</span></div><div><span >Players cannot sit out at single tables anymore. Instead one can take a break thereby sitting out at all tables. Breaks have a min and max time and are limited per time frame (i.e. 1 in 15 minutes and 3 in 60 minutes). </span></div><div><span >Key Purpose: Disallow bum hunting and only playing when fish are in the game.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >S3: Winner pay all - Remove Rake (WPA)</span></div><div><span >No more rake and no more tournament fees. They will be removed. To pay the poker site the winners of the game have to pay part of their winnings. The fee will be deducted after every transaction to the the players account, i.e. after every win/loss so that the player never has to worry about managing it. The determination of being a winner has to happen in reasonable time window to be fair for the player and to allow adequate cash flow for the sites.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Key Purpose: More Fun (more winners) & Increased poker economy. Both leading to higher player retention and ultimately more hands played.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><b><i>Detailed explanation and how the solutions contribute to the goals:</i></b></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >S1: The GWL has been discussed the most on 2+2 and I think it is the most simple and easy to implement. I also believe it will increase the enjoyment of every player from the first time they use it, because every time we play we have to find a seat. With the GWL that process becomes random and as efficient as possible. So we can all focus on playing poker vs having to figure out on which table to play.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >The GWL could be implement strictly or loosely. Loosely would mean players can get up right away if they do not want to play on the table. Implemented very strictly would mean that if you get up, you will not get a new seat for a set time.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Personally I think the best solution is somewhere in the middle. I would force every player to play at least one to 3 rounds before they can sign up at a new spot in the GWL. Of course players always can sign up for more than 1 seat (up to the table maximum of the site). I.e. start a new session by requesting 12 seats from the wait list. However once seated further spots will only be distributed if the player has not quit tables for the min amount of rounds or hands played. I would also make every player post if they will not be seated in the blinds, to promote the play of more hands, make the seating process faster and because it is not unfair if everybody has to do it. Alternatively we could simple deal everybody in without posting (provided there is a min amount of rounds one has to play).</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >GWL would solve a few problems Phil G has indicated. First and foremost it would make the bum hunting by seat selection impossible. I really hate logging into PS and seeing 20 people waiting to play on one game. It always feels like i don't have a shot at the best games. And I also don't like that people are actively going after certain players for the reasons Phil G has stated. That alone for me is reason enough for the wait list.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >The other thing that the GWL list does is distribute seats fairly and efficiently which means less games break up and games are created faster. This would solve the HU problem Phil has pointed out. Hu players not playing each other is not just a high stakes problem. I have the same problem when I play HU on cake for 50nl. If i want to play HU and see a bunch of tables occupied by regs I don't wanna play anymore. With the GWL HU players would have to decide if they want to play HU then they would sign up on the wait list and will immediately get seated. They then have to play a few hands with the opponent they have been matched up with before they can move on to the next one if they feel outmatched. Essentially playing continuously or not at all. Perfect solution in my mind with enough flexibility and freedom for everyone because we have some control over who we want to play but cannot decide to only play a certain part of the player pool.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >The global wait list also helps a lot when there are only few games running, which is often the case on high stakes and now on many US sites (due to fewer players). When i play on cake there are often only 4 games running but 8 players on various waiting lists in groups of 3-5. When I then open a new table no one joins for a long time. Once 4 players are seated the game fills up right away. That sort of silliness would be avoided by the wait list.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span ><span>S2: </span>BSO is a solution to make bum hunting impossible by sitting out and only playing when the fish are there by getting rid of "sitting out" function all together!</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span >How would that work:</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span >- Players cannot sit out any more, but can take breaks</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span >- when a player sleeps or misses his action he simple folds, but does not sit out. Meaning he simply misses that one action where he did not react. future hands are not affected</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span >- Players can take breaks, which lets them sit out on all tables at once (they may continue until their blinds)</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span >- Breaks have a certain min. time they take (i.e. min 3 minutes) and max time</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span >- You can take only so many breaks in a certain time frame (i.e. one every 15 minutes 3, every hour)</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span >- If players miss their actions twice they get a pop up if they want to be on break and have to click no or will get put on break automatically.</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span >- If players lose their connection they get put on break </span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span >I think this solution with the global wait list, would solve most of what PG was talking about already.</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span >However to really change the game we have to go to the third solution and get rid of the rake:</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="text-align: left; " ><span>S3: Winner pa</span><span>y all - Remove Rake (WPA): I believe this would really be the evolution poker.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span >This will be very very hard to do, or to convince PokerStars to do because it really would change how they get their money, turn a lot of things up side down, thus poses quite some risk for them.</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Before I go into how it works I want to explain why I think rake is so bad. To do so i first have to define what poker is:</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Poker transfers money from one player to another. If you are smarter than your opponents you make money else they get your money. The ratio of this exchange depends on the difference of skill between the players.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >The poker site or casino makes money today by charging rake (or time). The rake is taken from every transaction we make. Every cash hand we play or every tournament we play. A percentage 5-10% of each of these transactions is taken as rake. </span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >That works fine as long as the money changes hands fast enough (skill difference is high). However today the skill of players has come together much closer (due to the internet, training sites, HEM, PT3, TV etc.) and the fact that online many regs play many tables against few fish that play very few tables.</span></div><div><span > </span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >So now money changes hands slower but the rake is still as high as before. The skill between players not unavailable is often complained about. On 2+2 i have read many post about how poker is all over cuz there are no more fish, not enough new money etc. I disagree with that. There are many players joining and many players playing and staying with the game. The poker economy is strong but it has changed and has become more sophisticated.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><b><i>The problem is not that too many players are playing to well, the problem is that the amount that is raked is not in balance any more with the amount of money that is changing hands.</i></b> And when changing hands I meant really transferred from weaker players to stronger players. </span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >So we have to fix that balance!</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >To me the solution is simple: Charge for what the game actually does. Charge for the transfer of money. The player that wins should pay the system. This of course would have to be a %age that generates similar income for the sites/casino than the rake would.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Now that is gonna suck for our best current rake customers: the big winners. Those that win so much they can do this for a living will now have to pay most of the rake.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >However the impact on the poker economy will be so substantial that i think it will be worth it especially for the pro's, because it will really make the game grow and become more sustainable.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Before I explain how let me ask you: What makes poker fun to play?</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Winning.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >The most important thing for the enjoyment of poker is winning. As long as we do not lose all but the professional will enjoy the game. The pro probably must win at a certain rate. </span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><span>In 100nl FR game about 30%of players win</span><span>. That means 70% will not enjoy the game very much and have a great incentive to move away (down or out). If we remove the rake the </span><span>win rate</span><span> of players will change and increase by the amount that would have been raked before. This will make many players that are losing players winning players. It will also make the winners win more. </span><span>Everybody's (</span><span>!!!) win rate will increase. Talk about more fun!</span></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Just think about how making everybody win more will change the enjoyment of the game. </span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><span>The difference between </span><span>WPA and rake is that everybody that would naturally win at poker still is going to win with WPA. With rake you might play against players that are worse than you and still lose.</span></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >So there is a great band of players between the absolute fish and best players that will greatly benefit from this change. The super sharks will win less (or will have to share a big chunk of their profit) and the fish that lose more than the rake will still lose it all (albeit a little slower).</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >So I believe this will benefit the most players the most possible. What is more important than winning or making it easier to win?</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >I truly believe that this will even benefit Phil G because new players will much, much faster be able to advance to his stakes. Since it is now easier to win, more people will move up and when moving up actually be successful! Or be successful faster. This will lead to much more enjoyment of the game which will in my mind also lead to better adoption of the game and more new players being able to join (because it is easier and more fun now). So I think this change would start a snow ball effect of making the game more popular again.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Lets look at how this would work:</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >First how are the winners determined and when is the money taken. Second how is the money withdrawn:</span></div><div><span >- the winners have to be determined over time. I think for cash games every quarter would make sense and for tourney every year (but pokerstars might disagree with me on that one). This is a balance of cash flow for the sites and variance to the players. </span></div><div><span >- the money would be withheld for every transaction that affect the player balance (as long as the player is a winner). Basically every time money is transferred into chips or chips into money the site will adjust what has to be withheld and either pay back less into the account (winning session) or deposit more into the account (after losing session).</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Example1:</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >new player start a new account with $1000</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >-Deposit 1000 > no withdrawal</span></div><div><span >-lose 100 in a session >> no withdrawal </span></div><div><div><span >-win 50 in a session >> no withdrawal </span></div><div><span >-win 100 in a session >> withdrawal on 50 </span></div><div><span ><span>-win 100 in a session >> </span> <span>withdrawal on 150</span> <span> </span></span></div><div><span >-lose 100 in a session >> payback of 100 withdrawal</span></div><div><span ><span>-lose 10 in tourney >> </span><span>payback of 10 withdrawal</span></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><span ><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span></div><div><span ><span>Example 2:</span><span> How </span><span>would eliminating rake increase economy and change win rates</span></span></div><div><span ><div><br /></div><div>Take a 1 hour session of a 1/2 table </div><div><br /></div><div>10 players with 200 each sit down</div><div><br /></div><div>Player1: win rate of 200</div><div>Player2: win rate of 70</div><div>Player3: win rate of 20</div><div>Player4: win rate of 5</div><div>Player5: win rate of 5</div><div>Player6: win rate of -5</div><div>Player7: win rate of -5</div><div>Player8: win rate of -20</div><div>Player9: win rate of -70</div><div>Player10: win rate of -200</div><div><br /></div><div>After 1 hour 300 has been distributed from the losers to the winners. Lets assume this is natural way of distributing money between these players. Lets also assume that winners withdraw their money. the house collects 10 per hour. lets also assume that the house has to make the same in either case. </div><div>Lets look at the win rate and the poker economy with rake and without rake for one hour.</div><div><br /></div><div>With rake:</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Player1: win rate of 200-10 = 190</div><div>Player2: win rate of 70-10 = 60</div><div>Player3: win rate of 20 -10 = 10</div><div>Player4: win rate of 5 -10 = -5</div><div>Player5: win rate of 5 -10 = -5</div><div>Player6: win rate of -5 -10 = -15</div><div>Player7: win rate of -5 -10 = -15</div><div>Player8: win rate of -20 -10 = -30</div><div>Player9: win rate of -70-10 = -80</div><div>Player10: win rate of -200-10 = -210</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Rake Poker economy = 2000 - 100 (rake) - 300 (winnings) = 1600</div><div><br /></div><div>This is how things change with rake. Without rake the win rates stay as in the original table. But we now have to withdraw 100 for the house. In this example we have to take 1/3 of each winner to pay the house.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>With WPA:</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div>Player1: win rate of 200 - 67 = 132.5</div><div>Player2: win rate of 70 - 25 = 50</div><div>Player3: win rate of 20 - 6.6 = 12.5</div><div>Player4: win rate of 5 -1.6 = 3.6</div><div>Player5: win rate of 5 -1.6 = 3.6</div><div>Player6: win rate of -5 = -5</div><div>Player7: win rate of -5 = -5</div><div>Player8: win rate of -20 = -20</div><div>Player9: win rate of -70 = -70</div><div>Player10: win rate of -200 = -200</div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>WPA Poker economy = 2000 - 300 (winnings) = 1700</div><div><br /></div><div>So what is the difference? There are three key differences</div><div><br /></div><div>1. There are more winners with WPA. Everybody but the top2 benefit from WPA. A benefit of 80% of players.</div><div>2. Winners win less with WPA, especially if you win a lot. The highest winners have to pay most of the house fee. </div><div>3. There is more money left in the poker economy. That means as a whole poker economy benefits.</div><div><br /></div><div>Growth of economy:</div><div><br /></div><div>If 2 new players enter the economy every hour than the economy stays the same with rake. It will grow without rake.</div><div><br /></div><div>What is the right amount to withhold? I don't know. This would have to be determined and we would have to analyze some data that I don't have. I am guessing that higher stakes would have to pay a lesser %age than lower stakes (as they also pay less rake relative to the amount bet/won) today.</div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><span >In summary i believe these 3 solutions would solve what Phil G is looking for. I also think that all the negative posts and comments i have read about there not being a solution is wrong. I truly believe we can make a difference.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >I also know that my mind is very far from perfect and thus believe there are things i have missed, misunderstood and that these examples can be improved. So I hope the community will read this and comment and improve the ideas. And maybe someone important can take notice and use this to improve the environment of this beautiful game for the benefit of all of us.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><br /></span><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-34437479316867469792010-09-15T21:01:00.000-07:002010-09-15T23:36:00.835-07:00What a day!?<div>Today has been an emotional day. First of I woke up and checked out my aquarium.</div><div> </div><div>I got the most amazing discuss fish yesterday, a blue one, one that is a bit more traditional looking as well as a yellow one with red patterns. They are very very young and 2-3 inches big. I got them from a very competent fish place (captain nemos superstore). The people who work there really know what they are doing and they have wonderful and healthy fish. They had gotten a delivery from a german breeder yesterday. They told me this breeder was the only one they use for discuss because they like the german quality :-) When I saw the fish I was quite amazed how well they were looking, given that they had been in Germany the day before! The colors were brilliant and they seemed all in good spirits, swimming around looking for food in their tanks and checking me out checking them out. So I got three, put them in my tank and they loved it. I fed them. They were exploring and seemed to adapt amazingly. I had gone to the store the day before, brought a water sample and adjusted my water perfectly. So everything went well and I was happy. </div><div> </div><div>Anyway back to today: This morning I wake up and the discuss are all lethagic and a bit defensive, all of a sudden they seem scared of me and dont want to eat and seem unhappy. I also notice some white spots on them. I am not sure what is going on, so I test the water: All seems fine. So I go to work hoping all will be better when I come home. So of course I am worried like a mom about the fish all :-) I call the store on my way home and they help me well. All day I am worried to death, imagening all the worst scenarios possible. I come home and all is well. The discuss have beautiful colors are still unhappy. I tested the water and saw that it was not perfect but nothing a water change could not take care of. So I am relieved and change the water very carefully making sure everything is perfect and went to play some poker. When I come back from the casino all is well. They eat and seem happy! Thank good.</div><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://gallery.me.com/knircky/100014/3%20discus">Here are some vids from the discus</a><br /><a href="http://gallery.me.com/knircky#100014/New%20discus&bgcolor=black">One more</a><br /><br />(I will try to make some nicer HD ones over the weekend maybe)<br /><p>In the meantime a crazy night happened at the pokertable. I get to the casino and am being seated at a table which takes a little while and a while I am waiting a white man man in his 50ies greets me right away and telling the whole table what a great player I am. Awesome, everybody now knows I am a regular here and i have no idea how he knows me! Where are his manners! It happens alot to me that people recognize me but I don't always remember them. The man has about 4k in front of him is real happy and can't stop signaling me and talking to me. I have no idea who this guy is until he comes over and talks to me about the game, how great it is and how he won all the money. He also tells me that he was fine with me not borrowing him money the other day! WOW now I remeber: about two months ago he came and asked me if I could loan him $200 since we played the night before and he was busto! He looked different but at least I remeberd him now and actually could recollect a few hands he played with me. </p><br /><div>I finally get seated, the table was crazy, everybody had lots and lots of money and there were many action players around. A few minutes into my session I go all against my friend who seems to be very happy with his stack and not concerned to lose it either. He calls me whith a worse but good hand. Another players calls with an even worse hand but I get lucky and my hand holds up. Im not even playing for 10 minutes and have trippeled up already. In the meantime my friend is still happy, after all he has still over 3k in front of him when another crazy hand developes. I am holding an Ace with a 4 and flop a full house! And almost everybody is in the pot including my friend. I play very slow and my friend bets and calls me after I raise. After the dealer turns over the last hand of the board he goes all giving me an easy call with an almost unbeatable hand. 15 minutes after I sat down about 3k alone of my friends money went into my stack! </div><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517393798181411554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6j-dmOUcse56nEuRCtLoXOlgkP8VD8PgQXxEmvgFfklV2Nlo6LNPsp8cZdx__Go_jlhWdcbqyfias2cd0QxsBY9lu7N-Yyde_HEA08abTs1wm1dSlc3JM7WFC0-oBZGcnUOIf31iEdYq/s320/3.5kstackdp_091510.JPG" /><br /><br /><div>Poker is crazy like that, I played this hand very well in a way that really exploits "my friend" as I am raking in my chips I feel really sorry for the man who just gave away his a $4'000 stack and had absolutely no idea what he was in for. I felt really bad for him. This money musta mean a lot to him given that he tried to borrow money from me a short while ago. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>At the same time I am quite happy. I have not had a lucky day like this in a while. Granted I have been winning constantly at 2/5 which is my main game. I also had taken some shots at some highter games but got burned. I have gotten unlucky but also made some mistakes and did not play well enought to be sitting at these tables, so I decided to step down again and work on my game some more. Overall the last few weeks have been kinda break even since I had lost the money that I had won at my mane game in the higher limit games. So having a good day like this comes in handy and helps with my mental game.</div><br /><br /><div>I have set myself the goal to make 30% of my income this year from poker and I have basically reached that target today. I am now going to try to make that 50% mark. So even though today was just a small step in the right direction it is a big mark and thus quite an emotional day for me. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Work has also going well, I am staffed on an interesting project which is going well and I am learning lots of new things. So all that is left right now is being greatful for a good day.</div><br /><br /><div>Tomorrow and everyday thereafter I will try to repeat :-) </div></div>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-69283768069921315052010-07-28T18:39:00.001-07:002010-07-28T18:39:56.010-07:00The bayToday I had the chance to support some of my software AG folks at a supply chain conference in San Jose.<br /><br />It is always nice to be in the bay area and always feels a bit like home. Silicon valley has a certain vibe to it too from a business perspective. people here are very open minded, love technology and strive to innovation. The wonderful weather also contributes to a certain happy feeling when I am here.<br /><br />Unfortunately I could only be here for one day. I'm stopping over in Vegas so I am seeing lots of happy places on my trip. Even though landing in Vegas and not being able to step out of the airport is a bit torture as well. Actually I could step out, with my hourly being probably around $40 out there it might actually make sense to get a quick taxi ride to the Bellagio and come back 1,5 hours later to the airport. Haha. The taxi would cost me probably 30 bucks so I should be able to make some money on my 3 hour layover, but I think I'm just gonna let it go this time :-)<br /><br />I am looking forward to my next trip coming up. Going to see dad and the family in good old Germany. Jodi is coming too and we will go into the alps for a nice hiking vacation. I'm looking forward to this and my dad is prolly gonna kick my butt on the hiking trails :-)<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Unnamed%20Rd,San%20Francisco,United%20States%4037.614543%2C-122.382871&z=10'>Unnamed Rd,San Francisco,United States</a></p>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-21075422050628352042010-07-26T13:05:00.001-07:002010-07-26T13:05:28.194-07:00<br />So I have a new roommate I wanted to introduce:<br /> A little family of birds has found it's home on my balcony.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/07/26/1552.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/07/26/s_1552.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='187' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I wanted to let the bird know I don't mind they're company, however the bird seem to mind me, for every time I step on MY balcony it gets quite annoyed with me :-)<br /><br /> <br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=New%20roommate&z=10'>New roommate</a></p>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-24963101502726979142010-07-10T21:35:00.001-07:002010-07-10T21:35:42.612-07:00Delaware Park<br />So I'm standing in the poker room at delaware park, waiting for a seat. Currently there are about 250 people waiting for seats. That is a lot! There are 127 people on the list for a 1/2 game, the smallest game that they offer and 41 players are on the 2/5 list. I'm in position 30 and have been waiting for more than one hour.<br /><br />This poker room has just opened after the laws have changed early this year, and the casino seems to have vastly underestimated the popularity of poker in this area. It is about 25 minutes away from my house.<br /><br />I have been playing here a few times now and every day this room is packed even during the week. Currently the room has 20 tables but the floor people here have told me they are planning to extend this room to 50 tables. That is good news. Seems like i won't have to go Atlantic city any more in the near future. <br /><br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Delaware%207,Pike%20Creek-Central%20Kirkwood,United%20States%4039.711963%2C-75.649728&z=10'>Delaware 7,Pike Creek-Central Kirkwood,United States</a></p>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-80233166189787046282010-06-30T19:49:00.000-07:002010-06-30T19:52:42.227-07:00Home sweet HomeI'm sitting in a plane on my way home. I have not been home for quite a while and frankly I have missed my couch.<br /><br />Lots has happened since I left for Vegas on June 11. The biggest news is my best friend is getting married! I'm so happy for him, he has a wonderful woman and I truly believe he is doing the best and most important thing in probably his entire life, so I am very very happy for him. He has also asked me to be his best man which of course is a wonderful treat. So I am happy to fly to good old Germany for a big party.<br /><br />Vegas was very good, probably my most successful trip so far. I went there with a somewhat smaller roll than I had hoped for and therefore decided not to by into any World Series of Poker tournaments but to earn myself the buy ins. My eyes was on the $1000 tournament, which would run over the weekend starting Saturday and Sunday. So after arriving Friday late night I went to Aria the newest poker room in town and got very lucky a few times. I played for about 2 hours and after counting my stack I noticed I was up 1015, so I decided to cash out and went to the Rio to buy into the 1k. My luck continued the next day when I played the tournament and I managed to survive the field. 15% of the players that started that day survived, and I managed to stay alive on the second day to make it into the money.<br /><br />Making it into the money in a WSOP event is kinda a big deal and very cool, however I was quite sad when I busted in 237th position. The first price of this tournament was 1/2 million and I was probably never that close in my life to this kind of money. And frankly busting out of a tournament is never that much fun. Nevertheless the cash put me up over 2k for the trip and I managed to win a few more buy ins during the rest of the stay. <br /><br />Aside from a financial perspective, which is always important the trip to Vegas was also a lot of fun. I got to see Ramy and spend some time with Tim. Ramy has good friends in Vegas which we also got to meet and hang out with and of course Jodi came over towards the end of the trip. We went to see KA and one night I finally got to see XS. I have to say XS is the first club that impressed in the US. It had good music and a wonderful outside area. Ramies buddies know people in front of it so we got to skip the lines and save the entry fees. <br /><br />Last weekend Jodi and I went to a wedding of a good friend of her. It was a very nice wedding and the first Jewish wedding I had ever seen. <br /><br />Well plane is landing and I have to go. Can't wait for my home sweet home.<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Up%20in%20the%20air%20:-)&z=10'>Up in the air :-)</a></p>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-11736095392243194452010-06-11T20:25:00.001-07:002010-06-11T20:25:39.823-07:00Off to VegasSo I am finally sitting in the plane to Vegas. My recent live action has not been very spectacular and I am bringing a much smaller roll than I was hoping for.<br /><br />My bankroll lately has been divided into some money in the bank and the cash in my kitchen drawer that I have accumulated playing live since my last Vegas visit. I am trying to transition to a poker only cash bankroll so that poker does not affect any other deceptions in my live. <br /><br />Originally my goal was to bring 8k to Vegas and play 5/10 and drop down when my roll hits 5k. However now that I am only bringing 5k, I will only play 2/5 this year.<br /><br />I am going for the world series of poker, which is a series of tournaments and of course I want to play one of those. The cheapest tourney is 1k and there is another one this week for 1.5k. Before I will play these I am going to try to win the buy in in the cash games. I have two days to win 1k to play the event this Sunday, otherwise I will give my self another shot to win the buy in for the 1.5 k event a little later in the week.<br /><br />Aside from the goal of winning the buy in for the tournament there is a new toy that needs purchased or an old that that needs replaced: my TV. The old DLP small screen tv needs to be replaced by a nice 3d plasma. My eyes are on the pn63c8000 from samsung which will require me to bring home about 3k from Vegas. It a beautiful 63 inch plasma and from the research I have done I am convinced it is the best TV on the US market right now.<br /><br />I've looked at a couple of LEDs but the colors are simply better on the plasma, except white of course. But the black is much stronger and the color debt on the plasma is much better. In addition a decent LED is around 5k and only 55 inches, whereas the best plasma is 3.5 k and 63 inches. So the choice is actually simple as my top two criteria will be picture quality and size.<br /><br />So there we have it, the goal is to make 3k this trip so I can buy myself the new TV. If I would do well in the tourney that would of course easily pay for the TV but doing well in the tournament is unfortunately a long shot.<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Plane%20in%20the%20air&z=10'>Plane in the air</a></p>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-10237743415257274122010-06-05T17:11:00.000-07:002010-06-05T17:13:50.686-07:00Shopping for dresses<br />Jodi is looking for a dress, so we went to King of Prussia mall today to buy her a dress. Of course before we had even stepped into one of her stores I had already spent $200 on a pair of Diesel jeans, haha.<br /><br />Also went to apple again and told them about my "it's the car charger" discovery. So we switched the charger. Jodi did not find a dress that convinced here in King of Prussia so we went to Limerick and of course I tried the charger on the way there and it seems to work fine. Aside from the fact that the iPad did not crash it also charged much quicker than before which seemed to be a problem with the other charger, so I am guessing I just had a bad charger. <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Unnamed%20Rd,Pottstown,United%20States%4040.235594%2C-75.571128&z=10'>Unnamed Rd,Pottstown,United States</a></p>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-27027238160725900302010-05-31T22:09:00.001-07:002010-05-31T22:09:46.657-07:00Solved the iPad puzzleSo I figured out why my iPad was crashing in the car. It is the car charger I am using that makes the iPad crash. I am guessing it is a heat related issue. I tested it a few times and when the iPad is being charged it will always crash and never has crashed without it. Maybe it's a premature charger since in the app store iPads are running and being charged at the same time.<br /><br />Poker was brutal this weekend, I had a 5k swing which is the highest I have ever had in one weekend. After winning a survivor tournament for $1500 I had the worst beat I ever took after getting it in with the nuts and 88% to win for a $2500 pot. And after that it just went straight downhill for another 2k, over about 2 days. After I was down that much I decided to just quit and went to my room and played online where I finished a PLO tournament in 3 place, I think there were about 300 entries. <br /><br />Jodi came a bit later and eased my mind. We had a great time as usual in AC. The weather was so beautiful this weekend and we got to enjoy some of it and the shore.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/05/31/2582.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/05/31/s_2582.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='187' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Monday we went to see a friend of Jodi who has 3 kids. Jodi got a new cam that I played with which was fun. I got to see a new side of Jodi today, she had that look that only moms have when they are unhappy with the kids, it was quite funny as I have never seen Jodi with her hands in her hips and talking down to someone. I was quite amused about her mom look.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/05/31/2583.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/05/31/s_2583.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='187' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />The star of the show seemed to be the iPad, and the toy proofed again it's wonderful usability. I was very impressed how quickly a three year old was able to use it, just by playing with it. He was able to view pictures and open apps and navigate around. I bought a little memory game for kids that he had fun with after the racing game got uninteresting.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/05/31/2584.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/05/31/s_2584.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='187' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />It was great to see some of Jodi's friends.<br /><br /> <br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br />knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-55321423942022512932010-05-20T18:42:00.001-07:002010-05-20T18:42:15.676-07:00WowSo I went to apple again today, since the iPad has been acting up, even after the trouble shoot from yesterday. They replaced the iPad right away. I was actually a bit surprised. I was ready to go home and just return the iPad the next day. But now I'm a happy customer again. They confirmed that I had been there yesterday so there must obviously be something wrong with my toy, even though they could not find anything!! So they asked me very apologetic if it was ok If i simply get a new one. Wow! apple has wowed me again. In addition to that awesome service, everyone at that store is just in love with apple, all the boys and girls that work there AND all the customers, it's really amazing. You can't help yourself but be happy in that store. That must work from a sales perspective as well.<br /><br />Anyway so far on the way home the iPad seems to work smoothly so I'm very excited.<br /><br />After syncing my photos tonight a put one of my holiday pics with dad as background:<br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/05/20/2026.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/05/20/s_2026.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />It's one of my favorites when dad and my brother visited me and we went to death valley. Oh that makes me think of my upcoming vacation very close to there. Who could have thought it is Vegas time to soon again :-) <br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Chevers%20Dr,Glen%20Mills,United%20States%4039.859403%2C-75.539650&z=10'>Chevers Dr,Glen Mills,United States</a></p>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-46957107074921331412010-05-20T07:19:00.001-07:002010-05-20T07:19:12.866-07:00Ei ei iPad<br />Well the iPad is till acting up. I still love it but it keeps crashing on me, particularly in the car.<br /><br />I went to apple store yesterday and they told me it could be software related and reset the device. However it happened again after that on my way home and again this morning on my way to work, so I'm gonna pay apple a visit again.<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Westlakes%20Dr,Tredyffrin,United%20States%4040.063173%2C-75.467412&z=10'>Westlakes Dr,Tredyffrin,United States</a></p>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354166714671605120.post-52021467576353145202010-05-18T19:47:00.001-07:002010-05-18T21:43:37.142-07:00The first oneSo I have decided to start a little blog of my own since everybody is doing it these days. And of course to play with that new toy of mine, the iPad, since it has this wonderful blogapp that I'm typing this on.<br /><br />There are a few things going on right now in my life. Most prominent is the iPad at the moment. It is a really cool toy and I think most folks don't even understand it's power yet including myself, but I am about to find out. One thing however that is bothering me a bit is the fact that it has been crashing and misbehaving quite a few time, as in not working correctly. So far this always happened in the car while I was driving and using the GPS navigation or watching podcast or deuces cracked videos.<br /><br />I will try to see an apple store and see if I can get the iPad replaces. If not I'm gonna have to return it. That would blow!<br /><br />In related news I've been thinking about an iPad app and researching how I could get one developed. For what I am thinking about I don't think I can afford to spend more than 3-4k which is gonna make it hard to outsource this. But I have found a website that let's you find freelancers with rating and I am gonna give that one a try.<br /><br />Other than that Vegas is coming up soon. I'm gonna have to log a few more hours at borgata in oder to have enough extra cash to maybe try some 5/10 games out there. That would be fun. Last weekend I played, however that was not effective in that regard I dropped 1.3k and will try to make it up this weekend. I will however only have Friday and Saturday morning to do so. we'll see how that goes. The plan would be to take somewhere around 7k and play 5/10 as long as I stay above 5k else play 2/5. I will however not take out any cash from the bank but only use the cash I have at my house at the moment which is close to 5k right now.<br /><br />Well that's it for blog nr. 1..... <br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Chevers%20Dr,Glen%20Mills,United%20States%4039.859412%2C-75.539605&z=10'>Chevers Dr,Glen Mills,United States</a></p>knirckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631528178973542431noreply@blogger.com0