Book Giveaway Part I

Just played a little bit yesterday, winning a Steps #1 after following cmitch at OPoker take down a Mini-Steps. I also played a some $0.50/$1 Stud H/L in honor of Felicia. I never really knew what I was doing regarding betting. I tried raising every third time I could bet, I tried raising when I was ahead. Raising when you're ahead seems to cause you to get behind, so I don't know if I advise it. My favorite hand was when I had a pair of 7's and a low of 7632A only to win the high and lose the low to 6532A. I ended up $20 or so although I really don't know how or why. Scooped one A2345 pot, which helps the cause.

I've got a stack of books that I'm going to give away. Here's how it will work: you leave a comment with the book that you want, and if it hasn't been taken you get it. If someone has claimed a book, you can take it if by bidding on it through some type of barter: cash, another book, a heads-up match, whatever. I'll judge if I take the deal, if the barter offer is worthy of overtaking the claim. You can barter for something already bartered, whatever. I'll post the winners Friday, then I'll get you to email your contact info. I've got sixteen to give away, so we'll do half today and half next week:

• Positively Fifth Street by James McManus, one of the best books written about poker. McManus writes about the Ted Binion murder, as well as his own qualifying and playing in the WSOP Main Event. Claim: FJ Delgado
  
• Moneymaker by Chris Moneymaker with Daniel Paisner gives you a glimpse at the not-so-secret warped world of a compulsive gambler who just so happened to win the WSOP Main Event and launch an industry. Claim: pokerpeaker
  
• Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon by Joe Queenan is his journey into the underbelly of Americana. A quick read, and really a classic. Claim: Miami Don
  
• Internet Texas Hold'em by Matthew Hilger is an introductory book that covers the basics.
• Ben Hogan's Secret by Bob Thomas is a fictionalized biography that I received playing at Grayhawk once in Scottsdale.
  
• Beat the Odds Blackjack by G. Phillip Cline gives you the secret of winning a blackjack without counting cards. I'm +EV at blackjack ever since I quit playing blackjack a while back.
• Bad Beats and Lucky Draws by Phil Hellmuth is a quick read of 222 pages, which seems short if it listed all of Mr. Hellmuth's bad beats. The cover has him holding pocket aces on a board of 2cThJhQsKc, so maybe the other guy flopped a set or had Ah2h, I don't know.
  
• Raw Faith by John Kirvan is a small book highlighting ten different spiritual teachers dating back through the centuries. An important saying, a quick reflection, and a prayer. It's a nice book to pick up in the morning. Claim: Jordan
  

Check out my latest Going Pro article on Hernan Salazar from Chile. It continues to be a fascinating series to learn about the diversity of people who play poker for a living.

Some interesting facts from Party's Q1 earnings report and annual report: Party has 42% share with Stars a distant second at 13%. PartyGaming revenue up 54% from 2005 Q1, active poker players days +28% in the quarter, daily poker revenue up to $2.9MM from $2.3MM, yield per active player day up to $18.5 vs. $17.9 (meaning how much rake does a player provide per day), over 263k new cash sign-up's with 39% coming from outside of the US (compared to 16% outside the US in Q1 2005), big increase in non-poker gaming revenue, launch of Party in multi-language formats, will be launching backgammon soon. Party's moving aggressively to grow outside the US as they have huge risk with over 90% of their players coming from the US if any legislation occurs.

IGGY mentions the Annie Duke Takes on the World show on GSN. She's prettied herself up a bit (which is like being a tall midget), but this is really beyond unwatchable. An abomination? I'd rather have them film a G-Vegas home game and show that.

Here's hoping WillWonka can carve out a little time to post again. No need to humor me, but I hit his site daily to see if there is anything new. I'll keep going every day, so no biggie if it stays the same. There is no responsibility for folks to post daily or regularly, and you don't want these things to become a burden rather than a release and a reprieve. So if there's no new stuff, that's OK too.

Finally, if you want a nice treat, take your kids to breakfast before school. All-in, the Big Guy, and I had a nice quiet breakfast at Loren's Cafe. All-in and I played racetrack (where I drew a race track then you flick crayons, alternating flicks until you make it around the track). The Little Guy climbed out of his crib last night, so our life is now officially over. I'm not sure if the Little Guy will keep his own room (I think so for awhile). Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day.