Minnesota Legislation

I copy and pasted this off of Jason Senti's Blog on Bluefire Poker. He's a pro who resides in Minnesota. I happen to live in St. Paul, MN myself so that would really suck if they didn't allow me to play online poker. I just called and emailed Governor Tim Pawlenty. I even called the director of AGED and left him a message. Thanks for reading and helping the cause.

See below........

To anyone that hasn't heard, the state of Minnesota recently announced that they are requiring all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to any online gambling sites for residents of MN. This is absolutely ridiculous and blatent censorship of the internet (not to even mention that poker is a skill game, the wire act doesn't apply to the internet, etc)!

Please take action! I have posted some info below that should make it somewhat easy. FYI - I took the letter from a post on 2p2 by the poster "CrazyEyez."

You can copy and paste the following email. Below that is a notification with phone numbers from the PPA.


Email to send to : tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us

"Mr. Governor,


I am prompted to write to you because of the recent action taken by the Department of Public Safety to have ISPs block Minnesotan's access to online gambling sites. I will attempt to be brief as I convey some of the reasons I am outraged by this attack on my liberty.

Once again, members of the government and media have falsely characterized the legality of online gambling. We are frequently told that all online gambling is a violation of federal law. This is simply not true. Director of the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division John Willems implies as much in the DPS' own press release. “In broader context, the long-running debate on online gambling continues to raise significant issues, including absence of policy and regulation." Are we to believe that the government has by default the authority to limit all of our actions unless there are laws specifically allowing those actions? I was under the impression that the exact opposite was true. Surely you would not be proud to have your office set limits on the liberties of citizens at it's own discretion.

You, I believe, have taken great pride in calling yourself a conservative. Unfortunately it seems that conservative Republicans are becoming rarer by the month, and therefore your actions as governor have been welcome and refreshing. Minnesota, like many other states, is facing a challenge of historic proportions with regard to it's budget. Now, more than ever, is a time to prioritize needs and look for ways to cut spending in all but the most critical areas. You have presided over significant budget deficits in the past and I applaud the manner in which you resolved them. As a citizen of Minnesota, am I to believe that we have conquered so many other issues facing us that it is prudent to allocate human and monetary resources toward combating internet gambling? Again, Director Willems admits that he has little information on which to base this battle as he has no idea how much online gambling even takes place in the state. "It's hard to know that. I can't tell you if it's one [Minnesotan gambling online] or 500,000." He is clearly incapable of quantifying any sort of detriment to the State which might justify expenditures.

Surely you're aware of Kentucky's unsuccessful attempt to have ISPs block access to online gambling sites. You also must know that expenses to the taxpayers are going to skyrocket once interested parties begin battling this action in court. Internet censorship is something that citizens and businesses take very seriously. This is not merely a gambling issue.

The hypocrisy of this battle is astounding. It is undeniable that Minnesotans enjoy gambling. We have many casinos, a state-run lottery, an interstate lottery, and a proud horse racing history. Less than a year ago a new track and poker room was opened. Is there public demand for the government to "save" us from gambling? Is the State serving the people in this fight?

I implore you to act now. Put a stop to this egregious violation of personal liberty. I take pride in my conservative ideals, and I have been proud to give you my vote in the past. But you will have lost any future votes from me if you allow this to continue, because you will have betrayed the fundamental conservative belief - that individual freedom, not government interference, is valued above all else.

Thank you."



PPA Announcement:


The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has just learned that Minnesota's Department of Public Safety (DPS) Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division (AGED) served written notice to all Internet service providers (ISPs) forcing them to shut down and block their customers access to online poker sites in the State.

The AGED also announced that they will be prohibitingMinnesota poker players from accessing their online poker monetary accounts. This is an outrageous attack on Internet freedom, personal liberty and the First Amendment.

Please take a moment right now and call,

John Willems, Director of AGED (651) 201-7529

AND

Governor Tim Pawlenty (651) 296-3391

Tell them:

* You are a poker player and you vote
* You strongly oppose their efforts to force ISPs to block your access to poker sites
* They do not have the right to dictate what you do in the privacy of your own home
* They do not have the right to withhold your money from you
* Poker is a game of skill and NOT ILLEGAL in the USA or Minnesota
* Please abandon this misguided effort to censor the Internet and nullify personal freedoms

Your opinion matters. Your calls matter.

The rights of Minnesota poker players are under attack. Join the Minnesota PPA Facebook page to get the latest news and start discussing the issue with your fellow players.

Our opponents go to government to take our rights from us. We need to do the same to keep them. Please call now. (To leave feedback about your call, click here)

Proud to play,

Matt Werden
PPA State Director
MN@pokerplayersalliance.org

Go get em!

-Jaxx

Best Man @ my cousin's wedding

My cousin just got married and I was his best man. The wedding celebration lasted two days and I'm still sore since Sunday morning. It is Hmong Tradition to bow down twice for each of your relatives past and present. I lost count but it was close to 100 bow down. I was sweating when it was all over. My cousin told me right before we bowed down that he had been working out for it, lol.

Here's an example of it that I found on youtube.

Hmong Wedding Bow Down Video

As for poker, I haven't been playing much. Taking a little break but going to play soon. The group study is going well. It now consist of Tyler, Matt, Marissa, Ravi, Steve and I. Alot of the guys never got back to me so I think their no longer interested. However, I'm always open to talk/sweat poker with anyone.

Full Ring Study Group 2

There was alot of interest in people wanting to get into Group 1. They got shut out so I decided to organize another group. I'll get an opportunity to talk to alot of great poker players.

Group 2 will consist of
1) AppleSeed (John aka me)
2) JahDoos (Rob)
3) lefty2432 (Steve)
4) fuppnasty (Pat)
5) xtacy2004 (Hai)
6) VogelB (Billy)
7) Milhouse7 (Ravi)

I'll be participating in both groups.

good luck at the tables.

Full Ring Study Group

Sawdruhteez (Tyler) organized a FR Study Group at CR and I decided to join. The individuals consist of Schulucky, Dustydwn, WordHappy, Pataxxe, Sawdruhteez and I. We plan to meet this coming Thursday at 7pm Central Time through Skype/Mikogo. I'm pretty sure we are going to bring 1-3 hand histories for review and then go from there.

Looking forward to this coming Thursday because it's another step to being a better poker player.

Please send PPA letter to the President, your Senator and local Rep

Got the links from Btimm and LuckySOB. Please take the time and send the PPA letter to President Obama, your Senators and local Rep. It takes one minute and it will make a big difference. Poker is a skill game and it needs to be regulated in USA.

PPA letter to our Prez.... http://capwiz.com/pokerplayersalliance/issues/alert/?alertid=12601836&type=PR

PPA letter to your Senators and Local Rep...... http://capwiz.com/pokerplayersalliance/issues/alert/?alertid=11248186

35k Hand Breakeven Stretch

I mixed up my play this month 16 and 6 tabling, thus the lower volume. When I play 6 tables, I'm able to pick up player tendencies that I wouldn't be able to pick up 16 tabling. I"m able to see how fast they act, how many big pots they've been involved in etc. However, it's more mentally challenging playing 6 tables than it is 16 tabling. I don't want that sort of mental drain so I also play 16 tables. I think it's a nice mix to keep the game fresh.

I'm basically breakeven this month with rakeback over 35k hands. I played a mix of $50 and $100 nlhe FR. Eric (Damn Ringer) has been awesome. We've had 3 sessions so far, and he has been able to plug a few looks. I knew what my leaks were but he was able to give me practical advice to plug them. I was probably too loose on the CO/BTN and didn't double barrel enough in certain spots. I was able to tighten up in Late Position when I knew the blinds would 3 bet me. I'm also double barreling more on scare cards on the turn and river when I suspect villain can find the fold button. My total aggro factor was around 2.5, but it is now it's around 3 or higher. I also had some betsizing issues where I was either betting too small or too big. I need to really think what I want villain to do and fire the correct betsize out with player tendency, position, board texture, and history in mind etc. Basically making my postflop decisions easier where I don't have to guess as much if I'm getting bluffed or not because I love to hero call.

My review of my last 127k hands is taking longer than I thought. I'm about 1/2 way done and I'm noticing alot of leaks in my game. I hope to finish reviewing the other half within a week or so. I do find reviewing hand histories boring, so it's taking me longer than it should.

I'll post a graph when I reach another 100k hands.

Regulate Online Poker. Please Vote

Let's Regulate Online Poker. Please vote and be heard. This is very important because it's so hard to get cash online to play poker. It only takes one minute of your time to register and vote. Please do it right now, don't wait to do it later.

http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/ideas/viewI...