With all that was going on last weekend, it is a wonder that any poker was played at all. Poker players tweeted feverishly about a wide array of topics, from J.D. Salinger’s death to the Grammys to brown rice to Big Mac wraps. Someone offered $10,000 for an iPad, Doyle Brunson could not find food good enough for his dog, and Joe Sebok plans to jump off a plane.
The highly expected Apple iPad was presented by Steve Jobs and, as usual with Mac products, it polarized opinions all around. Alex Outhred was the voice of reason in a sea of “I wanna” when he tweeted, “Everybody runs to buy 1stGen #iPad’s when we all know that 3rd Gens will have cameras and phone capablities #makesnosense”. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Rafe Furst is pulling all the stops to get his hands on one at least two weeks before it is released officially: “Screw the haters & naysayers: I want an iPad ASAP. 1st person 2 secure me 1 gets a $10K donation 2 charity of their choice.”
J.D. Salinger, author of the classic “The Catcher in the Rye,” passed away age 91. The poker world waxed lyrical about the loss, while Joe Sebok went philosophical, musing, “one thing that i have found so absolute, albeit bitingly cold, about death…is that life just rolls right along. those alive still live…” Andy Bloch went musical, tweeting his version of “American Pie” to mourn the passing of Salinger: “Bye bye Mr Salinger bye, drove my chevy to the library but the library was dry / And good ol boys reading Catcher in the Rye, thinking this is the day JD died, this is the day Salinger died.”
With all the traveling and casino-going, food is a main concern for most poker players, who go about nurturing themselves in ways as different as their playing styles. Vegetarian Daniel Negreanu was glad to find healthy food in an unexpected place: “Bravo Dallas airport. Plenty of healthy food options. I was VERY surprised to see a brown rice tofu bowl at a fast food joint.” World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Joe Cada wondered about a meal on the opposite end of the health spectrum: “Has anyone had the new Big Mac wrap at McDonald’s? It scares me a bit.” Brunson could not find food to his liking in London and he did not mince his words: “Got back from London and it was the same, overcast and cold. I simply can’t find food there that I would give to Casper my dog. What’s wrong.” Finally, Sebok and Amit “amak316” Makhija made an eccentric food-related prop bet: “bet is @amak316 has to eat a cake, this size, http://twitpic.com/10jeyd & then catch a duck in the allotted time. alli can say is, I AM IN.” No word on how the duck feels about this.
Many enjoyed watching the Grammy Awards (and tweeting about them), but musician and UB.com poker pro Scott Ian had some hefty criticism to voice: “The Grammy’s? How about a show on how labels do nothing to stop the illegal downloading and the Musicians Union that does even less.” Annie Duke and Joe Reitman had the same objection to the showcase by Album of the Year winner Taylor Swift. Duke asked, “Oh please, I am begging you, don’t make me listen to Taylor Swift sing Fleetwood Mac again. I will do anything. Please. Make it stop”, Reitman wondered, “i will never know how Stevie Nicks stopped herself from beating the living shit out of Taylor Swift on stage…” It seems the poker world is more partial to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” than to the new princess of country music.
Some poker players indeed played poker over the weekend, but it seems that luck was against most of them judging by the number of bitter tweets. We bring you a selection of the most painful ones, starting with Rob Perelman: “Another fun Poker Sunday… AA<QQ, QQ<KK, QQ<TT, and a guy snap-called my river shove w/33 after I missed a flush on a T2QK9 board. No joke.” Liv Boeree was tempted to throw her laptop: “well that was fun. Got a retard to overshove preflop from the BB with J8. I snap with AK. Flop J 8 8. Thanks.” Vanessa Rousso showed some resilience: “I’m out of Jacksonville event. Didn’t win one pot all day : ( oh well, on to the Sunday Million on PokerStars!! : )” Jena Delk dealt with the bad hand blues the old fashioned way: “I think I’ll scream if I see another 94 offsuit! Just had a shot of Jack Daniels to try to calm my anxiety.”
Like every week, there are some weird and wonderfully random tweets in the poker world. Who knows what Todd Brunson was on when he tweeted, “This lapc Is alright. If you complain enough matt savage will bring u a botttle of boiling hot water straight from the microwave.” Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin had a surprise celebration for his much-deserved CardPlayer Player of the Year award: “Oh no. Came over to justins for day after b-day cake to find a POY surprise party with friends from here and back home.” @DougLeePoker (who may or may not be the real Doug Lee) sent an acid tweet to Sebok regarding his latest promo, in which a lucky winner will get to skydive with Sebok over the Nevada desert: “@joesebok If I win, can I be in charge of packing your chute?”
Outhred takes the arguable honor of being our Tweet of the Day, with the following gem: “Flight attendant just said the seat cushions can be used as a flirtation device. This is gonna be an awesome trip. #howYOUdoin.” Smooth Tweeting!
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