Rai$e Loyalty Club
Saturday, July 11, 2009 - ZMEN
It’s that time of the year where fantasy football and poker will soon collide. I’m both happy and scared. Obviously, it’s great that the NFL season is nearing because every Sunday I’ll be able to sit back, relax, have a few brewskies, and enjoy Sunday NFL ticket rooting for my FF players. That’s the happy part.
Why am I scared?
Well, most NFL games are on Sunday and that’s generally the best day of the week to play poker. So what’s a guy to do? In past years I tried mixing the two but, since I rely on BOTH for income, mixing has taught me a tough, expensive lesson. While I know how to be a winner at both games that’s only when I concentrate on one or the other, exclusively. The past four years I have NOT been able to do better than break-even in poker during the fantasy football season. To me FF and poker are like drinking and driving – don’t mix the two at the same time! So you may find ‘zmen’ absent from the UB tables on Sundays in the months ahead even though Sunday is one of my fav days to play online. No worries. I make that time up by playing more on Saturdays and the rest of the week! The key for me will be to pay attention to FF on certain days and Poker on other days, don’t mix the two, and hope for the best.
As Debo and P0kerH0 certainly know from hanging with me each of the past five years at the Aruba Poker Classic and also at the WSOP, my life for the past decade has been lots of fantasy football. I’ve been on the cover of Fantasy Pro Forecast magazine. I was a regular on a fantasy football show on FoxSportsNet. And I should mention I have two fantasy football books published, Drafting to Win and, most recently, Fantasy Football’s BIG SIX. (BTW, I gave Annie Duke a copy of DTW and Phil Hellmuth a copy of FF’s Big Six. And did you know? Phil/Debo/H0 are all very into fantasy football!)
So you can see my commitment to FF. So much so that in 2004 thru 2008 I’ve ranked as the #1 fantasy football player in the world after consistently winning at high stakes fantasy football (wcoff/nffc) where live drafts are held in Vegas each September. But after a rough 2008 season I enter 2009 as #5. So I will be putting in extra efforts in the upcoming draft preparation to get to the top again, and that probably means a little less poker. OK, just a smidgen less. 
Since poker is my equal passion and bigger supply of income I must move forward and prepare somehow, someway, for FF this Summer and Fall, and hope to continue to still play poker at a high level. It won’t be easy! -z-
Tags: Annie Duke, aruba classic, Debo, NFL, P0ker H0, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Poker Poker, ub, Vegas, WSOP
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Saturday, June 27, 2009 - DURZAAAA
One of the big things about the race for me was planning my approach. I needed to figure out first of all how much time i could dedicate to playing in the 2 month time frame. I also had to keep in mind that this race was 2 months long, a big difference from one month. This was a true marathon of poker. It was very easy to play a certain amount one day and then say to yourself ok, ill just do what i did today for another 60 days and ill win the race. It didnt quite work that way. The other thing i had to work into my approach was selecting the type of game i would focus on. For me this meant i needed to learn to limit holdem. I am a no limit player and this was a pretty big adjustment for me. But i enjoyed the challenge of learning a new game and saw it as a good oppurtunity to learn and expand my game. By end of the race i ended up mixing lots of different game types, including, 6max nl, hu nl, fl 6max, hu fl, plo, and 6 max sngs. I mixed these games simply cuz i needed the variety. It can be easy to get stuck in a rut and go on autopilot when u are playhing 12-20 tables of the same game.
The biggest thing about doing well in this race is similar to what any person needs in order to be a good poker player. Discipline and the the ability to make adjustments as often as necassary. There are so many things that can change during the course of the race. I was confident that i was going to get around 8th when i noticed some changes in my opponents ahead of me. I took the oppurtunity and made a couple changes with my approach, turned on the intensity, and was able to seize 3rd place position with about one week to go. The last 2 weeks were by far the 2 weeks that i had to work hardest for, but it paid off for me on the last day when i was able to seize my last oppurtunity and pull into 1st place just as the race was closing. It was very important in the race to always keep your eyes open and be aware of what your oppents are doing. Not doing so can cost you the race. Winning the race was not easy, but i am a very competitive person and enjoyed the challenge of this marathon, forutantely for me my hard work paid off and i was able to win the race, a gratifying feeling.
Tags: approach, discipline, hard work, marathon of poker, plan
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Saturday, June 13, 2009 - Z06FANATIC
So finally the Race Cards is in the final few days and people are working hard to secure their spot in the rankings. I fell down to 9th place after a couple guys have been going very hard to move up the ladder. One stand out player DURZAAAA went from 11th place all the way to 3rd and looking to win it all. I gotta give him credit for working very hard and blowing by me and many others. Even with my 9th place finish I will profit a lot of money during this 2 month period – I was a slight winner in SNG’s during this race, and made another 7k in MTT’s…I’m glad the race is over though so I can relax a little bit and get some golf in. The race cards promotion has been a huge hit for players and I’m sure Cereus has done very well in terms of profitability by offering this to us. It’s a win win for all that are invovled, and hopefully the Cereus network will continue to provide the best promotions on the internet to their players. GL to everyone in the race and see you in the next one!
Z06Fanatic
Tags: Cereus, race cards
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Saturday, June 6, 2009 - Z06FANATIC
So there’s roughly a week and a half left of the race – looking forward to it coming to an end but at the same time I can’t let up. I’m currently in 7th, trying to work my way up another spot or two. I got some stiff competition though, trying to battle AIRKID3 and DURZAAAA for position. Its been an easy race thus far in terms of things falling my way – I ran real well during this race so it made it much easier – had I ran real bad this would be very rough. I’m loving these races though and hopefully AP/UB offers more of these in the future – they really keep things interesting and allow everyone to make out well. I’ll post my final entry when the race ends – GL to all!
Tags: AP, loyalty, luck, Promotions, Strategy, ub, UB 500
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Saturday, May 23, 2009 - Z06FANATIC
So we recently passed the half way marker during this race cards promotion and things are going well. I’ve been on a major heater over the past month+, giving me about 15k+ in profits from playing since the race cards began. I’ve been working hard and slowly been moving up the ladder – hopefully I can make top 5 when all is said and done, but that is going to require a lot of work. One thing that definitely helped me with this race card was pacing myself – a lot of players who were higher up on the race have since burned out – some played higher buy in games thinking they were winners and reality caught up quick, while others burnt themselves out early on. Pacing is so important in a 2 month race – this game can be mentally draining and turning out 70 hour weeks will take you down quick. I’ll post again when the race comes to an end hopefully with my name near the top!
Tags: loyalty, Poker Strategy, Promotions, race cards, RAI$E, VIP
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - Dan
It’s definitely perfect time for us to run an extra mile as a team. Ultimate Bet will soon introduce a new feature that will shake our RAISE VIP Program for sure. If you have travelled before, you should be aware of the big time headache you can get from fixing every single detail involving your trip. Call here, call there…fax them, book it, email it, find the cheapest fair, “no rooms available!”, “your reservation has been cancelled” bla, Bla BLA! How to get there…how to get here? YES! A nice experience can be turned into your worst nightmare in a matter of a couple of calls.
We don’t want you to be feel that way when joining us for an adventure! This is exactly what we are trying to avoid from now on…after all, a VIP should be recognized as a VIP worldwide. This is why Ultimate Bet chose to bring a new concept that will multiply your fun and upgrade what it represents to be a UB ICON.
It ain’t no secret that our biggest poker events are held at the most paradisiac landmarks on Earth. Las Vegas, Aruba…who wouldn’t love to be spotted there once in a while? Basically, what we plan to do is to enhance your experience to the top. How is this? Making sure all the entertainment, fun, activities and comforts become handy. This is what our new Concierge Service benefit is all about.
We will make sure to provide you with each event’s location highlights so you can get the best deals possible in the easiest way. If you want us to, we can book your flight, make your hotel reservation, arrange transportation services at the location…or if you want to drive on your own, let us know and the Car Rental Service will be available for you as well. Prior each event, we carefully review each location and gather all the information about sporting events, restaurants, bars, clubs and any kind of local landmarks and entertainment venues that can make your stay even more pleasant. Once we get this done, it will be our duty to inform all our players about these awesome opportunities, let’s say we will provide you with the most updated travel guide possible so you can pick which services and activities you would like us to be on top of. In the mood for a Spa Session after those tremendous hands…? We can be on it too!
“Not knowing what else to do” should not be a problem anymore. Our Concierge services will be on charge of displaying all necessary facts for a safe travel to and from the event location and informing our players of all the enjoyment the location has to offer. We will advice on how to get there…and more important: How to have a blast in there?
Poker is definitely our main passion, but a little extra fun won’t kill anybody (believe me). After all, now that you were taken to this marvelous destination…why not to squeeze every benefit out of it?
Tags: Aruba, Entertainment, experience, fun, hotel reservation, Icon, upgrade, Vegas, worldwide
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Wednesday, April 29, 2009 - Jim
I know you guys have been playing a lot these last weeks climbing your way in the 220K Rake Race in March and now in the UB 500 Race, of course aiming the $25,000 first place. It is easy to understand why you invest a significant amount of your valued time in this exciting journey. Maybe people who isn’t really into poker could find it fanatical or obsessive, probably the truth is that we are all crazy about Poker, myself included.
I clearly remember more than a year ago when I had no idea about Poker, I have some flashes on my mind about myself watching a Sports TV channel, there were some guys at a poker table with cool gear throwing chips in the middle, and rolls of Benjamin’s waiting to be claimed by the winner. I guess it was the WSOP, but never understood very well what they were doing.
When I first came to UB, the only clue I had about the game was that a deck of cards was involved, some chips, and of course a lot, lot of money. In a blink of an eye I found myself learning all kind of stuff: No Limit, Limit, Bet, Raise, Bluffs, and of course Bad Beats, yes unfortunately Bad Beats too.
A couple of weeks ago, I was in a friend’s home game, you know a low rebuy tournament, we usually allow only 2 rebuys. Now, picture this: I have a little more than half of the initial stack but still about 12 times the Big blind, I find J-J in late position at the right of the cutoff, no one limped in and I don’t feel in the mood to see a flop (those Jacks always betray me) so I raised All-in; the cutoff folds, so does the button and the small blind but the big blind, a player with about 14 Big blinds calls.
He showed 4-2 offsuit. You can imagine the rest of the story… the flop comes K-4-2, turn 9, river 2. Unbelievable! Rebuy please! Anyway, that’s what I love of this game. At the end bad players don’t last too long and I busted him when I hit a set in the flop with 5-5 and trapped him calling my bets with top pair.
When I heard the expression “Poker is a game of champions”, I really made it part of me to when I am at the table, I am sure all you guys are champions and will make find the glory at the top of the UB 500!
Tags: Bad Beats, journey, Poker Poker Poker, Rake Race, VIP Rai$e Team, WSOP
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Saturday, April 18, 2009 - Z06FANATIC
So the 4th installment of race cards has came around and entails a 2 month long race rather than the standard month long race. I always look forward to these races as the bonus money is amazing and it really pushes me mentally to go beyond what I have done in the past. It’s going to be crazy racing for 2 months – usually in the one month race after 3 weeks you’re dying for it to end – this time after 4 weeks when you’d be able to relax we’re only going to be half way there.
We shall see who has the mentality to keep going despite the cards not going their way and the grueling hours of sitting in front of the computer. My strategy is to put in the hours but not overdue it – this isn’t a sprint it’s a marathon, so I don’t want to come out of the gate too fast and burn out. Pacing yourself is definitely key to getting top 3 in these things. Anyways I’m off to a good start and looking forward to what the next couple of weeks bring me – good luck to everyone and may the best win
Tags: loyalty, players, Poker Strategy, Promotions, race cards, RAI$E, VIP
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Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - Maggie
Every single day from 1 to 3 players win an entry into the WSOP through the Step tourneys that are currently running. As you guys may already know, it only takes to pick a dime from your pocket to take your skills down to this years’ WSOP.
I bet they don’t call it Sin City just because, I’ve heard Nevada is all about fun, going crazy and extreme pleasures. Then…why not giving it a try? Besides putting you in the line up to the biggest poker tournament in the world, we are trying to turn this into an experience you will never forget. Of course we are aware of how hard things can get these days, so we just want to reward you making things a little easier. A little extra relaxing time and wildness won’t kill anybody…
On my experience, it’s been extraordinary to witness that “Famous Call” when a VIP Host reaches the package winner to gather first impressions and feedback. Yeah… honestly it is not always easy to understand the lucky guy’s comments among all that hooting and joy going all over the place, but it’s definitely part of our goal to shake your legs by awarding this kind of prizes.
I am in close contact with the winners and I have heard their feedback in regards to this promotion, and I can tell that everyone is thrilled that we added the Steps to Ultimate Bet and that we are making it so easy for all of you to have the chance to play in such a huge and important event like the World Series of Poker.
“STEPS” happens to be more than a nice promotion offered to you. We do look forward to consolidate a family here. That’s why this year we chose to smooth things a little so we can bring as many members as possible to the final battle.
Many players are booking their flights and taking care of the Hotel reservations in Las Vegas thanks to this promo and obviously, their great poker skills.
What are you waiting for? Join the action right now and start climbing up the Steps until reaching the top!
The city that never sleeps is just warming up for you, and Ultimate Bet has decided to show them all what the UB Community is made of!
Tags: las vegas, Nevada, poker skills, Rai$e VIP Team, Sin City, STEPS, WSOP
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Wednesday, March 4, 2009 - Mia
This week we have another VIP Host under the microscope: Mark!
Mark, as many of you may not know, is a fairly new addition to the VIP Host Team. It seems like he started just yesterday but he has shown to be one of the best assets of our crew.
Since day one Mark has shown a motivated and active spirit. While most of us when we became VIP Hosts tried to stay away from the phones until we gain a bit more of experience, Mark jumped head first and took a perfect dive. That attitude gained him a place next to some of the most respected hosts working in the Customer Relationships team.
Mark is always happy and willing to help and I take advantage of that to bug him all the time with extra tasks! Since I work during the night I have him call all my Auction customers from which I need info. This happy and relaxed attitude makes Mark one of my favorite hosts around, ‘cause you know you can count on him to carry on with a project.
On a more personal note, you might not know that Mark is studying medicine, so hopefully we’ll have a good doctor soon to take care of us! Cristina says he has a great smile, so even though he is a bit shy at first, he can sweep you off your feet with his sweet smile! And as a shallow detail, Mark always wears white sneakers and he seems to have a fixation about them!
Well, we can add one more VIP Host to the list! You know I’m all ears so let me know any questions you might have about your favorite hosts or who the next one under the microscope should be.
Tags: Customer Service, host, loyalty, players, RAI$E, VIP
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