Friday, May 15, 2009 - P0ker J0
Well hello UB Land
Wow – I just have to start with Celebrity Apprentice. It’s all over the net how appalled most people are that Joan Rivers walked away with the title. NBC even has a poll on their website. Check this out - some of the comments made me giggle. Well I can tell you it was even more dramatic to watch it all pan out live! I was lucky enough to be in the audience of the finale and what an experience that was. It was cool to actually stand by and see all these players that I have been watching on TV over the last few months. Clint Black is way shorter in real life than I thought and Donald’s hair is even worse close up! Wow he and I could surely have a long conversation about hair if given the chance. Melissa seemed as out of control in person as on the show and Joan’s face moved less in person. All in all – a great experience with a lot of money raised for charity, but I won’t lie – I think the Donald made a big mistake!
So Mr. Hellmuth has decided to grace the Canadians with his presence eh? He is currently up in Canada playing in the Canadian Poker Tour event in Calgary. He even was awarded the White Hat in Calgary. So you may be asking white hat eh? Well it is not just any white hat, it is almost like getting the key to the city. So I guess they must think he’s a big deal eh? He is doing well in the heads up and we are cheering him on from the sidelines. Go Phil go!
Rumor has it that Players Sports Bar will be a buzz this weekend with some of our favourite UBers in attendance for the annual poker party. I’m sure we will hear all about it from the Wisconsin networks. I hope you all have fun and don’t forget to have a merlot for Jo!
So I guess the WSOP is upon us. There will be drama, there will be entrances and I’m sure there will be laughter. Mr. Hellmuth will be making his big entrance on July 5th and Ms. Duke just may have a funky entrance of her own. Stay tuned for details. The UB party is at Studio 54 on June 29th so make sure you drop by if you are in Vegas. I will share more details with you next week but UB will have a presence there and there will be opportunities to come and meet Team UB in person. Hope to see you there.
Well as I close off here – I reflect on a busy week and wish I was on a beach somewhere like my buddy Ryan. Nothing better than looking out your window (even if you are working) and watching the ocean. A girl can dream right??
Until next week……
P0ker J0 out!
Tags: Annie Duke, Celebrity Apprentice, Clint Black, Donald Trump, Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers, Phil Hellmuth, Studio 54, ub, Vegas
Comments (2)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - HollywoodDave
You know what? I got three words for you guys right now: F**k Donald Trump. That’s right, you heard it here first. I just went to the taping of the final episode of Celebrity Apprentice — which by now everyone has seen live on TV — and I couldn’t feel more disgusted, appalled, and cheated. Not just for my friend Annie Duke, who put on one helluva competition over the past several months, but for everyone supporting the show over the entire season who were given a completely fabricated, rigged ending. Total bullshit.
Now look, I know I’m supposed to defend Annie and get all up in arms over Joan winning the show, but its so much more than that. Even if I didn’t know Duke (or play poker myself), I would still feel the exact same way. The bottom line is, there was absolutely NO justification for Joan winning, except for plain and simple nepotism! In every single way, Annie outplayed Joan (and everyone else) on the show, and was robbed of her rightful victory in the end.
Annie raised 3x the money Joan did. More than anyone in the history of the show, by the way. She won more tasks than Joan did. She was never once in danger of being fired, throughout the entire season. She put up with CONSTANT unfounded vicious personal attacks on herself, her friends, her family, and her career by Joan — not only on camera, but in the boardroom as well. At no point in the season did Donald ever tell her she was out of line or think she was any less of a ‘role model’ for such despicable behavior.
Joan — in the boardroom! — said Annie was worse than Hitler! That she was beneath Joan! That Annie would spit on the ground and drown her own mother! That all of Annie’s friends — the ones who had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to CHARITY — were ‘worse than trash’ and in the Mafia! That simply cuz Annie had revised her opinion of Brande halfway thru the season, she was a liar and (this one courtesy of Joan’s daughter Melissa) a ‘whore pit viper!’ And when confronted about the ‘worse than Hitler’ comment by Donald, responded only that Annie was actually WORSE than Hitler!
This is the woman who won Celebrity Apprentice, people. The ‘role model’ espoused by Donald Trump, who raised less money than Annie did (on the last task as well as throughout the season), won fewer challenges than Annie did, and even on the very last task — got both her and Annie’s party planner to quit the show due to despicable behavior captured NOT ONLY by NBC’s own cameras, but actually described on the planner’s website itself — and then Joan LIED to Donald’s face about it in the live finale, and he never considered it in his deliberations.
That’s just the surface, too. I’ve worked for years in TV production, and can tell you from experience that that last show was most definitely produced to provide an excuse for this ridiculous scam. Notice that in the entire 3 hour finale, only the last THREE MINUTES was reserved for Joan and Annie to acutally talk? And that whenever Annie tried to get into any of these substantive truths, Joan would just shout over her until Donald cut them off and made his own decision, without any deliberation? How practically the entire final episode leading up to Annie’s firing was intentionally produced to make Joan look sympathetic and Annie unstable? How the clip reel on Joan’s charity was a real tearjerker, while Annie’s looked more like a documentary, despite there being very obvious emotional components to the work they do?
Finally, Joan was picked without any reasoning given. Just that she had accomplished more of the criteria on the final task, despite failing in every other regard. Despite getting Annie’s party planner fired. Despite lying to Donald about it in a manner that he would truly have to be stupid to not see, as all the evidence was edited into the final cut of the episode that had just aired.
It gets even worse. More truths: Donald’s sister in law is on the board of Joan’s charity. Joan had just signed a contract to produce a show with Apprentice executive producer Mark Burnett. All of the returning celebrities were polled ahead of time to see who they were supporting, and (except for Jesse James, who refused to give and answer) only the ones who responded ‘Joan’ were given a chance to express their views. And returning champ Piers was actually instructed to say he thought Joan should win. All to make it look like this great miscarriage of justice was somehow justified.
So, that’s it. I’m pissed. And will never watch another Apprentice episode ever again. Not that I am terribly surprised that reality TV is ultimately rigged, but that after being so absolutely devoted & deserving, my friend Annie Duke was not only played, but slowrolled as well. For 7 seasons now, instead of ‘firing’ someone, on the final episode the Donald turns towards someone and instead says, ‘You’re HIRED!’ What kind of sick fuck, then, does it take to turn towards Annie and say, ‘You know what I’m going to say Annie? You’re — FIRED!’ Fuck him 6 days a week and twice on Sundays. This wasn’t a bad beat or horrible one outer, Trump straight up dealt off the bottom of the deck — and still rubbed it in her face!
There ya go. My Celebrity Apprentice finale experience for ya, no holds barred. gg sir.
-hd.
Tags: Annie Duke, Celebrity Apprentice, Donald Trump, Jesse James, Joan Rivers
Comments (10)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - Annie Duke
Okay…
so I have made it past week 5 on Celebrity Apprentice! Woohoo! The hotel challenge was possibly the most fun I had during the whole taping of the show. I seriously loved that challenge and took my job strangely seriously while doing it. So fun. Anyway, I have been starting to get asked why I have not been Project Manager yet and I thought this would be a great place to bring in some poker strategy in explaining why not. The explanation has to do with knowing your table.
In poker, when you first get moved to a table, it is important to sit back and really get to know your players if you can before getting involved in any big decisions against them. That is because the quality of any big decision you have to make, like whether to fold or call a big shove, will go up the more you know about your opponent. Think about this…what if you call, don’t get knocked out, then find out later that the guy who shoved never, ever moves in without the nuts. Wouldn’t you feel sick about your call in retrospect. Or what if it is the opposite? You have a close decision and decide to fold but then alter find out your opponent is a complete maniac who shoves on bluffs all the time. Wouldn’t you feel sick in retrospect about your fold? The fact is that our decisions at the table can only be as good as the information we have on our opponents at that moment.
My decision to delay being Project Manager was based on this. It seemed to me that before making that big and risky decision (since PM is always the most at risk for being fired if a team loses) I wanted to know my table pretty well for two reasons: 1) you have a much higher likelihood of winning a challenge if you really know your team’s strengths and weaknesses so that you can assign jobs in the most intelligent manner. If you give people jobs in that lie well within their skill sets then you are more liely to win and never have to face the board room. But 2) on the flip side, you want to know who the weak players on your team are and, particularly, who Trump THINKS the weak players are in case you lose because then you know for sure who to bring into the board room with you. Knowing who Trump is itching to fire takes some time, it takes a feel for the game, the other players and, more importantly, it takes a lot of listening carefully in the board rooms. The more of those you have under your belt before becoming PM, the more you know your table, and the better off you are in case you lose.
So, just like in poker, I really didn’t want to get involved in a big hand on Celebrity Apprentice, until I knew my table really well. Now, obviously, I don’t want to take that too far..the extreme would be never to be PM…because you need to be seen as a leader and someone who is willing to step up. So it is an interesting balance of not laying too low but waiting long enough till you have a great bead on your opponents and on Donald Trump’s opinions.
Tags: Annie Duke, Celebrity Apprentice, Donald Trump, Poker Poker Poker
Comments (6)
Sunday, March 22, 2009 - Annie Duke
When I found out that I was going to be part of the new season of The Celebrity Apprentice I had actually never seen the show, Celebrity version or otherwise. So, in full games player style, I got a hold of the first season of the show and watched every second of it to start devising a strategy for the game. Because that is all Apprentice is, a game. And all games have an optimal strategy.
It turns out that Apprentice is a lot like poker and I could really bring to bear quite a bit of the skill and strategy I apply to poker to this new game. First, there is a similar random factor. It helps if you happen to get tasks that are already in your skill set. Sometimes you screw up and would end up on the chopping block but your team wins so you get a pass for the week. That is luck. And sometimes Trump just takes a shine to you (or doesn’t) and that can be very helpful or really hurt you and you often have little control of that. So, just like when you get all in with AA vs 55 and a 5 hits, there are things on the game Apprentice that you really have no control over and kind of just really need those things to go your way.
That being said, you really do have control over the vast majority of things in the game. And those are the things that I really focused on. The first thing I knew what that I did not have enough celebrity to get any kind of pass early in the game. That meant that I needed to take control of the table, just like you take control of a poker table. Make people know you are there and be afraid of getting involved in a pot with you because you are dangerous. I knew I had to do this in this game so Trump would see that I was valuable on the show, that I naturally would cause controversy.
So I came in the game raising. Being aggressive. Because when you are the aggressive one, your opponents then are forced to make decisions in regards to you and that gives them opportunities to make mistakes. Taking an aggressive stance at the poker table gives you control and stops you from being nearly as handcuffed to the cards. Taking control in the Apprentice gives you a similar advantage because it allows you some leeway in the boardroom. The aggression just makes it less likely you will get fired because that is a show it is good to make waves on, just like at a poker table.
Now, when you play poker you also need to be able to change gears. Because once you have established the aggression players will start coming after you and stop giving you credit for quality hands. When that happens you need to change gears, slow it down, play against image so that players now giving you too little credit will impale themselves on the great hands you are now playing.
I did a similar thing on Apprentice. Having come out aggressive, getting focus on me, and pissing off some of my team members, I pulled it back by the time episode three rolled around. I had done my job in the first couple of tasks, gotten Trump to pay attention. Gotten my team to pay attention to my presence. But now it was time to go against image. I became the completely cooperative person who just worked my ass off and raised a ton of money. Without saying a peep. That shows versatility which is really important in the game. Players with no versatility, only one note, tend to only make it midway in that show and I was trying to play a strategy that was more likely to get long term success.
Playing the more conservative approach in episode 3 was my gear change. I sat back and started watching my competitors to see how I could manage their expectations of me in a way that would help me succeed…exactly what you do at a poker table every minute you play. Poker is all about managing people’s expectations of you. So is Apprentice.
Keep watching to see how it all plays out.
Tags: Celebrity Apprentice, Donald Trump, Poker Poker Poker
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