Monday, October 26, 2009 - Annie Duke
So I have officially processed my untimely demise in the Aruba Classic. Let me give you a little back story though. In the 7 years that I have played that event, I have made the money ONCE. That is right. One time. Now there is a really good reason for that. I generally go down to Aruba with my kids and the thought of staying inside playing poker for the whole trip when my kids are having a blast horseback riding and tubing and whatnot without me doesn’t really work for me. So I play some pretty bad poker when I am in Aruba generally because I am secretly, well not so secretly, trying to get myself knocked out of the event.
But not this year. This year I resolved that I was actually going to try really hard. Last year I had to leave before the event even started because Celebrity Apprentice conflicted with the main event down there. So I headed down to Aruba for exactly three days and then left in a shroud of mystery. I had signed a confidentiality agreement so I couldn’t tell anyone why I was leaving which made for some pretty interesting rumors. I did have to assure a few people that nothing was wrong with my family and there was no emergency while still being coy about why I left. Anyway, we all know how Celebrity Apprentice turned out. I am still trying to decide if it was worth it to leave paradise abruptly for 5 weeks of being called worse than Hitler by Joan Rivers.
Anyway, after having to leave last year I realized that I really missed the opportunity to play and so this year came in with great resolve to play my heart out. I showed up relatively on time and proceeded to get dealt the best cards of my life. In the first two levels I got AA 7 times, KK twice and QQ twice. I am not kidding. I really got dealt those starting hands. So of course I ended the two levels with 4K of the 15K starting chips. As expected really. I was either going to have all the chips on the planet or 4K. When I came back for level three I managed to flop top two with AJ suited vs 99 on an AJ9 board. Oops. That sent me to the rail.
So I managed to hit the parlay: I wasted another year of the Aruba Classic getting knocked out on Day 1 when I was actually really trying (proof of the trying part: I managed to still have 4K in chips after getting all those hands cracked) and I wasted the best run of cards I will ever have. Sheesh.
Now, once I got knocked out I decided to make the best of it and took the opportunity to go tubing with Joe. We got on one of those two man tubes and were having a complete blast because we had a driver who was really trying to create huge wakes to buck us off the tube. Anyone who has gotten thrown off a tube knows that it usually the best part of tubing. Joe and I were really hanging on, though, so the driver was creating bigger and bigger wakes to drag us over until finally he made a wake so big that there was no holding on the tube to stay on because the tube itself was flipping over.
So Joe is on my right and the tube is flipping right so Joe kind of turned over and was heading face down into the ocean below me as I was flipping over him when his heel snapped up on the way into the water and caught me right in the neck. That snapped my head back pretty bad and smashed my lower jaw into my upper jaw in a way that really sent shockwaves up the left side of my face. That was aside from the pain I was experiencing from having just been kicked really hard in the neck. So now I land in the ocean and I am just sobbing in there and Joe isn’t sure right away whether or not I am laughing or crying so he is laughing at first. Then he realizes I am actually in hysterics and helps drag me back onto the tube so the driver can take us in really slowly back to the dock. I say really slowly because every bit of turbulence we hit sent waves of pain through my skull. By that night the inside of my throat had really swelled up which took about two days to go down before it was comfortable to swallow again.
So I got kicked in the head by the cards in the tournament then kicked in the head by Joe in a freak tubing accident. Come to think of it, getting called worse than Hitler for 5 weeks doesn’t sound so bad after all.
Tags: aruba classic, Celebrity Apprentice, Joan Rivers, Poker Poker Poker
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Tuesday, June 2, 2009 - Miss C
Hey Guys,
Survived! The 1st week at the WSOP has been great. I totally feel at home (a friend called the other night and asked where I was, my reply was “Home” and then I started laughing and said “Bellagio” which I guess really is home for the WSOP) and I am looking forward to a Week 2. The 1st social event on the calendar was Annie’s “Sucking out on the Rivers” Charity Poker Tournament. It was a great night with some fantastic Joan Rivers impersonators and also some really scary Joan Rivers impersonators. As with life you have to take the good with the bad:)
Everything I wanted to do in Vegas got achieved in the 1st week. This is definitely an omen and the following weeks can and will only get better. The sales have started here and I have had a chance to visit a few shops and make a few purchases (3 pairs of shoes [2 x CL & 1 x Havaianas], 4 tops and 2 pairs of pants Thought I would get it in before it got absolutely hectic and I start struggling to get out of bed. On the topic of beds, I think I have found a piece of heaven…the beds at Bellagio rock, it is like sleeping on a cloud.
So far the numbers at the Series have been good. The 40K (Event 2) got 201 runners, fairly impressive for the 1st big one on the season. The “stimulus package” tournament (Event 4 NLHE 1K) blew itself out of the water (it was predicted to do so anyway). If this trend continues the payouts are going to be great and the lead up events definitely worth playing. When playing you should be wearing the UB swag, all the gear is really cool and the hats are the best I have ever seen. To get your swag, come to Bellagio, find a house phone and ask to be put through to Phil Hellmuth. We will come down and get you.
Off the topic of poker, Vegas had a special visitor….President Barack Obama. I felt quite privileged to be in the same town and even closer the hotel next door to the President. He came into town for a charity event that was held at Caesars Palace. I can say that I saw Air force 1 taxiing at McCarran airport from my hotel room! Vegas and the Strip weren’t as chaotic as I thought a man with this kind of stature would cause. I did speak to a taxi driver the day Obama left and he mentioned that the freeway was shut for his ride to the airport. Out of sight out of mind!
Good Luck! Bring on Week 2.
Cheers,
Miss C
Tags: Annie Duke, Barrack Obama, Bellagio, Christian Louboutin, Havaianas, Joan Rivers, las vegas, Obama, Phil Hellmuth, President, ub, Vegas, WSOP
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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
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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
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Thursday, May 7, 2009 - P0ker H0
CONGRATS ..Annie, great job! I really have enjoyed watching Celebrity Apprentice. And the fact that Annie has completely owned the entire show makes me glad that I’m a “poker playa”. I can’t wait for the house to fall out of the sky and land on Joan Rivers on the final episode, so we all can sing “Ding Dong the Bitch is Dead”. Speaking of bitches….. I want to congratulate Hollywood Dave on his sweet WSOP circuit win. WTG Dave! I think it’s so cool that someone who has made the switch from BlackJack to Poker could do it as fast and as well as you have. I hope this will give you a lot of momentum for the WSOP. Dave knows I’m just teasin’ about the bitches comment! He is a class act and one helluva guy.
With the WSOP right around the corner, life starts to get a little hectic for me. Spending 50 days off and on in Vegas really can take a toll on you if not prepared. Instead of getting a house with my buddie, Debo, and 7 others like I did last year, I decided to just stay at the Rio the whole time. There are many pros and cons as to where to stay, but the fact that I went 0-15 last year I think it’s time to bunker down at the Rio and give poker 100% of my concentration. I will take one day off ..that’s for sure, and that day is June 29th. That is the day of the UB party. For any first timers I highly reccommend not planning anything for the 30th!!! UB is known for throwing the sickest WSOP parties in Vegas! I hope to see you all there. The party is being held at the MGM Grande “Studio54″. This place is one of Vegas’s hot spots, and I guarantee a night you will never forget.
Thursday night Wiscomurray, his gal pal Pam, my wife, and I are going to a concert….. Bill Joel/ Elton John. I guess it’s one of Elton John’s last shows before he retires. We are all really looking forward to that. Then Sunday night, Annie will win the Celeb App. Then Wednesday, the great Debo is coming to Madison for Brewers baseball, beer, and poker. It’s gonna be a good week. I should have some great Video/pictures for the next blog. Feel free to have all your aces hold up and win a ton of $…H0
Tags: Annie Duke, Billy Joel, Celebrity Apprentice, Elton John, Joan Rivers, WSOP
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Friday, May 1, 2009 - P0ker J0
Hello UB-land:
Ok so how can I NOT start with the Celebrity Apprentice. Really is time for P0ker J0 to head back to the doctor for some good old blood pressure pills. I haven’t been this wound up since my son wrote his name on my new white cabinets in permanent black marker!! Ok so I digress. So Joan Rivers has decided that all poker players are white trash?? Have blood money? Have no last names?? I mean come on! Again – Annie held her head up high and showed perfect restraint (something that I would have not been able to accomplish in the same situation). Melissa Rivers surely made her true colours (or colors if you are in the US) apparent didn’t she? Wow – P0ker J0 speechless again. Rarely happens. I will truly be glued to my TV this coming Sunday. But here is a challenge to all you poker players. If you feel slandered by Miss Cement Face herself (yes you donkeys -I mean Joan Rivers) then leave a comment on my blog. Let’s get some action here!
Ok so what next – how about our very own HollywoodDave winning the WSOP circuit event! Wow from blackjack to poker – pure genius. I’m so proud of him and look forward to hanging with the HD at the series this summer. Congrats again Dave – love you!
So May is a month with the Poker Brat himself. Watch every Tuesday in May for the one and only Phil Hellmuth playing at the tables. Play with him in the $30+3 and gun for him -he has a bounty on his head. This is your chance to get down and dirty with the poker brat himself. Enjoy!
So I mentioned that P0ker H0 has graduated from online radio to mainstream radio. While still doing his “thang” every Sunday night on Rounders Radio, you can now check him and his buddy Wiscomurray on WTDY every Saturday from 2:00 – 3:00 pm. Check out the website for more details. And for the record – NO – I’m not suggesting that P0ker H0 has a great face for radio!! 
Well I think that’s all she wrote for now – stay tuned for more promo details on our own Tiffany Michelle and Scott Ian – yes – another home game with the rockstars! I’m just waiting to see if Jon Bon Jovi RSVP’d. Details to follow!
Ok – P0ker J0 out for another week. Enjoy
xoxoo
Tags: Celebrity Apprentice, Hollywood Dave, Joan Rivers, Phil Hellmuth, Scott Ian, Tiffany "Tiffany M" Michelle
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009 - Annie Duke
Okay…so you may have noticed a theme with my blogs on Ultimatebet.com that I am always relating my experience on The Apprentice to poker strategy and today’s blog is no exception. I think that my knowledge of poker really helped me on The Apprentice. But, also, I think what happens on the Celebrity Apprentice has a lot of offer us in terms of seeing strategies and thinking that just don’t work. Last blog I talked about tilt and how bad that is in any game you play, how it is completely counterproductive. This week the topic is resulting.
Resulting is a very particular poker term that means assuming that the outcome of a decision determines the quality of a decision. This is such an important concept that poker players came up with a singular term for it: resulting. Tilt is a similar word that is so important that poker players came up with a singular word to describe the concept because we talk about it so much. So Resulting. Why is this so bad?
Well, decisions and outcomes are not linked one to one in any game that involves a random element (this includes poker, Apprentice and life). We can make very poor decisions and have good outcomes, like driving home drunk but making it safely. The fact that you lived does not mean that driving drunk is a good decision. You can also make a very good decision and have a very bad outcome, like driving home safely, following all traffic laws while sober and getting hit by a drunk driver.
How does that relate to The Apprentice? Well, in episode 1 where we had to sell cupcakes for charity, there was a surprise taste test where each team was called and told to bring their best cupcake for a taste test worth $15K to the winner. Melissa was tasked with choosing which cupcake to bring and in choosing chose the cupcake on which one looked the best as opposed to which one tasted the best. I was highly critical of that decision because, clearly, if you are choosing for a taste test you need to pick based on taste. Melissa failed to consult any of the cooks. The players who had cooked had the chef who supervised the kitchen taste all the cupcakes so knew a professional’s opinion on which cupcake tasted best. Melissa had not done any cooking. To not consult the cooks, who were right there, is ludicrous in this decision making process. Melissa actually chose a cupcake that had failed because we had forgotten to add the correct leavening agent. She chose the worst cupcake we had!
Now, it turned out we won the challenge. Not because our cupcakes were so great but because the boys forgot to add sugar to their cupcakes. Obviously, we don’t know that when we go into the taste test so the fact that the boys’ cupcakes were so gross is meaningless in evaluating the quality of Melissa’s decision. So how is this for resulting? After the show, Joan Rivers tweeted the following:
Even though Annie was furious that Melissa presented the “wrong” cupcake, we won BECAUSE of it. Maybe she should shut up and learn
This is a classic case of resulting. Joan is making the mistake of using the result of the decision (that we won the taste test) as the criterion for evaluating the quality of the decision itself. It turns out that we could have chosen any cupcake since there was no sugar in our competitor’s cupcakes. But that doesn’t matter because we don’t know that in advance. We can make a reasonable assumption that there is sugar in the other cupcakes. So we have to decide which cupcake to bring based on that reasonable assumption. Given that, the cupcakes should have been chosen on taste. If taste was close you would then choose based on looks. But looks should not be number 1. And given that the whole part of the team that was in the kitchen was right there it would have been easy enough to consult the appropriate people about which cupcake to bring to the taste test.
In poker, players very often make the same mistake Joan does. They assume that because they are winning that they are playing well. But, very often, you can be playing very poorly and still win. You can get your money in bad and still get there. We all know this. The key to growing as a player is to avoid Joan’s mistake. It is to evaluate the decision making process without the assumption that a good result means a good decision. Being willing to acknowledge that you might be playing poorly when you are winning is a key step to improving as a player. And we all know we are willing to attribute losing to luck. In fact, we over attribute losing to luck. So be willing to do the same with winning. Be willing to attribute winning to getting lucky as well. We certainly got lucky in the cupcake challenge when the boys forgot the sugar.
Tags: Celebrity Apprentice, Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers
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Friday, April 24, 2009 - P0ker J0
Hello my fellow UBers!
As I sit here and try to recap the week for you – I find myself feeling like I’m a hamster in wheel running and running and not getting anywhere fast!
So where do I begin? Why not start with Celebrity Apprentice? Wow is all I can say. I can see a cat fight coming and I think someone will draw blood!! When Joan Rivers compared Annie Duke to Hitler I nearly fell off my chair! (and for the record that would have been an unfortunate waste of merlot as I had a big glass in my hands!) I’m really at a loss for words and that never happens. I feel like I’m a rubber necker watching a train wreck! All I can say is go Annie go! You are treating this experience much like a business – keeping personal feelings out of it and focusing at the tasks at hand! I can tell you one thing – I’ll be glued to the tube this Sunday but will likely wait for the show to be over before grabbing that glass of merlot for fear of dropping it again!
I’ve got some big Pro promos on the horizon. Details will follow next week – but mark your calendars every Tuesday in May for the “Beat the Brat” promotion. I guess you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out who that will involve! Look out for new promotions with the rest of the team too. The pros are gonna get down and dirty on UB.
So I have a few kudos to throw out to my team! Good luck to you Hollywood Dave today as you play in that WSOP circuit event final table. As chipleader – take it baby!! (don’t forget P0ker J0 needs some new shoes!). And how about Absolute Poker’s Liv Boeree going so deep in the WPT Bellagio event! Way to go Liv. With her near the end were UB’s Matt Graham, Annie Duke and Adam “roothlus” Levy. You all make me so pride <<sniff sniff>>
So if any of you will be in the Daytona area this weekend why not venture out and meet our very own Tiffany Michelle. She will be at the Daytona Beach Kennel Club and Poker Room this weekend meeting and greeting her fans. Its a great opportunity to pick her beautiful brain and see how she is feeling going into the WSOP this year knowing she was the last woman standing last year. If you are in the area – check her out.
Last but by no means least – don’t forget to check out the great P0ker H0 on Rounders Radio this Sunday night!
Have a good week all! Until next week……
P0ker J0 Out
Tags: Annie Duke, Celebrity Apprentice, Joan Rivers, P0ker H0, Phil Hellmuth, Tiffany "Tiffany M" Michelle
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Sunday, April 19, 2009 - P0ker J0
Well hello UB land!
As always – its been a busy few weeks. Many members of Team UB found themselves in Vegas for the Bellagio event. Well at least that is what they tell me – but for some reason, I think a certain Beer Pong on Monday April 13th could have had something to do with it!! Click here and then follow the link under Red Carpet Events to view some pictures from the event. YES – that really is Team UB taking one for the team! UB logos everywhere – I love it and am very proud of my pros!! (even though I think all they won was a hangover!)
But there was business in Vegas! UB held a pro/player dinner before the main event. In true UB fashion – our pros showed the players the UB love! Dinner at Fix followed by seemingly copious amounts of poker strategy (and when I say poker strategy…what I really mean is alcohol!) I think a good time was had by all and there is video footage to prove it! Check it out here! I personally would like to thank the Team UB members for showing our players a good time – and a special thank you goes out to my pro that called me at 4:30 AM after the festivities were seemingly over!! Love you Team UB!!
So ANOTHER week goes by on the Celebrity Apprentice. I have a few words for the great Joan Rivers!! Wow – this is gonna get personal. I’ve heard that she has said some fairly horrible things about Annie and poker players in general. I take that all very much to heart as I know how generous and kind poker players can be!! Annie stood her ground and continues to play with dignity and respect. I’m not sure that I could pull that off! I would wanna pull out my hairspray and do some collateral damage to Joan Rivers’ face! Ok – I digress! Go Annie Go!! Sunday’s episode should be a good one!
Well plans are rolling for the upcoming WSOP. I will be a great series with Phil going for #12; it is his 20th anniversary since winning his first main event bracelet and it is UB’s 10th anniversary. As you can see – lots to celebrate. Details are being finalized! Hope to see you all in Vegas!
Last but not least – I am very happy to announce that the UB podcasts will be launching in May! Stay tuned for details. Our very own Hollywood Dave will be hosting these entertainment filled interviews – and since when is HD ever boring?? That would be NEVER!!
Ok – that’s all she wrote. Be back next week. Have a good one (and in the words of the great HD) Rock on!
P0ker J0
Tags: Beer Pong, Bellagio, Brunson, Celebrity Apprentice, Fix, Hollywood Dave, Joan Rivers, Phil Hellmuth, podcast, ub
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Monday, April 13, 2009 - Annie Duke
Oh…no…not me. I don’t tilt when I am playing a game. I might walk away from the game and then get pissed off…but never during. Apparently, Melissa Rivers hasn’t played as much poker as I have because that girl is on tilt. And I want all the poker players watching Celebrity Apprentice to take note of Melissa’s completely tilty meltdown so they will stop freaking tilting at the tables. Melissa offers a great demonstration of how allowing emotions to rule your game decisions never results in anything good.
So, here is why Melissa is tilting. Melissa knows that if I am friends with Brande that it is bad for her. Jesse is a very strong player so it feels unlikely that Trump is going to fire him any time soon. I have been playing a strong game and I can raise money so ditto for me. That leaves Brande and Melissa as the vulnerable ones on our team. If I am unwilling to throw Brande under the bus, if I side with her, then Melissa is the likely person to go. That sent Melissa (and Joan) on a tilt like I have only ever seen from the likes of Phil!
The problem is that Joan and Melissa both directed their tilt at me. Now, first, they are spitting vitriol my way because apparently they think it is my job to save Melissa. But it is not my job to save her, that would be Melissa’s job to save Melissa. And Melissa’s reaction is counterproductive to playing the game well. She is now completely reacting (with her emotional, limbic brain) rather than planning how to stay in the game.
Every time she goes after Brande I see it. Every time she rolls her eyes or shrieks for attention I see it. Instead of settling down and working her ass off to make sure she is safe in the boardroom, she is going after Brande in a nasty, personal way (behind her back). And her attempts to be nice to Brande’s face are thinly veiled because she is too emotional to contain herself. Not a good strategy.
Compare that to Brande’s non-tilt. I was never going to recommend that Melissa go before Brande because I felt that Melissa was the stronger asset to the team. In the boardroom during the Lifelock task I made that clear. After I criticized Brande, though, she did not tilt. Instead she took a breath and realized the comments were valid (after all she had said she was drafting along behind the stronger personalities herself!). So when push came to shove she didn’t get pissed off, she didn’t tilt. Instead she just addressed the criticism and stopped doing the drafting. She started taking a leadership role, being proactive, being an asset to the team. I saw that and became her ally. Why? Because there is nothing that impresses me more than a person who admits their mistakes and learns from them. Go Brande!
So what a study in contrasts. Brande remained unemotional and redeveloped her strategy to great effect. Melissa tilted and flailed about, hurting her chances in the game because she was unable to calm down and stop letting the tilt drive her choices. Take note of this poker players. I am not sure you will see a better example in a game of why tilting is so dangerous to a successful outcome.
Play poker like Brande, not like Melissa.
Tags: Brande Roderick, Celebrity Apprentice, Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers
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