Sending Good Karma to Daniel Negreanu

Way back in 2008, I was writing for PokerNews.com doing, among other things, event recaps during the World Series of Poker. I was assigned the $2,000 Limit Hold'em event which Daniel Negreanu won. I wrote the following first paragraph:

Daniel Negreanu went into the final table of this event the most experienced player in the field by far. For six of the other players, this was their first time at a WSOP final table. Negreanu not only had three prior WSOP wins, but had won this event before, back in 2004. So, despite not starting the day in the chip leader, it was not a surprise when Negreanu emerged as the winner of the 2008 WSOP $2,000 Limit Hold'em event. Negreanu won every hand in heads up play to earn the victory, his fourth WSOP bracelet and the first-place prize money of $204,874.

That has been on the front page of Daniel's MySpace ever since. It has been, I'll admit, something that has tickled me. I'm a huge fan of Negreanu's and I was glad that it was my voice that told the story of his most recent bracelet. I liked having my name on his page -- especially since it was spelled correctly, something that happens less frequently than Negreanu is spelled right. It's all about "a's" and "e's" -- I'll discuss that some other time.

So this is, I fear, how the curse worked. I apparently was a little too glad to be quoted and even remotely, tangentially associated with Negreanu’s bracelet, because as he proceeded to make deep runs in 2008 and 2009, I found myself having decidedly mixed feelings about it. While I think he's a terrific player and certainly wanted him to do well, I knew that when he won his next bracelet mine would be replaced by some other writer's recap.

Now you might think this is silly. But have you followed Negreanu the last two years? He’s had some good runs yet somehow fell short. Fellow Canadian Scott Montgomery won a bracelet this year and Negreanu still hasn't -- now that's what I call silly.

So last week I was on Keep Flopping Aces with Lou Krieger (on Rounder’s Radio) and I mentioned the curse and how I was lifting it. Honestly, part of me expected to read about a Negreanu bracelet the next morning. Well, it’s been a week and still nothing. Perhaps by putting it in writing that will be the final step in erasing it for good. I hope so, I’d like to see him win another. I look forward to reading the recap.

Gavin Smith Wins First WSOP Bracelet

I'll admit it. I have a bit of a crush on Gavin Smith. Others can drool over Patrik Antonius, but not me. I'll take the mischievous, twinkle in the portly poker player's eyes over the chiseled good looks of the Greek god. But then, this could be practicality speaking. As a middle-aged mother of two, at least with Gavin I have a shot. My husband promises he wouldn't stand in the way. But, as usual, I digress.

I had Gavin as my pick going into this World Series of Poker to take down his first bracelet. When I mentioned that in the ESPN chat room, let's just say no one was jumping on the Gavin band wagon. Of the list of "best who hasn't won" Gavin, they said, was not holding down the top spot. Andy Bloch -- he of the MIT and Harvard Law pedigree -- he was the next to get his first. Or Tom "Durrrr" Dwan, the online phenom who already had a pretty good run. But Gavin? Sure, he may have been WPT player of the year in the past -- but that's not the WSOP.

What people forgot is that Gavin is a savant when it comes to limit hold'em and he's not too shabby in the no limit either. The FullTilt pro knows what he's doing at the table. Like many great players, he has sabotaged himself at times or lost the killer instinct when it counted. But the ability has always been there.

As he said after the win, "I seem to be pretty good at screwing things up. In the past, I sometimes went out and got drunk or hung out. But this year, I decided to come in and try to play my best the whole time." There's never been a question about his raw talent. When Gavin is on, he's on.

He's aggressive, yet so affable that he can easily knock down his opponent's defenses. I remember one of my favorite Gavin moments when, during a WSOP Circuit event, he famously remarked, “I’m sorry for the bad beat that I’m about to give you.” He is disarming in every sense of the word.

So Event #44, $2,500 mixed hold'em, was right up his alley. Of course, not only did he have the smarts and skill to win, but his attitude was good. "The last three days everything just clicked. I played well and things went well and everything clicked at the right time."

Aided by the support of his many friends and fans, and with a determination to not let this opportunity slip away, Gavin took and kept control of the final table. But how could he lose, he had me in his corner. Well, not literally in his corner, I was railing from up above the final table, hanging over the balcony. I told everyone in earshot he'd win and then, risking jinxing it, I shook his hand during one of the breaks, told him I had predicted he'd win a week earlier. He promised to make me look smart.

And he did. The Canadian with the ready smile, who seems to enjoy life just a little bit more than the rest of us, has reason to smile even bigger. He now has his first WSOP bracelet. Congrats Gavin!

Meg Whitman v. Jerry Brown -- Who Has a Plan to Fix California?

I recently compared Republican nominee for Governor Meg Whitman's campaign website and that of her Democrat counterpart Jerry Brown.  Perhaps it's a superficial way to judge competing candidates.  But maybe not.  Because the differences were startling and demonstrate why one candidate has a plan to fix California and the other hasn't a clue.

Meg Whitman is not hiding her agenda behind obfuscations or clever slogans.  She's not running on platitudes or soundbites.  Her website contains a detailed plan for dealing with the many substantial problems that face the Golden State.  As the businesswoman she is, she has taken a seemingly insurmountable mountain of problems and broken them down into smaller, more manageable components.  She is a realist and knows that not everything that is wrong with California can be fixed right away.  So she has focused on three major areas that would be the focus of her first four years.

Her goal, if elected, would be: 1) to create good jobs in California, 2) to cut unnecessary government spending, and 3) to fix the K-12 public education system.  Three areas that, if addressed properly, could help turn the state around.  Meg Whitman wants the voters to know what she plans to do if elected Governor.  So she prepared  policy manual that is on her website, available for download, and also offered to be mailed to voters. 

Knowing her background, it is not surprising that Meg Whitman would take such a straight-forward, detailed approach to tackling the issues facing California.  She has an undergraduate degree in Economics from Princeton University and a Harvard MBA.  She went on to become one of the top CEOs in the nation, leading eBay to grow from a company with just $4.7 million in revenues and 30 employees to an international phenomenon with nearly $8 billion in revenues and 15,000 employees worldwide.  Meg Whitman knows how to lead, how to inspire, and how to get things done.  She has a track record of success upon which she can be judged.

All of this -- her education, background, experience, and her specific, detailed plans for a new California are all there on her campaign website. 

By contrast, Jerry Brown's campaign website offers some random thoughts by the former Governor Moonbeam.  Brown shares that. "Even though I am California's 'top cop,' 2 of my tires were stolen.  No matter.  I got 2 new ones and am rolling again."  Amusing, possibly, but what does that say about his plans for California?  He also discusses his birthday yesterday and mentions that he's planning a "Recession Reception."  So, while Meg Whitman is planning how to fix California's economy, Brown is planning on celebrating the recession?  That is more than disconcerting.

Jerry Brown's message seems to be -- I already know where the employee parking is in Sacramento, so vote for me.  He has nothing to say to potential voters about what he sees as the biggest issues facing California or what he will do to address them.  Brown is not even pretending to offer any solution to any of the myriad problems that have run this state into the ground.  Instead, he's riding on name recognition -- and the greater number of registered Democrats in the state -- to carry him to victory.  But if he wins -- California loses.  It will be another tax and spend administration, another four years of catering to the government employee unions, another four years of putting the burden of keeping this state afloat on the backs of just a few.

The two candidates will face off in many debates as the election draws closer and that will benefit Brown.  Because, TV is a whole different medium than print and he can charm and beguile all while saying nothing of substance.  That is why it is imperative for voters to read what the candidates have to say about what they will do -- don't rely just on TV commercials or the limited information provided during a time-restricted and strictly choreographed debate. 

If ever there was a year not to vote party line, but to research the candidates and vote on who has the best plan to make changes that will benefit the state -- this is the year.   California needs a governor who offers real solutions to real problems.  California needs Meg Whitman.