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So Much to Say!

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:10:07 +0100

With the WSOP Main Event final table now set, I have a lot of hopes for my friend David "Chino" Rheem. He's one of the first poker players I met when I started out.

He really deserves to win out of the rest in my opinion. The guy is a constant grinder and scoring that final table and hopefully winning (I'm rooting for him!) will just add to how many guys from the "Miami Crew" (Mizrachi brothers, etc.) are successful.

I wish him the best of luck!

I finally opened my store on my Web site, so you can now purchase an autographed copy of my Playboy magazine from May '08.

We will be adding many cool things to the store as well. I'm working closely with some of my friends and affiliates to expand the store with all types of merchandise and not just autographed memorabilia. Be sure to pick up an autographed copy!

I'm also joining the PIC Club Poker Team. Before me, Amir Vahedi started as the team leader.

The PIC Club is a withdrawal and deposit option used mostly on the Merge, Gold Chip and Everleaf gaming platforms. There are a lot of poker rooms to choose from, like Carbon Poker.

The basic idea is you purchase shares in the PIC Club and those shares are then disbursed to the poker site of your choosing.

I recommend reading the licensing about how the investments work and the difference between ePassporte type options. Nevertheless, the transactions are almost instant once your account is set up, which is faster than NETeller even was.

I have been playing a bit online to see how the games are on the Merge network and they are SO juicy. The only issue right now is that the highest games that spread on a regular basis are $5/$10 Limit, but I am hopeful that it will change.

If you play No-Limit cash games and sit-and-gos there are tons of options! I am confident that this network is going to take off!

So, I have been playing a bit of $5/$10 to familiarize myself with the software and waiting for the action to get bigger, but sometimes I find it more grueling than the $100/$200 games.

In higher-limit poker, it's a bit easier to put a TAG playing on a hand than in a $5/$10 game. I was sitting at a six-max table with two LAG players and one TAG. The TAG open-raised with K3o.

Regardless of how the hand went down, it's just incredible to see what hands some of these guys value.

It's all about adapting to limits and adjusting to the players. Fortunately, I've been doing well adjusting to the loose play. Flops are seen at about 88% per hour. Super juicy games!

I have a few more announcements that I'll save for a later blog! However, next week I will be going to San Francisco to hang out with a longtime friend for a few days.

I have been to San Jose, L.A. and San Diego. But I'm quite excited to check out the San Francisco scene. I hear it's really cool!

Hope you all had a wonderful week and I will catch up with some more news as soon as possible!

Be safe and play your best!

--Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh

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A Home is Never Far Away

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:22:40 +0100

When I first started playing poker, I never thought that it would bring me to travel around the country, visit different countries or even step out of the tri-state area.

Although I have family and friends all over the country, when you are born and raised in a small state, you sometimes feel that is where you will always stay.

Although my current position in the poker industry is somewhat modest as traveling the tournament circuit and variance hits like a brick, I am so fortunate to have the best friends and best family in the world.

Whenever I had a substantial win, I decided, I could not enjoy it without the companionship of my friends from back home or my family. Although I've often tainted my victory by overgifting the wrong people, I have realized that in sharing experiences with friends and family that will always be there for me, I have no regrets ever.

This weekend revealed that my true friends are never too far away or too busy to throw some drinks back, relax and have a wonderful time.

Sometimes, the randomness of activities seems to excite me the most. I woke up fairly hungover on Sunday morning but decided I wanted to spend some time outdoors with everyone.

Dana and I decided it would be best for a zoo trip, although we could not round up our crew from the night before, as they all decided to sleep in.

Fortunately, we found one strong soldier, Carmen, and we all spent a nice day watching monkeys dangle from trees, a skinny tiger lying in the sun and I was bold enough to walk into the petting zone and hang out with some pygmy goats.

Afterwards, we watched a marathon of vampire-type movies and Carmen and I would take walking trips to get lemon water ice and came back to visit Dana, who seemed to have an affinity for the couch.

After Dana left to go spend some time with her boyfriend, Carmen and I were tossed up on whether or not to go see Wanted or Wall-E at the movie theatre.

We chose the new Angelina Jolie movie, Wanted, and absolutely had no regrets. It was one of the best movies I have seen in a very long time. We all felt like we were kids again.

This week upcoming should be another fun one, as I am enjoying the quality time spent with the people who I will always regard highly in my life. It's approaching Independence Day and I am quite the kid when it comes to any holiday.

If I could, I would celebrate every holiday, just for the sake of celebrating something. But on July 4th, I'm going to watch pretty fireworks. I think going to the beach to watch them by the water would be the best, or maybe even at a park, but in any event, it will be a great holiday weekend!

I hope everyone has a wonderful time celebrating Independence Day!

--Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh

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World Series of Jury Duty - Outro

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:46:19 +0100

Everyone has been asking about jury duty and well, it was what it was - completely dull. While I was fantasizing about glittering dresses, shiny disco balls and bright flashing lights, I wore a glittery shift dress and slicked my hair back.

It was a short dress and my heels were about four inches. I waited quite impatiently to "get the hell out."

My biggest fear was being sequestered to a long case, because that would limit the amount of time that I could work with the attorneys that I have hired here in Delaware, to register copyrights, trademarks and well, legal stuff.

Everything jurisdictionally seems to have a wait and I'm training myself in the "patience" category. Luckily for me, during jury duty, I brought a deck of cards and I was able to convince a nice gentleman to play War with me.

The scary thing about the four-hour juror selection was that everyone knew each other, and even the conservatives questioned my reasoning for being there. "It was an unlucky draw," I said with a sinister grin.

Anyways, I got a really cool certificate for serving. I may even frame it.

I don't really flash out the "fame" card, as it's often suggested because you are more important than other people. When someone recognizes me anywhere, I'm quite surprised and even flattered, and probably always will be.

I truly love it when people make pleas about their importance though and why they are so much better than the next. I laugh and usually just say, "Ah, that's cute."

Now, if people talk about how fortunate and blessed they are to have had certain experiences and how lucky they are to beat certain odds, it's classy. While Jennifer Tilly never claims to be the best card player, she wins and even when she is knocked out, she holds her composure.

Her blogs are always hysterical because she goes in and out of the crazy dream states too. We all know her movies and the scripts she chooses are often notably recognizable. She is continuously a wonderful actress and of course she's stacked in the right places, in my opinion.

In any event, I was talking to my friend, Paul, who was in the military for a bit and just got a cool gig doing IT stuff in Vegas after being released. We were professing our love for Sonic the Hedgehog. June 23rd marked 17 years of development. I'm kind of sad that Sonic's hair is less spiky.

I should have toasted my wine glass that evening to him! How cool is Sonic, the guy spins like crazy?

Anyways, I got one of those Wii Fit things. It's cool, if you're like me and prefer working out in the privacy of your own home.

I used to go to gyms ... it's distracting for me; I end up staring at hot men, unless I have someone to yell at me for losing focus.

Instead, I am now subjected to throwing hissy fits at my television as it gives me the high score on yoga and fitness right away. I wanted to work out! Why are you scoring me?!

The personal trainers I've worked with before have gotten used to the vulgarities being tossed at them. Good thing there is no penalty box for working out!

I also wanted to send out congratulations to John Phan, who certainly has the lucky Buddha on his side - very well deserved and nice job!

I'm preparing for my arrival for the Series, as I have had a rough year and spending time relaxing with my close family and old friends has certainly given me my spirits back as they are always there for me, no matter what.

Thanks guys! I love you!

--Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh

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Dirty, Sexy Beats and the Art of Breaking

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:29:17 +0100

One of my favorite bands always blasted in my ears during some heated heads-up matches is Thousand Foot Krutch.

More specifically, the song "Move." (You can listen to the tunes while you read - it'll set the tone for my anecdote.)

While I tend to listen to a lot of rock and house music, I love artistry and entertainment of all kind. But I really love playing heads-up. What can I say? I like action and I like it raw.

Call me crazy and yes, hyperaggressive, but I really like to overplay my hands and deceive my opponents. My style's sexy and empowering and never duplicated, although it may be imitated.

At some points I have been outmatched; at others, I was half asleep. Hell, I even loved playing the $5 sit-and-gos heads-up ... as long as it was heads-up and as long as I was being notably challenged and of course, walking away with a grin, win or lose.

If I'm running bad, I usually play 24-hour sessions, walk away dead even and call it a night. Booking the win isn't in the nature of my play all the time. Yes, I admit it, I can be masochist and quite sadistic. Who would create the nickname of "Jennicide" for themselves at age 12, if they weren't?

I play cards, I design, I write, I think, and I love theoretical elements, without ever forgetting my roots and my tendency to be seduced by underground subcultures.

My heads-up play is where I find my strengths. The victory in a multi-table tournament isn't as victorious for me. So that's never been my focus.

Sure, when I get in the position to win and play heads-up ... I might win, but chip advantages, limited breaks and having too much fun with the people on the rail and sometimes crapshoot structures, I get incredibly pissed.

Yep, I have fun when I play and yelling out profanities such as "Chooooo," "SFB," "Shoes," probably isn't the best final-table strategy, but I'll never care. It's just a game, in the end.

The "Chooooo" thing is of course Jimmy Choo, as I love his shoes. The other joke was after I'd score a sufficient MTT cash, still being in college, I'd buy a pair of awesome shoes.

The trophies for me are simply the memories, the experiences, and the never-ending fable-like stories that I walk away with, which not many will understand, ever.

I've also been exposed to the crème de la crème of degenerates, and yes, I admit, they "do their thing." I just do mine, and sometimes end up getting lost in my inner battles.

The beauty of my play is that I am a modernized chameleon. I can't even graduate from a college because growing up I wanted a degree in everything. Having to decide on a specific course of "studies" always terrified me.

I would often pose the question, should I focus my energy on mathematics, arts, science or expert cooking, sewing, and sportsmanship?

Well, I prefer the combination. Believe it or not, besides my obvious gaming and computer background, I played sports, did the competitive horseback-riding thing, was a dancer (ballet, tap, jazz), a musician, an ice-skater (my parents introduced me to it because they were friends with gold medalists), excelled in most of my creative writing and art classes ... and I really love performing.

I also play the clarinet and piano, and have a slight knowledge of how to play a guitar, although I practiced bass most of the time. Most of my friends growing up were artists.

As to sports, softball was my game for a while, as well as basketball, and yes, I even had private instruction in golf and tennis, though as soon as I suffered injuries or felt I had a sufficient handle on the activity, I'd move on to the next.

I usually hold a lot of this stuff back because it's hard to look back and know that you were a lot more diverse than you ever thought. My parents and childhood friends reminded me of who I really am, even though sometimes I forget.

Going through picture albums and seeing yourself develop from one stage to another is quite revealing. I never grow up!

Another primary pitfall with my interests was my lack of ability to focus on just one of the activities I liked. I never had enough time in the day to do everything, so at times, I folded or covered my anger at my quitting activities with a pretentious "dislike" for the subject.

The funniest is telling people I can't swim, when I played a lot of water games growing up and spent my summers at our beach home. Maybe I just don't feel like swimming or I'm too lazy to physically exert myself at the time.

Saying that I "just don't know how," has been the easiest excuse for me in everything to date, but unfortunately the ignorance card is being played against me, as my parents remind me that I do know how to do it.

Fortunately, my health is much better, as I am accustomed to being "ill" all the time with infection or physical disorders, which incapacitated me from moving on quickly. My writers' block is even going away as I am focusing on positive elements in and moving past the "wanting to balance."

Instead, I've found the balance in my life. In my opinion and in my own studies, since frankly, I barely attended classes in college at all and spent most of my time in high school in detention and cutting class, I feel that there is no primary difference between specializations.

Regardless of your specialty and interests, who ever made the decision to say you can't do it all, have it all, or at least see it all?

Well, I can be stubborn and immature and I can't tell you if that will ever change. In any event, I don't like it, and I prefer to live how I like, how I want and never be told I have to conform to certain rules. I like it dirty, sexy and the beats only make us stronger, as they are more revealing than the wins.

For a cool little update and insight, check out IGN: Vault Network - I just finished up an interview with them and it will be up within a week or so!

It promises to be a huge feature and was certainly fun for me. I've been a role-playing gamer since I was three, and if you're a gamer, IGN is the leading community to get the latest scoop on everything.

I'm also fixing my desire to design by launching my own clothing line, Jayel Brand. The reason I call it "Jayel" is that was my nickname my Grandpa gave me growing up.

R.I.P. Grandpa

--Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh

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World Series of Jury Duty

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World Series of Jury Duty

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:21:52 +0100

I'd planned on arriving to compete in the World Series of Poker when the events began. But instead I'm here in my home state of Delaware preparing for possible jury duty.

I'm certainly not thrilled about this event.

Unfortunately, I got hit with the ultimate bad beat. A few weeks ago, I received a summons to serve as a petit juror, still being a resident in Delaware as of June 2.

Although I travel often and mostly call Las Vegas my home, I still don't have a Nevada identification card, which they requested when I pulled out the "OH! I don't even live in Delaware anymore!" routine.

I engaged in a battle of wits with the judicial system to explain what type of hardships I was facing, but they failed to understand my situation. Nevertheless, it was ridiculous trying to speak with a live person.

So, I have a whole game plan for tomorrow and I'll reveal my strategy soon. Fortunately my educational background has allowed me to know how each juror is selected. My only fear is that I may be subject to contempt, because I have a slight attitude problem when I am in a bad mood.

I have been having a chain of nightmares of being sequestered to a long murder trial, in which I feel sorry for the 11 other jurors that would have to be witness to my bantering and childlike snootiness for the terrible circumstances.

I need to be in Las Vegas during these times! Yet, I am stuck in Delaware! I have to wake up at an unreasonable hour too! Reporting to the courthouse at 8:30 a.m.?!

I can't bring my cell phones, I can't bring any handheld gaming devices and I certainly can't even bring my iPod. These guys don't even compensate you for your parking sometimes!

So, here's how I'm going to play the juror card:

1. Wake up and shower. I'll probably need some sort of lavender calming stuff because my nerves are going to be frazzled as I know I will not be in a good mood. The idea of sitting without a vast amount of entertainment is absolutely frightening.

I am fidgety, hyperactive and my senses are incredibly alert at all times. If I do not have loud music blasting in my ears, I'll most likely hear every conversation in the entire room and start getting huffy and puffy.

2. Uniform selection is going to be the best. I figure if I pull out my favorite sexy nightclub dress and the highest stripper-like shoes I can find, I'd certainly be able to entertain my own boredom by a somewhat vulgar courtroom experience.

Now, a few years back, I would have totally gone the professionalism route. Tomorrow, I'll be taking on the "Playboy Model" role-playing game. I think it will be quite thrilling to get a rise out of the conservatives that show up.

3. I have yet to decide on how to wear my hair. I am considering something like the "Sexy Bed Hair." This hairstyle simulates the porn star hairstyle. I think it will be quite effective!

4. Bringing a deck of cards and a collection of vampire novels. These people are going to think I am too morbid to even serve as a juror while I challenge people for their lunch money in heads-up poker and read vampire novels in between my matches.

They never said gambling was illegal in the juror room. Since I can't bring my own food, I'm going to have to play for a better meal that is superior to the vending machines.

5. My selection of who I will challenge first will be an easy one. Since my edge is usually against men that have a weakness to blonde charm, I'm going to be searching for the first suit/briefcase gentleman. As soon as I spot him, I'm going to ask him if he plays any variation of poker.

I will then question around to see if there are any former and/or current card game dealers. Hopefully, I'll get lucky because my shuffling skills are lacking due to my online introduction to poker.

6. I'm going to win. This is my challenge. I will be a distraction to the entire judicial procedure and I will be dismissed early, instead of being arrested due to having a bench warrant out for my arrest.

(I pondered the thought of skipping town but was warned that I would be an outlaw! I wonder how much my bail would be set at though.)

7. If I do have to serve and am sequestered for any amount of time, be aware that I will not be a happy "civilian."

8. In any event, I have been very much into karaoke stage attempts and performing. I think I can work on my vocal training scores in the room I will be waiting in. Hey, if I'm going to be there, maybe we will all have a sing-along! Rock Band Jury Duty, here I come!!!

Regardless of my tedious adventures tomorrow in the Superior Courts, I have been able to connect with a lot of old classmates from St. Elizabeth's high school and enjoy my last few days in Delaware.

I thought I was a crazy girl, until I met up with former classmates during my time at my beach house in Delaware. I went down with my surrogate sister, Stephanie (she was my neighbor and babysitter for years - she's also a killer biologist and informs me of new and improved scientific discoveries) and her fiancé, Chuck.

People from my hometown are certainly unique and tons of fun. Did you know that if you drink too much and have a bad case of the spins and drunkenness, peppermint neutralizes the pH in your stomach?

It works and I am always so excited to let people know it does too! Stephanie always reminds me to bring some extra zesty minty freshness anywhere drinking is involved.

We all stayed with my parents at our place on the Rehoboth Bay and went to the Bottle and Cork in Dewey Beach, which is more of a beach party town during the summer. I ended up wandering off and lost my chaperones.

After getting yelled at for my drunken walkouts, I ended up with my old classmates during their beer pong, dice-rolling and card-playing festivities.

It's really eye-opening to see how diverse and fun everyone from my hometown really is. Since being back in Delaware, I have had a bitter taste in my mouth with the "I miss Vegas" itch, but the past few weeks here have been really enjoyable.

Thankfully, I am not the only gamer from St. Elizabeth's. Some of those boys were more degenerate than I ever thought I was! No offense guys; in the gambling world, degenerates can be the biggest winners.

I also had a few exciting dinners this week. If you're ever in Delaware, be sure to check out Mikimoto's for some sushi and of course, Moro. These two restaurants are fairly pricey, but worth the dining experience!

Hopefully, all my old friends will be out in Vegas with me at some point this summer and they'll see what they can do to bring more sexy back to the First State.

I must admit, as we've all grown up since high school, it seems we've all just gotten a lot crazier. Vegas, watch out ... Delaware boys and girls are one of a kind!

--Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh

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