I’m not quite sure what I think of OddJack yet. At times it can be amusing but does the world really need a smarmy take on gaming? Perhaps Nick Denton’s other blogs like Gawker play to a different crowd of people who like to belittle the non-accomplishments of Manhattan’s elite but the entire tone seems out of place in the world of poker. I mean, how many ways can you try and humiliate Josh Arieh?
Believe me, I never thought I would be the guy defending Arieh because I’ve taken issue with some of his comments and actions in the past. But at some point, picking out one pro in the universe of professional players, and finding any reason whatsoever to rip into him borderlines on being obsessed.
But this isn’t even about Arieh. OddJack’s editor, A.J. Daulerio, seems a little out of touch with the poker world which makes his coverage of it seem that much more disconnected. Wow, a thread on 2+2 that implies that Raymer isn’t a good poker player? Hey AJ, go spend some time on there and nearly every single professional player has had a similar thread about them at one time or another. If you’re going for gossipy journalism the least you could do is cover something more interesting like laying odds on who the well-known pros are who are consistent losers in the Big Game. Next thing you know, AJ will be reporting the breaking news that Cloutier plays craps.
I think Gawker works because most of the people who read it will never meet Paris Hilton. The readers can revel in the sad folly that is her life. But in poker, I can go to Vegas (or Commerce or The Bike) and chat with Greg Raymer or Phil Ivey or even Josh Arieh. It’s far less entertaining to make fun of folks when people like Marcel Luske drops what he’s doing to take a phone call from a fan with cancer or when a legend of the game like Barry Greenstein dedicates his WSOP win to that same fan. The people Gawker covers are people who would only do something like that if they felt it would help their career and so when you see the same mocking of celebrity that Gawker does in the context of poker it seems so out of place.
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Hi, my name is Bill Rini and this is my poker blog. I've been blogging about poker and the poker industry since around 2003-ish. Like most people I started out playing poker as entertainment in home games whenever we wanted to sit around and smoke cigars, drink beer, and eat pizza, and needed a good excuse. I started playing online shortly after the first online card rooms opened and it wasn't long before I was playing 20, 30, or even 40 hours a week or more. One day I received a phone call about a program manager position at Tiltware which was the company that consulted to Full Tilt Poker on software development and marketing. After Tiltware I spent about 2.5 years working at Party Poker where I was the poker room manager.
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That link, which shows Josh A. in a not-so-flattering manner, is like a continuation of the ESPN coverage. Is he cocky? Sure. Is he really that big of an ass? Maybe. Is he worth spending so much time on? Probably not. Is wife is much more interesting, is hot, and should be concentrated on.
Yes, his wife is hot and would have to make the list of poker-pros hot wives. Also, I didn’t like Josh until I read his blog. He just loves to spend his time with his kids and you can hear the pain in the poor guys voice when he talks about being away…just a simple family guy who plays poker if you ask me. Seems like a good guy.