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The Rush
My ridiculous run of cards has continued at the poker tables. I deposited $852 (the most I could scrounge into Neteller from various quick site cashouts) into Party for the bonus, and after playing the 1142 required hands, withdrew $1632. I put $400 of that back into PokerNow. I ran that up to about $560, and then had a brief dryspell, dropping back down to $330. It was actually a bit of a relief to have a downswing in there, though I couldn’t really tell you why. Since then, I’ve built my PokerNow balance back up to $810, mostly just through straightforward play, insane cards, and bad players.
Since the beginning of February, my winnings at .25/.50 NL 6max: 22.96 BB/100 over 8500+ hands. I don’t think there’s any way that can hold for much longer.
I was going to save this for a few more days to hopefully get to title a post “Thirty seven?! In a row?”, but I just can’t wait anymore. According to Poker Tracker, since the beginning of February, I’ve been dealt AA 35 times. It’s always held up. Every. Single. Time. I’m not just pushing all in preflop and winning the blinds, either. I never made more than a pot sized raise preflop, and once (and only once) I actually slowplayed and just called a raise from the big blind. There were a few huge pots, and one fairly tough call, in there. I think some people will want some proof. This is the closest I can come:
Poker Tracker Guide
News of Hank and Iggy‘s Poker Tracker Guide has been all over the poker blogger world lately. I haven’t bought it, and don’t know if I will. I’m sure I’m losing money by not having it (though it is geared towards limit, which I haven’t been playing lately). I’m sure the content is very much worth reading and it would help me out a ton. The price is more than fair, and a tiny fraction of what it would probably help me win. There’s one simple reason I’m not buying it: DRM.
I’m certainly against piracy and copyright infringement (I write software for a living), and by no means think they should be just giving this information away. As I said, $20 is a perfectly reasonable price (and probably too low) for all the help this book will give. Iggy and Hank deserve to get paid for their hard work in putting it together. I just have serious issues with any sort of DRM, especially a system as restrictive as theirs seems to be. When (if) I buy an eBook, I want to be able to read it on my terms. I want to be able to read it on my Windows machine, my Linux machine, my Treo, and my laptop (if I ever get the damn thing fixed). I don’t want it to take over control of my computer while I’m reading it. I might even want to cut and paste a small section of it for a review, and not have to retype it. It appears I can’t do most of those things. I also don’t like invasions of my privacy (see the last sentence of the second paragraph below).
Note: The anti-piracy software we’re currently using does not allow users to access the file menu of other programs while the ebook is open. This means that while the e-book is open, other applications such as Poker Tracker will not operate properly until the e-book has been closed. We’re working on finding a better anti-piracy solution, and promise to send out new copies to everyone that’s purchased the book if we find better software.
To help prevent illegal access to the book, we only allow the e-book to be opened on one and only one computer. After you’ve completed your purchase, you will be directed to a web page that allows you to download a “zipped” (.zip extension) executable file (.exe extension). The first time you open this file, you’ll be asked to enter your personal access code that you received via email when you purchased the product. After entering this code, the file will function as a normal Adobe Acrobat file (.pdf extension), and you’ll never be asked to input your code again. Any attempts to open this file on another computer will result in a notification sent to our support team.
I don’t have a solution. I understand the need to protect it, but I also feel strongly enough about it that I’m not willing to buy it. I don’t like being treated as a criminal because other people are. When I buy a piece of media, it should be mine to do with as I please, short of mass distribution.
If it was a printed paper book, I’d probably buy it.
GameTime +
Quick review: Get it. You need it. Here.
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G&P, for the most part I agree with your sentiments. However, our logs are currently showing more piracy attempts than we are comfortable with, so I feel like we need to do something. Our solution is not even close to optimal, but good DRM is a little bit over our heads budget wise. We’re working on a better solution, and most likely will just end up sending it out naked and trusting our customers. Thanks for the feedback.
Yeah, it sucks that’s this kind of thing is necessary, but I understand how you feel. It’s a shame there are already so many people trying to copy it. I don’t think I’d really be thrilled with any sort of DRM, but something a bit less restrictive would be better.
I hate the damn pirates that ruin it for the rest of us.