Jena Delk’s Blog

Early Saturday morning I called Tina Tellone, a close friend of mine, to see about her joining me in Daytona Beach Kennel Club for a day of poker action.  Tina arrived 45 minutes late and on her 4^th hand found herself on the button with pocket kings.  Five women limped in to the hand with her and the blinds to go, she announced, “this is NOT a button raise I just happen to be sitting where it is located.”  With a raise of $600 everyone called including the blinds.  The flop came with an Ace, as if there would be any doubt.  The small blind let out with $600 and everyone folded to Tina you could see the steam shooting out of her ears and she called the bet.  Later I asked why and she said, “I had to see what Ace was so valuable on a 50/100 blind level with a pre-flop raise of $600“.  They checked it down from the flop and the woman turned over Ace/Eight off-suit.

After the hand I hear from the table where she was, “just so you know my chips have GPS tracking in them and I will be getting them back”.  Sure enough Tina did just that. The very next level got them all back and then some!  She did it by limping in with pocket 8’s and spiking a set on the flop! The poker gods were smiling as she boated against the woman’s nut flush at the river.  Tina doubled up through the very woman who cracked her Kings.

She was definitely on her game correctly calling hole cards hand after hand, she was unstoppable.  Accurately assessing the final table Tina offered the woman expected to make it to heads up a chop.  No thanks! Final table action lasted 45 minutes and it was Tina vs. the reluctant chopper. This woman wasn’t willing to concede the trophy or title even though Tina had the chip advantage.  Tina laughingly said, “That’s fine, I’ll win it outright” and it only took 14 hands

I am reminded of a similar reluctant chopper story from my background.  It was the 2008 WSOP Ladies circuit event at Harrah’s New Orleans.  First place was $16,700 with $9,185 for second.  After clearing most of the final table I ended heads up.  I offered my opponent very generous even money deal with me retaining the title and the gold WSOP Circuit pendant necklace. She declined even though I had 85% of the chips. I won the tournament two hands later.

Tina was on Cloud 9 with her win and decided pickup some extra funds from the cash game.  I think she was more excited about winning the trophy than the cash.  Trophies are tangible reminders allowing  us bragging rights and reminiscent feelings of triumph.  Congratulations, Tina!  Love you!

On Sunday, November 21st at 4:00pm EST, @FallenHeroesUSA is offering a charity poker tournament for a $10 buy in, half of which goes back to the FallHeroesUSA.org fund.  Fallen Heroes raises funds to help the families of U.S. Law Enforcement Officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.  The $5+5 buy in tournament will host a number of bounties on various players, plus additional prizes and giveaways from a host of different companies.  Help us raise some money for this great charity. For more details follow: @FallenHeroesUSA and @DeputySD.

Register for this event and show your support! Full Tilt Poker Event ID: 190775719  |  Password: FHUSA

Just on the heels of final tabling Event 4 of the Isle Open Poker Champion, I have made day 2 in the Championship event.   I will be playing tomorrow in Day 2.  There were two day ones.  103 players were in the running on Day 1a with approximately 48 returning from that flight.

This is the Isle first $2,200 event and they are doing it with style. We were treated with a compilimentary surf and turf buffet at the acclaimed Farraddays.  What a menu! French Onion soup, buffalo shrimp, Seared ahi tuna, Rigatoni Carbonara, roasted beef tenderloin, lobster tail, roasted yukon potatoes, fire-charred tomatoes and roasted garlic and balsamic portablella mushrooms.  For desert we were offered warm chocolate cake, key lime pie, carrot cake, and creme brulee.  They tossed in a glass of wine and beer.  Really top notch stuff!

Off to dinner–I’ll write more later!

Here is an article written by guest writer, Glenn E. Franco. Thanks for contributing, Glenn!

Many poker players out there young and old play this game with the kind of aggression that reminds me of first person shooter video games. These include games like Halo 3, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six, and Rogue Spear truly the list goes on and on. Why would these things remotely relate to poker you ask? Well, if you have ever played any of these games or similar games you will have either run into a “spray & pray” player or been one yourself. Many poker players remind me of this and I will use these games as an example to show you why playing with this stubborn unwise aggression hurts your poker game & how folding is a much more effective offensive weapon than you can ever imagine!

Picture yourself beginning play in a first person shooter as described above. When the game begins you have your weapons chosen, your ammo is locked & loaded, your health is at 100%, and you have all your special equipment (grenades, etc) ready to rock & roll. You can see your health, ammo left, & score on the screen in front of you as you navigate the game. Hits cost you health & wasted shots deplete your ammo. This seems simple but as most game players know it’s NOT. You can pick up ammo & equipment from other players in the game as you take them out and if you’re lucky you run across health upgrades in the game too. You do have just a finite amount of ammo & health at any given time throughout the game and when you’re out of health & ammo … YOU’RE DEAD. Poker is NO different!

So what kind of gamer should you be to survive in a first person shooter environment? Should you be RAMBO all gung ho, jumping out & spraying bullets wildly at your opponents? NO WAY. Sure there are many players just like this but they always find themselves on the casualty list pretty quickly. In order to survive & thrive in the first person shooter environment you have to conserve ammo & protect your health from taking too many hits. You stay under cover as often as you can keep yourself out of your opponents’ crosshair’s & choosing your shots wisely. You continually watch your back picking up every stray bullet & health upgrade you find along the way. This is how you become a successful first person shooter gamer. Poker is NO different!

A lot of poker players see folding as one of the weakest options during poker play. They either play way too many hands all the time or they get bored quickly & begin playing weak hands. They may grumble & gripe about never getting a good hand and before they know it they start playing sub par hands just to end their poker boredom. All of these players find their stacks getting smaller & smaller. Playing weak hands in poker is exactly the same as taking risky shots & wasting ammo in the video game. You are showing yourself to the other players at the table leaving cover & taking “hits” on your chip stack. Folding weak hands in poker is actually one of the ultimate offensive weapons in your poker arsenal! Folding these hands and waiting on the right hand to play saves your chip stack “ammo” and keeps you “under cover” as the other players at the table get less of a read on you & don’t see you as reckless & waiting to be trapped. The more chips you keep in your stack not only protects you from a bad beat here & there it also maximizes your winning hands. The healthier your stack is also equals you lasting longer in the game.

So guys & gals the next time you sit down to play always remember this. Folding is a GREAT offensive weapon & it’s a great way to keep you alive in the game! When you sit down at the table picture yourself as a character in a first person shooter game and look at your table mates as the enemies in this game. Picture yourself taking careful shots from cover and eliminating your enemies with great shots taking very few hits yourself. When you minimize chip losses to bad hands and play poker the right way you will find yourself both lasting longer in tournaments and finding yourself in a great position to win! This also holds true in cash games where your “chips” is your actual cash money. You definitely don’t want to be wasting ammo in that game!

In closing I just want to say that I hope this helps shed some light on the power of folding and I wish you all the absolute best on the felt!

~GLENN FRANCO

1. When and how did you get started playing poker?

I was having some significant health problems in late 2005 and was not able to get out much. I was basically on bed rest for about six months. So my husband bought a laptop to help me pass the long days. In early 2006 after I got bored with hacking around on the internet, I found my way to the free games on Full Tilt Poker. The rest is history, so to speak. As my health improved, my first outings were to play live poker.

2. What would you consider to be the defining moment in your poker career thus far? The defining moment in my poker career was when I finally learned the hand rankings. I remember being in a live tournament trying to decide if a full house beat a straight or not. It’s humbling to admit I played video poker for years without knowing what comprised a flush. Who knows how much money I gave away by not recognizing the need to save cards of the same suit? 3. With 4 children how do you effectively balance poker and life? Since all of our children have graduated high school and moved out of the house balancing life with the kids really isn’t much of an issue anymore.

6. If you were asked to give a room full of young poker hopefuls one piece of advice what would it be? Know yourself and act on that knowledge to protect your game and bankroll. Identify anything that adversely affects your game and take steps to minimize its effects. It is a great sign of maturity to know and act on physical, mental, and emotional limits. If you are feeling angry, don’t play. If you are sick, don’t play. Listen to yourself and take care of your body.

7. How did you feel the day you won the New Orleans Bayou Poker Challenge? There were 269 entrants in this WSOP ladies event called the “Cajun Queen Classic”. In addition to the prize money and circuit title; I got my first piece of poker jewelry! The day started happily as I chatted it up with my table mates.I really enjoy the social side of the ladies events.Many of the less seasoned ladies will tell you how and why they played a particular way, if you have been friendly and ask. I struggled the first half of the day with no good spots or significant luck to build a stack. I headed to dinner break feeling somewhat defeated and short on chips. My friend Jack gives me a pep talk of a lifetime over dinner.I returned from dinner refreshed with a sense of determination. I doubled up on my first hand after dinner when I flopped a set of eights against an aggressive lady, who overplayed her top pair, good kicker.From there I literally did not lose a hand I selected to play.I was catching cards like I never had before in my short poker career. Talk about being a LuckBox! I knocked players out so fast that I did not have time to get my chips stacked between hands. It was so surreal.

10. I like to leave this open to you, is there anything you would like to say to those reading today? I am developing a relationship with Poker Pros Network. While we are in the early stages of development, I feel comfortable inviting you to check out my poker room on The Poker Pros Network. Just click on this link and choose “RUN” and Install. This will load your connection to the Jena Delk players lobby and my private offerings and games. Come Play with Me! Private games and educational opportunities are being developed. Please visit my website at www.jenadelk.com to keep up to date on my current happenings

PokerNations & TPT Charity Tournament

Hosted By Andy Bloch!

Date: Sunday, Sep 19, 2010
Time: 4pm EST (1600 server time, 1pm PST, 9pm GMT)
Site: Full Tilt Poker
Tournament ID: 172330870
Buy-In: $10+$10 ($10 to the prize pool, $10 to PokerGives)
Game Type: No Limit Texas Hold Em (1,500 starting chips)
Password: poker

September is National Poker Month and you can help show the world that the poker community is a positive force by playing in this event. You’ll be helping to contribute to four great charities while being able to compete with your favorite pros and become eligible for huge prizes!

Early Registration Bonus - CardRunners Membership (valued at $130)

You must pre-register for this tournament on Full Tilt Poker by September 1st, 2010 and play the event. You must post in our forum thread with your full tilt username by the same date in order to be eligible. One winner will be randomly chosen from all eligible early registrations.

Special Prizes - Awarded In Separate Drawings - Oct 4, 2010

The winner of our online event will be entered into a separate drawing along with the winners of other events held throughout National Poker Month at land-based casinos for the prizes below. Post your full tilt username by the end of Level 1 to be eligible:

(2) WPT Celebrity Invitational Seats - (value priceless)

Two winners will be selected to play in the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational Tournament. This is a $200,000 televised freeroll that you cannot buy into, you must be invited. You’ll rub shoulders with Hollywood celebrities and famous poker pros at the Commerce Casino in California.

WPT Boot Camp Seat - (valued at $1,895)

Take your game to the next level with in-person instruction from professional poker players who’ve racked up millions in winnings via cash games and tournaments and you could be the next poker millionaire!

CardPlayer Cruise Poker Trip - (valued at $1,200)

Enjoy a fabulous cruise to Mexico while playing your favorite poker cash and tournament games. You’ll meet pro players and fellow poker fans while enjoy life on and off the felt!

One Hour Private Poker Lesson - (valued at $300 each)

Mike Sexton and Linda Johnson have both graciously offered to provide a one-hour lesson via phone to two seperate winners.

Exclusive Prize To Our Winner - (valued at $100)

1 hour shadowing session. This entails an free online poker analysis and discussion (via skype or yahoo messenger). Prize can be gifted to a friend or family member. Provided by PokerInstructors.com

The following pros have expressed to us they will be playing

Andy Bloch, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Susie Isaacs, Chip Jett, Karina Jett, Jena Delk

The response to my last blog post has been very kind. Thank you everyone! I appreciate all the prayers, encouragement and offers of help you have provided. It helps to feel that I am not alone. However, my reason for writing the post was selfish. I want to understand myself and am seeking clarity to the matter.

My soul searching is going to continue. I am seeking to understand myself so that I can undo the damaging effects of my character flaws.

I want to live the rest of my days knowing that I have done my best to live this life fully present in the moment. I will no longer live in the past to be haunted by my mistakes. I will not live in the future where ” what ifs” are not yet known. My life will be spent in today. I will live in today in such a way that I will have no regrets in my tomorrows.