I love thunderstorms, but I hate the rain! Don’t you ever wake up and look out your window, look outside and take in the beautiful sunny day? I didn’t have the pleasure of that today. All I get to do is sing, “Rain, rain go away come again another day, little Jenny wants to play rain oh rain oh go away!” To say the least, it just makes me appreciate the dry Las Vegas weather a lot more. Viva Las Vegas right? Well…now it’s Viva Dela-Where!

Last night was certainly an off night for me. I finished watching some of my guilty pleasures on T.V. I’m so addicted to reality television! Man, do I love those marathons sometimes. Anyways, around 1 am, my mom was upstairs sleeping and I heard my little dog, Icey barking like crazy all around the house. You see, she’s normally a quiet dog, she’ll have a little tough girl bark here and there when she sees a big dog walk by the house, but she was going off the wall. So, it struck me as a surprise and I left my T.V. room to see what the commotion was. I turned on the front door light and she immediately went to the side of my house continuing to bark hysterically. I walk over to towards that direction to turn on the spotlights. I look outside and I completely freeze. There’s a man staring into our house. I’ve experienced a lot of “crazy” things, but it’s nothing like looking outside and seeing someone standing within trees and staring into your house. As soon as he spotted me he ran off. Oh my god! This was just completely terrifying! I think I just stood there like a complete vegetable for a few seconds until I ran upstairs frantically and my mother called the police.

The county police arrived promptly within 3 minutes and came in almost like a parade. Three police cars parked in front of my house, as one circulated the area. Two police come to the door and wow, one was really hot! What is it about a man in uniform especially arriving to save two damsels in distress? Anyways, they question me and my mother. Unfortunately, they couldn’t question Icey because I can tell, she had a lot to say! She got a better look of the creep then I did. I just saw a taller man in dark clothing before my mind went blank. So, after talking with the police for a few minutes, mostly about poker and Vegas, they kept watch on my house and the neighborhood. Fortunately, we have an alarm system and we lock up securely at night, but wow was that alerting! On to some lighter topics…

In yesterday’s blog I wrote a response to a MySpacer named Wendy about what my favorite WPT event was to play in. I mentioned Bahamas because it carries a pretty funny memory that I shared with my parents. After I got knocked out of the tournament, I chartered a deep sea fishing boat. We arrived at the pier and were out at sea and trolling for anything we could get our lines caught with! I really really wanted to catch a marlin. I don’t care if it was blue, or white, but I wanted one really bad. We were getting hits all day but were completely disappointed when we realized we weren’t skilled enough to react at the time of the hit. As the day passed of just a bunch of failed attempts at a wonderful moment, we were told to pull up the lines and stop trolling to head back in. Stop?! All I could think is, “Are you kidding me?!” I was determined! I was going to catch my big fish! So after everyone had their lines up, little determined me, savored any second I could. To my surprise, and I think to everyone else’s, I get a strike! I react quickly and WHOA it’s hooked! I start getting too overly girl excited and start repeating, “Oh my god! Oh my god! I got a monster!” Wow, it was some hard work, reeling that big thing in. As I’m waiting for a spectacular site of a beautiful exotic fish to come sailing out of the ocean and twirling in the air, my arms are about ready to fall off and I’m begging for my father, or the first mate to help reel this giant in. “Why aren’t they strapping me in the chair?” I thought to myself, however, I continue with the ferocious tug of war battle and as the fish gets closer to the boat, I see the first mate and the captain let out a smile, a giggle. They’re laughing at me. What? I mean…I’m working my butt off to get this huge fish boated and now I see why they weren’t making a big fuss of my struggle. The fish comes to the surface and it looks like a freaking bass. It’s a 8 or 9 lb grouper. Yes, my friends, my spectacular moment of thinking I am boating a 150 lb fish turns out to be a huge embarrassment. Especially after my over dramatic commentary as I’m pulling the thing up, “It’s a monster, it’s a monster!” Oh, I got it alright, monster laughs and giggles at me from my parents and the first mate! So…I thought I’d share my little deep sea fishing experience with you all! Don’t worry, you won’t find me in any competitions soon, I’ll stick to poker. However, you should see the chain of pictures my mother took of the struggle I had with the “monster fish” and then finally when it was boated the true face of embarrassment. To my defense though, groupers do have rather large bucket mouths and while trolling the friction of the water with the fish and open mouth gives it an extra hard fight. Okay, maybe not…but, I’m going to stick with that argument!

I’ve received a lot of questions on MySpace from more of you guys, and I’ll post them and respond in another blog. Thanks so much for reading and please, whatever you do…don’t stare into my windows! One creepy experience in my life is enough!

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this interactive blog. I have been trying to get everyone involved with AlwaysBluff from MySpace, but because of their new security with external links for spam blocking, I have to manually give the URL to this blog. So, I decided that I would post responses from everyone on MySpace and the comments and questions I receive here! It’s a great way for me to stay on the ball game to blog. I’m not going to discuss anything about my life or myself in this blog. This one is just directed to the people who have given their input and asked questions! Some of those people are even my close friends and family!

This comment meant a lot to me because it’s from my mom!

THANK YOU!!!!!
Sep 10, 9:40 AM - LadyMy (My Mom)

She posted a response to my little tribute to her in my first attempt at blogging. Mom, I love you so much and I thank YOU so much for being there for me through all the ups and downs. She’s an awesome mom!

The next two questions was from Joshua on MySpace:

Q: Hi I was wondering if you could give me some pointers on poker gaming. Or just talk with me on some stuff. Let me know! Thanks!

A: Josh, I appreciate the fact that you are interested in expanding your game. However, for me to specifically go one on one with you to help you enhance your current game takes a lot of time and I’ve been exceptionally busy. I can however, suggest the books that I’ve read to help my own game. For poker tournaments, I definitely recommend Harrington on Hold’em, all three volumes and the David Sklansky books, Theory of Poker and Hold’em for Advanced players. Also, one of the best suggestions I have is to analyze your own play by checking your hand histories, either printing them out or using a program such as Poker Tracker to find out where your weaknesses are and plug those leaks!

Q: Hey I was just wondering if you had any messenger like yahoo, msn, or AIM that I could chat with you on. Just to talk about poker stuff or whatever. Let me know. If you dont give out that information because of privacy reasons, I understand.

A: I’m not using your question to “call you out” or embarrass you. My AIM name was once leaked to public and I kept getting hounded with a ton of people asking me questions. I like to be logged on AIM all the time but when I’m playing online, it’s incredibly hard to try to screen those people. So, I keep my personal information like that private…there are certainly a lot of people out there that love to bug the hell out of you at the wrong times!

Here’s another two questions from a guy named Tonka on MySpace:

Q: I will be playing the 330 at noon at ceasars nov. 10 11 12. is there any other places u recommend?

A: Well, I’m currently not in Vegas but there’s many great daily tournaments with various buy-ins that cater to almost all bankroll types. Since you’re playing in a $330 tournament, I’ll name a few that will be in that range. There’s a $330 noon tournament at the Venetian daily as well as a $125 tournament with one rebuy later during the evening at 8 pm. There’s also a daily Wynn tournament that is also $330 that starts at noon. Bellagio holds daily tournaments as well, however the buy-in a a little bit steeper for $530 and that starts at 2 pm. Some poker publications also show the local tournaments located in the back of the magazine. Whichever tournaments you choose to play in, there’s so much to do in Vegas and I wish you the best of luck and hope you enjoy your time there!

Q: I was wondering how do I find a sponsor for poker tourneys? I dont play online poker cause I would rather play live.

A: Sponsorship has been limited due to the recent US legislation on online gaming. However, professional poker players are sponsored by large companies for their marketability and appeal to their company. Performance and marketability speaks for itself and if you keep working hard towards your career and showing your talent and ability, a company will certainly sponsor you. However, if it is a backer you are looking for, yet again, performance speaks for itself. Get a few tournament wins behind your belt and if you want backing to lower the variance between tournaments, look for some prospects that would be interested in investing in you. Most backing deals are a long term agreement have a thing called “make up” which is the amount of money the investor has put up for you and you have not “met” in tournament cashes. You’ll find many good references on the internet about what defines a “good” backing deal and a “bad” one.

Here’s a comment from MySpace from Monica:

Teach me all you know…i beg ya..lol

Response: Monica, I’m still a young player and I’m learning and expanding my game daily! If I could teach you anything, I’d tell you to stick with your goals and your passion and don’t let anything distract you from that! Thanks for the support and the comment though! Like anything in life, to truly master anything, takes a lot of dedication, time and persistence. Keep at it and I hope to see you at a final table!

Here’s a funny MySpace comment from DairyDave (Or should we call him DirtyDave?)

Hey Baby I want to play strip poker with you. lol. Have a good day.. DD

My Response to you Dave….Man, you get straight to the point guy! Thanks for having the guts to say that publicly! I mean…you’re pretty much saying you want to get naked in front of me?! Because, it’s strip poker and you’d obviously lose! Strip Wii bowling sounds much funner. If anyone hasn’t played Wii bowling yet, you should! It’s so much fun!

Here’s a comment from “Alex from the Block” on MySpace…it was sweet so, I figured I’d publicly respond to it. Plus he asks a good question!

Q: Jen.. i love u haha, so i put u in my top friends, hope u’ve had a good day, so when u next playing a bit of poker??

A: I’m currently in my hometown of Delaware just spending time with the people I love and value most in life. I play online here and there when I’m not doing other work. I don’t have any tournaments scheduled yet, but I will be shortly and I’ll certainly let you know when my next event will be! Thanks for the comment and I love all my fans and supporters! xoxo

The next is a comment from one of my friends P0rnFlake back in the day from the hacking/phreaking scene. Man, did we have a lot of fun! I miss those teleconferences (I know I know - it was illegal, you won’t find me doing anything malicious now! I was a bored teen)

Q: Yo, wow its been awhile..How is you? Havent heard from ya in long..<<3

A: I miss you all so much. I’ve been incredibly busy with poker and life etc…I’m sorry sometimes we lose touch, but I have a hard time balancing my life at times and I’m working towards finding that happy median. I hope everything is well with you. Tell everyone you still associate with I send my best and say hello for me! You guys always made me laugh…so many goofy memories!

This next one almost brought a tear to my eye because it’s from Michelle, one of my closest friends and roommate in Vegas. She was there for me through so many hard times and she’s always been such a great supportive person in my life. I miss her so much!

Comment: I can’t express enough how very proud of you I am. You’ve faced a lot of challenges this year and through it all you remained benevolent, poised and gracious. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful friend as you in my life. I treasure our friendship and only hope to make you as proud of me as I am of you. Love you! Miss you!

Michelle, you’re such a great person. You have the biggest heart in the world and I wish more people would see that! You are such a beautiful woman inside and out and you’ve been there for me through so much and have always made me laugh. I mean…come on…you remember me trying to walk on crutches and almost having a nervous break down thinking that I was going to get a needle at the medical center! I miss you and love you and I can’t wait until my return to Vegas so we can share some more awesome memories!

The next is from a bit of a critic! He goes by “I’m All In” on MySpace and his question is:

Q: You really think you can play cards?

A: I’m a confident girl! I don’t think I can play cards, I know I can! I believe in my talent and my skills and this game has been my job for the past 3 years. Being a professional poker player doesn’t mean you have to have 5 WSOP and 2 WPT to be deemed a “pro.” Those titles and bracelets are simply trophies for hard work, great playing, and yes…the inevitable great run of cards. I primarily play cash games online, but I will be playing the professional circuit and traveling more in the future!

Here’s a good question from Wendy on MySpace:

Q: I was just wondering what’s your favorite WPT Event and also who are the female pro poker players that inspire you.

A: My favorite WPT event has to be the WPT event I played in during the Bahamas. I brought my parents with me as a Christmas gift the second time I played in that event and was the last female standing and placed 42nd out of over 800 people. Unfortunately, I arrived on the island with a double ear infection, bronchitis and a sinus infection. Man, I was so sick! I had such a high temperature during the whole tournament that sometimes in between hands I would just lay my head down because I felt faint. However, I continued through it and even though I felt like utter hell, I attempted to play my best! After the event was over I was able to spend quality time with my family and we even chartered a deep sea fishing boat where I caught the first and only fish…it’s a pretty funny story and I’ll share it with you all at another time!

As for who my inspiration is as a female on the professional circuit, I’d have to name Jennifer Harman. She’s not only the best female player in the world but one of the best players in the industry. I love that she has been through so much in her life with all of the obstacles she’s overcome, mainly her health. However, all of the females that play professionally bring flare to this industry. There’s nothing I love more than seeing one of my friends succeed and I always root for the girls, unless we’re placed at the same table (then all the claws come out!)

Caleb on MySpace asked me:

Q: What’s your screen name on Full Tilt?

A: My screen names on all sites are jennicide. However, I sometimes play anonymously due to the excessive chat. It helps me focus more when I’m “incognito.”

The last comment I will leave to Michael, who just inspires me to continue with this crazy interaction!

Michael Says:
September 10th, 2007 at 10:32 am

You’re doing good, don’t ever give up.

Thanks Michael! I appreciate the fact that you take the time to read what I have to say! Thanks for the support and I hope to be hearing from you and everyone else soon!

This has been a lot of fun for me, and I’m excited to hear some more questions from you all! Keep them coming, as I’ll keep the answers coming!

xo

I was quite impressed about how quickly people responded to my blog. In this post, I’ll answer some of the questions I’ve already received and go on a bit about my thoughts on…well, a lot of things, maybe not in this blog but there will certainly be more to come. I’ll even give you some goofy facts about myself so it can entice you to ask me some off the wall questions. I mean, I’m a free spirit…so work with it! Wow, maybe I underestimated my blogging ability. I hope I can be consistent with this, because it’s pretty fun! So, after watching the MTV VMAs last night…please, let me go on a little tangent. Britney, Britney, oh…Britney. Her whole story is quite enthralling. She’s a talented young beautiful girl, that is known for her great performances, but got caught up in being the star, the life of the parties and always wanting something else. She found what she thought would equate to happiness, a husband (two if you count the 48 hour marriage) two babies and everything falls to shambles. Her performance on the MTV VMAs last night proves that she needs to work on happiness. I always question what defines happiness. I’m coming to realize it’s all on the inside. I sometimes search for my own happiness in the wrong ways, but I do believe we’re all victims of that. We think a certain person will bring us happiness or that dream car we’ve always wanted. Oh, but if you’re not a happy person inside, all in all…those “things” do not equal happiness. I’m so thankful that I’ve been spending time with the people who matter most in my life because I’m able to truly discover how I can be happy with myself and my life. As I was watching the performance of Britney’s big “comeback” or should I say “setback”, I felt so terrible for her. The girl wants to move forward and she really hurt herself more with her off beat lip syncing and nearly stumbling when she tried to follow her choreography. I wish the best for her and hope that the performance was just due to a bad day. Okay, so that was pretty entertaining for me yesterday other than starting this whole new world of blogging. Now, onto the recent feedback!

My first question is from a fan named Michael in CT that has supported me since he added me on MySpace. Thanks so much for the continued support and all your posts!

Q: I’m trying to find the part where it says I can ask you something (is that the contact me part or somewhere else?)

A: Well, I’m glad you found it! But, if anyone else has any problems locating the contact me part, it’s right at the bottom of each entry!

Q: Do you happen to know about the show Big Brother? The show is in its 8th season and one of the girls on the show actually reminds me of you….that person is Daniele Donato (who is currently final 4) and that’s why I have this picture of her in my profile and I have a Daniele layout a friend made.

A: I know OF the show Big Brother. However, I haven’t really gotten into it as much. I’m such a reality tv junkie also. I’m addicted to America’s Next Top Model, The Hills, The Girls Next Door, any of those goofy date shows like Rock of Love and I definitely love Entourage and Family Guy. Oh! How could I possibly forget my FAVORITE show, the Tudors on Showtime. It’s an amazing show filled with the history of King Henry the Eighth and all of the drama, the scandals, mistresses…it’s like HBO’s Rome…but set in Medieval time. A true masterpiece of a show I must say. So, I have a bit of a big television schedule…I’ll see if I can check it out if one of my crazy shows aren’t on at that time! Thanks for the suggestion and question…how does she remind you of me? I’d love to know!

Q: If you ever had the chance, would you want to appear on a reality TV show like Big Brother, Survivor or Amazing Race? Before you answer, I’ll tell you why I thought of this. Jean-Robert Bellande who is also a poker player will be on Survivor, trying to win $1,000,000.

A: Jean-Robert Bellande on Survivor was such a great addition to the new season. I mean, seriously…that man has been through an industry and is certainly a great game player. Although I know it’s going to start soon, I’m rooting for him all the way! He’s a really fun guy and I’m sure he’ll be very entertaining to watch, to say the least. As for doing a reality show myself, I’m SOOOO prissy that I would probably be the chick breaking down and crying every other show if I had to do some extreme thing such as touch bugs or do a lot of highly physical competitions. I’d be more fit for a funny dating show or a Real World type situation. So, who’s to tell in the future if you’ll see me on a show that I’d enjoy being on. Thanks for taking the time to ask some good questions Micahel!

A big supporter of mine Lisa left another comment that I truly appreciate! It’s not a question, but it’s something that I wanted to post to give a shout out to her because she’s always been a great follower of anything I write about or say!

Comment: Wow Jen! Very good read! My impression of you has always been of a very laid back down to earth girl and this just confirms it! The first time I came across you was in the cash tables on AP. As one of the railbirds I noticed someone give out your website link and I checked you out then said Hi to you and of course you said Hi back:) Always friendly but most of all-I love the fact you have made something out of yourself in the poker world! Being a girl myself it’s nice to see that it CAN be done with a start from online poker. Now, if I can just get some cards! LOL
Good luck to you with everything you do!!
~Lisa

Thanks again Lisa for all the continued support. Although, I sometimes can’t respond in chats or in messages, I always try my best to make time for the people who show dedication to poker, whether it’s through someone they like in the industry or look up to. I wish you the best at the tables and anything is possible if you follow your passions and dreams. Just keep thinking positively and it will happen! Online poker is an amazing way for women specifically to get involved in the game because it can break down that intimidation factor that some women are afraid to face in the live games. My best suggestion to anyone that wants to dominate online is to print out their hand histories and use programs such as Poker Tracker to truly analyze their game and enhance their performance online.

Here’s a comment from a guy who requested to add me on as a friend on MySpace and read a bulletin that I was now blogging…I did a little “lol” after I read his message.

Here’s his wonderful comment: you..suck

My response - Thank you for the add on MySpace and your continued support in reading my bulletins and blogs. I truly appreciate your….well…it’s definitely not apathy! But thanks anyway for your opinion, xo. …Anyway, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I’m doing this for my own entertainment and maybe some of yours. Like me or not, I am who I am and I thought this would be a good way for you all that are interested to get to know the girl off the felt (although I will post some poker stuff in later blogs.)

Here’s another comment from a man named Kirk Davis and I totally agree with him!

Comment: “I wish more women would jump on the poker bandwagon because I want to see them dominate!” (Quoted from my previous blog)
I say amen to that…..I enjoyed watching the Poker after dark week that was an all female table.

Kirk, this industry is saturated with men and it gives the public the impression that women are generally weaker players. I wish people would open their eyes and look at the demographics. If the fields were truly 50% men 50% women, I am a strong believer that the generalization of women being “weaker” players would be lifted. So ladies, if you’re reading this…let’s crush those stupid generalizations and prove to our kind that we can be successful at whatever we set our minds to. By the way, I’m not all about feminism, I just feel if we had more women in this industry, we’d have just as much equal opportunity as the men do to win tournaments.

And…last comment for this section of the blog is from Dave Corn who says:

I love you !

Sep 9, 10:26 PM

Dave, thank you. Although I appreciate the support, I truly appreciate you being so forthcoming and professing your love to me. However, am not ready to settle down yet and I’m really not looking for love at this time. It was a very sweet comment and it made me smile, so thanks again!

So, I figured I’d sum this blog up with a little idea of how I can be an airhead. I mean, it’s quite apparent how I can come across in some interviews with the giggly tone, but in all seriousness, it’s just part of me being lighthearted and yes, sometimes an airhead. I have my moments where I completely blank and the dumbest things just come flying out of my mouth. I find it pretty amusing after I realize some of the stuff I’d say.

Here’s a short story for you that some of my friends joke about to this day. I was flying to Orlando when I was 16 to visit my family there. I was fortunate enough to get upgraded to first class - my first time ever flying first class! Man, I was loving life. There was one first class seat available and my uncles and mother decided to hand it to me. Yay! I was SO excited. Remember, I’m from Delaware…at 16 and flying first class, I felt like I should have gotten a golden star that day. Well, I make a rather clumsy entrance with my carry-on bag, almost knocking a few people out and finally arrive at my seat. I’m sitting next to a rather posh businessman and since I was just loving life at that moment, I had decided to initiate conversation. How did my opening line go? “So, where are you heading?” His embarrassing response, “The same destination this flight is landing.” Wow, I mean really Jen, could you come up with anything more air headed to ask someone that is on the SAME flight to Orlando Florida? Well…I’m sure I’ve said a lot of different things that have been pretty goofy. But, my friend recently brought it up and I thought I’d give you all the honor of sharing that embarrassing moment! I learned a strong lesson there, charter private jets! No, seriously…I’m not that rolled yet, I’ll settle for first class But, you won’t see me starting off any conversations with an air headed opening!

Thanks for reading my second post! I’m proud that I’ve actually been a bit consistent with this thing! Please, continue with the questions and comments…it really inspires me to write and it definitely opens my eyes up to a lot of different things! Again, the comment section is at the bottom of the page below this post. I’m excited to read some more! If you post an insult, bring it on! I’m a ball of fire myself and like I said in a previous blog, I find it all entertaining.

xo

Jennicide, poker

I first want to start off in saying I’m not a great blogger. I’m not disciplined enough to wake up every day and give people a story on what’s been happening or going on in my life or on the felt. When I was young, I used to try to keep these journals beside my bed and actually after the first few entries, I’d stop writing and the journal would collect dust. I’d then get a prettier more decorative journal and repeat the process. However, whenever I do write, I feel a release of mental energy and it gives me some time to collect my thoughts and analyze them. You all should try it! Writing your thoughts for the public or keeping them private is a good way to start or end the day. I’m generally a private person, but I want you all to get to know ME. The girl behind the virtual felt, the rumors, the gossip, the stories. I’m warning you if you’re reading this, the guards are down and you’re going to get an idea of who I really am.

I find it rather difficult writing about myself in an essay. If I’m ever asked to write a biography, I panic and automatically find a writer to furnish it. So, I’m going to do an interview with myself for all of you to get some of the juicy details of who I am, what I love, hate and feel. I have a lot to say and I can be a bit forgetful, so if there’s anything I miss that you want to know about me, feel free to comment and I’ll publish your questions in another blog!

Q: What was your life like before you entered the poker world?

A: My life was incredibly easy growing up. I was born on August 10th 1983 and grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. I’m an only child and sometimes people get that read without even knowing me for an hour. My stubbornness and personality traits scream spoiled brat at times. However, I thank my parents fully for giving me a life that most children are not born into. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t brought up with trust funds or Bentleys in a garage, but my father worked hard as a business owner to provide for my mother and I. He is one of the most hard working, dedicated and the strongest willed men I know. I respect him and love him fully for what he is, stands for and what he’s accomplished. My mom on the other hand, is my best friend and mother at the same time. She has the most compassionate heart and cares for each and every person in her life. She’s a goof ball just like me that’s lighthearted and loves to laugh. Anytime I need a shoulder to cry on or have to confide in someone, she is there. My parents always wanted me to try new activities and sports. I did it all, except singing (I think I’m tone deaf!) However, I was never consistent enough to stick with anything. I was a quitter. In grade school and high school, I wasn’t the best student. I never applied myself like I should have but when I entered college, I had ambition and was completely focused to succeed. I attended the University of Delaware and wanted to become an attorney, specifically practicing corporate law because I could never see myself leaving Delaware and this state is one of the best to incorporate in. However, after being introduced to poker, I was placed on academic dismissal because my attention was now placed on this new found obsession. To explain “who” I was growing up, I’m a free spirit. I love to bend the rules and sometimes I got myself in trouble for being a rebel without true cause. I loved breaking curfew, cutting classes here and there, I didn’t take too much seriously. In a quiet setting sometimes I’d break out in a giggle or start talking just to break the silence. If I don’t, you should know that I really REALLY want to! I even got in trouble by doing some dumb things on the computer and phones. All in all, I had way too much time on my hands for my own good and if I could go back, I would definitely have chosen more productive activities. I’m sure if you’ve read any of my interviews or my bios, you’d know that I had an obsession with video games and computers. That is where “jennicide” was born. I created the alias jennicide when I was younger because the name sounded mysterious yet had a vicious ring to it. I love and hate that side to me, the warrior, the defender, jennicide…

Now that you know some of my history, we can go on to more present topics. The first question was the boring stuff…we can get right to the more entertaining details.

Q: You’re not as well known for your poker accomplishments as you are for your physical appearance, scandalous pictures and random gossip. How do you feel about that?

A: I’ll try to address all of the different issues but I may miss a few. Again, I’ll answer anything you ask if you want to know! With everything that has been said negatively about my lack of live poker accomplishments or my looks or gossip about my life, I try to just take it all with a grain of salt. I have come to realize that being in the poker industry, no matter how quiet I sit at a poker table, as a woman in the game, I stand out. That’s right! I am truly a woman and a minority in this industry. I love this game and I love being a woman, sometimes I think it’d be less distracting if I were a male, but truthfully, I wish more women would jump on the poker bandwagon because I want to see them dominate!

**** WARNING EXCEEDINGLY FEMALE RANTING BELOW****

There’s a lot been said about my physical appearance and I’m finding that even when I have insecure moments, overall I’m a confident girl, whether I’m in my best shape or worst shape. Working out is one of my weaknesses because I tend to be a bit lazy and poker isn’t a career in which I stay physically active. It has taken me a lot of time to come to terms with my physique. I hated the fact that I was never stick thin or have long lean limbs. Like some of the beautiful icons in history, I have natural curves and hips. Take Marilyn Monroe for example, she was actually a dress size 12 and a pant size 8. I’m currently a dress size 4 and pant size 4 but I definitely need to work on toning up. I don’t carry weight well. Okay, for all you guys, I truly apologize for having you agonize through reading this part. It’s kind of like when a girl acts you, “Does my butt look big in these jeans?” You just…don’t want to hear it! I don’t blame you!

So, onto the next sizzling piece of gossip. I had some revealing pictures on neverwinpoker posted of me and my best friend, Donna. When the news first hit me, I was completely outraged. That was a few years ago. I just felt violated because in all honesty the posting of those pictures was the first time the poker community saw pictures of me besides my icon on the poker site I played on and the photograph that was taken of me at my first live event during the WPT Bahamas. I used to wake up and wish the thread on that forum would just go away. Now, I can joke about it. I was a young girl having a good time with my friend trying on some new lingerie pieces and took some scandalous pictures. I liked my body, I didn’t love it but I definitely feel love the camera. That lead to me posing for FHM. I personally wasn’t happy about the editorial because it was my first time in front of a crew of people in nothing but lingerie. Imagine standing in public in nothing but a thong and more than 15 or so people in that room. Oh my god! It’s just terrifying, but once it was done, I walked out with extra confidence. I wasn’t in the best shape because I wasn’t working out at the time, but hey I still did it and I’d do it again but with more comfort!

Another big issue is the fact that I’ve dated a few of the younger male poker players. I can’t emphasize more on the fact that I’m a 24 year old girl that sometimes gets distracted by the opposite sex. I love men. I love their interactions, most of their interests (except sports) and I found that I was so consumed with poker that I had a hard time meeting men outside of my own industry. Even though every one of the relationships that were made public completely flopped, I’m realizing that during the times that I was serious about another person at the time, I didn’t focus on my own passions and dreams. Even though balance in life is key, as it is in the poker industry, it’s something that I’ve had a hard time dealing with in the past. I’m currently working towards balancing my life while staying grounded and I’m going to focus primarily on my own success and passion. Since coming to this new understanding, I like to go on dates and enjoy the company of the opposite sex, but I’m too driven, too focused to settle down with someone.

Given the fact that many people think that my poker accomplishments on the live felt aren’t substantial, in reality those events that I have played in and focused on, I’ve done well. It’s unfortunate that I’ve allowed numerous distractions to break that focus, but given time, my talent will speak for itself. I definitely plan on playing more tournaments on the professional circuit. I’m still young and I truly believe in myself.

Now you know just a little bit about who Jennifer Leigh or “jennicide” is. I could probably go on and write for hours because I’m a talker, but I’ll leave the rest up to you guys so you can relax your eyes from reading a bit. Don’t be shy! I’m taking this time to answer any questions you have about anything. Part of the reason I’m opening this up to the public is because I get numerous questions per day on MySpace and from my personal website about issues and just because I don’t respond to an individual question or person, this is the time for everything to be known! I’ll continue with part 2 another day as well as answering questions! Thanks for reading and I hope to be hearing from you all!

xo

Jennicide, poker, FHM

Playing in the World Series of Poker can be taxing on personal relationships. Balance is key in life and learning how to prioritize is especially important. Although it may seem easy, I personally find balancing my life one of the most difficult tasks. Since I have begun playing poker professionally, I have seen consistency with problems in my relationships that have not worked. Poker is a stressful and sometimes a heart breaking profession, especially during the World Series. I’ve outlined some helpful tips that can avoid relationship tilt (which I seem to go on quite frequently!)

Take some time off from poker. Even if the person you are dating plays poker, you don’t want all your time together to be spent at the tables or on a 10 minute break during the tournaments. Make time alone for yourselves as it is easy to get sucked into a pattern of always hanging out in a poker setting. After I get knocked out of a tournament, I have the habit of wanting to go back home or to my hotel room and play online. It’s more beneficial to focus on your mental health and your personal relationships to spend some time with the person de-stress until the next tournament. I have some GREAT tips on de-stressing, which I’ll write about in a future article.

Explore Las Vegas. Grab your partner and leave the Rio. There’s lots of cool stuff to do around the city besides play poker and its fun to go exploring with someone you care about. Go to a Cirque Du Soleil show, go to dinners, take a Grand Canyon tour or go to one of many of the nightclubs in Las Vegas. If you want to be cheaper, there are plenty of great free shows your date may enjoy in Vegas. The Masquerade show in the Rio isn’t my favorite, but it can be entertaining! There are a lot of people you may know in the poker world that you seldom see, so grab the person you’re dating and include them in some of the group outings that you attend. They’ll feel more important to you and during the time you’re busy playing, they won’t feel so neglected.

Use the time you have with your partner wisely. Spending quality time with the person you care about is very important. You don’t want to bust out of tournaments during the WSOP and bust out of a relationship as well. When you are alone with that person, let them know you value that time with them and don’t discuss poker 24/7. It’s okay to vent to your partner after you get knocked out, but they don’t want to hear you cry about it for hours. Unless you are playing EVERY event, during your breaks, focus on maintaining or building your relationship.

Don’t bring relationship problems to the table. Unfortunately, not all relationships are smooth sailing, so if you do have a fight or an issue with the person you are dating, do NOT bring it to the Rio. Don’t argue with them on dinner breaks or your 15 minute breaks. If they don’t understand why you need to focus on the tournament, then turn your cell phone off and try not to go into a frenzy over the person. Explain to them that you will be able to work things out AFTER the day is completed or ideally when the tournament is over. If your partner truly supports your playing in the WSOP, they should fully understand.

Like most things being respectful is important and if you leave yourself a lot of idle time you will fill it with a lot of things that aren’t important. Relationships with friends, family and spouses are and we aren’t the only ones that need confirmation occasionally. Let the people that you care about the most know that and you will most certainly come out a winner.