Looking back on this class, I feel that I learned so much even though I did not always participate as much as I should have. I wish I attended all of the classes, even though two of them I missed because I was sick. I think this is a great class, but it should be a twice a week not a once a week class. Technology is such a pain, so meeting up twice a week could help eliminate more technical issues.
I hated Audacity. There isn’t much else I hated. But I hated Audacity. That program was the biggest pain, and I hope to never deal with it again. I also loved Audio Extractor, it worked very well for my camera.
I knew from the start that writing a story about an illegal business in the United States was going to be tough. No one wanted to be seen on camera, and I can’t say I blame them. The fact that I play even had me concerned. The last thing I want is to become investigated by my own story.
Finding statistics that were clear and simple was quite a challenge. I ended up downloading a program that tracked my statistical records over a 6 hour playing period and I used those. Making this data clear was a very tough challenge, because I wanted the article to appeal to those who don’t play poker.
I would tell students next semester to plan ahead of schedule. If an assignment is due on Monday, plan on doing it three days earlier if possible. Technology can fail, and people can back out. It is better to have things done earlier rather than later.
When I was sitting around one day thinking about this assignment, I was playing online poker on PokerStars. I realized this is a great opportunity for me to write about something I personally enjoy. Since I have many friends who play, it was easy to interview people who know the subject. Many young men can also relate to poker because it is a very popular game.
I knew from the start that I needed visuals. Ignoring the fact that it is all online, poker is a game about seeing. You need to see your opponent and make choices based off of what they do. Also, online poker looks much more different than in person poker, so I knew that I needed to show the differences.
I also knew that interviewing was going to be key. None of my friends are willing to be interviewed on camera or even have their voices recorded, so I knew that was a big issue. I asked them to get me in touch with other players, and they did just that for me. The people I interviewed I never actually met. I exchanged e-mails with them, asking for in depth answers.
For many people, a job consists of working 40 hours a week (or more if you own your own business). However, there is one job you can get that doesn’t work half as much. Online gambling has become a big fad in America these days. No one can possibly complain about sitting at a computer all day and making big money. Web sites such as www.pokerstars.net and www.fulltiltpoker.net offer both free and for money poker rooms.
The average poker player isn’t too great; they understand the rules and basic strategies. However, the players playing for money online are far better than the average. For any person, $500 is a lot of money. If you are playing where blinds are $25 and $50, a $500 pot is fairly common. The web sites that host these poker rooms get a nice cut of the action, up to 5% on some of the pots.
To get new players to play, these web sites also have free play rooms, where you can develop your skills. These free rooms are meant to boost your confidence enough so you go play for money. The other free feature is called a satellite tournament. Up to 25,000 people play in these free tournaments. If you are good enough (or lucky enough) to make it to the top 64, then you get entered into one more free tournament where you are eligible to win some cash prizes.
Maybe you are wondering, how do these web sites make so much money? Their profit does not come from the money roomsn they host, it comes from player sponsorships. Every year roughly 6,000 players from all of the world play in the Main Event at the World Series of Poker. These web sites pay for these players to enter, and then take up to 50% of their winnings. Joe Cada, winner of the 2009 World Series, made $8.5 million in earnings from the tournament, but ended up with $2.8 million after his sponsor taking their cut (50%) and taxes. Even still, both the player and the business benefit.
All of these web sites are based in Puerto Rico or the Bahamas. They do this because online gambling is illegal in all but two states. The other major perk is that there are less taxes overseas and they do not report to the IRS or government. Most of the money made is put back into the company in the form of security. Last year, PokerStars was at the center of controversy when a statistical analysis proved that some tables were set up so that everyone except one person won money. Conveniently, that person also worked for the web site. Security is very important, so it is taken extremely seriously at all levels.
Is it worth it to play online poker? Probably not, unless you are a very experienced amateur. Reading poker books improves your knowledge of the game, but it is the real life situations that make your level of skill truly improve. Those who consistently play online can be found at up to nine or even ten tables on their computer screen. It takes an intense amount of skill and practice to be able to perfect that.
Poker Tables Online
As you can see from the table above, this is what online poker looks like. To view better, right click the picture and bring it to a new window. This may seem very complicated, but the chart is fairly simple. On the left is the username of every player at the table. The next tab says how many hands they have been dealt, followed by the % they have seen the flop. This is a very key statistic; if their percentage is low it means that they are very conservative. If it is very high, they will play almost any hand.
The trick to poker is to play the opponent, not the cards. And while online poker is much harder to read people, numbers do not lie. If they only play 10% of the hands they get, assume they are a tight player. If they raise, the chances are they have a very solid hand. Pokerstars is waiting, so go join now and play for free.
Ever wonder what it is like for a college student attempting to get their degree in Journalism? Check out the video below; it tells you everything you would ever want to know.
At San Francisco State University, students can choose from a variety of housing. On campus, there are several different choices. Whether it be the Village, Towers, or even Mary Ward Hall, students are given many different options. Around the housing areas there are also common areas and popular restaurants such as Subway. This is a view of the on campus neighborhood at San Francisco State University.
Andre Steinberg, 21, is a college student at San Francisco State University. He sat down for an interview with me, where we talk about online poker and the success he has had there. Andre hopes to one day win the World Series of Poker, where the top prize is currently over $8 million.
This past weekend, October 1 to 3, I worked as a volunteer during the Online News Association conference, or ONA for short. I got the chance to meet some very interesting people in online journalism who came from all over the U.S. and world. Over the course of these three days, there were plenty seminars and panels attendees could go to. Due to the fact I go to school and was volunteering, I only got a chance to attend two panels. The panels weren’t quite as interesting as the people I met. Some of the people I met work for Forbes, Marketwire, and the Associated Press. Out of these three, my favorite was Joe Webster, who is the Deputy Director for the Associated Press.
Joe was working a small booth outside of the conference rooms which was being used to show the AP Images. I was attracted to this booth because the pictures were all about sports. Webster gave me some very helpful advice that I want to share. He said, “Just make sure to market yourself and network. Do you have a blog? (Yes) Well I recommend you keep that going on even when you get a nice job. You never know who will see it. Also, make sure you communicate with everyone.” At the end of our conversation he gave me his business card and said to e-mail or call him with any questions. I got such a nice vibe from him that it made my time at ONA worth it.
Also working one of the booths was a young man named Matt Stallman, who is the media relations coordinator for Marketwire. We had roughly a ten minute conversation purely on networking. Originally, Stallman was an advertising major, and one of his major clients was actually Marketwire. In the end, Marketwire hired him away as an assistant, and now he is the media relations coordinator. His main point was that, “My job wasn’t just handed to me. I had to work hard to be where I am. The most important thing I did was talk. When I worked for my old company, I stayed in contact with some of Marketwire’s representatives. When Marketwire needed someone new, those guys recommended me and I got the job.”
Carl Lavin was the other guy I really got a couple minutes to talk with. Lavin is the managing editor for Forbes.com and the most quiet out of the three. I only mention him because when we met, he handed me his business card and said, “You look like a bright young face who is going to make a major impact.” In turn, I handed him my information on a piece of paper (since I don’t have a business card yet) and he said he would e-mail me and we could talk more. Sure enough, I came home Friday night to an e-mail from him explaining how happy he was to meet me and that he hopes I stay in contact.
I didn’t expect much going in to ONA; I didn’t know anyone and I expected to just get a taste of it. Instead, I found myself surrounded by the greatest journalists around. No one acted like they were above the rest; everyone was really down to earth and happy to talk. Let’s have a discussion. Have you attended ONA or any conference like that? What thoughts do you have about it?
The Dallas Cowboys have the biggest stadium in NFL history. Their owner, Jerry Jones, is a billionaire with plenty of money to spend. This year, their new stadium holds over 100,000 people at full capacity. Some say the stadium is just too much. I have to disagree; this legendary stadium is how sports should be. Honestly, who wants to see a game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco when you could watch it on a big 70 inch television in your own house? Plus, the concessions are much cheaper at home.
The best part about the entire project is the main scoreboard, which sits high above the playing field. It is 7 stories tall (roughly 70 feet) and weighs 600 tons. For those who can’t convert that to pounds, that is 1.2 million pounds. If that thing were to fall, I would not want to be living in Texas. I’m not a science major, but I can promise that if it falls (God forbid of course) we may experience a very big disaster.
The scoreboard caused many problems at the beginning. In a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans kicker A.J. Trapasso kicked the ball into the scoreboard. The ball hit some rails in the middle and came down immediately. Titans coach Jeff Fisher challenged the play and it was rekicked. The problem here is that no other stadium in the league has the scoreboard where they Cowboys have it. The NFL ruled that the scoreboard is within regulations, so there isn’t anything that can be done until next season. It is rumored that to move the 1.2 million pound scoreboard one foot higher it would cost $1 million.
Outside of the problems with the scoreboard, the stadium will revitalize the way fans see football and other sports. The average ticket is roughly $150 per person, but from what ESPN writers and celebrities have said, it is certainly worth it. I personally hate going to sporting events live for many reasons. One, there is too much alcohol that isn’t governed properly by security. The NFL has rules on when the sale of alcohol has to stop, but there is no way to check. I can go to a vendor and buy two beers (the maximum each time unless I appear intoxicated) and then go find another vendor and buy two more immediately, which gives me four beers to drink. Drunk people at a sporting event find ways to annoy the sober ones.
Two, even some sober fans can ruin a good family experience. I’ll use the time I went to an Oakland A’s baseball game as an example. Three women who were sitting behind me (all of whom I think were sober) decided to yell racist words at the African American outfielder. If I had a family, I would never subject them to that kind of language, especially at a ballpark. Same goes for football; and I’ve heard some pretty nasty things said before.
Finally, why would I want to go to a live sporting event when I can sit on my couch, pause if I need to use the bathroom, eat all the food I want at a much cheaper price, and be around only those that I care about? On top of that, if I have a nice HD television, the picture quality is better on there than it is live. What the Cowboys have done is give fans a strong incentive to come back to the stadium. Alcohol will always be around, and some fans will always be jerks during games, but I get the feeling that this new stadium will keep fans coming for years to come.
As an avid listener of National Public Radio, or NPR, I can say I agree with everything Josh Catone says in his blog. While other news companies are trying their hardest to keep the few listeners they have, NPR is actually gaining followers. I feel their use of social networking is the primary reason for their success today. Most people live on their computers, whether they are at work, school, or at home. We have iPhones and Blackberries that can do everything for us but make a cup of coffee (but it can tell us how to do it).
What NPR has done will soon become a revolution in the news industry. If you go to iTunes and go to the Podcast section you will see that a good handful of the top podcasts are divisions of NPR. Other top news podcasts include ESPN (which has about eight different types), CNN (about five that I could find but I think there are more) and the New York Times has one now.
Catone also points out that NPR keeps their news locally based. Throughout this blog, I try to keep the connections local and simple enough that everyone can relate. I have a hard time doing that though since I live in San Francisco but my main followers are actually in Orange County. To fix this problem, I take stories that both areas can relate to. Most of my sports stories are on national figures. The exception is Lance Corporal Donald Hogan; my friend who passed away overseas. The beautiful thing about Donald is no one had to know him to relate to my story about him.
While cruising through some sports articles on NPR I came across this one on the NFL and Jerry Jones. For a little background, Jerry Jones is the super rich owner of the Dallas Cowboys football team. His total franchise is valued at $1.6 billion. To show how filthy rich he is, the new Cowboys stadium was just built at a cost of $1.5 billion. The highlight of the stadium is the ridiculously huge scoreboard which is seven stories tall and weighs 1.2 million pounds. Yes you read that right. Frank Deford was the gentleman who spoke on the audio tape about this. The sound quality was amazing; even for an internet connection. There was no background noise, but there really wasn’t any needed. Had the story been about hard hitting football players I would expect to hear some hits in the background.
A view of the scoreboard from a camera in the stands during the home opener two weeks ago.
The other story I found was about women playing fantasy football. There was some background noise, mostly little beeps which symbolized the draft picks being selected. There is no published author online on who did this story; but it was a young lady who talked. One of the things I really like is that all of the women who they interviewed knew what they were saying. They also interviewed some people who ran fantasy leagues.
