Hot Seat... Week 1 .... VANZACK

Post 168 was a very long response to post 136.

What happened?

A blank post has never happened before.

I'm gonna fess up....I thought you were full of shit according to this....

https://www.pokerprolabs.com/vanzack/PokerStars.aspx

But they only go back to 2007.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then I found this.....

https://www.officialpokerrankings.com/pokerstars/vanzack/poker/results/D711252163DA43CCA8973CF77329239D.html?t=2

You won $13,688 on July 14 2005.....and $9983 on Jan. 6 2005.

Not sure why you stopped playing with that record.

Hope this didn't screw the page up. 

How about that?  I even underestimated what I won.

To answer your question, I would have to refer you to the thread I linked to Kursk - because that is what I believe about poker.  My success was variance, not skill.

Glad you found that though.  I was waiting for Wrigley to come in here and tell me how nobody could win 12k in a tournament, and that I am obv full of shit, and a fraud.

I cannot wait for that season  Keep sending in the auditions.

Hey Van

Have you ever considered writing a book, kind of in a diary style with your betting philosophies and experiences down through the years tied in.You seem to have a clever wit and a good way with words.

The book could be kind of like Michael Murray's Betting Baseball series or Michael Konik's experiences with Billy Walters in The Smart Money.
I don't know if you've ever read any of these but you get the idea.

Also any reason you avoid hockey bets ??
I just started betting it on a regular basis last year and I'm no expert by any means but I find it the easiest of US sports to cap and it's also great to watch.

btw Superbeets, this is a great idea and hope it continues for the rest of the year  

Quote Originally Posted by TRAIN69:

I'm a dinosaur on this site (like yourself) and love to battle with the newbs. However, me and you seem to always butt heads. I read above about posting what the "current line" is, and thats where we had our last debate. I understand what you are saying, but to me thats being truthful. I post what I play and have done so for years. I play some the night before and then post in the morning all of my plays in one thread. If someone wants to aks me if I still like a line, thats fine, but postinga line I didnt play just isnt me.

You wanted to know why I always got "the best line". As you well know, there are tons of books and loclas out there. Some shade the fav and certain totals. Just like you, I dont get into units or the price of plays. Like I explained, if I buy a hook, I look for a place where the juice has made it more valuable to buy. I play some lines on opening and wait for others. I bet more dogs than favs. All my lines are available (some with buying a hook) or where available if you were a night hawk.


 What some of these people need to learn is that it is a double edge sword....the early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese, meaning that jumping on a soft line a wise move, but waiting on others to jump on the bait and raise the line is lesson you must learn if you want to be profitable.

I guess my question is, what do you think of this TRAIN69 character?

Alright - back to work.....

I promised to be honest in this thread - so here goes.  Do I like you (or the "train" character)?  Nope.

You consistently post unavailable lines.  You consistently dont explain that you supposedly pay extra to get those lines.  You consistently do anything to get attention, such as thread titles and outrageous statements.  When confronted, you consistently dodge the issue and blow it off - like you do in your question to me - saying "that is just me".

So no, I dont like what you post.  It goes against what I believe this place is for, and is crystal clear why you do it - for attention.  Can you tell me a reason to post an unattainable line otherwise?  Can you tell me a reason to not explain that you supposedly purchase points, but conveniently dont include those extra costs in your record?  Im not an idiot, and surprisingly neither are a lot of other people here.  They tolerate you, but know what you are up to.

Is it just a character?  Maybe, who knows.  But the difference between the vanzack yacht going supermodel blowing character and you is that I draw the line at gambling.  I shoot it straight, and feel that if you are posting a pick it is to help people out.  Why do you post picks?  Try to answer that honestly because I cant come to any other answer that doesnt insult my intelligence other than attention.

There is nobody that gets better lines than you.  There is nobody that could get as good of lines as you - you get the best line possible in every market over the life of the market.  If you could do this, I would hire you.  So the question is - why do you post that?  To stir up shit?  Maybe.  But you could stir up shit in other ways.  You do it because you like others to think you are better at handicapping than you really are.  A phony for no reason.

I made a couple of posts in your thread about it, but largely leave you alone.  Everyone knows what you are about at this point, it doesnt take me to create a debate with you to shine the light in - it is very bright in there already.

Thats the truth.  You asked for it.

Originally Posted by PokinSmot hey Van, inquiring minds want to know.....



1. Whats the most you ever paid for sex?

I have never paid for sex in the traditional hooker way.  I have been married for 18 years, so I guess you could say I pay for sex every time I have it.

2. What type(s) of job do/did you have?

I was a VP at a small to midsize consumer goods firm.  Mostly bullshit.

3. Did you set a monetary goal of when to stop gambling? if yes, how much. if no, then i guess you plan on gambling till you die or cant afford to...?

If I ever have enough money, I would guess like 5 million put away, I would never place another bet again.  Most of the time, I dread gambling.

4. Have you ever hit rock bottom? what got you there and how did you get out?

Yes.  Every gambler has.  In the early 90's, I remember owing much more than I had, and went to family to bail me out along with CC's and anything I could get my hands on.  I packed a travel shaving kit full of 100 dollar bills which amounted to 68K I believe, went to a parking lot, and handed it off to some nameless faceless guy.  I sat in my car and cried for about an hour.  I felt disgusted, and swore it would never happen again.  Not the losing part, but the stupidity.  I made a conscious decision to get better, and have tried every day since to do exactly that.

5. Do you believe in E.T.?

I believe in the magic of the movie ET, and that it is very likely that there is life elsewhere, but not the traditional stereotype of an ET.

6. Have you lied about anything while you are on the Hot Seat?

Not a single word.

Are you a Billionaire like Bill Gates?

No.  Not even close.  Would never get there because I would give up along the way. 

How much money do you wager on each week?

Depends.  A typical week during MLB might be 300K cumulative risk, while a typical week during just soccer might be as low 50K cumulative

What's the most Money you ever won in a year?

2010.  But this is the only question that I dont want to answer.  It will cause a fight, and maybe expose some privacy I dont want to disclose.  I won a lot on the World Cup.

What's the most money you ever lost?

In one year was 2008.  A bad year.  But not nearly as bad as 2010 year was good.

Do you take Vacations every year?

I do travel quite a bit.  The lifestyle I lead allows for lots of "where should we go next week" type of spontenaity (sp?)

What on-line book or books give you the best odds for each game?

Before today, the combination of Pinnacle and Matchbook was hard to beat.  But I have other criteria such as limits and safety that most dont have.

How much do they charge you take money out of your accounts?.

Every arrangement is different, but it is expensive, and full of risk.  To the point where I think a break might be in order.

What's the most Money they allow you to withdraw each day?

Not really applicable, if I lose I pay, and if I win I expect to get paid.

Van has posted alot of useful information for Covers users of all different levels...from the professionals to the degenerate college kid. He has taken time often in the gaming industry forum giving insight into a wide variety of topics.

I still will never forget the Gamehunter scenario a few years ago.... I might still have the F5 avatar on my computer.

Kudos Van

Quote Originally Posted by Rotchburns:

Hey Van,

Why do you look down on people who believe in God?

Well, if you want total honesty, here it comes......

I would like to say I dont.  But that would be lying.  But let me explain as best as I can.

There are degrees of how much I "look down on people who believe in god".  For instance, I think someone who is of a religion is far worse than someone who makes a case for there being a higher power that we dont understand.  I cant really argue the latter, but the former is a different story.

If I asked you if you look down on people who believe in the tooth fairy, what would your honest answer be?  I mean seriously - people who get together and worship the tooth fairy - what do you think of them?  They are people who despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary insist on believing in something.  I cant help but decide that those people are of lesser intelligence, or severely misinformed, or brainwashed.  This is how I view religion.

There is no case for religion that is intelligent.  Besides the fact that religion is the most destructive force in human history, and to this day kills and makes more misery than every disease on earth combined - it is a mindless "faith" based practice.  I live my life trying to never "check my brain at the door", but all religions require that you ignore the man behind the curtain and proceed as if the obvious isnt obvious.

So, if you say to me that you look at the things you dont understand with wonder, and come to a conclusion that there has to be a higher power - I cant really debate you.  But if you come to me and say you dont understand the things around you, and have come up with a flawed, unintelligent, scientifically impossible, 1st grade rendition of a story to fit all of the gaps, then I have to assume there is something wrong with you.  Maybe you are brainwashed, but more than likely you are not capable of understanding facts around you, or even worse you dont want to investigate.

The funny thing is that you look down on people of other religions and gods.  I assume you are christian, what do you think of Allah?  How about those statues of elephants that Hindus think are gods?  Why do you look down on them?  What about Branch Davidians?  You get to call them crazy right?  How about the Amish, or the Safardic person who wont do anyting on Saturdays?  Crazy?

The problem is that you think your brand of god is the only brand of god.  But I just think that your brand of crazy is equal to all other religions brand of crazy, there is no difference.

I cant listen to a guy tell me it is not raining when I can clearly observe that it is raining.  Should I patronize him by allowing him to keep telling me that Im not getting wet?  Should I not think less of him or that something is wrong with him?  You ignore facts around you, you dont question the faults of your beliefs, and worst of all you cannot be a critical thinker.

Quote Originally Posted by superbeets:

vanzack

Man I have to tell you....  You have gone above and beyond every expectation that I expected from this.  The original idea was to take only a certain amount of questions but it seems you have no problems answering EVERYTHING..  So I tip my hat to you.  

I can tell you one thing....  No one will EVER be able to say you didnt answer anything 

VERY VERY NICE JOB

Thanks Beets.

Anything you can do about post 168?

Stopping at post #174 for a break.

Keep em coming.