Found: '04 WSOP final table member

Sometimes what you think of people, especially celebs and such, are shaped by meetings with them.
I'll give you an example: When I worked for the Arlington Morning News, I was the backup Texas Rangers writer. Will Clark was an ... well, he was cocky, arrogant, not a big fan of the media, and since I was young, he tried to walk all over me. To this day, I'm not a Will Clark fan. The first year of interleague play, the Padres came to Arlington. I scheduled an interview with now-Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, that media relations failed to tell him about. He was hitting .400 at the time, and he was getting hounded about his average and interleague play, and he reluctantly told me to follow him to his locker. When I told him I wanted to do a story about what he would tell a little leaguer about hitting, his face lit up and he talked for an hour and a half. He was funny, informative and one hell of an interview. To this day, he remains one of my favorite three players, along with Greg Maddux and Nomar Garciapara.
That leads me to Matt Dean.
In 2004, the math teacher from The Woodlands, Texas finished seventh in World Series of Poker Main Event. He won a cool $675,000.
The next fall, my good friends Scott Honea, Joel Weckerly and I went to Club One in Dallas to play in a preliminary WSOP give-away qualifier hosted by 102.1 The Edge, when the great Jagger, Dean, Mondo and Jasmine were still manning the morning show. Matt Dean was playing in that event. (You had to win a seat online, but I doubt Matt had to!)
Having just penned a lengthy story on the poker explosion in Explore ..., a local magazine, I struck up a conversation with Matt Dean and told him I wish I had met him a month earlier. (I did interview Norman Chad for that story, and he was great. A lot like Gwynn, Chad started slow, but ended up being a great conversation with someone who acted more like a neighbor than a celebrity.)
Dean was accommodating, friendly and down to earth. He signed my hat and my seat number.
Then, Poof! Matt Dean disappeared.
I've tried to track him down, hoping to send him a Deuce Lee Poker Ledger. Finally, I've found him.
First, I found him recently in the results part on cardplayer.com. There is also a player list, and their results are tracked. Dean has actually been rather busy.
I also found his blog, http://blogs.chron.com/pokertable/. Very good stuff.
Because of that chance meeting at Club One, Matt Dean will always be one of my favorite pros. That night, I told him I hoped to see him in Vegas for the WSOP. I haven't given up hope.

Level footing

One of the reasons I know I'll never be a pro (among the thousands), is an oft-quoted statement about poker players having to have no regard for money. As mature as I believe I have gotten at the table, I don't think I'll ever be one to say a title is far more important to me than the cash prize.
That said, two of my last three outings have resulted in some pretty harsh exits. Holding A-K suited against a terrible, sizeable all-in call from J-10 off, we both flopped a pair ... my A, his J. The river was a J, and I was gone. The worst thing I did at this table was tell the guy I'd like to play him again, only after he celebrated like he had made some incredible move.
Last night, it was pocket Ks, short stacked (because of my own stupidity), versus 8-7 off. A 7 fell on the flop, and the third on the river. While inside I was steaming, outside I was a gentleman. (I was mad that my Ks were cracked, not at the guy ... though I was a little miffed he called, and did not raise, on the button with some rather stiff blinds. I was in the small.)
The combination of those beats played a big part in my internal fury. I couldn't believe my bad luck.
But, I have learned to accept it outwardly. I don't play a lot, maybe six or seven times a month, and I know bad luck can be overcome with steady play. I reminded myself that third game in the span was a tournament win.
I also reminded myself of the times I've watched pros like Josh Arieh, Phil Hellmuth and that guy at the 2006 U.S. Poker Championship who got his aces cracked cry and moan and act really childish. I can't imagine they are proud of that. I know it's not the way I want to be remembered.
Besides, I've got a bigger tournament to worry about this weekend. No sense steaming for too long.
Like I've always told my kids in baseball, there's always another pitch, always another at bat, always another game.

Coming soon!

Welcome all poker fans! Before you know it, the World Series will be back.
There should be some changes coming to www.deucelee.com soon. I hope it makes the site a little easier to navigate, and for you to find out just what the Deuce Lee Poker Ledger is all about.
Don't be fooled by some impostors that have cropped up out there! The Deuce Lee is still your best option ... small enough to fit in your pocket, plenty of space to track all of your buy-ins and cashes, and take good, detailed notes.
If you are like me, you'll need the notes pages. I wear them out! I am a page ahead on notes, simply because I don't have Allen Cunningham's brain. I need to log tells, player tendencies, etc. and look back at them on occasion.
Anyway, hope your 2007 has been prosperous and profitable so far. Thanks to a nice tourney finish at the Winstar Casino in Oklahoma, I am likely to finish up for 2007 no matter what happens! Don't be fooled though ... I don't play a lot of high-stakes games.
Send me some feedback, and good luck on the felts!
Know the score