Bring the Hammer

PokerGrub
PokerGrub is easily the most humorous poker blog out there. A playwright and poker player, Grubby documents his daily wins and losses as well as his daily food intake. Sometimes his poker-playing sister, Grubette, posts as well. Grubby started the infamous "Hammer Challenge" to online players: you must win a pot (with a showdown) with 27o and type in HAMMER! after you scoop. He offered $5 a day until someone claimed the prize. And his recent four-part trip report to Las Vegas was as entertaining as any written on RGP:

A guy in front of me picked up an issue of CardPlayer with big Jack Binion on the cover and pointed to one of the articles on tournaments: "How Do You Know When You're in Trouble?" He said: "When you enter." I gave my best fake Johnny Carson laugh. But then a minute later he performs the same routine, saying the same line, as if I'm someone else. I politely laugh again, while mentally filing his mug away, knowing I'm going to raise all-in against him if he's at my table. And I'm going to do it twice.

Gambling Blues and The Fat Guy
Two mainstays in the poker blogging scene, BoyGenius and TheFatGuy are extremely prolific and talented writers, and they've both been blogging for a long time. Along with a love of poker play, BoyGenius also has a penchant for discussing the football spreads, betting the ponies, and sampling fine wines. ThatFatGuy, a good ol' boy down in Dallas, offers hilarious takes on poker, politics, food, music, and whatever else strikes his fancy, and his analogies are always colorful -- take, for example, his opinion of online no-limit poker: "No-Limit is like playing against Danny DeVito in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

The PokerPenguin
The PokerPenguin is one of those brainy types who writes about game theory so much, he makes TheFatGuy's head hurt. He's used Schroedinger's cat, Snoopy, and climbing Mt. Everest as poker metaphors. There's really no way to explain his blog, it's just gotta be read to be appreciated:

Don't let your past expectations rule your play. Poker is like sword-fighting, if you aren't basing your actions on the most up to date information, you're in trouble.

Chris Halverson
Chris Halverson is one of my favorite new bloggers. As a java programmer, Chris has the formidable logic skills to become a solid player, but he's still learning. And as he's a relatively new player, it's fun to watch his studying pay off at the low-limit tables. You can literally see those "light-bulb" type moments, when poker concepts actually takes hold. An excellent blog.

Decker
Mister Decker is one of the original poker bloggers, and everyone loves him for his humble, honest posting style. Now that Florida has legalized low-limit casino hold'em, Decker takes frequent trips down to Tampa, and his travel reports are always fascinating. One of the more interesting things he posts is his hourly win rate for the week, guaranteed to make you feel smug or meek about your own weekly pull.

A Poker Odyssey
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention A Poker Odyssey by Jason, a well-known 2+2 Poker Forum contributor. Currently Jason is working on the Sophomore Poker project, a plan to parlay an investment of $50 into $2000 by moving up in limits at set points, and his blog is worth a visit if only to check out his progress.

The Intrepid Card Player
And last but certainly not least, The Intrepid Card Player, the blog of a Party and UB player tackling the low-limits and attempting to move up in both limits and skill. I can certainly feel his pain with each of his bad beat stories.

And so there it is, a sampling of the best and brightest poker blogs out there. Can't find what you're looking for? I'm sure if you do some poking around, you'll soon discover a few gems of your own -- this list is by no means exhaustive. Plus a new poker blog pops up almost daily. Why, even yours truly has a blog ...

Guinness and Poker
Guinness and Poker is my very own HQ for all things poker, including links to daily poker news articles, notable tidbits from assorted poker message boards, and even links to my favorite poker blogs -- those you see profiled here, and others. All in all, an excellent starting off point for your daily reading on poker, if I do say so myself.

But if you still find the selection of poker blogs lacking, by all means, start a blog of your own. It's free and easy at Blogger. The more the merrier -- as poker blogs become more and more popular as more and more players document their play, the nascent poker blogging community as a whole is developing into a phenomenon and resource in its own right. As new poker blogger Anisotropy put it:

It's always great to read something about other people's take on the game and about the swings they go through. It's even better to have those same people supporting you when you are trying to do the same frustrating things they are. Smart people, smart writing and great support.

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