Well, I finally got through this year's Main Event videos. Some thoughts:
You could describe the final table as Team Eastgate versus Ivan Demidov as it seemed like the other players were just dying to contribute to the Eastgate fund.

Demidov's laying down the K7 two-pair against Eastgate's trips was huge. Still, you wonder if that didn't make him more likely to make the call that lost the HU match.

It seems like a Hellmuth tirade is a sort of good luck charm. Not only does Eastgate end up winning the tournament, but he steals Hellmuth's youngest player ever to win record. Very nice. It seems like this has happened to Phil more than once. Of course, when you consider the number of people he insults during a tournament, the odds probably aren't that incredible.

Tiffany Michelle probably got carried away trying to prove she wouldn't be pushed around. Phil Ivey never really seems like he's tuned in when you see him playing these things. There was something eery about Hevad Khan's subdued behavior... I felt like he must be on drugs.

It seems like the announcers spent half the Main Event talking about Scotty Nguyen's behavior at the HORSE final table...

The one thing that sticks out most in my mind is Hellmuth's comment, "To you it's poker, to me it's my life."

I love poker, but that was a sad thing to hear someone say. I hope to do a better job of keeping things in perspective.

The Rampart CRASH team was the real life LAPD anti-gang task force that inspired the story line for the popular television show The Shield. Their motto: "We intimidate those who intimidate others."

The logo for this blog, which is also the avatar I use on Stars, is an exact representation of the CRASH insignia.

Obviously the presence of the dead man's hand in the image creates an immediate tie-in to poker. Above and beyond that, plot lines of the television series The Shield, with episode titles like "The Spread", "All In", "On Tilt" and "Playing Tight" could basically be interpreted as metaphor for poker play.

I think the overall message is the one I want to convey:

I am wily, aggressive, and dangerous.

And I have a badass avatar.

A lot of people responding to DaBeear's most recent PokerTube screencast have been after him to reveal what software he's using to quickly determine the quality of his hands. DaBeear is holding out and I don't want to spoil his fun, but as a gift to anyone who bothers to follow my blog:

He's using Omaha Indicator. I don't know that from asking him about it, but because of the way he's applying the Hutchison point system which is one of the features built into the Omaha Indicator HUD. This software is also a stat tracker so it obviously provides a huge edge, especially for a novice player who would otherwise have a lot of trouble determining where he was at in a hand. If you're interested, you can actually see Marty Smith using this software in his YouTube videos.

PokerTracker produces a version of their software for Omaha, but I think if you're looking for quick odds & outs calculations as well as a HUD providing the VPIP/PFR/AF of your opponents, Omaha Indicator is the software package you want.

As I haven't personally tested or reviewed either program, however, this post isn't meant to be taken as a recommendation. It's just an FYI on what's available.

The 2$RIP name refers to the movie Boiler Room. The expression is explained in the following exchange between Giovanni Ribisi's character Seth and the character played by Vin Diesel, Chris:

CHRIS
...If he's a whale, which it looks like he
is, then I'll get him on a day when
there's a real rip.

SETH
Rip?

CHRIS
(surprised)
Rip. Commission. That's why we work
here. We get huge rips.

SETH
(quietly)
I actually still don't know how it
works.

CHRIS
A two dollar rip, which is unheard of
anywhere on Wall Street, means you're
walking away with two dollars for every
share you sell. Real money. ...

In a later scene, we see that another character, Greg, sports a vanity plate on his Ferrari. The plate reads: 2 RIP.

I also chose it because I think it might remind people of the POTRIPPER screen name used by a player with access to a Super User account on AP...

Not because I want people to think I'm a cheater, but because I want them to feel like I always know what they're holding.

You might be a poker pro wannabe if...

If you yell out, "This is so sick!" whenever a flop is dealt, you might be a poker pro wannabe.

If you think people are impressed by your poker knowledge when you refer to 10 2 as "the Doyle Brunson hand", you might be a poker pro wannabe.

If you refer to a pair of Aces as "pocket rockets," you might be a poker pro wannabe.

If you make screencasts of the games you play online, you might be a poker pro wannabe.

If you can't wait to tell someone about your latest bad beat, you might be a poker pro wannabe.

If you know everything there is to know about Phil Ivey but have never heard of Chip Reese, you might be a poker pro wannabe.

If you think you know a lot about poker but have never played a game other than Texas Hold 'Em, you might be a poker pro wannabe.

If you scream out, "One time!" every time you're hoping to suck out on somebody, you might be a poker pro wannabe.

If you believe the reason you lost your online bankroll is because all the poker sites are rigged, you might be a poker pro wannabe.

And, finally...

If you wear a hoodie when you play online poker, and especially if you put up the hood and tighten it around your head whenever you're bluffing, you might be a poker pro wannabe.