Shame the Sham

NBC Heads-Up Poker 2013 predictions anyone?

Woo hoo, into Blogland! I'm not as hopeless as I thought! One password remembered; wish I could remember the one to GottaTalkPoker forum. Oh well, a quickie here before work starts. Thank you Forest Park CC and the library's computers! (Can't believe I found one open...)

OK, folks, your challenge here is to "Shame the Sham." Predict the outcomes of the heads-up matches to be held this Thursday through Saturday at Caesars in Las Vegas. If you don't want to know about the outcomes until the contests televise starting in late March, back away now -- and good luck dodging the news reports of the outcomes. For many years I tried. And failed.

So I'm tackling the fun heads-on. The drawing for pairings is tonight at Caesars; the matches begin Thursday. So, if we're going to do this right, I'll make my picks HERE in this thread's comments after the pairings are announced. You're welcome to do the same. Deadline to post your official picks here is the start of the first round Thursday. After that, it's all in fun for you -- you can't be recognized as the Best Sham Shamer. You're just another wanna-be.

That is, if anyone can beat me. (Oh, hush, orm ...).

Scoring: One point for each match winner correctly picked, top to bottom throughout the bracket. All picked before the contest starts. Just like in the NCAA office pools around the country. Wish ESPN could set up a fast Fantasy League on this! Ah well...

If I have a say in the contest I suggested at GottaTalkPoker (I'll have to wait to tonight to check into the forum), I would recommend the contest there have a deadline of like 7pm ET Thursday (depending on the opening day's schedule; give folks a little hedge on the first round). Pick only quarterfinal survivors, 2 in each "suit" (1 point apiece), finalists (3 points each) and champion (5 points). Tiebreaker to be earliest posted picks in the forum. Keep it all simpler. Prizes 5-3-1 from me to the best forum pickers. It's all up to bossman Jack Benny, though. We shall see.

Before the pairings are even drawn, I'll tell you I'm rooting for Doyle Brunson. He IS the Godfather. I would've picked Vanessa Selbst, but she's skipping this event to play the Aussie Millions in the land Down Under. One more early early pick: Jason Mercier.

OK. More to come. Class time. Thanks for dropping by. Don't feel embarassed when I outpick you; happens to the best of them...