Aaron Alanen wins the first PokerCon

Those close to me know, when it comes to poker, I’m passionate about etiquette, sportsmanship and respect for the game. When I began assessing the attributes behind Zynga Poker’s success, qualities like positivity, grace and gratitude came to mind. Qualities which were overwhelmingly abundant at PokerCon this weekend.  If you’re still asking “What is Zynga?”  Read my Who is Zynga post.

At first I said the PokerCon vibe was like a charity event, however, in retrospect, I think the conference reminded me how Texans act at the poker table. Despite Zynga Poker being based in the stereotypical tech city of San Fransisco, I’d have to say, Zynga hosted PokerCon like real Texas ladies and gentlemen.

The gratitude and positivity was so consuming this weekend, I stopped several times and asked…are these happy people real? Throughout the two day event, players continued to reiterate the value of the $125 PokerCon ticket. There was non-stop positive feedback about Annie Duke’s instruction, the food, meeting Doyle Brunson and making new friends. In fact, a perfect example to describe the Zynga players at PokerCon happened at the VIP party. A man asked BJ Nemeth if someone could make a thank you announcement to Zynga. He then turned to me and said “I can’t believe no one has thanked them yet. This has been amazing.”

Speaking of the party, when Zynga said private party, they didn’t mean, a private section in a club, they meant, a private party. The only people in the club were the conference attendees. The front row private tables to the B.o.B. performance had ample room for everyone.  There wasn’t an elite section, it was laid back, welcoming and simple. So laid back, that B.o.B. walked around afterwards taking dozens of iPhone and two Blackberry pics.   But it wasn’t cheesy snap some quick pics photos, he actually hung out and spoke to people.

But it wasn’t just the players who were positive and upbeat. Zynga Poker led by example by showing great company morale and passionate loyalty to their brand. Not only were eye rolls obsolete, Zynga employees constantly spoke highly of their colleagues. Obviously, contagious attitude. I can honestly say, it was an awesome event, yet, my poker industry voice is still trying to convince me that my Thursday morning flight intersected a wormhole and I’m actually in another dimension.

Read about PokerCon’s final table on Pokerati.

Read a great Zynga Poker post on BJ Nemeth’s new site Sport of Poker.

Michele: writer, culture, policy, politics, tech + mom blog - writing on culture, policy, politics, tech, apps, video games, parenting, photos, sports and sometimes a what is...

PokerCon Final Table

The Palms Casino Resort has the cards in the air for Zynga Poker’s PokerCon.  The ten handed final table is scheduled to end at 8 p.m. And that includes Ali Nejad humor on the mic.  BJ Nemeth is snapping some great poker shots which will be on his new blog Sport of Poker soon.  Pokerati interviewed Robert Holmes yesterday who won one of the four guaranteed final table seats awarded online.  The Pokerati interview almost gets an A+ in FT picks.

With only two days of PokerCon, the action is non-stop.  In other words, WSOP summer camp is a marathon, PokerCon is like a sprint.

The final ten players: Shirley Richards, Hugh Davies,  Alfred Calimbas, Dave Bille, Casey Connor, Howard Lee, Robb Jones, Robert Holmes, Aaron Alanen and Charles Milham.

Michele: writer, culture, policy, politics, tech + mom blog - writing on culture, policy, politics, tech, apps, video games, parenting, photos, sports and sometimes a what is...