Poker Articles

It’s not easy to come up with creative article after creative article. Some topics are inherently much more fun and interesting to write about, while other stories require a vast amount of research in order to convey properly. Tristan Cre8ive Wade is one of the premiere bloggers here on PocketFives.com. From writing about his experiences at the Hard Rock and Borgata to breaking down hands in the $100 rebuy on Full Tilt Poker, Wade has done it all. The 24 year-old Floridian native largely focuses his efforts in the blogosphere on poker and has been helped along in his creative writing efforts through the teachers and his father. PocketFives.com sat down with the full-time pro to talk about some of his most memorable contributions to the site as well as his poker career in general.

One of his most memorable blogs is entitled “Is This What Poker Will Come To?” and begins with a quote from artist Jay-Z. It involves a hand that played out during the $100 Cubed on Full Tilt Poker involving Shaun shaundeeb Deeb (pictured at left), who sits at number two worldwide in the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings and plays under the name tedsfishfry on the site. With blinds of 400-800 and a 100 chip ante, Wade was dealt K-8 of hearts. To open the action, Deeb made it 2,000 pre-flop and Wade pushed the price of poker to 5,950. Deeb shoved all-in for just over 36,000 and Wade made the call. Deeb flipped up 10-J of clubs and the board ran out 5-J-9-A-7, shipping the 74,000 chip pot to the ranked PocketFiver. On the entry, Wade noted, “It caused some commotion and negative feedback. That hand plays out that way about one in 1,000 times and I just happened to be right in that instance. It was a unique blog nonetheless.”

The majority of his entries are poker-related, including a multi-part series outlining his run through events held during the Borgata Winter Poker Open. On where his ideas for topics have come from, he told PocketFives.com, “Most of my ideas for blogs are poker-related, but sometimes I will mix in non-poker content. People seem to enjoy reading hand histories from live tournaments, so I try to keep it mostly about the game in general.” Online, Wade took down the Nightly Hundred Grand on PokerStars in February for $31,000. In December, he triumphed over the field in the Full Tilt Poker $100 rebuy for $21,000.

Wade made a deep run and finished 163rd in the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $51,000, one of five cashes at the Rio to his name. His climb up the poker ladder began in much the same way it did for a number of people reading this article. Wade recalled, “I got started during my freshman year in college by watching Chris Moneymaker (pictured at right) win the WSOP Main Event. I read a couple poker books and started playing in home games around Orlando. I found my way to online poker after that and have been playing ever since.” Moneymaker defeated Sam Farha that year, earning $2.5 million. The Tennessee accountant with a uniquely appropriate last name helped set off the modern poker boom.

Wade’s writing is extremely detailed and gives its readers an interesting opportunity to get into the head of one of the game’s top minds. He explained where his knack in creative and professional writing originated: “I don't have any professional writing experience besides some articles for PocketFives. I had some good high school English teachers and a couple of college professors that I bumped heads with; I had to make sure my writing was decent or otherwise I couldn't go at it with them Also, my dad is a teacher and helped me with my writing over the years.” He turned pro upon graduating college, where he played primarily on the nights and weekends while trying to juggle classes.

He’s one of the most popular bloggers here on PocketFives.com and gained a considerable amount of fame after the feature was added to the site in 2008. For all you prospective writers out there, listen up! Wade shares several invaluable words of advice: “Make sure you have interesting topics to discuss. It seems that, as far as poker blogs go, people just want to hear about poker. Make people think outside of the box and give them something that will catch their interest.” Wade noted that he receives several angry e-mails and Private Messages when he does not update his blog for an extended period of time, which is probably the ultimate compliment an author can receive. When he does contribute, expect to see images and a variety of anecdotes from his experiences intertwined amid solid poker strategy.

He wanted to send a shout out to his fellow Florida PocketFivers Stuart THEDONATOR Paterson, miamihans, and Tim cane3418 Seidensticker. Check out the latest poker blogs from PocketFivers.