Instapoker (professional poker blogger edition)

About a million major poker developments have taken place over the past couple weeks … but before we get to those, there are some important links out there that I have been neglectful in sharing:

First off, check out RawVegas.tv … a great new \”I-TV\” channel put together by CHOPS (from Wicked Chops) and BRIAN BALSBAUGH of Poker Royalty.

Poker is just a small part of it all, really … but on this week\’s episode of \”Prop Bets,\” JOE SEBOK takes GAVIN SMITH for $3,000 by eating an extra half of a fajita, and DANIEL NEGREANU now keeps his videoblog there, too, where you can see him do things like shave his head.

MICHAEL CRAIG has amicably parted ways with the festive gang at PokerWorks — he can probably feel pretty good knowing that it essentially took nine top-quality bloggers to replace him. He\’s now blogging for Full Tilt.

Poker author JAY GREENSPAN has gone indie with his new blog, Annals of a Fish Hunter. Read his first post on how it\’s a bad time to launch a new poker blog and you\’ll be hooked.

Speaking of new blogs, the venerable POKER SHRINK is back to blogging. I always enjoy Dr. Tim Lavalli\’s neurological analyses of poker, but have missed the unfiltered rants and insights that made him the most prolific poster over at our beloved-but-dormant PokerBlog.

Over at Up for Poker, CJ has blog-ficially changed his name to LUCKBOX, and apparently has begun thinking about life beyond The Hammer … with some fresh and familiar faces bringing us a new sports blog and Hollywood blog. Doesn\’t he know sports is just a fad?

And speaking of Up for Poker … if you haven\’t read it already, check out \”The Last Poker Game\” by OTIS … as he turns his adventures in the Carolina underground into some of the best, most colorful poker writing we\’ve seen in long time. Think secret lovechild of ERNEST HEMINGWAY and ANDY GLAZER. Can only wonder what these two mighta produced had either one of them stuck around long enough to start a blog.

UPDATE: PokerBlog alum Jen Leo got herself a presumably sweet new net-geeky gig — writing the Daily Deals travel blog for the L.A. TIMES.

Perhaps her crossover into mainstream media has inspired others? I got no fewer than six LINKEDIN invitations today from bloggers. Never thought I would have so many friends contemplating the concept of a \”job.\”