Texas Holdem Hand Rankings Built Around Control and Clarity

Most poker guides treat texas holdem hand rankings like a ladder you climb, but at Firesight we build these systems for independent professionals who need the same kind of clear structure we give to research workflows. The difference is that a good ranking table should reduce decision noise, not add more of it. That is why we keep the list tight, the edge cases explicit, and the support around it as deliberate as the rules themselves.

When you are sorting out texas holdem hand rankings, the usual approach is to memorise ten rows and hope the table plays along. We prefer to treat the same list as a control layer: you know what beats what, you know where the weak spots are, and you can actually use that information when the pot gets busy as a Saturday arvo at a Newcastle club. The site itself leans into that sort of thinking, so before you even sit down you can check the licensing details, the account controls, and the responsible-play tools without digging through three different pages. If you want to see how that setup looks in practice, you can start at https://spinsamuraibonus.net/au and compare the layout against your own research habits.

The hand rankings themselves do not change, but the way you work with them does. A royal flush still tops the list, then straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and high card at the bottom. What matters more to us is how the platform presents those tiers when you are learning, testing, or just trying to keep your own play sensible. A clean ranking view should let you spot a weak hand early, not reward you for staring at a pretty card animation until the decision is gone.

  1. Open the hand-ranking reference and read it as a working list, not a poster.
  2. Mark the three tiers you actually see most often at your table: one pair, two pair, and high card.
  3. Note which positions in a hand tend to push you toward a marginal call.
  4. Use the site’s session tools to set a time or stake limit before you sit down.
  5. Keep a short note of the hands that cost you the most, then revisit the ranking list with that context.

That kind of routine is closer to how we design knowledge tools at D’Vinci Group than to a generic casino pitch. The point is not to turn texas holdem hand rankings into a shortcut to profit; it is to give you a stable reference so you can make better calls and step away when the table is not cooperating. A straight beats three of a kind, a flush beats a straight, and none of that changes if the software is busy or the support queue is slow. What does change is whether the platform helps you keep those facts in front of you when you need them.

A full house sits above a flush, and that ordering matters more than people admit once the pot is getting real. If you are playing online, the same hierarchy should be visible in a way that does not disappear when the interface loads slowly or you are switching between tables. We have seen products where the ranking panel is buried under promotions, and that is exactly the sort of design choice we push back on. A better setup keeps the list accessible, keeps the stake display clear, and keeps the account controls close enough that you can actually use them without a hunt.

Support and security should be part of the same conversation, because a ranking list is only useful if the rest of the environment is stable. The platform we are looking at here keeps the basics in front of you: a visible licence reference, encrypted account handling, and a support path that does not require you to memorise a maze of menus. You can also set deposit limits, loss limits, and session reminders, which is the sort of control we expect when we are talking about adults making their own decisions. None of that makes the game risk-free, and it should not pretend to.

For a bit of outside perspective, Cooper Gibson, Head of Public Relations, Blue Gum Gaming Council, has pointed out that players should treat any ranking tool as a reference, not a promise. His view is that the list itself is neutral; what matters is whether the operator gives you the space to use it responsibly. That lines up with what we see from a product design angle, where the ranking panel should be boringly reliable rather than dressed up as a feature.

Adam Edwards, Lead Gaming Analyst, Yarra Gaming Lab, takes a similar line from the numbers side. He notes that hand rankings are only one part of the picture, and that the same list can feel either straightforward or frustrating depending on how the table is set up. His caveat is simple: a clean ranking view does not fix a bad session, but a messy one can make a decent session harder to read.

Then there is Blake Roberts, Risk and Integrity Manager, Boomerang Gaming Insights, who focuses on the control side rather than the card side. His point is that responsible-play tools only work when they are easy to reach before you are already in a tough spot. That is the sort of judgement call we use when we review a product: not whether it sounds exciting, but whether the account controls, privacy handling, and support route are actually usable.

When you are comparing texas holdem hand rankings on a site, the practical question is whether the ranking list stays useful when the rest of the experience gets busy. A good setup keeps the tiers visible, keeps the stake and balance clear, and lets you set limits without turning it into a chore. You should also be able to find the licence and support details without clicking through a stack of marketing pages, because the ranking list is only half the story. The other half is whether the operator gives you enough control to use that list sensibly.

If you want a concrete way to think about it, picture the same ranking list on two different screens. On one, the tiers are buried under a promotion and the limit tools are tucked away behind a menu. On the other, the list is plain, the controls are nearby, and the support path is obvious if something goes wrong. We would rather work with the second version, and that is the same standard we apply to any tool we build for independent professionals.

The hand rankings themselves stay the same no matter which table you sit at, but the experience around them can be better or worse. A royal flush is still the top of the list, high card is still the bottom, and everything in between has its place. What changes is whether the platform helps you keep that structure in mind when you are deciding, limiting, or stepping away. That is the part worth checking before you play, and it is the part we keep coming back to.

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Do Slots Pay More at Night? A Practical Look at Evening Play

I’ve spent enough time in gaming operations to know that player timing rarely matches the myths that circulate in break rooms. Independent Gaming Pty Ltd runs commercial oversight across supplier strategy and floor performance, so we judge these questions against data, not anecdotes. The short answer on do slots pay more at night is that evening sessions feel different because of crowd dynamics, bonus calendars, and how often people check their balances between drinks. If you are weighing an evening session at a live venue or comparing it with an online environment, the useful question is what actually changes after dark and what does not.

What the Evening Myth Gets Right and Wrong

The idea that machines loosen up once the lights dim is persistent, but it confuses perception with mechanism. In a licensed Australian venue, the maths behind each title stays fixed regardless of the hour on the clock. What shifts after sunset is the pace of play, the noise level, and the way staff manage the floor during a busy arvo that stretches into a packed evening. I’ve overseen supplier mix decisions where the same cluster of games performed very differently at 8 pm versus 2 pm, not because the titles changed, but because the crowd around them did.

That matters for how you read your own session. A row of machines near a high-traffic bar will draw a different rhythm than a quieter corner, and players tend to notice wins more when everyone around them is reacting to the same small wins and near-misses. The chips are down in those moments, and the tension can make a routine spin feel decisive even when the underlying return stays unchanged. If you are asking whether slots pay more at night, the honest answer is that the evening atmosphere can change your experience without changing the game.

For anyone comparing that live-floor feeling with an online space, the timing question becomes about promo calendars and repeat-play reasons rather than crowd noise. Some operators schedule tournaments, loyalty drops, or cashback windows that align with evening traffic, and those can genuinely alter the value of a session if you plan around them. That is where a practical walkthrough matters more than any folklore about the clock.

How an Evening Session Actually Plays Out

Reading the floor before you sit down

A good evening session starts with a quick read of the environment rather than a hunt for a machine that supposedly pays better after dark. Walk the floor, note which areas are busiest, and check whether the venue has positioned its higher-volatility titles near the main thoroughfares or tucked them into quieter zones. In my experience managing supplier strategy, placement is often a commercial decision as much as a comfort one, because the same game can feel completely different depending on who is standing next to it.

If you are settling in for a longer run, look at the practical signals instead of the rumours. Check whether a machine is part of a tournament leaderboard, whether the venue is running a loyalty multiplier for that evening, and whether the nearby seating and service actually suit a session that might run past midnight. I’ve made calls on floor layout where a modest repositioning of a single cluster improved both player comfort and repeat visits, because people returned when the environment felt manageable rather than chaotic.

Once you have filtered out the noise, consider checking platforms that aggregate these real-time metrics in one place. For a curated list of venues that align with these standards, you can visit https://run4winnodeposit.com/ before heading out. Making this extra check ensures your night is built on reliability rather than hope.

What changes after dark in online and live play

Once you are actually playing, the evening difference is usually about pacing and the structure of any ongoing value on offer. In a live room, you may notice more conversation, more interruptions, and a stronger tendency to chase a short run because the room feels alive. Online, the same hour can line up with a scheduled tournament entry window or a loyalty tier that gives you better treatment on the next few sessions. That is the kind of recurring value that matters after the welcome offer has been used, because it gives you a reason to come back beyond the first deposit.

The useful comparison is not whether the game pays more at night, but whether the venue or platform gives you something that makes an evening session worthwhile on its own terms. Cashback that lands on a weekly cycle, a tournament that runs in the evening, or a loyalty tier that improves your treatment over time can all make a session feel better valued. None of that changes the maths inside the game, but it does change whether you leave feeling you played a considered session rather than just burned through a stack of notes.

Matching the Timing Question to Your Own Play

If you are deciding whether to book an evening session, the decision should be about your habits, your bankroll plan, and the kind of ongoing value that actually keeps you interested. Some players prefer the energy of a busy room and the social pull of a crowd, while others want a quieter run where they can manage their pace without the room dictating it. I’ve seen both approaches work when the player is honest about what they are there for, and I’ve seen both fail when someone chases a myth instead of a plan.

Online, the same logic applies. If a platform runs evening tournaments or loyalty rewards that fit your schedule, that can be a genuine reason to play later rather than earlier. If it does not, then the hour itself is not doing any heavy lifting. The point is to treat timing as a convenience and a fit, not as a secret lever that changes the game. That kind of judgement call is the same one we make on the commercial side when we decide which supplier titles deserve a prime position and which ones belong in a quieter lane.

Factor Live venue evening Online evening
What changes Crowd pace, noise, service flow Promo windows, tournament timing, loyalty cycles
What stays fixed Game maths, return structure, licensing rules Game maths, return structure, account rules
What to check Floor layout, tournament boards, loyalty offers Calendar of promos, cashback timing, tier benefits
Best use of the hour Social sessions, planned entertainment Repeat-play reasons, structured bonus value

Verdict

Do slots pay more at night? Not in the way the myth suggests, because the maths inside a licensed game does not shift with the hour. What does change is the atmosphere, the promo calendar, and the way you manage your own session around a crowd or a scheduled offer. If you plan around those real differences instead of chasing a clock-based edge, you will get a clearer read on whether an evening session is worth your time.

Picking the Best Payment Methods for Online Casino Play in Australia

The transaction layer quietly decides how good a casino session actually feels. Deposit speed, withdrawal turnaround, fee transparency and ID checks all shape whether a punter on a Brisbane bus feels in control or stuck in admin limbo. The best payment methods for online casino play cut friction without handing over personal data to half the internet, and they’re built around Australian banking rails, AUD balances and local verification habits. Getting this bit right matters more than any bonus headline, because slow payouts turn a win into a paperwork nightmare.

What Makes a Payment Method Worth Using

Two factors carry most of the weight: how fast the money moves and how little of your data travels with it. A method that clears deposits in under a minute but takes five business days to pay out wins on convenience and loses on cash flow. A method that pays out the same day but blocks half the cashier on weekends is the reverse. Real usability lives in the middle, where deposits land quickly, withdrawals clear inside 24-48 hours, and the cashier doesn’t ask for fresh documents every second deposit.

Then there’s the fee question. Honest operators eat deposit fees and spell out withdrawal costs in plain English, often in a dedicated banking page. Players who have run ATS pipelines and seen how transaction data flows through compliance systems know that any hidden percentage is usually a sign of a weak payment stack. The strongest brands publish their payment partners by name, show limits in AUD, and let you save two or three methods at once. That last point matters more than people think, because a saved fallback method is the difference between a Saturday arvo session and a frustrating “deposit failed” loop during the footy.

The Core Options Worth Comparing

Australians don’t have the luxury of choice that European regulators hand players, so the real list is shorter than most guides suggest. The methods below cover the vast majority of legitimate cashier pages, and they behave differently enough that picking one is a genuine decision rather than a checkbox.

Cards and Bank Transfers

Visa and Mastercard debit issued by Australian banks still dominate deposits because every adult already holds one. Deposits are instant, the cashier recognises the card, and 3-D Secure handles the verification. Withdrawals, though, are a mixed bag. Some operators push withdrawals back to the card inside 1-3 business days, others force a bank transfer that takes another 2-4. Fees are rare on deposits, but a small number of brands levy a flat $1.50-$2.50 on withdrawals under $100, which adds up for casual players.

Bank transfers via BPAY or direct deposit suit higher rollers who move four-figure sums and don’t mind a 1-2 day clearing window. They also give the cleanest audit trail, which matters when an operator’s compliance team asks for source-of-funds proof.

E-Wallets and Prepaid Vouchers

E-wallets like Skrill, Neteller and MuchBetter sit in the sweet spot for most players. Deposits clear instantly, withdrawals often land inside 12 hours, and the wallet acts as a buffer so the casino never sees the underlying bank account. The trade-off is a small currency conversion fee if the wallet defaults to USD, and the occasional bonus exclusion – some brands drop e-wallet deposits from the welcome offer, which is worth checking before the first transfer.

Prepaid vouchers such as paysafecard work for players who want hard budget limits or who simply prefer not to share card details online. Deposits are instant, withdrawals aren’t supported (you’ll need a bank account for cashing out), and the maximum per voucher is usually $100, which keeps spending honest.

Crypto and Emerging Rails

Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoins such as USDT have carved out a quiet niche among Australian players comfortable with self-custody. Deposits confirm in minutes once the network settles, withdrawals often process in under an hour, and there are no card-issuer blocks. The catch is volatility risk, the learning curve of a wallet app, and the fact that some operators only credit bonuses in AUD equivalent, which can drift against the deposit’s crypto value.

Here’s a quick comparison of how the main methods stack up on the points that matter most:

Method Deposit Speed Typical Withdrawal Time Common Fees Bonus Eligibility
Visa/Mastercard debit Instant 1-4 business days Rare on deposits, occasional on small withdrawals Usually eligible
Bank transfer / BPAY 1-2 business days 2-5 business days $0-$5 per transaction Usually eligible
E-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, MuchBetter) Instant Within 24 hours FX fee if wallet holds non-AUD balance Sometimes excluded
Prepaid vouchers (paysafecard) Instant Not supported None Usually eligible
Crypto (BTC, ETH, USDT) 10-60 minutes Under 1-4 hours Network fee only Varies by operator

A Beginner’s Step-by-Step for First-Time Cashier Use

If you’re new to all of this, treat the first deposit as a practice run rather than a big punt. Start by opening the cashier page and reading the small print on minimum deposit, fees and supported currencies before you type a number. Most operators set the minimum somewhere between $10 and $20, and the page will tell you straight away whether your saved method qualifies for the welcome bonus.

Step one, confirm your account is fully verified. Upload your ID and a recent utility bill from your Brisbane address when prompted, because doing it now saves a delay later when you actually want to withdraw. Step two, pick a method that lets you deposit in AUD to dodge conversion fees. Step three, start small – a $20 deposit is plenty to test the cashier and see the bonus land in real time. Step four, run a small withdrawal after one or two sessions, even if you plan to keep playing. A successful test withdrawal tells you the cashier actually pays out, which is information worth more than any bonus code.

Which Payment Method Fits Which Player

The short answer is that there’s no single winner, only the best fit for a specific punting style. Casual players who top up with $20 here and there will be happiest on a Visa debit or MuchBetter, where deposits are instant and withdrawals clear in a day. Higher-stakes players moving four or five figures a week are better served by bank transfer or USDT, where the limits are higher and the per-transaction fees sting less. Players chasing the welcome offer should double-check the bonus terms, because e-wallets are quietly excluded from roughly a third of welcome packages.

“From a product analytics angle, the brands worth trusting publish every fee, show AUD limits up front and don’t move the goalposts on withdrawal times once a player is verified,” says Blake Lee, Product Analytics Lead at Banksia Betting Partners. “If those three boxes are ticked, the cashier usually is too.”

The cleanest signal of a well-run cashier is consistency: deposits clear at the same speed every time, withdrawals land within the advertised window, and support knows the answer when you ask about a pending transaction. Anyone comparing platforms on payment quality should run that small test withdrawal early, because a cashier that pays out a $50 win promptly will almost certainly handle a $5,000 win the same way.

For Australian players weighing their options, the practical move is to shortlist two or three trusted sites and run a real-money test on each before committing to a long-term home – and if a no-deposit trial is available, it’s a smart way to check the cashier without risking a cent, as explained in this guide on no-deposit casino bonus options. For a deeper look at one operator that handles the banking side cleanly, joefortunefreechip.com is worth a closer look.

Pick the method that matches how you actually play, verify the account early, and treat the first small withdrawal as proof that the cashier works. Do that once and the rest of the session runs itself.

The Berger Inquiry

Northern Journal, November 5, 2013

Whit Fraser said if I valued my family jewels, I better not testify at the Berger Inquiry into the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.  We were sitting in my living room in Wha Ti, still called Lac La Martre in those days, in August 1977.  Whit told me the Government of the Northwest Territories would have my knackers for bookends if I spoke out.  He said the poop had hit the fan when he, a CBC employee, had testified at Norman Wells, one year earlier.
My house beside the lake was like an overrun refugee centre in the aftermath of a devastating typhoon, or the train station in Calcutta on Friday night.  It was the flop house for the media crew:  Whit Fraser, Abe Okpik, Joe Tobey, Jim Sittinchinli, Louis Blondin, Joachim Bonnetrouge and a bunch of other folks I’d never met before.  People lazing in all the rooms, draped over the furniture, sprawled out on any available stretch of floor.  Talking, scribbling notes, typing, eating, drinking, playing cards, reading.
The Berger Inquiry was a Big Deal.  I’d been listening to the CBC coverage from all down the valley, Yukon and points south across the country for well over a year.
Listening to Charlie Furlong, Tommy Ross, Freddy Greenland, Wilf Bean, Philip Blake, Frank T’Selie, Claire Barnaby, Earl Dean, Rene Lamonth, Gerry Cheezie, Sam Raddi, Roy Goose, Les Carpenter, Peter Green, Paul Andrew, Raymond Yakaleya, Steve Kakfwi, George Blondin, Phoebe Nahanni, Gina Blondin, and Richard McNeely.
Listening to Richard Nerysoo define what was a stake – “We are fighting for our survival as a free people,” he said.  Listening to James Wah-shee clarify history by saying – “The Treaty was signed when it was discovered that our land was more valuable than our friendship.”
Listening to Jim Antoine say that he was willing to lay down his life to stop the pipeline.  To Bill Lafferty who come out in favor of the pipeline.  He wasn’t much worried about the adverse spin-offs – “I don’t think an Indian drunk is any stupider that a White drunk,” he said.
Francois Paulette questioned the big rush to get the pipeline flowing.  “The earth is going to be here all the time.  It’s not going to be taken away.  Why are they rushing?”
And George Erasmus, president of the Dene Nation:  “Our struggle,” George said, “is for self-determination.  We want to be in charge of our lives and our future.  We want to be our own boss.  We want to decide what is going to happen on our land.  Our position is that there can be no pipeline until after our land claims are settled.”
For seventeen months I’d been listening to the Berger Inquiry on CBC radio.  It had finally arrived in Lac La Martre and Whit Fraser told me; (he didn’t tell me not to speak,) he told me I’d better think carefully about it.
I asked Whit if he remembered why he spoke in Norman Wells the year before.  Sure, he remembered, he said.  He spoke out because it was something he had to do.  Me too, I told him.  Well then, go for it, Whit said, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
So I did.  And what I said to Judge Berger wasn’t anything subversive or even earth-shattering.  I simply asked him to listen well to the Dene people that spoke to him because they were speaking about our future too, the future of our country and the future of our children and our grandchildren.
The government didn’t fire me.  They probably didn’t even know about it.
But Canada knew about Tom Berger’s report when it came out.  And there was no pipeline.
Jim Green was at the opening of the Berger Inquiry Exhibit at the College last week. It triggered hundreds of memories for him because he addressed the Inquiry himself  at Wha Ti in August 1977.

High Drama on the High Plains

Safarik Saddles up and Rides the Range

Swede’s Ferry

by Allan Safarik
Coteau Books
$19.95/272 pp.

What we got here is a duster wherein the good guy is the bad guy, or mayhap t’other way around; the bad guy is a pretty good guy, who, that’s “Tall Bob” Simpson, whilst on leave from his day job as a North-West Mounted Policeman, holds up the First National Bank in Bismarck, North Dakota, in May 1894, accidentally leaving an angry bullet hole the Bank Manager’s forehead, gallops north to cross the Souris River on Swede’s Ferry, hightails her back across the line to Canada as fast as his fleet  chestnut horse with three white stockings and a bullet grazed rump will carry him, stops by to visit his ailing Mom in Brandon, and then dekes back to Regina to hunker down and lay low in Mountie headquarters.

I don’t reckon it makes no never mind that I know Allan Safarik but I thought I’d get “full disclosure” out of the way right off the bat. He’s a friend. He published my first book. I like him. There. And I’ve known him for forty some years and always savoured his poetry but I didn’t know he knew a diddley squat about which end of a horse the fodder goes in. Reckon he does.

James J. Hill, President of the newly empty First National Bank in Bismarck, also owned the Great Northern Railway, whose payroll turns up missing from said bare bank.  Hill was pissed off. He calls in head honcho of the Pinkerton (“We Never Sleep”) National Detective Agency, William Pinkerton, and charges him with getting his damn money back, in the near soon if not before. Pinkerton unleashes his sleazy henchman Jiggs Dubois to recover the money and bring in the head of the varmint what took it.

And another thing. I didn’t know Safarik knew beans about guns neither. Well he does. The gun that started it all was Tall Bob’s police issue Enfield Mark II .476 revolver.  The rifle that coulda’  ended it all the same day it started was an old nine pound Civil War muzzle-loading .58 caliber Springfield musket wielded by a kid who could barely lift the sucker. The gun that fired the last shot and ended it all for certain sure was Bud Quigley’s Remington Double Derringer, Model 95, .41 caliber rim fire.

James Hill, now, he didn’t pack a gun at all. He used a hired gun if he felt the need. William Pinkerton relied on his personal body-guard, Edgar Haines, who used a Volcanic leaver-action .41 caliber repeater. Dirty Dubois packed a brace of Merwin Hulbert .30s in shoulder rigs in each armpit. Pinkerton Detective Balfour Smith favoured a snub-nosed Webley Bulldog, a powerful  .455 caliber hand cannon.

But just because there were all those guns in this drama doesn’t mean it’s a shoot’m up bloodbath kinda book. Au contraire. Some folks do get plugged but there are far more horses ventilated than people. But back to the story.

The law dogs in this tale are sure nothing to write home about. Bismarck Sheriff John Humphrey was a nice enough old fart but he had the gout, a bad back and a case of the screaming hemorrhoids so severe he was loathe to lower his ravaged rear end onto the hurricane deck of even the gentlest old plug.

A little farther north, Gerry Whatshisname, head law enforcement officer of the generally peaceful burg of Bottineau, N.D., was a good old boy who didn`t even bother to carry a gun at all. He shuffled about town in his bedroom slippers with a cherub smile on his face; his occupation, or preoccupation, being to spend as much quality time as possible between the Widow Murphy’s comforting sheets.

And meanwhile, over to Regina, NWMP Commissioner Lawrence W. Herchmer wasn`t about to tell the American rent-a-cops nuthin.  Just damn “Yankee riffraff“ he allowed.

Dubois and his sidekick, Balfour Smith, were dispatched to Mountie headquarters in Regina to get their man. They have an ace in the hole in Regina in the form of two Pinkerton retained spies right in the heart of Mountie headquarters. Two working ladies, Lilly Flett and Bonnie Blondon, ply their ancient trade above a Chinese restaurant in Regina’s warehouse district where, as Bonnie opined – “There`s no place information flows like in bed.”

Caught in the middle of the cross-border cops and robber intrigue is humble horse-trader Bud Quigley, whose spread is only a few miles north of the boundary in Manitoba. Quigley favours a 12 gauge side-by-side, 18“ barrel, Parker shotgun; generally has a .44 caliber Model 3 Smith & Wesson pistol handy, and  a back-up over-and-under .41 caliber derringer in his shirt pocket.

This rollicking romp across the prairies is not just a cool chase book, it’s great historical fiction as well; chock full of detail about life in them days, the folks that lived it, the horses they rode, the guns they used or didn’t use as well as their usually closet confined skeletons.

Hot damn. I enjoyed this book. Thanks Allan. But don’t take my word for it folks. Get the book and find out for your own self. As for me, I can’t hardly wait for the movie.

Jim Green is a celebrated storyteller, poet, writer, broadcaster, and entertainer who’s been hiding out in the Northwest Territories for more than forty years.

2013 Ko K’e (Fire) Storytelling Festival

Northern Arts and Cultural Centre partnered with CKLB Radio

Being Jim Green’s blog of a recent storytelling adventure.

I shuffled aboard a Northwestern Air Lease plane and left Fort Smith at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, September 13th; a glorious morning in the summertime. Had a right peaceful nap as we droned north over the cotton. When we dropped below the clouds over the bay on the approach to Yellowknife, Great Slave Lake looked cold and dark, whitecaps slopping lazily along the surface.

I’m always amazed how small the big lake looks from the air. Much smaller than it was when my paddling partner Juneva and I took 22 days to paddle from Fort Smith to Yellowknife, navigating the lake through the Simpson Islands.

The gracious Northern Arts and Culture Centre (NACC) executive and artistic director Marie Coderre met me at the airport and whisked me off to Javaroma for coffee and cranberry muffins, my all-time favorite. Good beginnings.

A busy day, Friday. I was on CKLB radio live with the dynamic Director of Radio Deneze Nakehk’o in the morning pumping the Ko K’e Storytelling Festival.  Had breakfast with the “boys” at the old timers table in the Diner. It wasn’t the Miners Mess but it felt some good, especially the part where I held a $21,000.00 gold nugget in the palm of my hand.

Back at CKLB with Deneze at noon pushing my new spoken word album, MAGIC WORDS: travel tales from the ice coast.  The year 1972 seems like a long time ago when our daughter was born in Taloyoak, called Spence Bay in the old days, and I scribbled the notes for MAGIC WORDS on a steno pad. Had lunch with the folks at CKLB – warm fry bread and baked lake trout fresh from the Horn Plateau courtesy of Deneze Nakehk’o’s Dad Jim Antoine.

Made a good contact with Angela Sterritt at CBC and dropped off CD’s for her at the studio.

Met with Northern News Service Entertainment editor, Danielle Sachs, gave her CDs, angling for a review of MAGIC WORDS; she came through in spades:

“From the nostalgic to the hilarious, Green’s stories interweave Inuit legends with his own stories – keeping them separate but side-by-side. Green’s poignant voice effortlessly brings the listener back to a time they may never have seen, and a place they may never have visited…. From the humorous to the stark and realistic, Green brings you into his living room before opening the curtains and taking you out on the land with him…. His descriptions of butchering seals, with the sound of the slide whistle in the background, brings the listener to the camp. We can smell the warm blood in the air, and hear the dog teams begging for their piece of the action.

Listeners will be mesmerized and find themselves listening to Green’s tales again and again.”
Danielle Sachs, Entertainment editor/Northern News Service, Sept. 21, 2013.

William Greenland

William Greenland

William Greenland, long-time Gwichìn CKLB radio broadcaster (guitar and Native American flute) and CKLB radio Dehcho Yati host Lawrence Nayally (drummer) launched the eighth annual NACC storytelling festival by entertaining the crowd in the NACC foyer before Tanya Tagaq’s awesome sold out show on Friday night.

Storyteller Breathes Life into History – Northern News Sept 2013

Storyteller breathes life into history

Ice Coast travels inland

Danielle Sachs
Northern News Services
Published Saturday, September 21, 2013

THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Jim Green’s third spoken word recording focuses on a period of time just over 40 years ago, when he moved from Yellowknife to Taloyoak – then a part of the NWT.

Green took notes. Years later, he has recorded them in the storytelling genre.

Yellowknife: Notes from the Gold Range was released in June 2012 and, just over a year later, Magic Words: Travel Tales from the Ice Coast joins his collection of recordings.

Magic Words is Green’s third album release, his first, Flint and Steel with Pat Buckna was originally out on cassette in 1983. It has since been re-released in CD format.

Green worked in Taloyoak for the GNWT in the early seventies. He observed and noted everything he could.

“I’ve been writing and taking notes for years,” said Green.

“I have a lot more stories where these came from.”

From the nostalgic to the hilarious, Green stories interweave his own stories with Inuit legends and stories with his own – keeping them separate but side-by-side.

Green’s poignant voice effortlessly brings the listener back to a time they may never have seen, and a place they may never have visited.

“Everybody has a flood story, one time there was a big giant and he was real hungry, so he waded into Pelly Bay, not very far south from where we were at Netsiksiuvik, to hunt seals,” said Green.

As a giant, he was quite well endowed and because of an unfortunate hunting accident the giant fell backwards and caused a tsunami that flooded the low lying areas, Green says on track two.

Green describes taking a boat with a friend, dodging rocks, through narrow inlets, and the story tells of why the rocks are no longer exposed as they were before.

From the humorous to the stark and realistic, Green brings you into his living room before opening the curtains and taking you out on the land with him.

“At low tide, or when the wind is honking in out of the north, the nets are a jumbled mess of grinding collisions of ice…” Green describes the seal hunting camp and talks about bobbing from ice pan to ice pan whenever a seal is spotted.

His descriptions of butchering seals, with the sound of the slide whistle in the background, brings the listener to the camp. We can smell the warm blood in the air, and hear the dog teams begging for their piece of the action.

Listeners will be mesmerized and find themselves listening to Green’s tales again and again.