Your Very Own Nertz Deck!

The National Nertz Association is now helping Nertz players design their own Nertz playing cards decks with YourPlayingCards.com!

http://www.yourplayingcards.com/

YourPlayingCards.com lets you customize playing cards with you own images or designs while offering great customer service. They are fast, friendly, and will help you with whatever you need. They have a simple online design tool in which you upload your own images or designs onto a ready-to-order template. It's easy and fun!

- Choose from casino-quality paper or plastic.
- Standard, jumbo, multi-color playing card face options available.
- Mini decks available.
- Discounts for large orders.
- Official Poker Size - 2.5 x 3.5 inches on all orders unless otherwise requested.

YourPlayingCards.com is perfect for Nertz players who are looking for unique decks for their Nertz games. Now you can play Nertz in style with your own custom Nertz decks. Custom Nertz decks also make great gifts and prizes for those Nertz champions in your life. Make your next Nertz experience a memorable one with YourPlayingCards.com. They have way more options than we can list here so, what are you waiting for? Click the link above to get started and learn more!

Nertz Store Updates!

Sorry that it has been a while since the last Nertz update. I just wanted to let you guys know that The Nertz Store has been updated. It has a new look, layout, and some fresh new products. There is now a minimum of 24 designs on over 1500 products, so we hope you can find something you like there. The Nertz Store is also committed to unveiling new products and designs on a regular basis. At the same time, playnertz.com has just updated its "Nertz Online" gaming area to be more accommodating to its body of members and online players. The National Nertz Association hopes you utilize all of the links and services provided at playnertz.com, so don't forget to check out the fresh updates. While you are visiting, keep an eye out for the "Like" facebook buttons on certain pages.


I know many of you have been asking for a Nertz Android app. Well, I believe we have found one named "Pounce" in the Android Market. Also, there will be an app for Windows 7 phone called "Nerts Card Game" which should be coming out this month(August) sometime. Keep checking the playnertz.com home page for any new information.

Lastly, the NNA has been excited by the surge in visitors to playnertz.com in the months of July and August and, as a result, they have received extra motivation in their effort to continually improve their site and services. On behalf of the NNA, I would like to thank you for reading and for your support!

The Nertz Census

(The following is a re-post from October 06 2009 at Xanga)

Breakdown:

Out of 853 NNA facebook group members that we sent the Location Survey to, exactly 103 people responded. That is almost 12% of the group and was more than we expected to respond. By the way, we would like to thank everyone that represented their respective Nertz territories.

Of the 103 that responded, there were approximately 74 females and 29 males, give or take a few names that are common for both sexes. But the gals definitely represented harder than the guys.

The multiple territories that a few members listed in addition to their initial locations were not tallied but they were noted. Only the initial locations were counted. Of the 103 replies only one came from beyond the U.S., though not far. That reply stated that Nertz was being played in Mexico.

In this survey, 32 states were represented, which means 18 were not. Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia had no NNA members represent them.

The state that had the most players represent was none other than TEXAS. They had 13 of the 103 members that responded. Coming closely in second was California with 11 members. Minnesota came in third with 6 members. Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, and South Carolina tied for fourth each having 5 members.

It should be noted that of the 18 states not represented in this survey, we now know by looking at the listed networks on our NNA facebook member list, that at least 12 of those states have NNA members currently residing and playing Nertz in them.

The states still in question in our NNA member facebook group are West Virginia, Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Maine.

In the past, the NNA has received emails from various Nertz players that play in all of these states, but our NNA facebook group members have yet to represent them. To prove that the NNA has blanketed the U.S. we still need to verify that there are members in the remaining 6 states.

The NNA and the game of Nertz have become international. We have found members and players from all over the world. Here are a few countries that have been reported to have some hardcore Nertz players in them. Ukraine, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Australia, Mexico, England, Denmark, Canada, Russia, Swaziland, Germany, France, Turkey, Botswana , China, Poland, New Zealand, Greenland, Switzerland, Kenya, Israel, Ghana, Czech Republic, and Brazil to name a few.

If all of our members would have replied, by our estimates, California, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Minnesota, Georgia, and Utah would have the states with the highest NNA member counts. Also, the Ukraine would have a high percentage within the NNA member base as well. Feel free to continue to represent, if you think your state or country didn’t get enough love. You can continue to represent by posting on our wall, posting comments below, or by sending the NNA messages.


Here are the location tallies from this census:

ALABAMA

ALASKA

ARIZONA 1

ARKANSAS 2

CALIFORNIA 11

COLORADO

CONNECTICUT

DELAWARE

FLORIDA 3

GEORGIA 4

HAWAII

IDAHO 1

ILLINOIS 3

INDIANA 2

IOWA 1

KANSAS 5

KENTUCKY 5

LOUISIANA 1

MAINE

MARYLAND 4

MASSACHUSETTS 2

MICHIGAN 1

MINNESOTA 6

MISSISSIPPI

MISSOURI 3

MONTANA

NEBRASKA 5

NEVADA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

NEW MEXICO

NEW YORK 1

NORTH CAROLINA 2

NORTH DAKOTA

OHIO 5

OKLAHOMA 2

OREGON 1

PENNSYLVANIA

RHODE ISLAND 1

SOUTH CAROLINA 5

SOUTH DAKOTA

TENNESSEE 4

TEXAS 13

UTAH 1

VERMONT

VIRGINIA 3

WASHINGTON 2

WEST VIRGINIA

WISCONSIN 1

WYOMING 1


The following were the replies recorded:

1. Kentucky
2. Massachusetts
3. South Carolina
4. Kansas – Gardner
5. Virginia – Richmond
6. California - San Diego
7. Florida
8. Maryland
9. Texas – Lubbock
10. North Carolina
11. Georgia - Atlanta, Lawrenceville, and Rome
12. Florida
13. Illinois – Chicago
14. Massachusetts
15. Minnesota
16. Rhode Island
17. Wisconsin
18. Texas – Frisco
19. Kansas
20. Tennessee
21. Minnesota
22. California - San Diego
23. Texas
24. Kentucky
25. California – Concord
26. Texas
27. Oklahoma
28. Minnesota
29. Tennessee - Johnson City
30. Maryland ---- also Pennsylvania
31. Nebraska
32. Texas
33. Michigan - Paw Paw and Kalamazoo
34. Minnesota – Cloquet
35. Kentucky
36. South Carolina – Clemson
37. Nebraska
38. Oklahoma – Norman
39. Nebraska
40. Texas
41. Ohio
42. Idaho
43. Indiana ---- also Texas
44. Maryland ---- also Virginia
45. New York
46. Nebraska – Fremont
47. Missouri – Florissant
48. Tennessee
49. Florida
50. Ohio – Cortland
51. Texas – Tyler
52. Oregon ---- also, now, France and Ghana
53. Texas
54. California – Lodi
55. Maryland - Silver Spring
56. Indiana
57. California – Yucaipa
58. Washington
59. Arizona
60. Georgia – Snellville
61. Minnesota ---- also Wisconsin
62. Ohio
63. Georgia – Snellville
64. South Carolina ---- also Ohio and Indiana
65. Kentucky
66. Missouri ---- also Ohio
67. Iowa
68. South Carolina – Columbia
69. Kentucky
70. Ohio
71. California
72. Kansas
73. Utah
74. Georgia – Kennesaw
75. Arkansas ---- also Missouri
76. Texas – Houston
77. Nebraska – Lincoln
78. Kansas
79. Tennessee – Memphis
80. South Carolina
81. California
82. California
83. Ohio
84. Kansas – Wichita
85. Arkansas
86. Illinois
87. Texas ---- also Massachusetts, Illinois, Czech Republic
88. Louisiana
89. Virginia
90. Missouri
91. Minnesota
92. Texas
93. Wyoming
94. North Carolina
95. California
96. Texas – Austin
97. Virginia ---- also Ukraine
98. Washington
99. California – San Diego
100. Texas – Houston
101. California – San Francisco
102. Mexico
103. Illinois ---- also Missouri

First Male Nertz Champ Crowned!

United States - Last week the Nertz community witnessed the crowning of the first male online Nertz player in history. Since the NNA began its online tournament system the field of players have been dominated by female champions. Aaron Whitcomb became the first male champion after his final table victory last Monday night.

NNA006 - Final Table Scores

Aaron W. went heads up against back-to-back champ Sara Paseka. Aaron was in control of the match the entire time after starting the match with consecutive full-table sets. He finished Sara off in 7 hands ending up with 101 points. Sara will be eagerly awaiting to play Aaron in the upcoming Tournament of Champions. Sara and Aaron W. will also be taking on Katie McClain, Meg Holko, and Jill Younker-Sny in a point-emphasized tournament.

With Aaron's win, he grabbed the 2nd place in the 2009 rankings. However, the 2009 rankings list is not completely set yet. The Tournament of Champions will be included in the 2009 stat category and rankings, as the champions that were invited, won or began a road to victory in 2009.

The "Rookie of the Tournament" award was given to Brody Smith for his efforts against the 2-time champ Sara.

The first official tournament of 2010 (NNA008) has been announced and registration for it will be open soon. The NNA would like to thank everyone for a great 2009 tournament year!

Largest Nertz Group In the World!

United States - The following is a statement from the NNA:

"The National Nertz Association is now the largest Nertz group in the world. 900 members may not be saying much but, in this case, it counts for a lot considering the game's obscure conception.

Most Nertz players find playnertz.com but do not join. It is almost impossible to determine recruitment statistics but if we were to estimate it we would say 1 out of 20 Nertz players join the NNA after finding out about them. One thing we know is that Nertz players are out there and the game is spreading.

Nertz players tend to welcome as many people as they can fit into a Nertz game and that is the same mentality the NNA has taken with its membership. The more members we have, the more possibility of excitement and greater level of fun may be had.

Here is a link to some stats on the NNA: http://nertzfan.xanga.com/

It is still our goal to host national in-person Nertz tournaments in cities across the U.S. That goal is solely dependent upon what direction this game's popularity goes.

If you have an idea for the NNA, just let us know. Post a comment below.

Simple Way To Keep Nertz Alive!

Join our main group on Facebook. Invite all of your friends, because you may not even know that they play Nertz. Join the followers list on this blog. Take pictures and videos the next time you play Nertz and post them in our group. Get some Nertz merchandise and display the merchandise with pride. Play in NNA online tournaments. Host you own in-person tournaments and post information about them in our group. Post some of your Nertz stories and experiences on our group's wall or in our forums. Let your friends and family know about Nertz and the National Nertz Association."

Rookie, Katie, Wins Big and Cleans Up!

United States - Aaron Whitcomb, Natasha Rene Stafford, Katie McClain, and champion, Meg Holko, sat down for a title match on Sunday night that lasted nine hands. The list of finalists consisted of three veterans and one rookie and it was the rookie that would earn the title of MEGA-Nertz Open Champion.

NNA005 Final Table Scores>>>
Full Tournament Bracket>>>

To start, the champ, Meg, quickly got down to business winning the first two hands on back-to-back Nertz calls. However, her lead dwindled when she was set in the 3rd hand by a Nertz call from Natasha. Natasha didn't just set Meg, but she also set Aaron and Katie making a full table set.

Katie, currently tied in second place at the start of hand #4, took the lead with a 20-point Nertz call after claiming the 4th. Katie followed that call with another Nertz call, this time acquiring 27 points(a game high) in the 5th . Katie was quickly set in the 6th by the champ, Meg. Then, 13 points off of the leader, Katie, made another Nertz call completing her second back-to-back, which had pulled her 1 point away from the lead.

Katie, sensing the champs pressure, asserted herself in the 8th with a 19-point Nertz. She now had a total of 92 points and only needed 8 points for the victory. Well, in the 9th, Katie more than closed things out with a 19-point full table set that secured her place in Nertz history.

The NNA crowned Katie "The MEGA-Nertz Open Online Champion". But the accolades don't stop there. Katie also received the "Rookie of the Tournament" award. And she also had the hand high for the tournament(37) in which she will receive an "Official Nertz Scoring Pad". Aside from the 2nd and 3rd place prizes, which would be impossible to obtain by winning the tournament, Katie won every prize available in this tournament. Her prize pouch will include an invitation to the "2009 Tournament of Champions", a "Nertz Champion" T-Shirt, and a free copy of the "Nerts High Speed Card Game" software. But that is just for winning the this tournament, there's more! As mentioned before, Katie receives the "Official Nertz Scoring Pad" from her tournament hand high, as well as, an "I Love Nertz" bumper sticker for winning the "Rookie of the Tournament" award. Her goal may have been to win all the prizes possible in this tournament, but all of the prideful tournament players that played in this tournament really only wanted one thing... : To go down in Nertz history as the first MEGA-Nertz Open Online Champion in history.

Meg placed 2nd in this tournament while Natasha placed 3rd. They both will be receiving copies of the "Nerts High Speed Card Game" as well.

New Rankings:

Out of the 9 rookies that played, 6 of them busted into the top 20 in the NNA Player Rankings. Katie went from being un-ranked to being ranked 2nd only having two-time champ, Sara Paseka in front of her. Meg only fell one spot but raised her player ranking with her outstanding play in this tournament. Brock Ellis moved down 6 places but Mallory Holko moved up three into 11th on the list. Natasha also made a leap moving from 10th to 7th, which landed her just behind her arch-nemesis, Aaron Whitcomb who is now 6th on the list.

The NNA wants to thank all of the tournament participants from every online tournament this year. The inception of the NNA Online Nertz Tournament System has been very successful. Everyone is looking forward to future NNA tournaments whether they are live/in-person tournaments or online tournaments.

2-Time Champ Battles In Thriller!

United States - Three of the four veterans made it to play in the ACEG MEGA semifinal match. 2-time champ Sara Paseka and veterans Aaron Whitcomb and Natasha Rene Stafford went at one another for 9 hands. Brock Ellis wasn't available for tonight's hardcore exhibition of talent.

ACEG Semifinal Bracket Scores>>>
Full Tournament Bracket>>>

Sara started the match with a 20-point Nertz that put her out in front. Aaron countered in the second with a 27-point Nertz. This only moved him into second place as Sara remained in first with 20 points of her own in the 2nd. Natasha stuck a blow in the 3rd with a 22-point Nertz, which resulted a place swap with Aaron, while Sara, still in 1st place, inched closer the 100-point mark.

In the 4th, Aaron then traded places again with Natasha moving himself back into second place after a 28-point Nertz, while Sara continued her march to the finish after yet another 20-point tally. At that point the scores read as follows: Sara 74, Aaron 63, and Natasha 55.

Sara was within striking distance, but the feud between Natasha and Aaron was starting to heat up. Aaron was bested by Natasha in the second round by only two points. This time Aaron was determined not to let Natasha beat him. However, Natasha, currently in 3rd place, wasn't about to let Aaron get the best of her this time either.

Sara continued the match unaware that the magnitude of her opponent's rivalry would have such an impact on her tournament life. Natasha quickly made back-to-back Nertz calls pulling herself back into second place just 1 point away from the leader, Sara.

Aaron didn't waste anytime in the 7th hand calling Nertz and making a full table set which put him in the lead. In a volley-like fashion, Natasha returned Aarons Nertz call with her own full table set in the 8th.

The ninth hand would prove to be the last of the match. All three vets had a chance to take it. But who wanted it the most? It just so happened that 2 of them did take it. Aaron's and Natasha's rivalry fueled them both to play any and every card they could in the 9th hand up until a Nertz call was made. It was Aaron who ended up calling Nertz but much to everyone's surprise, he did not solely posses the highest match score. Natasha tied with Aaron at 101 points to end the match as both players further solidified their places as arch nemeses.

The 2-time champ, Sara, fell just short of advancing to her 4th final appearance. She had a dominating second round match in which she won in only 4 hands. Sara will be plotting her revenge having already preregistered for the next NNA tournament. It is unlikely that Sara will fall from the #1 spot in the tournament ranking due to both her quality performances in this tournament and her previous ones...especially the ones in which she captured 2 titles.





Final Preview:

Aaron and Natasha will face Katie and Meg in the Finals of the MEGA-Nertz Open. Meg Holko, the only champion remaining in this tournament, has the lowest PPG average of all the finalist. That may not be a factor, due to Meg's experience in the finals.

Meg beat Aaron Whitcomb in the finals of the NNA004 tournament. However, rookie Katie McClain just put a beat down on Meg along with another tournament champion in the same match.

In addtion, Natasha Rene Stafford beat Aaron W. in her second round match after advancing on a "bye", so we know she can beat a champ-beater.

Aaron is looking to be the first male ever to win a NNA online tournament. He has taken down the 2-time champ twice in his tournament life.

Katie isn't perfect in her 1st tournament appearance despite her impressive stats. She did lose to rookie Josh Consalvo in her second round match. Katie still currently holds the tournament hand high in which she will be awarded a prize for if it stands. She is also a strong favorite in the "Rookie of the Tournament" running. If her record holds, a victory in the final would likely earn all four tournament prizes. A truly magnanimous feat. However, the veterans in this final will do everything they can to prevent this from happening.

The final match-ups look to be extremely close in talent. All of the finalists have the skill, but it will be about who executes when it counts. We will see next week who can execute!