Just Poker Talk

Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

April 16, 2007, will be remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of the Virginia Tech community and the world beyond.

To remember and honor the victims of those tragic events, the university has established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to aid in the healing process and generate financial support.

The fund will be used to cover expenses including but not limited to:

• Grief counseling
• Memorials
• Communication expenses
• Comfort expenses
• Incidental needs

If you plan to give, please click the link below:

I finished with classes last Friday, so I hope to play more poker. I started my return to poker with two sessions. Yesterday I won a meager $10 in about two hours, and today I lost $39 in three.

The losing session was inevitable, and I’ve been waiting for it, expecting it, almost embracing it. Now that I’ve lost and don’t feel invincible anymore, I feel horrible. At the end of a losing session I always feel that way. I’m rusty after playing sporadically for two months. Not even sporadic, to be honest, more like not playing at all, save for three one-hour sessions. It’s a shame because I got into a great groove at Doyle’s Room the last week before they moved to the Ipoker network. That was the best week of poker I ever played, even though I’ve won more money during similar one week runs.

Since I’ve been playing at Full Tilt Poker, my play has been reckless. The problem was that I was winning. Every move I made was the right one. Every bluff I made was successful. No one hit anything on me. I saw 35% of the flops and won 18% of my hands, mostly off bluffs. I got paid off with my big hands, which came often. My pocket Aces and Kings didn’t get busted. I knew I was playing too reckless, but not in that I was playing too many hands, more that I was making a lot of marginal calls, which, when successful, I attributed to my stellar reading skills.

Tonight was the end of my good luck, and I’m thankful for it. I needed a reality check, however I wish I quit a bit earlier, before I lost $18 in six minutes, losing $12 going all-in with 7-2 off suit. There was no doubt that I was tilting for most of the session, but the blame also goes to making too many marginal calls, being over aggressive, not making good reads, and basically playing like a complete donk out there.

My first few hands sums up how I played tonight. On my first hand I had pocket fours and bet into someone with two pair, then on another table I called someone with a pair jacks and ended up rivering another jack to beat someone’s cowboys, but a few hands later I lost to someone’s aces full of fours versus my tens fulls of fours. Though I have to note that both players limped in preflop, which was puzzling.

Something I’ve noticed about poker lately is the propensity for winning hands to be distributed unevenly. What I mean by this is that certain people will catch cards all night and then others will catch nothing. I’ve noticed this when I play home games too, but usually those are against three to four players versus nine when I play online. Maybe it’s bad shuffling, but when I play home games, there always seems to be one player that wins almost every hand, while the others get cold carded.

Tonight I was cold carded, and every time I tried to bluff, someone had strong hand, which made it an easy call for them. Bluffing is a big part of my strategy, but it doesn’t work when people are hitting big hands left and right and when I can’t catch anything. Obviously I have to play through those sessions and maybe tighten up, but I’m wondering why those kind of hot and cold streaks are so prevalent for me. Is it product of my play? my mentality? the cards? Full Tilt Poker’s random card algorithm? Most likely all four, but I also think that for me to be successful, I have to have the right mentality, and that’s what a losing session does for me.

*******

I was trying to incorporate this into my post about losing, but I’m uninspired tonight, too bummed about losing and just plain tired. Anyway, I wanted to mention that the Golden State Warriors are playing the Dallas Mavericks tonight. If the Warriors win and the Los Angeles Clippers lose to the Phoenix Suns, then the Warriors will be in the playoffs for the first time in twelve years. It’s exciting and I wish I were in the Bay Area right now to root for them. I hear the atmosphere at Oracle Arena has been amazing. I’ve followed the Warriors since the year Sprewell choked PJ Carlesimo. Can’t remember what year that was; all I know is that it’s been a long time.

In a way, it’s a lot like poker; I lose fair my share, but I keep playing and working at it. I’m still waiting for that moment where everything clicks, that moment where I reach the next level. Once I get there, I hope it feels as great as listening to and watching the Warriors make their run at the playoffs this year.

****

I guess I’ll leave with some Monta Ellis highlights from the 2007 Rookie Sophmore Game:

poker, Full Tilt Poker, losing session, Warriors, NBA, Mavericks, playoffs

Over at Paris Hilton Watch, there’s an amusing post on Paris Hilton’s poker faces, and that got me thinking about who’d I like to play poker against. Would I want to play against a rich millionaire who doesn’t know the slightest thing about poker, or would I want to play against one of the best?

Certainly, if I ever get a chance to play against Paris Hilton in one million dollar heads-up match, I’d head right to the bank and take out a loan just to play against her. Granted there’s the chance that Paris Hilton is actually a decent poker player and could beat me in humiliating fashion. Losing to her could be a valid reason for anyone to give up on life. I’m exaggerating but I bet I’d hear about it from people. I’d probably never hear the end of it - “Are you the one that lost to Paris Hilton at poker?”

After thinking about it, I’d want to play against Daniel Negreanu. He’s the most down to earth player of all the professionals. He’s also the most open about talking with fans and all the regular poker pokers. He takes the time to maintain his own blog. His articles on poker strategy can occasionally be found online. And, during one episode of the WSOP, which really solidified Negreanu as one of my favorite poker players, there was a short segment on how he visited this kid, who was badly injured or disabled from some accident, and taught him how to play poker and just hung out with him.

A lot of the other poker players these days remind me of Paris Hilton.

Paris Hilton, poker, Daniel Negreanu

5. Gus Hansen

Gus Hansen is one of my favorite poker players. He was by far my favorite poker player during that one stretch when he was always at the WPT final table. His aggressive bluffing style is fun to watch. The only reason he isn’t higher on the list is because I haven’t seen him on television much. The last time I watched him was on an episode of Poker After Dark. He ended up winning, but he seemed more in control than before, less wild.

4. Scotty Nguyen

Between players 4-2, it was hard to choose because I like watching them for pretty much the same reasons, so they are pretty interchangeable in that regard. Scotty Nguyen’s another one of those players that’s just very confident about his poker skills and his his arrogant table image is a product of that. Maybe it’s not the proper etiquette to have at a poker table, but it’s entertaining to watch as Scotty berates his opponent when he has the nuts and goads him to call.

3. Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth’s fun to watch just to see him get rivered by an amateur and having him explode and tell his opponent how terrible they played the hand. How could they call with that?

2. Mike Matusow

Mike Matusow is another of those loud-mouth poker players, and I guess that’s the trend in my list. Matusow is up at number two mainly because he’s not always berating players at the tables, like most of the others. He seems to get into more normal conversations than the others. Also there’s something sad about Matusow now, as he tries to reform himself from debt and his blowups.

1. Daniel Negreanu

Negreanu is my favorite poker player, both because of his table talk and his skill. His table talk is not as mean-spirited as the rest of the players on this list, which is refreshing. I also learn something from his play every time I watch him.

Negreanu, Hansen, Matusow, Hellmuth, Nguyen, poker, top ten

I enjoy watching poker on television because of the pros. Watching amateurs bore me. There’s nothing to learn from those players and most aren’t too interesting. Occasionally there are some intriguing characters though. Although I enjoy watching the pros, not all the pros are worth skipping work or canceling a date to watch. Here are the first five players on my list of favorite poker players to watch on television. The top five will be posted tomorrow.

10. Humberto Brenes

It was tough call for the number 10 spot. It was either Clonie Gowan, Phil Laak, Jennifer Harman, Antionio Esfandiari, or Humberto Brenes. I went with the latter. The first time I watched Humberto Brenes was during an old World Series of Poker broadcast on ESPN. I’m not sure which one it was, but I think it was in the late 90’s. Humberto is just one of those players that likes to have fun playing poker. He is a bit condescending and arrogant to his opponents, but there is still a sense that he’s not taking it too seriously. It’s interesting because he’s not very fluent in English, yet he talks so much and isn’t intimidated by anyone.

9. Doyle Brunson


Doyle Brunson is a sentimental pick for me. I find him hard to watch. It’s tough watching him lose and he feels out of place amongst the younger players nowadays. While I have a hard time watching him, I do feel compelled to watch him play and hope he continues to prove his greatness.

8. Dan Harrington


I put Harrington on my list because he plays solid steady poker. His two final table appearances in 2003 and 2004 solidified that for me. That’s a pretty amazing feat in the continually growing size of the Main Event. I like that he doesn’t trash talk and just plays the game.

7. Shawn Sheikhan


When I first watched Shawn Sheikhan, I didn’t like him much. It was during the 2005 WSOP and he and Matusow were going at it. Shawn Sheikhan reminded me of Josh Arieh clone. Maybe it’s because they look similar in a very vague way or something. But the more I watch Sheikhan, the more I like watching him, but mostly because of his banter with Matusow. Without him, Sheikhan is much less interesting to watch.

6. Phil Ivey


What can I say about Phil Ivey other than the fact that he’s the best poker player around. It’s like he’s barely trying. Half the time he seems bored as hell playing tournaments. That’s one of the reasons why he’s great to watch, but also one of the reasons why I don’t like watching him. He’s not that emotional. The one time I remember him getting pretty emotional was when Moneymaker beat him in the 2003 WSOP. I’m not sure what the hand was but I think Moneymaker cracked Ivey’s set of 7s or something. I can only imagine what would’ve happened if Moneymaker didn’t luck out on that hand.

top ten, poker, Phil Ivey, Humberto Brenes, Doyle Brunson, Shawn Sheikhan, Dan Harrington

I’m not a much of a tournament player. I used to play the $1000 free rolls at Royal Vegas Poker everyday. It was easy to cash in those tournaments since 80 spots were paid and if you played the late night tournaments there’d be five to six hundred entrants, half of whom would be eliminated in the first twenty minutes. Sometimes ghost players would make it into the money without playing a single hand. My best finishes were 2nd and 3rd, along with a handful of top ten finishes. With that said, free roll strategy differs from real money tournament strategy.

I haven’t had much success in the real money tournaments, though I did win a 60 cent tournament a few months ago. Part of my lack of success is that I just don’t play many. I’m afraid to make the investment and take the bumps needed to improve and develop a winning strategy. The losing wouldn’t discourage me. It’s more that I’m afraid to lose money, so I stick with my comfort zone, which is 25NL ring games.

Lately, I’ve been trying to break out of that habit, since I know that I have to take a risk to improve, and so far it has paid off, my endeavor into 50NL and 100NL ring games. At first I lost $150 but then I adjusted, calmed down, and started winning. If my winning will last, I’m not sure, but from now on I’m making an effort to push myself. Winning can come later. And hopefully pay dividends.

I’m contemplating entering more tournaments, that after I figure out how to enter tournaments at FTP. Also I probably won’t be playing for a few more weeks because I’m kind of busy with other projects right now. So for now I plan to read up on tournament strategy. I’m strongly thinking about purchasing Harrington’s books, since many people have told me that it’s a great read in terms of strategy.

Gambling911.com has an article on multi-table poker tournaments, which you can read here. It’s geared towards beginners, people who haven’t played many poker tournaments. Intermediate and experienced players will roll their eyes or scoff at the tips. Some of the strategy presented is also debatable. But for beginners I think the tips are good to keep in mind. I’m certainly taking the advice to heart. It may be completely wrong or partially right. It doesn’t matter. I’m here to listen and learn. I will discard faulty strategies when necessary, but not without giving them a chance.

poker, mult-table tournament, Full Tilt Poker, strategy

I haven’t really played any poker since I cleared my bonus for Doyle’s Room. That was over a month ago, and so tonight I had some free time and decided to check out the ring games at Full Tilt Poker. This was not my first time playing there, as I did play a $5 dollar SNG earlier this week, which I won pretty easily. I had the help of hitting a few huge hands and that allowed me to bully everyone.

In tonight’s session, I started off a bit nervous since I was unaccustomed to the interface and the general style play, whether the players were aggressive or passive, loose or tight. Also I always have this fear that the players will play really well and that I’ll get slaughtered. Lucky for me that didn’t happen. I bought in for $13, my usual half buy-in, at the 25NL tables and finished up $42 in under 2 hours, mostly by winning two big pots. The first I had AA and my opponent had KK. The second I hit a set of 10’s and let someone overplay their AK.

Overall, I’m feeling good about the players’ lack of aggression. They weren’t as tough as I expected. When I first sat down, players were betting like crazy but the action slowed down drastically after a while. In the end, most were pretty passive so I was able to play my game. Granted I only played 89 hands and I understand that that’s not enough time to judge the quality of players yet. Also it’ll be interesting once all the PT users get enough hands on me.

Personally I’m still waiting for that new player luck to wear off. I read somewhere that some casinos let new players win on their first visit so that they can hook them to the thrill of winning, and then proceed to make them lose on subsequent visits once.

Full Tilt Poker, poker, session recap

[This is part two of Job Searching. To read the first part of the story, click here: Job Searching (Part 1)]

I sat down near the dealer, who had on a black vest with a patch that said, “Morongo Casino,�? in hot pink. Chili ran down the wall, which was yellowed from cigarette smoke. It looked fresh and I followed the dripping mixture of beans and ground up beef down to the blue carpet. The stuff, looking like vomit, bubbled. It interrupted the up and down pattern of little stars that lined the carpet. Star. Star. Vomit. Star. Star. I wondered what the story behind this chili stain was. What kind of bad beat caused someone to launch their food into the wall?

“This is 80/160NL, kid. Are you sure got the right table?�? said the dealer. One of his front teeth was missing, and he had a thin mustache that curled at the ends. “Sure you’re not looking for 1/2?

I told him I wasn’t and put my money on the green felt. Money speaks louder than words. The dealer shrugged, and started counting the money. I could hear him, under his breath in a whispering grunt, counting 1,2,3.

“This guy’s a pro,�? said a man in a yellow polo shirt with a beer in his hand. He was talking to his buddy, who sat on the other side of the dealer.

“How do you know?�? he asked. “You sure, Mike?�?

Mike shook his head.

“What you can’t tell? Champ over there, he’s a shark. Just look at him.�? said Nelson. Nelson, he dressed like a street bum. He wore a blue beanie that had little twigs sticking out from the wool. His green jacket had holes up all over. “Welcome to the table, Champ.�? He raised his hand up, and held out it over table. “High five, man.�?

I gave him a high five.

“The name’s Nelson. Probably the only famous Nelson you know.�?

“So this guy’s really a pro?�? said Mike’s friend.

“Can you guys shut up? I’m trying to read here,�? said a man, who wore a cowboy hat. He was reading from a book called,
“How to make money: Selling/Buying on EBay.�?

The dealer shoved fifty green chips over to me, each worth $80. I started stacking them in piles of five, while the dealer dealt the cards. I threw in two chips because I was the big blind. Playing with chips instead of cash took away some of the pressure of losing money. It was psychological. It didn’t seem like losing money at all.

I peeled my cards up on the edge, just enough so that I could see the number and the suit. Qs-8d.

Nelson called, throwing two chips into the center.

“I raise. Eight chips.�? said Mike.

The guy in the cowboy hat folded. He continued reading, only looking up to check what cards he had had. I folded. I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to force things. Although that was contrary to my style of play. I liked seeing flops and bluffing. Playing the man as they say.

The flop came up 2h-Js-8h. Mike shoved into the center a tower of eight chips, and Nelson called without much hesitation. He just counted out the chips in his pile and threw them in. The next card was a six of hearts. Again it was checked over to Mike. He rubbed his nose, and I could see his sweat stained armpit. This time he bet sixteen chips.

“How many chips is that?�? asked Nelson. “Sixteen, huh. Hmm. I call.�?

The way he called, with this aura of confidence, made me think he had hit his flush. Mike seemed to know, but bet anyways. I looked over to his chip stack; he had about half left and I couldn’t see him folding if Nelson bet on the next card. And that was exactly what happened. Nelson put him all in, and he called. Nelson with the flush and Mike with two pair, Aces and Jacks.

His face turned red, and he held the bottle as if he intended on throwing it at the wall. He shook his head. “SHIT man, how could you play that hand. After I raised!�? said Mike. Only a few hundred bills left in his wallet. Not enough to play in this game. “Hold my seat. I’m going to the atm. Don’t leave, alright. I want to get my money back.�?

(more…)

[My flash drive with all my writing inexplicably died today. Luckily I backed up my files else where and only lost a few important pieces. When I was digging up my old files, I came across this poker story I wrote about two years ago. Here is part 1]

I sped along interstate 10, my truck rumbling over potholes as Mariachi music played on the radio. Almost all the channels were in Spanish. The others were white noise. It was not much worse than anything in English. Besides, the clash of sounds from the violins, guitars, harps, and trumpets playing at the same time were growing on me. I was starting to appreciate the speed and precision of the guitar riffs; a skill that I admire in guitar players. They came off as smooth ripples, each note running into each other like dominoes.

It made me want to start a Mariachi band. We would wear black studded charro outfits, wide brimmed hats, and red handkerchiefs wrapped around our collars with big triangular flaps sticking out. We would play at all the Mexican restaurants, traveling the world and getting free food and a few dollars as compensation. We would be called, “Los Hombres en Negro.�?

I felt like I was headed nowhere.

Outside there was not much scenery, just miles and miles of crumbling asphalt sandwiched between cinnamon sands. I focused on the road ahead. A billboard was approaching. The Morongo Casino. Family Fun. Exit on Cabazon in 2mi. The picture depicted a family playing at a craps table. All of them were smiling and giving each other high fives.

And in a blur it was gone.

I wanted to turn around and head home. The dishwashing job was still open to me. I just had to call them up and ask, but I didn’t go to college for four years to do menial jobs like that. I wanted to be a writer. The irony was that I hadn’t written anything in months; I couldn’t stand the failure of rejection. One after another, after another.

I had even entered this contest for grammar school kids. You’d think I’d win. Hands down. No contest. On the form, I had faked my age and pasted a picture of me when I was younger. Someone named Sally Baker had won for her story about Fred the Frog and his quest around the world to find the princess, so he could turn into a prince again. And live happily ever after. How cliché. How stupid. Even I could have thought of that.

Today was my first day of work. My new job as a professional poker player. I felt like I was forced into this endeavor out of desperation. When I was in college, I was lucky enough to have had parents who supported me with cash as I worked on a degree. Money had been no issue then, just take out the credit card and swipe. Now with no money and no job, the affects were starting to wear on me. I didn’t want to leech off my parents anymore. I was no baby anymore or even in college. I needed to get out. My mother refused to give me any more money unless I got a job. I still got breakfast and dinner for free though. No one could be that cruel.

I took the exit on Cabazon and drove down a thin a stretch of road. From the opposite direction, cars hurtled past me. A few came close to a head on collision with my truck. Half of me wanted one of the smaller vehicles to crash into the front headlights or the grill. I could use the insurance money.

A big sign in the parking lot flashed, “Free lobster!�? Then flashed, “Buy one get one free.�? Then flashed, “Kids eat free.�? Then flashed, “Free lobster!�? I could use some free lobster. If I wore my hat so that it covered my face, and talked in a soft voice, I thought I may be able to get myself a free dinner.

After finding a parking spot under a swaying palm tree, I opened the glove compartment, where I had stashed $4000 in one hundred dollar bills. I had wrapped them in a rubber band, the color of uncooked spaghetti sticks. The money, which I was saving to pay off my loans, was from my savings account. For two weeks I had been withdrawing $400 a day. The bank wouldn’t let me take it all out at once.

To make me feel better about this, I told myself that this was like an investment. The stock market for example. That even though I was risking $4000, that I had the opportunity to make millions. If I had left it in the bank, the safe way, I would be earning interest at .008 percent. This was what people do when they want to live the rest of their lives in mediocrity. I didn’t want to be one of them. Everyone who was a somebody took risks to get where they were. This was my big risk.

I was following the American dream.

(more…)

By now supporters of online poker should be familiar with US Senator Alfonso D’Amato. For the first time in my life the mention of a politician did not make me think cynical and all too conventional thoughts. For instance I did not immediately think that D’Amato’s sole motive was power and money, nor did I think that he was looking out for his own interests. Of course that is far from the truth. D’Amato is getting paid big bucks to lobby for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). Plus he is also a longtime poker player.

In short D’Amato is the same as every other politician. My readiness to view him as the one good Senator in Congress stems from him supporting my beliefs, in this case the freedom to play online poker without the hassles created by the UIGEA. My interest in this issue worries me.

My fear with politics is that I will take an interest in the issues and drama, and more importantly side with other politicians, and therefore form an allegiance with them so they can support my interests whether it is good or bad for the general public. When I reach my thirties, I fear this will be inevitable, that I will soon become civic minded for myself. Somehow I feel it’s better to play apathetic and uncaring. That way I can put the blame on others and make fun of Bush’s intelligence as much as I want, not that I do the latter. I don’t do the latter because it’s hypocritical to the former. My hobby is to blame bush bashers for the sad state of politics. In other words, I’m a hypocrite whether I choose to be civic mind or not.

But with a choice, I’d rather be apathetic. At least that way I will be only indirectly to blame if the country elects the next Stalin, and I wouldn’t have to deal with the guilt of my selfishness. With D’Amato, I’m not sure I can support someone that relates the online poker ban to the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920’s.

Overall it is a weak argument, almost comical like Mark Kriedler points out in his article D’Amato Shows Poker Face. Kriedler also pokes holes in D’Amato’s statement that poker is America’s favorite sport. D’Amato is quoted saying “You don’t have 70 million people playing baseball,” when the PPA, the group he is lobbying for, estimates that only 23 million people play online. In the end these arguments may be persuasive.

Politics is about spin, and I hate spin, so I’m debating on whether or not I should support D’Amato. In more general terms the debate is on whether I should support my interests through any means or not.

[source Gambling911.com]

Poker Player’s Alliance, D’Amato, political apathy, poker, UIGEA

Today I read that Casino College is offering a special Poker Dealing course. The aim of this course is to give student dealers an opportunity to deal at the WSOP. Casino College is adamant that they can get 100 of their students hired to deal.

The course teaches prospective dealers how to deal a dozen variations of poker. They have even arranged for a WSOP insider to give insider tips and advice. I wonder how dealing in the WSOP differs from other professional settings, like dealing ring games at my local casino.

The whole deal amounts to publicity and a gimmick to attract more students to College Casino. The prospect of dealing at the WSOP, however, does sound enticing, though not for the same reasons I had a few years ago.

More than once the thought of becoming a poker dealer has entered my mind. Two years ago, I went to the Morongo to play some poker. It was my first time playing for real money. Up until then I had only played online for play money.

On that day I skipped Calculus and British Literature for a trip to the casino. I brought a hundred dollars, none of which I was willing to lose. I had taken the money out of the ATM earlier in the afternoon. Taking out five 20 dollars bills while a security camera caught my every movement, made feel deviant, like a criminal who had taken someone’s ATM card and who was now withdrawing the owner’s money. In these situations I always feel a degree of moral responsibility, a feeling that I’m doing something wrong. Of course I was doing nothing wrong by withdrawing my own money or playing poker at a casino. All that was perfectly legal, yet there was a feeling that I was doing something socially reprehensible.

The Morongo is an Indian Casino located in Cabazon California, a place that is all freeway, billboards advertising strip clubs, and desert in every direction. The casino and the adjacent upscale outlet mall are the only signs of life in an otherwise deserted town. On either side freeway you can see billboards advertising the Morongo’s luxurious food and relaxing spas, not to mention hundreds of slot machines and Pai Gow poker. The billboards grow more frequent as you get closer and seem to create a sense of anticipation and excitement before arrival. In my case I was thinking about how much money I would win and how I would bluff everyone at the table.

When I arrived at the Morongo, I noticed, in several parts of the casino, a help wanted sign for card dealers. This job opportunity appealed to me for a few reasons. 1) It was better than my job tutoring math and science to middle schoolers. 2) Meeting other poker players and learning from them. 3) I had an image of card dealers as rebellious anti-capitalistic renegades that dealt in the shady underworld of America.

My image of dealers came from the idea of Las Vegas, gambling, and casinos as sinful. This image was reinforced through movies, commercials, television, and books. Las Vegas is shown as both deviant and hip. A month before I had read Bringing Down the House, a book about MIT students who developed a system to beat blackjack. The descriptions of life in Vegas and casinos had an impact in solidifying that image in my head.

My image of card dealers turned out to be untrue, at least at the Morongo. Most of the dealers were middle-aged and looked nothing like the renegades I pictured. In fact the dealers were just ordinary people with polished shuffling and dealing skills, nothing that I could emulate without practice. That was the main reason I never applied for the job.

[via Pokerpages.com]

WSOP, dealing poker, casino college, Morongo

I woke up this afternoon and read on here.

At first I found it strange and even humorous in a sinister way. But then I read that this happened over a decade ago in Pakistan. That information made the news more real, more believable because I couldn’t fathom this happening now. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this incident was very real, even in these times.

For me, when I think of the early nineties, I am reminded of VHS tapes, walkmans, brick-sized cellphones, MC Hammer, and 90 mhz Pentium computers. The nostalgia of the time is humorous to me, but when I think back to my life in the nineties, at least what I remember of it, the nineties becomes less of a joke. And I think this is because no matter how many new advancements the world takes, people are still people in the end, and this story about a Pakistani guy losing his daughter in a poker game is about human nature, something that has remained basically unchanged. Throughout history, instances of selling children as sex slaves and slaves has been prevalent and still goes on today. Although this incident is not quite the same, it still strikes me as horrible that someone could wager their own child.

Lately I’ve been reading the Brother’s Karamazov, so I keep thinking about the about the story and relating it to everything. There is a part about the suffering of children and whether they should or not. Unfortunately I do not remember the section where Dostoevsky writes about this, so I cannot detail his character’s arguments on the subject. Instead I’ll just leave off with a question. Should children suffer?

poker, losing daughter in a poker game, nineties nostalgia

When I heard Doyle’s Room was leaving the US market come March 1, 2007, my biggest concern was my deposit bonus. Back in the summer of 2005, I deposited 200 dollars to receive a 100 dollar bonus, of which required me to earn 20,000 Action Points. Lucky for me the bonus never expires and I was able to chip away, playing sporadically over the last year and a half, at least until last week.

On February 20, 2007, I sat at 12,000 AP and my plan was to earn 1000 AP by playing 3-5 hours a day, or however many hours was necessary. In order to accumulate AP at a faster rate, I decided to play two tables at a time, one at 50NL and another at 20NL. Low limit grinders would have no problem clearing the bonus within this time frame, however I am not that type of player.

I always considered myself a recreational player, the same way some people call themselves recreational smokers. This is what I tell non-poker players when the topic of conversation becomes poker. Somehow I believe this answer separates me from the degenerate gamblers and the grinders, that I have control, that I have responsibility. But in reality none of those characteristics describe me.

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I became a Niners fan in 1999, the year Steve Young took a concussion to the head. At some point in the second quarter Young dropped back for a throw and got blindsided by Cardinals DB Aeneas Williams. This hit ended his season and his career. Though it was possible for Young to make a comeback the following season, he risked death if he took another blow to the head and decided not to chance it. The game was televised on Monday Night Football, so the moment remains vivid, one of my few lasting memories of Young’s career, and I suspect that is the case for many fans across the country.

National television appearances for the Niners was a staple back in the nineties, and I counted the number of appearances to gauge the popularity and importance of my favorite team. For example the Niners were televised on Monday night three times that year, and that number was tied with the Cowboys, Dolphins, Packers, Vikings, Broncos, and Jets. Airtime on ESPN also acted as the consensus opinion for fans across America, at least that was my belief. The more airtime NFL Live and SportsCenter devoted to the Niners, the more proud I was of my team, even when the news focused on Young’s status and future rather than the Niners’ disappointing season.

Even though Young’s final game ended with him sprawled on the field and unconscious, his humiliation and fall from greatness was short lived. Sports fans only had to endure newspaper articles, talk radio, and SportsCenter coverage about Young’s concussion for one season.

Compare the end of Young’s career to Jerry Rice’s. I had stopped following Rice after he signed with the Raiders, but through SportsCenter I still heard about his exploits. In those years he went from being the first option to a fringe player that teams no longer valued. Greatness on the field wanes, no matter how many records were broken or Super Bowl rings were won. All that is the past.

Watching Doyle Brunson play poker has become painful. To me he is the past his prime athlete that loves the game too much to quit. I feel embarrassed for him when he gets knocked out on television, especially the WSOP. He always smiles nervously at this point, and then tips his cowboy hat to the crowd. Everyone applauds him and some people scream his name, “DOYLE!” as he makes his exit. This act is both condescending and desirable. On one hand, Brunson is getting applauded for losing and not even finishing in the money, while on the other, if no one acknowledges him, that can send the message that no one cares, that no one appreciate what he means to poker.

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Did bad at the tables the other day so I switched over to tourneys. I won some money, I lost some money, you know how it goes. =)

I ended up down a bit (though I did win a decent chunk of FPPs), and decided I won’t really be playing for a few weeks, as I will be very busy with the holidays and other things going on. I also need a break from the addiction. This will also serve the purpose of giving me time to write up entries describing all the things I promised about a week ago. The first few of which should be up later today, if not very soon after this one.

Keep your eye out for them, because they are coming soon!

Starting Funds: $100
Current Funds: $110.35
Current FPPs: 134

Poker, Poker Tourney, Poker Tournament