It's Not About Serendipitously Getting Lucky

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. – Darrell Royal

I never liked homework when I was a kid and skipped it whenever I could.
As an adult, I understand that homework is useful and usually worth the effort. Thus, I set out to do a little reading to prepare for my upcoming trip to the strip.

After reading this highly germane thread by Las Vegas Michael on 2+2, I am now planning to get in a session at Treasure Island and considering skipping either Bally’s or Bill’s. I am also thinking about squeezing in a session at the Venetian if at all possible. Thank you, Mr. LVM.

I also recently finished buying and reading the e-book from Ed Miller, S. Mehta, and M. Flynn, Small Stakes No- Limit Hold’em. The thoughtful but aggressive tactics elucidated in the book have already helped me in my local game. I am hoping they will also contribute to my poker enjoyment and success in Las Vegas. I may do a review at some point but for now, suffice to say, I think the book is well worth the price.

Viva Las Vegas!

Although, still disappointed about missing the Winter Gathering of 2009, I just learned I am going to Las Vegas this month for my anniversary. That’s right; I am going to Vegas, Babeee! My wife and I honeymooned in Vegas so celebrating our 10th anniversary there will be awesome. She has already obtained us tickets to the Cirque de Soleil show “Love”. I have read numerous reviews that suggest this is a good show and I definitely hope it will be memorable. We will also stick to our usual plan and rent a car so we can more easily enjoy some of our customary off strip spots such as Gordon Biersch, Ellis Island, etc.

I plan to get three nights of serious poker playing in while I am there. We are staying at the Planet Hollywood so I will likely play at least one night there. I also plan to check out Bally’s and Bill’s – both of which are nearby and come highly recommended as well populated with fish. I might also squeeze in a session at MGM if possible.

I can hardly wait.

Trip report to follow so stay tuned.

Poker Stars WBCOOP

I am in! Are you?

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.

Registration code:
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098539

Sadly, I Guess Someone is Going to Have to Get Killed

Alliance - in politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third. – Ambrose Bierce

I don’t know about all of you, but I truly despise robbers and thieves. I know robbery/thievery isn’t the only sin being committed out there but I regard it as among the most reprehensible. Pokerati has the scoop here. I am going on record right now that I hope a few (or more) robbers/thieves are shot and killed while attempting to rob Texas poker games (or game rooms) in the near future. Sometimes, folks should get exactly what they deserve. Apparently, these guys have to be taught a lesson and we Texans are just the type to do it. Around here, we are often armed and usually (at least) pretty good shots. Perhaps, after a few (or more) would be robbers become shooting fatalities, the Legislature will stop wasting time and pass legislation that will enable legal gambling (particularly table poker with rake) to be played in Texas. Most of the citizens of Texas want legal gambling in Texas. It is only the alliance of well funded special interests and the religious minority that are presenting any significant opposition. The problem is virtually every one of them votes and it seems most gamblers don’t.
For those of you not familiar with the goings on around here, there has been a plethora of robberies, at not only underground poker games, but also at the ubiquitous “game rooms” that have opened in every town. These game rooms are home to eight liners and other slot-machine-type of gambling preferred by many folks (although, not me). Texas is full of empty race tracks (both dog and horse) that would love to be filled with gamblers.
These huge facilities are sitting idle and some have already closed due to lack of business. Enabling these facilities to serve an “eager to play” public would be a win-win for both the residents, as well as, the cities where these tracks are located. Jobs would be created locally, local tax revenue would be increased, and players would have a nearby place to play(legally). No one in Texas is benefiting from the current situation where would be Texas gamblers have two choices – suffer the inconvenience of travelling a long way to our neighboring States (Louisiana or Oklahoma) or play at an underground room. At the underground rooms, one has to fear both robbers and police since they will both take your money if they arrive while you are present. This state of affairs is deplorable and unnecessary. Texas Legislators, please WAKE UP!

Good Luck, Mr. Woods

It's only hubris if I fail. - Julius Caesar.

And so it is confirmed, Tiger is human, too. He is not the first nor will he be the last to succumb to temptation.

Caesar did not have the benefit of a modern education drawn from the wisdom of centuries of scholars. However, I wonder if, during all those years of developing into the (current) world's greatest golfer, Tiger was ever provided any classical education. Ancient Greco-Roman history and mythology are excellent sources to use to consider the human situation. There are an abundance of examples in which a person rises from obscurity and becomes famous/powerful/wealthy. Then, due to hubris, they end up losing everything, or almost everything. Enough is never enough for some people.

Tiger had it made. He is one of the world's most successful athletes and has the accolades and endorsements that go with it. He has wealth almost beyond belief. He also has a beautiful wife and family. But, it wasn't enough for him. Although apparently able to resist the lure of some vices, like so many other exceptionally successful men, he was unable to resist the siren song of the lovely ladies. Even though there is an abundance of evidence that clearly demonstrates no one gets away with this sort of behavior for long, Tiger gambled for the highest stakes and repeatedly pushed all in. He not only gambled with his career and family, but also with his life and the life of his wife by, according to at least one paramour, having unprotected sex. His gambling, in this manner, was clearly out of control. He is fortunate not to have shared the tragic fate of Steve McNair. Now, he has irrevocably compromised himself and his family. He has withdrawn from golf, his life's work, to try to mitigate the self inflicted havoc he brought home. It would be difficult enough to attempt to reconcile after a single affair with one woman. He now faces the herculean task of attempting to reconcile after a dozen or so affairs with a dozen or so (at the time of this post) women. Frankly, I would not wager on him being successful in this endeavor. After all, a tiger cannot simply change his stripes.

However, despite all this adversity he will have to overcome, Tiger will recover, just as President Clinton did, just as Kobe Bryant did, just as all the others have. I suspect, by then, he will have learned an invaluable lesson. Family matters.

You Were Warned

All new states are invested, more or less, by a class of noisy, second-rate men who are always in favor of rash and extreme measures, but Texas was absolutely overrun by such men. - Sam Houston

I guess some people will never get it. I wrote about it here. Don't mess with Texas poker players. Sure, we've got some cash since we are going to play poker, but we are some of the feistiest, orneriest, and most well armed folks around. If you try to rob us, you are at best an underdog and you may be drawing dead. Pokerati has the new story here. These kids are lucky to be alive.

Darvin Moon FTW!

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints for your ultimate achievements. - Napoleon Hill

Go Darvin! While I have nothing against Joe Cada and also wish him well, I am pulling for the Moon Man.

While we hear a lot about the recent influx of young talent, and there is certainly no disputing the volume of young players we are currently experiencing nor many of their recent accomplishments, poker is an old guys game. Poker is about outsmarting/outlasting/outthinking/outplaying your opponents while sitting across a table - and that is what old guys do. It is what old guys have been doing for a long time. When knowledge, experience, wisdom, and cunning are what's needed, you need an old guy. Old guys are no match for young guys in football, baseball, basketball, etc. Those games are about physical strength and stamina first, and mental strength and stamina second. Poker is the other way around. Old guys are supposed to beat young guys at poker.

Besides, if Joe Cada does not win, it isn't going to slow down the onslaught of young guns at all. They will continue to pour in by the thousands and that is fine. Nothing is likely to deter that and we wouldn't want anything to do so. However, what is going to keep the older amateurs rolling in? Thousands of regular guys buy in every year and are often considered "dead money". However, year after year, one of them rises to the top despite the prevailing notion that they never had a chance. That is good for poker in general and also good for the World Series of Poker. A win by Moon perpetuates the rags to riches dream of an everyman. A regular guy that plays poker with buddies rather than for a living who goes to the WSOP and wins it all or at least comes close. Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Steve Dannenman, Jerry Yang, Dennis Phillips, and Darvin Moon are all great for the game in the sense that they truly keep the dream alive.

Using Both Hands - the SuperChop BBQ Sandwich

Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage. - Woody Allen

I love poker but my first love is food and I like to share my experiences (about really good stuff) with my readers. I know there are a lot of pulled pork sandwich lovers out there but here’s the scoop on the ultimate BBQ sandwich. We're in Texas, therefore you know we are talking beef. Grand Prize BBQ, a little sole proprietor spot in Texas City serves two thick slices of made in house jalapeno cheese bread loaded with their delicious smoked beef brisket and smoked sausage chopped up right in front of you. The meat is piled high and no sauce is added until the sandwich is assembled. I don’t know if they invented the thing but I have never encountered one anywhere else. To devour this colossal sammy, you must use two hands and most people can’t finish one by themselves. I love taking associates from work to this place and watching them wear a portion of their sandwich back to the office after an “accident” while eating. There is a secret to eating a huge messy sandwich like this and not wearing it but I never reveal it until the 2nd visit. If you are in the local vicinity, stop in for one of these and you will not be disappointed.

Broadway

A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit. – D. Elton Trueblood

Broadway – the primary entrance route to the city of Galveston – not the straight of the same name – has been forever changed. It was formerly lined with huge majestic century-plus old oak trees throughout the esplanade and also at curbside of the many stately old Victorian homes. The foliage of these massive trees - at some sections of Broadway – met in the middle forming a beautiful canopy of green above the roadway. This is no longer the case. Most of the big trees have been cut down to the ground. The massive influx of salt water that covered much of the city post Hurricane Ike, killed most of the oaks. A sparse few trees remain. The once proud entrance to the old city appears bare - wide open to the sun and sky like at no other time in my life. Although many small (approx. 10 ft) oaks are being planted to replace the old ones, I will be long gone before the street looks anything like it did before. The huge palms fared well and remain but without the oaks, it just doesn’t look the same.

I Still Blame Frist

Men become more civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in proportion to their readiness to doubt. - Ambrose Bierce.

I have been playing a bit of online poker again lately.

So, I ran the auto rate feature on PokerTracker last night.

A full 33% of the players in the database had their icon changed.

75% of them changed to indicate a better player rating than before.

This means that, yes - the online games are getting tougher.

There are still fish out there, but the ratio of fish to decent/good players is dwindling.

Although I have done well lately, I have also found myself in a rather “Jordan-esque” mood regarding online poker.

I still enjoy it but I don’t have the same drive to play online I once had.

My desire to play live, however, is stronger than ever.

Now, if I could just find more opportunities.

Sadly, I doubt the online environment will ever be like it was pre-UIGEA. The peak of the “boom” has passed and it seems unlikely, no matter what happens in Washington, that we will experience the massive influx of new players that we enjoyed during that glorious period.