October 16, 1968

It's dumb for me to do, but I'll be here throughout the day . .

Anything notable happen to any of you on this day?

1793-French queen Marie Antoinette was guillotined for treason.

1859-Abolitionist John Brown his men captured the U.S. arsenal at Harper's Ferry.

1962-The Cuban Missile Crisis began.

1964-China detonated its first atomic bomb.

1978-John Paul II was elected pope.

1995-Hundreds of thousands of black men gathered in Washington for the "Million Man
March" led by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

2001-Twelve Senate offices were closed when a letter to Sen. Tom Daschle was found to contain anthrax.

2002-The White House announced that North Korea had disclosed the existence of a secret nuclear weapons program.

Born on this day

* 1758 - Noah Webster, American lexicographer (d. 1843)
* 1815 - Francis Lubbock, Governor of Texas (d. 1905)
* 1854 - Oscar Wilde, Irish writer (d. 1900)
* 1878 - Maxey Long, American athlete (d. 1959)
* 1886 - David Ben-Gurion, first Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1973)
* 1888 - Eugene O'Neill, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1953)
* 1890 - Michael Collins, Irish patriot (d. 1922)
* 1898 - William O. Douglas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1980)
* 1903 - Cecile de Brunhoff, French storyteller (d. 2003)
* 1908 - Enver Hoxha, Albanian dictator (d.1985)
* 1914 - Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan
* 1918 - Louis Althusser, French Marxist philosopher (d. 1990)
* 1919 - Kathleen Winsor, American writer (d. 2003)
* 1922 - Max Bygraves, English singer songwriter
* 1925 - Angela Lansbury, English-born actress
* 1927 - Günter Grass, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1928 - Mary Daly, American feminist
* 1931 - Charles Colson, American Watergate conspirator
* 1936 - Andrei Chikatilo, Russian serial killer (d. 1994)
* 1938 - Carl Gunter Jr, Louisiana State Representative (d. 1999)
* 1940 - Barry Corbin, American actor
* 1940 - Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player (d. 2003)
* 1941 - Tim McCarver, baseball player and commentator
* 1943 - Fred Turner, Canadian bass player (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
* 1946 - Suzanne Somers, American actress
* 1947 - Terry Griffiths, Welsh snooker player
* 1947 - Bob Weir, American musician (Grateful Dead)
* 1947 - David Zucker, American film director
* 1948 - Leo Mazzone, American baseball coach
* 1952 - Boogie Mosson, American musician (P Funk)
* 1952 - Ron Taylor, American actor (d. 2002)
* 1953 - Paulo Roberto Falcão, Brazilian footballer
* 1956 - Johnny Chavis, Native American Football Coach
* 1958 - Tim Robbins, American actor, director, and writer
* 1959 - Gary Kemp, British musician and actor
* 1959 - Erkki-Sven Tüür, Estonian composer
* 1959 - Brian Harper, baseball player
* 1961 - Randy Vasquez, American actor
* 1961 - Marc Levy, French novelist
* 1962 - Flea, Australian musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
* 1962 - Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Russian baritone
* 1965 - Steve Lamacq, British journalist and disc jockey
* 1967 - Davina McCall, British television presenter
* 1968 - Elsa Zylberstein, French actress
* 1969 - Wendy Wilson, American pop singer (Wilson Phillips)
* 1969 - United States - Roy Hargrove, american jazz trumpeter.
* 1970 - Mehmet Scholl, German footballer
* 1970 - Kazuyuki Fujita, Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter
* 1972 - Tomas Lindberg, Swedish musician (At The Gates)
* 1972 - Darius Kasparaitis, National Hockey League player
* 1973 - Peter Polaco, American professional wrestler
* 1974 - Paul Kariya, Canadian hockey player
* 1974 - Deo Grech, Maltese television presenter, songwriter
* 1975 - Kellie Martin, American actress
* 1977 - John Mayer, American musician
* 1979 - Misty Mundae, B-movie actress
* 1980 - Sue Bird, American basketball player
* 1980 - Timana Tahu, Australian Rugby League Player
* 1982 - Vincy Chan, Hong Kong singer
* 1984 - Melissa Lauren, pornographic actress


I am putting this here primarily so I may remember to play in it. I have missed many events this year as I have forgotten about them or didn't know they were happening. I need a buddy to keep me informed of the WPBT happenings. Anybody want to be a pen pal?














What's this I hear about the "death of poker blogs?" First off, I enjoy reading the blogs of almost everyone who has deigned to put one out on poker. Second, I love to read the ones that get off of the subject of poker. Third, There are some fantastic ones popping up every day. These may not be "new" anymore but they may be to some of you who are bemoaning the fate of our dear institution. I'll try to spotlight one or two every couple of hours today.

Iakaris

A damn fine MTT player and writer. Another physician in our midst. Carries on a strange but enthralling correspondence with a blogger in Korea. Iak is worthy of a daily check to see if there is a post. He seems like the kind of guy who would show up on your front porch with a bottle of liquor and a deck of cards with a, "I was just nowhere near your neighborhood but needed to drop by to talk about something with you" vibe.

You know how a lot of people will tell you that if you start a blog it should be for yourself? Yeah, I heard that a lot when I started. Yet do you ever stop by here and get the distinct impression I am writing more for a conversation with you? You are almost always right. I like to blog, even if it does oscillate wildly, and even if it is pointless silliness. It is amazing to me over a thousand people have stopped by here, however briefly, and stranger that a few have hung around and weÂ’ve gotten to know each other. After a bit of a drought, I have succeeded in connecting with a group of people who donÂ’t do the same thing I do for a living. It took me a decade, but it has been worth the wait.

Too many of you already are in my head. Iak's another one.

3:08 p.m.

Well, I am back with an update. There was an attempt at trickery at lunch. Our building has a habit of taking out the birthday boy/girl and giving silly cards and presents. I have always participated as a giver but have refused to encourage reciprocation on my birthday. In almost five years, I have not had any recognition of today by the building. I am not anti-birthday fun. I just don't want any fuss made over me. This year, under the guise of Bosses' Day, the silliest damn thing I've ever heard, I was treated to a very nice lunch and recieveda great present. Thanks to everyone in the office.

Wes from one of the Dakotas has a great blog known as Dumbasses Trump All. Ain't it the truth. Most of you who know this blogger know his fixation with the always-in-danger-chick from 24. I hear tell some of you have become quite discombobulated when you found out his PS avatar was not actually a photo of him. "Dude, you had a crush on another Dude." Wes is a curmudgeon blogger, but unlike many of that ilk, he gives some fine advice on playing cash games. He has recently slowed down his posting but should be encouraged to get back on the horse.

I would like to think that I am a rational player. I try to apply some basic odds calculations when playing. I like to fool around with various tools that have some complex math based stuff. These tools promote play that is formulaic and robotic.

Occasionally though when I am playing, I get this subconscious feeling that goes against what the normal standard line should be in a hand. I donÂ’t really have any explanation for it. I canÂ’t explain the reasoning as to why this move is superior to others. It just feels correct at the time, and it often is correct. Others may call it a gut instinct.

Perhaps after playing this many hands, I have absorbed some knowledge that even I canÂ’t rationalize out into a spoken format. Or perhaps I am just talking out of my ass once again. You never know.

This is similar to something Brunson said in Super System. It's not ESP or some other magical power but is damn sure feels as though it is sometimes.

6:08 p.m.

Ahhh. Real work done for the day. Time to go home for hugs and liquor. We waited a long time to have kids and then went crazy with three in less than four years. I plan on letting them experience a lot of life while they are under my care. Jack has already been cross-country twice and Hank once. Both the boys were in Vegas last year and attended the get-together at the Tequila Bar for just a bit. A decade and more ago, I worked with bands. I took every opportunity to take my steps-son with me every time the event was appropriate. He'll have alot of good stories to tell his kids about those days. The kids are another part of my life, not the end of a phase. They should complement my enjoyment and learn from the experiences.

Speaking of experirences, if you are not playing in the MATH. You are missing out on a great opportunity to improve your game. I find the level of play here better than almost any other tournament I play.

















I won't write again about Hoya except to say he is a must read if you have an extra three or four hours to kill.

6:29 p.m.

Just looking through my links and noticing I need to delete a couple. I also have to add a bunch. Anyone who has commented on here latley should be linked by this weekend. If you have me linked and I have not reciprocated, please let me know. Also. Go here and berate this kid. He needs to post more so we can say we knew him when. It appears we already lost an all-time favorite in the Poker Nerd. I'd hate to lose lose The Gamecock too.

12:23 a.m.

Alright. Wrapped up the day with a third place in the MATH. I was card dead the entire tournament but got terribly lucky when needed and squeaked into the money.Iggy knocked out my A4 with the Brunson to end it for me.

What the hell? Two more pimps. These two guys are among the most prodigous out there.

TripJax
Jordan

I've had the chance to meet TripJax as he is a North Carolina guy and was at Flastaff's last game. He started blogging about the same time I did but has been a much more active member of the WPBT, making a number of great trips to sling cards and drink adult beverages. He's full of advice for the online sites and often lends a hand to his online breathren.

Jordan is a fellow attorney but has the New York thing going for him. He posts almost every day and lets the reader into his world with detailed accounts of his results. For those of you not able to make Vegas in December, he's looking for volunteers to storm Atlantic City with him.

With two guys like this working so hard, Poker blogs won't go away.

Well, that's my birthday. Thanks for stopping by.