Fresh Start?

There are writers who play poker.

There are poker players who write.

There are bloggers who play poker and write about it.

There are bozos who post on occasion and have lame excuses.


2006 is in the books and I have to say it was a good year of poker for me. I discovered a nice sized local game to play, I kept up my small game appearances, and I had a little bit of success on the online front. 2004 was red. 2005 was black. 2006 was black. I can learn it appears.

The “big” game I play in is populated by a bunch of white guys who have no compunction about making some pretty vile, racist statements. I spend a lot of breath extolling the virtues of my corner of the World to those who are moving here and then I have to go put up with that shit. I used to imagine a little bell going off every time one of them would say n____. Every time that bell would ring, I would win a hundred dollars. (My own little version of It’s a Wonderful Life) Well, if that was the case, I wouldn’t be hurting for money. I have actually taken a break from that game with the arrival of my angel girl but I am making plans to rejoin soon. I hear tell they have changed the game from limit to a capped no-limit structure. If I can get there before the two tight-asses take all their money, I should do pretty well.

The small game is a joy. It provides nothing more than lunch money in the was of monetary compensation but it gives me a chance to hang out with a great group. As a bonus, I will be performing a marriage ceremony for one of the guys in March. It will be my fourth wedding and the largest I have conducted as they are expecting over 150 people. I make it clear I will only be involved in one end of the ceremony. I will give no advice about how to divorce of I am the one who marries you. Let some other lawyer do that.

Online, I had a great big high with the win in a 40K on Party, some middling highs with the final tables in the 23K on Full Tilt and my run at True, and some crappy lows with my shutout in the yearly series’ on the various sights. I didn’t try to qualify for the WSOP as the baby was due to arrive about the same time and didn’t want to be distracted (actually my Wife didn’t want me to be distracted which is completely understandable) and didn’t even make it out to a casino last year.

On the blogging front, I dropped the ball. I don’t write enough, or well, or even coherently sometimes. I habitually missed the WPBT tournaments and didn’t make it up to G-Vegas nearly enough. I did get up there twice along with a trip to Charlotte for Falstaff’s tournament, but there were many opportunities I missed. Believe me, I am not putting the onus on any of you. It’s my fault for being so damn shy, but I really don’t mind if someone calls me up and says, “Come on over dumbass. We’re playing cards.”

I did the resolution thing again this year and like always am trying to keep it reasonable.

-Drink a lot of green tea.
-Order something I have never had from every restaurant I go to.
-Attend a few wine-tastings to find out what I like.
-Ditto scotch.
-Camp six times. (first one coming up in February in Davidson River Campground if anyone is interested)
-Read more. Going to read a Dickens collection this year; one every other month or so (finishing Oliver Twist tonight. Great Expectations in March). Alternate Shakespeare in for three months of the year (Henry V ready to go for February) Read some new fiction throughout the year. (taking suggestions) Re-read the beginning and finish Anna Karenina in June. I also want to get in some hard science reading so I can converse on a somewhat intelligent level with some egg-heads who are a lot smarter than I. I already picked up a biology textbook and a basic chemistry book to reacquaint myself with those subjects. Reading was my addiction from the time I was a first-grader until the day I started law school. Now, it is but a sporadic diversion.

Anyone else start having problems with their eyes when they started playing online poker 4/5 hours a day? I had LASIK in 2001 and everything was great until I started staring at this screen so much. I picked up some +1.00 reading glasses upon the advice of a advertisement (“Sure thing Mr. Billboard!”) and have been wearing them only while on the computer. The short term results seem positive as my eye strain seems greatly reduced. I have an eye doctor appointment in a few weeks and will question him about the advisability of this course.

As for poker, I don’t know what my goals are this year. I don’t know if any goals will be obtainable considering the legal landscape which is emerging. Last year, it was win a “big” tournament and be in the black by the end of the year. Maybe this year it should be to still be playing come December 31.