The Rambling Path of a Zen Madman

25th Hour

2012-01-17T23:04:00.003-05:00

I’m running from the law down a too-well-lit corridor. In my hand is a magenta sheet of paper bearing my sentence – 5 years, 9 months. I can recall neither my crime nor how I got cornered in this stupid building. All I know is the fear of confinement. I must be free.

I open my eyes in a too-dark room. I can recall neither where I am nor how I got here. All I know is that I’m not running.

Germany. I’m not breaking the law, but I have run from it, from what calls itself the law and then changes its mind. I’m here to play poker, and I sleep with my computer.

The screen sears my eyes as I ask it the time. It’s almost low noon. Another six hours on my Kickstarter. I visit the page and find my project fully funded.

It’s like Christmas morning. An emotional one-eighty. At the same time, two people put me over the top – a friend and a stranger – and then there was a third.

More pledges roll in before the closing bell rings. I smile in gratitude, just before dawn in Germany.

It. Is. On.

2012-01-14T06:23:00.000-05:00

2012 grind in full effect. I'll be playing 6 to 10 hours per day, almost every day, for the rest of the year. I'm going back to the method I used to build my game up in 2008. Two shorthanded tables or one table heads up. High focus, quality over quantity, repeated hour after hour. Warm up and review, video and study.

In other poker-related news, I've been on a video-making tear. Sledghammer and I just recorded a two-part small-blind mini-series. We covered some fundamentals and some not-so-fundamentals. I've also got four new table play videos in the queue, so look for an increase in Limit Holdem content on DragTheBar.

I'm also doing a small amount of private coaching, available for $75/hour or $300/5 hours, only through my Kickstarter for Zen Madman's Flash Fiction Folio. I'm excited about publishing my fiction for the first time, but it will be easier to focus on poker once the project is done. Only 65 hours left on the Kickstarter, so act fast if you want coaching, the book, or a postcard from online poker tour 2012!

It's About Time

2012-01-13T12:14:00.002-05:00

I've always had a hard time with external forces structuring my time.

Apprehension shadows every minute when an appointment looms.

When there is nothing required of me, I am at peace. Relaxed.

But I've come to Germany, to the land of structure.

You're not allowed to take a shower after 11.

You can't do the laundry after 9.

So when in Germany,

You do as the

Germans

do?

Now it

seems that

the time is here

to make my schedule.

Each morning I'll wake up

about 10 A.M. I will start my day.

Eat some breakfast, go for a walk, stretch.

Two hours of poker, snack, yoga, then more poker.

Four days per week, it's off to the gym for serious exercise.

Kettlebells and free weights, then kick and punch the heavy bag.

Dinner, then grind more hands and words. Much work. It's about time.

Two New Cover Options

2012-01-11T00:32:00.001-05:00

The cover vote for my Flash Fiction Folio has yielded a mixed result between Cover Number 1 and None of the Above. I've listened to the people (yes, you people*) and added two new options. Keep voting HERE. More votes means more free stuff!

* What do you mean you people?
What do you mean you people?

Discount Coaching For Flash Fiction Fans

2012-01-08T21:44:00.002-05:00

As part of the Kickstarter for my Flash Fiction Folio, I’m offering poker coaching at about half my normal rate. That’s $75 for one hour or $300 for a five hour package. Each of those comes with the eBook and paperback editions of my first collection of fiction. Sessions can be for limit (small to mid-stakes), no limit (small stakes), or poker theory (including EV calcs and combo counting), and you can split the cost with a study buddy or group.

It’s super simple. All you have to do is participate in my Kickstarter at the $75 or $300 reward levels. Where else can you buy coaching through Amazon?

Out of the Clouds

2012-01-08T21:22:00.000-05:00

I’ve been in Germany for a solid week now, and despite all the novelty – new language, caramel soy pudding – the time has flown by. It took a few days to get some poker sites set up, and I’ve yet to play a substantial number of hands. It’s time for that to change.

That’s not to say I haven’t been working. I’ve drafted an ambitious year-long plan, worked on my flash fiction project, and finished up my Poker Player Bill of Rights. But it’s time to get my grind on. Head out of the clouds, feet on the ground running. Running good, I hope.

Poker Player Bill of Rights

2012-01-06T11:49:00.000-05:00

From superusers to colluders, from shady sites to greedy governments, poker players are constantly at risk of being cheated, swindled, and defrauded. While intelligent players look out for themselves and each other, not everyone has access to enough information to keep safe. There should be an organization keeping an eye on these things, allowing players to focus on playing.

Before an organization can fight for our rights, we first must establish what those rights are. To this end, I have drafted a Poker Player Bill of Rights. I have defined and explained each right below, and followed that with an assessment of where we currently stand on protecting these rights.

For the complete Poker Player Bill of Rights, visit pokerfuse.com.

German Soy Pudding

2012-01-05T18:24:00.000-05:00

After mixed success on the soy milk front, I decided to brave the soy pudding frontier. As you can see, I went a bit overboard and bought all four varieties. Again the results were mixed. The vanilla is mediocre, the dark chocolate is decent to good, the "milk" chocolate is very good, and the caramel ist die Bombe! This may be my lack of recent sugar intake speaking, but it's one of the best puddings I've ever had.

German vegan tip of the day: look for food with the 100% pflanzlich symbol. All plant, all the time. Unfortunately, it's found almost exclusively on soy goodies, but that's a good enough place to start.

This will be my last food blog for a little while. I've got a big piece coming out on pokerfuse tomorrow, and I'm getting some poker sites up and running. More on that soon.

Soya Milch

2012-01-05T12:13:00.000-05:00

Quick update on the German soy milk front: The banana soy milk is awesome. The chocolate soy milk as well. The plain...well, let's just say I can see why soy milk is not a heavily consumed product in Germany. Yikes! It's time to try another brand.

On a more positive note, I managed to find seitan, soy yogurt, soy cheese, and blocks of tofu. Last night I fried up some seitan with fresh onion, peppers, garlic and ginger for a hearty vegan meal. Right now I'm trying to force down the soy milk for some protein, but I may relent, take the loss, and buy some more of the banana variety.

Ich Bin Strikter Vegetarier

2012-01-02T19:32:00.000-05:00

Well, that's what Google Translate tells me, anyway. On Day 2 of my journey, I did a little language research to prepare for the supermarket. It turns out there are a decent number of soy products, including banana soy milk! It's quite tasty. I'll buy some seitan and soysages tomorrow. Sadly, I haven't found any black beans. They're all kidney and baked beans, and all with sugar added. But I got a nice bag of apples for only .99€. The euro is losing steam on the dollar, so my money's going a bit further than I'd anticipated.

My attempts at opening a local bank account were thwarted by my lack of registered address here. I'll try again tomorrow at HSBC, which advertises exceptional service for expats. Hopefully sleep will come for me now and erase the insomnia of yesterday.

Welcome to Düsseldorf

2012-01-01T22:24:00.000-05:00

I've arrived in Hamburg without incident. New Year's on a plane was frightfully uneventful. I can't decide whether the highlight was when they gave us champagne and people arbitrarily clinked glasses (even more arbitrarily than normal, since it was 11:37 somewhere and 12:37 somewhere else), or when midnight EST passed and no one blinked. But my personal highlight was going through immigration in Düsseldorf.

"What is the purpose of your visit?" the stone-faced officer asked.

"To visit friends and to see Europe," I answered.

"How long would you like to stay?"

"89 days."

He looked up from my brand-new empty passport, then back down at my passport and leafed through it disdainfully. It felt like five minutes before he spoke again.

"So you've never been here before?"

"No, well, not since I was three."

"I see...and how many dollars do you have with you?"

Now, if this was New York, I'd assume it was a mugging attempt. But this is a common immigration question and I was prepared.

"Two thousand in cash, and another ten thousand in the bank." Hopefully not too much and not too little.

"And you can take a long vacation from work like this?"

"I'm a writer, so I don't have to be at home to get work done."

He nodded his approval and turbo-stamped my passport.

"Enjoy your stay."

So I think I found the magic answer to getting approved for a 90-day visa. Have money and be a writer.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T15:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I've managed to pack my life into a backpack and one carry on suitcase. Truth be told, most of my "possessions" are now squirreled away on a 2 terabyte external hard drive. The physical items amount to little more than shirts and socks.

I'm curious to see what New Year's Eve looks like on a plane. Do people celebrate on New Year's of the place they left? The place they're going? It will already be 12:30 on January 1st in Germany when my plane debarks. Or do we go by the time zone we're flying through? It would be entirely possible to miss the whole countdown nonsense this way, since it could be 11:30 PM, then we hit a time zone change and it clicks over to 12:30 AM. I'm kind of pulling for that result.

I'll have a full report filed here by the end of January 1st, assuming all goes smoothly. Of course, my January 1st will end 6 hours before New York January 1st. So I like to see it as travelling to the future.

24 Hours

2011-12-30T18:34:00.000-05:00

In 24 hours I'll be sitting on a plane sitting on the tarmac, waiting for takeoff. I have a list with 25 checkboxes, and only about 7 of them are checked off. So why am I sitting here writing instead of cleaning, packing, or nailing cords into the wall? For one, so I can check another box off on my list. But more precisely, because I said I would.

The funny thing about writing is that most of it isn't that good. I don't have any profound thoughts right now that deserve to be saved for posterity. But I said I'd write every day so I'm forcing myself to do it. Unsurprisingly, it's coming out forced. But the goal is to establish habit, and in the creation of good habits, there may be a little collateral damage.

A more profound blog may have had something to do with writing a letter to my friend who's in prison for poker-related activities, whereas I'm entering something like exile in order to play online poker. But as I move away from poker, that parallel seems less profound. There's a tiny part of me that hopes I won't get those Euro-sites set up, and I'll be forced to just write for 3 months. Doing nothing but writing might lead to some forced material over that time, but I think it would lead to some great stuff as well.

Stuff

2011-12-29T23:22:00.002-05:00

Stuff. There's always more of it. That's one thing I rediscover every time I move. There's always more stuff.

Some of it is in the form of physical possessions, though I've done a decent job of whittling those down to the essentials, plus some keepsakes. Okay, plus some crap I just didn't have time to go through. And that's because there's so much of it!

But there's also stuff to do. Make sure I have everything. Clothes, electronics, food for travel, tax information for next year. I've done my research, but there's always more things to think of. At this point, I hope anything that I haven't thought of yet is just not that important, or I would have needed it by now. It's not like I'm going to get to the airport and say, "My passport! That's what I forgot!"

No, it's going to be something like a USB cable for my phone. I'm pretty sure it won't be that, though, because I'm not taking my phone.

Gifts From The Dead

2011-12-28T23:23:00.000-05:00

I’m leaving my homeland on Saturday night, spending the year abroad. Hamburg, Soderhamn, London, then expedia knows where. I don’t self-identify as an American, even if I am quintessentially so. But I am interested in being a citizen of the world, seeing the sights, learning the language.

In the process of putting my affairs in order, I’ve divested myself of the majority of my worldly possessions. Ideally, I’d like to own only what I can carry, but I have this really cool sword, and I don’t want to cause a scene going through airport security. So I’ve kept a few things at home.

Throwing things away is a difficult process, empowering as well. But how do you cast off gifts from the dead? So many of my belongings were presents from those no longer present. I can’t say I’ve discarded those as ruthlessly as I intended. But the greatest gifts from the dead are not things, but memories. And those I hope I never let go.

Lottery Strategy

2011-12-27T23:56:00.000-05:00

Most people correctly assume that the lottery is -EV, unless the jackpot is ridiculously huge. But even if your odds of hitting 6 numbers are 176 million to 1 and the payoff is $206 million, the lottery can still be -EV. The obvious reason would be taxes, which drastically cut the payout. Another problem is the chance of splitting the jackpot. While winning only $103 million may not seem like a bad beat, sharing numbers with others can cut your EV in half (or worse). So that brings us to the only lottery strategy tip I'll ever publish. Pick numbers that no one else will. That way, when you win a fortune, you won't have to split it with anyone. Merry Christmas indeed.

A Little Help From My Friends

2011-12-26T12:16:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

I'm putting together my first work of published fiction, and you can help make it a success. My project is a collection of (mostly dark) short stories titled Zen Madman's Flash Fiction Folio. You can read samples HERE and HERE. I've launched the project on Kickstarter.com, which is an all-or-nothing funding site where you can pledge support in exchange for rewards. For $9 or $15, you can pre-order the book (PDF or hard copy, respectively), and there are bigger rewards as well. My goal is to raise $777 by January 16 to cover the cost of printing, shipping, and design. While financial backing would be outstanding, Kickstarter is as much about promotion as it is about funding. There are lots of totally free ways you can help:

Like: Right under the video on my project page there is a Facebook Like button. Click it. Easy.
Tweet: You can use this prefilled tweet, click the tweet button on my Kickstarter page, or compose your own tweet containing my project link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zenmadman/zen-madmans-flash-fiction-folio/
Share: Throw my link up on your facebook, tumblr, blog, or anywhere fiction lovers might find it. If you're more ambitious, you can embed my project video or even a full widget by using the Embed button below the video on my project page.
Forward: Perhaps the most helpful thing you can do is forward this email to everyone you know who likes fiction and might forward it on to their friends. Friends are awesome, but friends of friends of friends are geometrically more powerful.
Comment: Put a comment on my Kickstarter page letting me know what you think of my stories, what you'd like to see, and any questions you have.

And of course, you can:

Pledge: It's super easy; it goes through amazon.com - if you have an account there you don't even have to reenter your credit card info. You can pledge as little as $1, get the ebook for $9, the hard copy for $15, or both for $20. There are a bunch of higher pledge levels, too, but i'd rather get lots of little ones than a few big ones. Of course, no pledge will be turned away. :p

Here's the direct link to my project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zenmadman/zen-madmans-flash-fiction-folio/

My long-term goal is to become a professional writer (and publisher) of fiction, so this is a huge first step. Not only is your help (in any form) useful, but knowing that my success comes with a little help from my friends means more to me than doing it alone.

Signed in virtual blood with actual undying gratitude,

- Paul

Christmas Solitude

2011-12-25T22:00:00.000-05:00

Today I'm alone on Christmas for the first time in a decade. My mom's moved west, so I have no family left in New York, and my girlfriend's off on a cruise with her family. "Here I go again on my own" blares from my computer speakers as I try to psyche myself into being productive, casting off the feeling of loneliness by reveling in it.

That's all well and melodramatic, but the truth is that I'm not alone at all. I spent the 24th and 25th with friends - chosen family, as one of them says in his sermon. I'm lucky to have good friends that welcome me to their family events. I'm also lucky to have people whose absence I actively miss. I'd rather have family that I miss than family that feels like an unfortunate obligation. It's sort of the better to have loved and lost thing.

I've always felt comfortable by myself. That could be an artifact of my one-parent, only-child upbringing. Even when I still had two parents, I could spend hours alone, engrossed in activity. I can't say that I really get bored. There's always something to be doing, and a lot of things are better done alone. So today I'll value my friends and family, but also my solitude. I'm lucky to have both.

Let It Snow

2011-12-24T06:49:00.000-05:00

When I was making the video for my Kickstarter project on Monday morning, I pondered how to make it less boring to watch. My plan was to sit in front of my webcam and talk, so I did this thing where I added some winter gear each time I paused the video. It didn't make much sense until today, when YouTube added a snow button.

To make it snow, click just above ... THERE ^ after you press play.

To Do (Ha Ha!)

2011-12-23T23:42:00.002-05:00

I'm a big fan of To Do lists. Maybe it goes back to my parents' "To Do (Ha Ha!)" file*, but I'm great at making lists of things to do. I'm slightly less awesome at crossing everything off of them. I've pretty much been moping around the house all day, not for any particular reason. But we're coming up on low noon here on the East Coast, and that usually means I'm about to get productive. At the very least, it means I'll force myself to write a blog. Here's my to do list before dawn:

Print out a copy of "No Balls, Two Strikes" and mail it to my grandmother along with a Happy New Year card.
Get at least "very close to done" with Part 2 of my newest poker article.
Indulge in shameless self-promotion for my Flash Fiction Folio.
Eat some warm oatmeal with maple syrup.
~~Walk my girlfriend's sister's dog~~.

* (My mom had written "To Do" in pen. My dad responded by writing "Ha Ha!" in pencil, referencing the fact that items stayed in the folder past their due dates.)

No Balls, Two Strikes

2011-12-22T19:13:00.000-05:00

I just finished up a new story for my Flash Fiction Folio. This one's about baseball and may have too much lingo for those who aren't fans. Let me know what you think, though. I'm always interested in the opinions of fans and critics alike. You can read it on Free Association.

Low Noon

2011-12-21T23:55:00.000-05:00

You know how 12:00 PM is called high noon? Well, I like to call 12:00 AM low noon. It's gonna be a thing.

When in doubt, talk about the weather.

A few days ago, it looked like winter was finally here. The temperature dropped into the 20s for the first time since last winter. But now, on the winter solstice, it got up to 59°F, and at low noon, it's still 55°. What's that all about? Sounds like Armageddon to me.

I ♥ NY

2011-12-20T22:32:00.002-05:00

New York is the Greatest City in the World. I say this not out of any disrespect to other cities. Sure, there are bigger cities, and yes, there are friendlier cities. And god knows there are cleaner cities. But nowhere in the world are more languages spoken, more cultures mingled, or more stereotypes debunked.

I used to love New York in an elitist way. I kind of thought everywhere else sucked, and The City (ah...my The City) was just better. But I had it backwards. What makes The City great is all the good things from cities around the world, and maybe some of the bad things too. It's not all here, but in one form or another, most of it is. And that's why this will always be my home, no matter where I am.

On that note, my New Year's countdown starts tomorrow at 10. That's 10 days until I leave New York, New York, and America for the better part of next year. I'm going to Germany, then Sweden, then the UK, then who knows where else. It should be an exciting journey, seeing some of my roots and some of my city's roots. Fragments of those places are found here, but I want to see the source.

I'll leave you with the following clip, the most stirring performance of The City's municipal anthem:

Flash Fiction Folio Kickstarter

2011-12-19T20:53:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's blog was about writing every day. Continuing in that trend, I'm happy to launch the kickstarter for Zen Madman's Flash Fiction Folio. Kickstarter.com is an all-or-nothing funding site, where you can pledge to help me publish my first collection of fiction. Pledges are not donations. Instead, you receive rewards based on the amount of your pledge. You can essentially pre-order the book, get special stories just for you, or receive copy-editing, proofreading, or discount coaching services. Click here to pledge or learn more, and check out the video below.

Write Now, Every Day

2011-12-18T21:32:00.001-05:00

Almost every book ever written on the subject of writing contains the following advice: "If you want to be a writer, start writing every day." Now that may seem obvious, a less generic version of "Just Do It." And while everything in life may seem as simple as that, two things make it particularly applicable to writing.

The first is that anyone can be a writer. In fact, you don't even need to know how to write. You only need to know how to speak. A friend recently related to me the story of his father, an illiterate man who wrote technical manuals by dictating to his secretary. Only if you're mute and illiterate are you precluded from joining the ranks of writers worldwide.

So it's easy to be a writer? Well, yes and no. The other side of writing is its permanency. Most would-be writers fall short because of a fear of commitment. When you write something, you commit those words to the page (or computer). Yes, your words can be edited, erased, or deleted later, but there's a special terror that comes with putting your thoughts down in a semi-permanent fashion. Even for those that overcome this initial fear, there is a secondary fear of showing your writing to another person, and the tertiary fear of the finality of publication.

How many great stories are left untold because of the teller's fear of telling? I fear many. So if you have a story to tell, put pen to paper, hands to keyboard, chalk to cave wall, and write now. I'll be going with the "every day" thing, writing an entry in this blog every day for the rest of the year. To put my money where my hands are (on the keyboard), I'll give 2 books or 1 hour of coaching to the first person who calls me out should I fail to make a post on any day between December 18th and December 31st (EST).

I Am Entropy

2011-12-15T01:00:00.000-05:00

“You have, like, the worst superpower ever,” she said. For the third time in my life, I had just shattered a glass in my hand. Now, I’ve broken dozens of glasses. Most of them were on purpose. I’ve also smashed phones and lamps, computer mice and headphones, and even a television set. Breaking stuff is fun. My policy of non-violence towards living things apparently doesn’t extend to inanimate objects. But that’s not what this is about. This is about destroying things through no more than physical proximity.

A few years ago, a friend lent me his cell phone to make an emergency phone call. He dialed the number and handed me the phone. I spoke for five minutes, then handed the phone back. It never worked again.

I’ve never owned a phone or computer that’s lasted more than a year without some major malfunction. My last phone just stopped dialing 1, 4, or 7. Try to dial an NYC area code without those numbers. Others phones physically lost buttons or simply stopped working.

A friend and I used to walk around the Upper East Side a lot. Every time we passed this one streetlamp, it would go out. When we’d pass it going the other direction, it would go back on. When we formed a new band a few years later, we scheduled our first practice for September 11^th, 2001. When that band went on to record a CD in August of 2003, the entire City of New York lost power.

Recording for our next band hit speed bumps when my guitar mysteriously caused the recording computer to malfunction. Drums were recorded fine. Bass was fine. Vocals went off without a hitch. But when I plugged in my guitar, the computer stopped working.

I don’t tell you this with a woe-is-me intent. It’s frustrating when mechanical devices malfunction, but sometimes it feels like there’s a little magic to it. That much is fun.

It’s not fun when people start dying, which has been too common a theme. For someone who’s never seen war or famine, I’ve seen too much death in my life. Sometimes it feels like a curse. I know that people die and things break down. These are laws of biology and physics. But it’s hard to feel like it’s not me.

Facebook Poker!

2011-12-01T12:28:00.000-05:00

That's right, Facebook is hatching plans to enter the real-money online gaming arena. Will this make them the world's largest online affiliate? Maybe. I ponder the question for Pokerfuse here: http://pokerfuse.com/features/editorial-opinion/will-facebook-become-worlds-largest-online-poker-affiliate/

Why Merge Should Lower Their Fixed Limit Rake

2011-11-23T20:12:00.000-05:00

Some poker players sing a requiem for Limit Holdem. They think it’s dead. It’s not. About 20% of all poker hands played are still of the Fixed Limit variety of Texas Holdem. But only a small portion of these are played on the Merge network. Why? Because they’re strangling the games with high rake.

Sites like PokerStars understand that Fixed Limit needs a different rake structure from No Limit. Due to the nature of the game, a typical player will see more than three times as many flops in Limit as in No Limit. (In a sample of 90k hands, I saw the flop 31% of the time in Limit compared to 7.7% in No Limit.) Under a no flop/no drop policy, this means a Limit Holdem player gets raked three times as often as a No Limit player.

The solution is to increase the increments by which rake is taken. In a $1/$2 game, that means not raking the pot until it hits $5. In a $2/$4 game, it means not raking until the pot hits $20. This allows the Limit Holdem rake to fall closer in line with No Limit. Merge is raking the pot as soon as it hits $.20. The charts below illustrate the difference in rake between Merge and its US-friendly competitor, Cake. Notice how Cake rake moves up in steps while Merge rake follows a smoother line.

The pale yellow area shows the extra rake that Merge is taking. Does this mean that they’re making more money than they would with a lower rake? No. The rake is so high that playing Limit Holdem below $10/$20 is an unsustainable endeavor. They’re suffocating their traffic by preventing anyone from flourishing. There are many high-volume players who won’t play on Merge because of the rake. If they cut rake by 30% and double their traffic, they could increase profits by 40%.

Limit Holdem should be a goldmine for online poker sites. Edges are thinner than in No Limit, so recreational players last longer. They can’t blow off their whole stack in one hand. And the typical loose style of a recreational player is less costly in Limit, since proper play involves playing many hands and seeing lots of showdowns. Being stubborn is an asset, not the liability it is in No Limit.

I sincerely hope Merge listens to its customers, because they have the opportunity to be a leader in online Limit Holdem. They have quality software and reasonable deposit and withdrawal options for US players. If they make their rake equally reasonable, Limit players will flock to their tables.

Where the Hell Have I Been?

2011-11-13T23:18:00.002-05:00

Casinos, not-so-seedy underground New York card clubs, and on my couch, watching Mad Men, mostly. I was going to write a blog reviewing the first six months after Black Friday, but it's looking more like seven now. I've enjoyed live poker a fair bit, but while the games are softer, it turns out to be a harder way to make a living than playing online. That's not to say it's impossible or not worthwhile. It just requires a larger bankroll relative to your hourly expectation, and even more patience.

I've played around on the US-friendly sites a bit, although the high rake and lack of game selection is frustrating. And the software! If you live anywhere but here, count your lucky Stars. It's easy to take excellence for granted.

I've managed to squeeze out a few videos here and there, even dipping my toes in the No Limit Holdem pond. But lately I've been thinking about writing a lot. I banged out this little story on 11/11: http://freeassn.com/drupal/node/99. It's my first flash fiction piece. More to come. For now, it's back to the poker tables, both physical and pixelated.

July Grindathon Day 1

2011-07-02T18:15:00.002-04:00

What's a July Grindathon? This month I've decided to catch up on my poker hours and work a little harder for US poker legislation as well. My plan is to play 12 hours per day for 28 out of the 31 days of July. I'll be donating a percentage of any profits to the PPA, and posting daily on facebook pages and twitter to support the cause. I invite you all to join me in this summer madness and fight for poker rights through your play and posts.

Session 1: I got off to a good start by literally playing all of last night - it was light out when I started at 7 PM and it was bright out when I quit at 7 AM. The game was mostly $2/$5 No Limit, with maybe twenty hands of Pot Limit Omaha thrown into the mix. My results and overall play were good, despite one catastrophic fold with pocket tens when I was offered 4-to-1 on the river. I literally talked myself out of calling the river bet, which leads us to today's topic: talking at the poker table.

I'm a huge fan of talking at the poker table. That's one big thing that online play is missing - genuine human contact and conversation. I have a lot to say about this (and a slightly amusing annecdote from last night), but I'd like to know what you think about it.

It Won't Rain For You

2011-05-08T14:47:00.002-04:00

I didn't listen to much music when I was a kid. I had some singles on 45, like "We Are the World" and Weird Al's "Eat It." But it wasn't until I was thirteen that music really struck a chord with me. A friend of mine told me to get Nirvana's Nevermind and GNR Lies for these two girls who were sharing a birthday party downtown. Not only were the gifts well received, but when they played the tapes, the sounds filled me with an intangible feeling. It was something I couldn't lay hands on.

From Nirvana and GNR I moved on to Metallica, whose black album is one of the best selling yet most underrated albums of all time. For hardcore metal fans, the record represented the sell out of the most respected band in the genre. For me, it bridged the gap. I wasn't a metal head. I was a kid who wore grey sweatpants and pastel t-shirts from my aunt and uncle's Florida Keys retreat. But the black album showed me something about music. It showed me how heavy it can be, and how sad. While Metallica doesn't have the complexity of structure that albums like ...And Justice For All or Master of Puppets contain, it does have the dynamics and range of emotion. After investigating those earlier albums, I realized something. There was a way to lay hands on these emotions. Literally.

I didn't want to play music. I had to play music. Like a junkie needs a needle, I needed a guitar. I needed to have it in my hands. So for my fourteenth birthday, my mom took me to Sam Ash where she told the salesman I was looking for a guitar.

"What kind?" he asked.

"A black one," I answered. And with that, a young metal guitarist was born.

I'm 33 now, and I've been playing on and off with varying degrees of seriousness for the past 19 years. I've recorded an album, a couple EPs, and a swath of demos. It Won't Rain For You is the first recording that sounds almost exactly the way I want it to. (I say almost exactly, because if you can't find something you'd like to improve, you're not trying hard enough.) It's just three songs, but Villain's Lament and I took our time crafting them, demoing them, and finally recording them.

I play almost all of the guitar and bass on the recording (Logan pops in for the third of four solos in "Fifth Time's the Charm"), and I think you'll find that I'm still that metal guitarist that was born 19 years ago. The rhythm guitars are heavy, and the leads are abundant. But like the black album, the arrangements are modest and the vocals are accessible. We have two lead singers, and I'd like to think they both have nicer voices than James Hetfield, if not the same rugged enthusiasm. You can judge for yourself:

If you like what you hear, the disc and downloads are available in the following places:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/villains-lament/id434307080
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/villainslament
http://www.digstation.com/AlbumDetails.aspx?albumID=ALB000074156

More from Villain's Lament at: villainslament.com

Good Game Stars

2011-05-07T21:28:00.000-04:00

I signed on to PokerStars today to convert my remaining Frequent Player Points to cash. Having purchased a $4k Supernova bonus shortly before Stars closed shop to US players, I only had a few hundred dollars worth of FPPs to convert. When I opened the cashier, I was surprised to see almost a thousand dollars sitting in my account. Thanks to Stars’ quick agreement with the Department of Justice, I had been able to cash out my previous balance within a week of the US shutdown. So why was there money in my account? Because Stars is the best.

The PokerStars VIP program is built around milestone bonuses, where you earn a few thousand dollars every hundred thousand points or so. Since I was caught between milestones with 8 and a half months left to play, they prorated the bonus and deposited the cash into my account. While this seems like the logical course of action, few online poker sites would make good on their promised rewards in this fashion. But Stars does the right thing.

I’m saddened that due to my government’s rectal-cranial inversion, I can no longer play poker on the best site on the internet. What will happen in the future? Who knows. Maybe Stars will fight the DoJ and win. Maybe regulation will come in the form of legislation. Maybe the smaller sites will learn from Stars’ example and pick up their game. But for now, it’s good game Stars.

Good game.

Patriotism Is A Character Flaw

2011-05-06T11:47:00.001-04:00

“USA! USA! USA!” the crowds chanted outside the White House. “USA! USA! USA!” the crowds chanted at the ballpark. What few of these people realize is that this feeling they have coursing through their veins as they shout their brains out - that’s the feeling that inspired the murder of everyone in the World Trade Center. That feeling is the cancer that has had the human race destroying itself for all of recorded history. It’s us against them. They call it patriotism. I call it disgusting.

I wrote a piece about my views on patriotism. Read the rest here: http://www.freeassn.com/drupal/node/39

Bin Laden Is Dead

2011-05-02T12:53:00.003-04:00

Can we focus on something important now, like explicitly legalizing online poker? To be honest, I find it hard to care about world politics and missions of vengeance when U.S. domestic policy is so embarrassingly hypocritical.

Speaking of embarrassing, I wrote a little piece about Mason Malmuth's recent behavior on his internet forum: http://www.freeassn.com/drupal/node/32

Yesterday was my birthday, so I took a day off from the live grind. I ate lots of vegan banana cream pie, too. Now it's up to Foxwoods for a two day session, back home for music practice, then down to Atlantic City for another two day session. Then it's time to make some poker videos over the weekend. It's not a bad life, but I could do without the travel. Some explicitly legal live poker in NYC would be nice. But I guess I'll have to settle for dead terrorist leaders on my birthday.

Live Poker

2011-04-20T23:09:00.001-04:00

Back when the Neteller fiasco hijacked the online poker money train, I decided there was no way I was going to give up the game. Still, I came up with a back up plan that can be summarized in two words: Live Poker.

The consensus among online professionals seems to be that live poker is either boring or torturous, depending on the cards and the company. I'll admit that there are a lot of negatives to playing poker in person:

Fewer hands per hour
No shorthanded tables
Smelly/obnoxious neighbors
Having to wear pants

I've played thousands of hours of live poker in my life, largely because I appreciate many of the positives:

More laid back
Weaker players
Physical tells
Interesting folks to meet in person
The feel of the cards
Dragging a big pot and stacking the chips
Carrying racks upon racks to the cashier
Getting paid in crisp hundred dollar bills

Now don't get me wrong, I haven't given up on playing online. Black Chip Poker looks like a solid option for the US player. But I'm not going to throw five figures back on to a site until things cool off a bit. For now I'll play a few sessions here and there. I'll be spending the majority of my working hours in casinos and card clubs, though. Playing live poker.

Happy 420

2011-04-20T20:55:00.001-04:00

I don't smoke pot. I never have. That's not to say I'm opposed. It's just not my thing.

The fact that the majority of my friends and previous girlfriends were potheads meant that every day at 4:20 there would be giggles and high fives and the refrain of "let's go smoke a bowl." I would roll my eyes, not because the smoking bothered me (it didn't), but because having some official time, like it was a holiday to get excited about - well, it just struck me as arbitrary and annoying, like somehow that was more their time than it was my time.

But I get it now. For almost a hundred years, marijuana has been criminalized and scandalized. And for what? Alcohol is a harsher drug, but that's legal. Cigarettes can kill people who don't even smoke them, but they're allowed. I've always been in favor of legalization. I even sponsored a bill in mock congress when I was 14. (When it lost 6-6-1, I literally fell backwards out of my chair in frustration. Ironically, the one dude who abstained from the vote didn't abstain from drugs. But I digress.)

What I understand now, on 4/20, is that when you're a group that's been fighting for your rights for the better part of a century, it helps to have a rallying cry. A rallying time. A rallying place.

It may be 4/20 today, but now is the time for poker players to rally as well. Now is the time and this is the place: Free Association

Villain's Lament Dot Com

2011-04-06T17:23:00.001-04:00

After months of incubation, my band finally has a humble new internet abode. Right now, villainslament.com is nothing more than a glorified collection of social media links, but it exists and it functions. And isn't that what life's all about?

Detachment (PCA Day 2)

2011-03-30T02:16:00.002-04:00

January 10, 2011 – Paradise Island, Bahamas. It’s 5:45 PM on Day Two of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. No more than 280 players remain out of the 1560 who entered the $10,000 main event. Only 232 of those players will walk away with money, the minimum payout being something like $15k or $17k.

With blinds of $1500/$3000 and antes of $300, I’m sitting on a $50k chip stack. That’s not quite small-stack life support, but my chances of a decent payday are fast dying off. In the past hour, my table has become quite aggressive, leaving me few chances to attack the blinds or even attempt to resteal. Every pot is raised and re-raised before the action gets to me. But not this hand.

I’m under the gun and look down to find a pair of black jacks. I make it $7500 to go and only the small blind comes along for a flop. He’s got close to a million chips, so he’s eyeing my stack like it’s an appetizer. The flop comes out 986 with a couple clubs and he checks to me.

My hand is strong enough that I’d like to get all of my chips in the middle, but shoving $43k into a pot of $20k seems unlikely to get my opponent’s chips in there keeping mine company. This guy has been very aggressive, so I try to bet small enough to give the illusion of fold equity – I want him to think he can push me out of the pot.

Before my $12k chips are even out of my hand he declares himself all in. The rest of my chips make it to the middle before he’s even reached for his. He flips over a queen and a ten. I flip up my jacks and ask the dealer not to give me a set. The king on the turn is safe, but the queen on the river ends my tournament.

I feel nothing. I’m not talking about that numb feeling where you’ve lost everything and your dog’s just died. I mean nothing. A double up would have almost guaranteed a cash for $15k or more, but the river Q elicits not even a blip on my emotional radar.

I shake some hands, exchange some “good game”s, and walk away from the table. I turn back to the table and quip to the dealer, “He had me covered, right?” This is worth a cheap laugh from the table and lets me feel good about how well I’m taking the loss. The tournament was fun (and a freeroll for me), and I now had six days of vacation in Atlantis, so there’s no reason I should have felt too bad. But shouldn’t I have felt something?

The Prettiest Card (Villain's Lament live at the Lair)

2011-03-06T02:43:00.011-05:00

Here's a live performance of the first track off my band's upcoming CD. The song's called The Prettiest Card and the band is called Villain's Lament. It's about poker. Sort of. And sex. And relationships and all that jazz. Mostly it's drawing thin and wanting what's not good for you. It's sort of a shred filled pop-punk rock song.

New Review

2011-02-28T15:40:00.001-05:00

Despite my best efforts, February insists on remaining my least favorite month of the year. At least it's short. On the bright side, Poker News just published this awesome review of Don't Listen To Phil Hellmuth, the book I wrote with Dusty Schmidt. Here's the link: http://uk.pokernews.com/news/2011/02/book-review-don-t-listen-to-phil-hellmuth-6258.htm

99 Red Balloons

2011-02-17T01:57:00.000-05:00

Einstein drenched in blood, nuclear war, etc:

2010

2011-01-07T02:55:00.000-05:00

I began last year on a quest to reach Supernova Elite and have my best poker year ever. I failed at that. I made it more than halfway there and made a good living along the way, but I came up short. I could blame it on the fact that I wrote two books and recorded a hundred videos, but I won't. The fact is, I just didn't play enough poker to reach that one goal. But that doesn't mean the year was a failure.

The truth of the matter is that Supernova Elite just didn't matter enough to me. It didn't matter enough to forgo an awesome opportunity to write Don't Listen To Phil Hellmuth with Dusty Schmidt, and learn No Limit Holdem in the process. It didn't matter enough to stop me from playing in the main event of the World Series of Poker for the first time. It certainly didn't matter enough to keep me from writing my first book, Way of the Poker Warrior, and getting it published.

In retrospect, going for Supernova Elite was not a great idea in the first place. It was an effective motivator early in the year. It got me to put in my two biggest months ever. But ultimately, I wound up focusing too heavily on volume. It got me to focus on quantity over quality. I think it's a great program and a great opportunity for those who want to grind out a million hands of break even poker. But that's not for me. I won some at the tables in 2010, but not half as much as I wanted to - probably not a tenth as much as I could if I focused on that, instead.

So 2011 will be different. I don't have any arbitrary goals. I have some lofty ambitions for sure, but more than anything, I'm looking for greater consistency out of myself. All that will have to wait, though, since I'm heading to the Bahamas today to play in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure! Fun in the sun (as much as a city boy like me can stand) and a free poker tournament.

Looking back, 2010 was pretty good to me. Like every year, it had its ups and downs, but I can't be unhappy with what I achieved and what luck brought to me. New friends, new opportunities, and a comfortable enough life. Here's to all of your 2011s. Let's live like 2012 really is the end of the world because, hey, who knows?

Don't Listen To Phil Hellmuth

2010-12-09T04:01:00.002-05:00

That’s the name of the book I just finished writing with Dusty “leatherass” Schmidt. I finished my final edits yesterday, and in a marvel of modern technology and book design, you can already purchase and download the e-book at giantbuddhapoker.com. The hard copy ships January 2^nd. That’s fast.

Don’t Listen To Phil Hellmuth took over four months to write, rewrite and revise. It felt like a long time because I expected the book to take just two months, and the delay pushed back my Supernova Elite chase to the point of extinction. Looking at the process, though, four months is an extremely short time frame for a project like this. After all, Dusty had to teach me the finer points of No Limit Holdem, then I had to put them into writing, and then we had to refine and reinforce the material to the point where it can teach you the finer points of No Limit Holdem. Learning something to the point of being able to teach it is an intense process.

When Dusty asked me to work with him on this project, I said yes for three reasons. First of all, there’s the money. I’ve never been overly motivated by the greenbacks, but the prospect of making good money as a writer appeals to me. Dusty’s first book Treat Your Poker Like A Business has sold very well, so I figure this book is a good bet to sell at least as well, maybe better since it’s bigger and jam-packed with strategy advice.

The second thing that appealed to me about writing this book was the chance to develop a bigger name as a writer. Ten years from now, I think I’d rather be writing than playing poker, although I imagine I’ll still be doing both. Having the opportunity to hone my craft, put my name on a book that will end up in a lot of hands, and get paid for it, was not something I could pass up.

Finally, there was the chance to work with Dusty Schmidt. He’s a polarizing figure in the poker world and possibly the biggest online winner outside of the nosebleeds. I admired his work ethic and assumed he must be doing something right strategically to be making all that money. So I thought talking to him for a hundred hours or so might be fun and would certainly be educational.

Well, we’ll see how motivations #1 and #2 pan out, but I have to say the book’s already worth it for me on account of #3. Not only is Dusty a thoroughly good dude, he possesses a keen mind for poker strategy and an ability to articulate the logic behind all of his plays. He never says, “Well, I usually do this here because I feel like it’s the best play.” Or, “I like a bet here.” Or to borrow a line from the book, “I led out here to find out where I stood.” He always has a well-defined reason for each play, and I think you’ll see that in our book. The second part of the book, “25 Hands With Dusty,” showcases this particularly well.

We had a hell of a lot of fun writing this book, and we hope you have a lot of fun reading it.

Reflections On 100,000 Hands In 10 Days

2010-12-05T14:22:00.003-05:00

Well that was brutal. From November 19^th through November 28^th, I played 100,000 hands in 10 days. I only played about 13 hours each day, but the last one turned into a 28-hour, 25000-hand marathon. That's just too much poker.

My total profit for the ten days was about $5400, which is a not-so-unpleasant disappointment. That's a little over $40/hour, which is what I was making two and a half years ago by playing three tables of $3/$6. I value my time more highly than that now.

(If I had gone on to reach Supernova Elite this year, then the VPPs I earned would have been worth at least another $3900, bringing my hourly wage for this grind to a little over $70.)

Was it worth it? That’s a good question and I’ll try to give a good answer. To be brief, yes and no.

Examined from a monetary standpoint, I might have made three times as much by playing fewer hands, focusing on my opponents, sitting at softer tables, and eliminating time outs and misclicks. So there was unquestionably a more profitable use of my time. But I don't measure life in dollars. I don't even always measure poker in dollars.

So what's the silver lining we always hear so much about? Call it a cheap education and a journey of self discovery.

For one thing, I now know that I am capable of absolutely insane grinding. I already suspected as much, or I wouldn’t have made the prop bet. But you don’t really know you can do something until you’ve actually done it. And now I know that if I ever absolutely have to, I can lock myself up for 10 days and grind out however many hours and hands I may need.

Secondly, I’ve now concluded that insane multi-tabling is not the best way for me to make money. This is useful knowledge. The whole reason I started increasing tables and volume at the beginning of this year was to make more money. After all, making money is the reason a professional poker player plays poker professionally, right? Well, sort of.

While money is a primary motivation (and unfortunately still necessary at this point in my life), I also value the intellectual and psychological challenges of the game. Until someone literally finds a complete game theory optimal solution to Limit Holdem and everyone else starts applying this solution, there will always be more work I can do to improve, and there will always be new and changing opponents to adapt to. There are guys who were awful 6 months ago who are pretty good now. There’s been a rash of turn check/raises with middle pair (someone must’ve made a video about this). There’s always something.

Don’t get me wrong – I notice these things while I’m playing 14 tables of $5/$10 and $10/$20. I’m not flying on autopilot through a fog. But in trying to grind out a half million hands this year (and write two books, make like a hundred videos, play the WSOP, etc.), I forgot to leave time to study the nuances. I just filled in all of those blank hours on my calendar with more grinding. Blank hours when I should have been improving and moving up.

Does that mean this crazy grinding is not right for anyone? I don’t know. It may be the most comfortable way for some people to make money. And that’s fine. It’s possible to grind out Supernova Elite in about 1000 hours by playing six to ten tables. That’s not a rough life. I have a bit more ambition than that, though, and feel the need to indulge my ambitions. I always have. I don’t think that makes me better than anyone who just grinds like this all year. It just makes me me. And knowing that is its own reward.

100k Hands In 10 Days

2010-11-20T17:51:00.002-05:00

My 100 Day of the Zen Madman has gotten both madder and less Zen. The book took a lot longer than I expected, and that pretty much torched my plans for balance. But I think it turned out fantastic. You can judge for yourselves - the book is called Don't Listen To Phil Hellmuth and is now available here: https://dustyschmidt.net/order_dusty_schmidt_books_now/

As I was literally wrapping up my final edits on the book as I began my latest challenge - to play 100,000 hands of mid-stakes Limit Holdem over a 10 day span. I'm about 15k hands in so far, halfway through Day 2. Due to popular request, I recorded this video blog while 10-tabling:

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Zen Madman Day 20 of 100

2010-10-13T17:01:00.001-04:00

One week without an update. Things have been slow. Here's a running (behind schedule) tally of the first 20 days:

39,000 VPPs
6 Taekwon-Do classes
5 music practices
14 blogs
17 poker videos
1 party

Zen Madman Day 13 of 100

2010-10-08T02:20:00.001-04:00

Not a whole lot done today, but not bad for waking up at 9 PM:

4,200 VPPs

Zen Madman Day 12 of 100

2010-10-05T21:47:00.001-04:00

Today was both exhausting and unproductive. I'm spending too much time dealing with peripheral matters and not enough time accomplishing my primary objectives.

1 Taekwon-Do class
1 music practice
???

Zen Madman Day 11 of 100

2010-10-04T04:38:00.001-04:00

Draft one of the book is finally finished! Did some revisions on the new chapters, sent them off, then went out to dinner for the first time in weeks. Came home, played a couple hours of poker and made a few videos. This is going to be a busy week.

1,100 VPPs
3 videos
1 blog

Zen Madman Day 10 of 100

2010-10-03T16:46:00.001-04:00

It stopped raining, and I've stopped writing. Well, I'm finished with draft one, anyway. Now I finally get to start grinding some poker.

9 chapters

Zen Madman Day 9 of 100

2010-10-02T16:11:00.001-04:00

It rained again. I wrote again. There will be much poker tomorrow.

Zen Madman Day 8 of 100

2010-10-01T19:50:00.001-04:00

It rained. I wrote.

10 chapters

Zen Madman Day 7 of 100

2010-09-30T13:18:00.000-04:00

I woke up grumpy and unshaven. I'm going to sleep cleaner and happier. Today started off rough, but picked up. Tomorrow will be a long day.

1,000 VPPs
2 videos
1 chapter
1 Taekwon-Do class
1 music practice
1 blog

2010-09-29T17:29:00.001-04:00

Another mediocre day. I wanted to write 10 chapters today, but managed to finish only 3. Is it possible that I've overwhelmed myself with too much stuff to do?

3 chapters
2 poker videos
1 blog

Zen Madman Day 5 of 100

2010-09-28T15:08:00.002-04:00

It rained. I'm not sure that helped me get stuff done, but it was soothing in its own way. I quickly learned the drawback of having window screens to let in the breeze. This flooding was nothing like the dishwasher fiasco, though.

Not too much poker. Lots of poker videos:

1,000 VPPs
3 poker videos
1 Taekwon-Do class
1 music practice
1 blog

Hand of the Week 6

2010-09-27T17:27:00.000-04:00

Zen Madman Day 4 of 100

2010-09-27T15:11:00.000-04:00

Day 4 was less than ideal. I let myself get distracted by black cards, poker championships (which I didn't play), and nuclear kittens. I had a lot planned for the day, but made some serious scheduling adjustments. I'd like to say I relaxed a bit and that I'm now prepared for a hard week, but the feeling only lasted until I woke up this morning. It's raining, which contributes atmosphere but not energy.

2,000 VPPs
1 video (The Sixth Star Volume V)

Zen Madman Day 3 of 100

2010-09-26T14:44:00.001-04:00

I can't say things are getting any easier so far. A little quality sleep would be more than welcome. I managed to pick up the pace on the poker at least, largely by nine tabling. I also decided to spend 24 hours at some point writing a short mystery novel.

7,100 VPPs
2 videos
1 blog

Zen Madman Day 2 of 100

2010-09-25T14:51:00.000-04:00

I was physically exhausted all day, so I took two quick naps, Da Vinci style. My focus was been mediocre at best, but my spirits are high. I'll need to keep that fire to grind through the tough days like today. In other news I made a runner-runner royal flush. Very exciting.

I wanted to go to my friend and singer's third degree test, but after an awful night of sleep, there was no way to do it without falling way behind pace. I can't afford that this early in the game. I need a solid first week to keep myself motivated for the rest of the challenge.

6,000 VPPs
2 chapters
2 videos
1 blog

Zen Madman Day 1 of 100

2010-09-24T17:01:00.001-04:00

I woke up exhausted today. Within an hour I was on the creative high of pounding out a couple chapters. I got a sorely needed haircut, played some bass and guitar, got a little free fighting in, ran a mile, then came home for round 2 of poker. I only had 2 hours scheduled, so that was no problem. After grinding out a couple more chapters for the book, my brain feels like mush. Hopefully I'll sleep through the night.

2,100 VPPs
4 chapters
1 music practice
1 Taekwon-Do class
1 blog

Somehow it looks so paltry to me when I write it out, but it felt like a long day. Just 99 bottles of Buddha on the wall...hmm...should I have gone with luftballons?

Zen Madman Day 0 of 100

2010-09-23T13:35:00.000-04:00

I began my 100 Days of the Zen Madman at the stroke of midnight. More like the click of midnight since everything's digital these days. I'm only five hours into my madness, and I'm already tired as hell. That's because I'm out of shape, out of practice, and thoroughly unprepared for what lies ahead. Rather, I'm mentally and physically unprepared. I'm emotionally committed, though, so I expect the body and mind will fall in line. Time for sleep.

Progress so far:
1790 VPPs (296,223 total)
1 video produced
1 chapter written
1 blog

Hand of the Week 5

2010-09-23T03:39:00.001-04:00

100 Days of the Zen Madman

2010-09-22T05:33:00.002-04:00

700,000 VPPs on PokerStars
100 Blogs (written or video)
35 Taekwon-Do classes (taken or taught)
35 Music practices (with band or solitary)
20 Poker videos (full length or short form)
4 Songs recorded (in a pro studio)
3 Parties attended (gotta have some fun)
2 Shows played (electric or acoustic)
1 Book published (with a co-author)

The hardest thing about extreme grinding is maintaining a balanced life. I began 2010 year with the goal of getting Supernova Elite in 6 months, but got sidetracked by other interests. Now it's September and I've only got about 300k VPPs, so I need to grind 700k more in 100 days to reach Supernova Elite this year (that's the pace for 2.55 million VPP/year).

I'm giving myself this challenge to prove that I can accomplish this without giving up on artistic expression, literary accomplishment, poker coaching, exercise, or even fun. My notion of a "balanced life" may sound unbalanced, but I can only stay sane when I let myself get a bit crazy.

The Professional

2010-09-21T03:13:00.002-04:00

When you want something done right, they say you should do it yourself. I prefer to find someone who takes pride in their work. A professional. A true professional.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that my move has been less than smooth. I won’t re-list the problems with this place, but I will say that I was losing sleep over a number of them, particularly the menagerie of malfunctioning doors. Long story short, they’ve all been fixed.

Short story long, I met a member of the DragTheBar Limit Holdem squad a couple weeks ago at a party. In response to my complaints about this new apartment, he mentioned that he was a carpenter and a locksmith. I offered him the job of fixing the place. While he wouldn’t take my money, he did accept my offer of poker coaching in exchange for repairs. So I’ll be teaching him to take other peoples’ money instead.

After sitting here for three weeks watching the original contractor get nothing done, I needed to find a professional. I did. In nine hours, he fixed everything but the plumbing. My Taekwon-Do student (the master plumber) came back to fix that. Now everything in the apartment works, and I’m ready to begin my psychotic 100-day challenge on Thursday.

People ask poker coaches why they coach. The good ones do it because they love teaching. That’s true for all types of teachers. One of the most gratifying things about teaching is the favors students will do for you. It’s not gratifying just because it helps get things done (which is awesome). The gratification comes from knowing that your students are doing these things from their heart, because they appreciate the time you’ve taken to share your knowledge with them. And that’s really what it’s about on both sides. Taking the time to help someone else.

So thanks to my guys for taking the time to help me out. It’s made a world of difference.

When It Leaks, It Floods

2010-09-16T02:12:00.001-04:00

If when it rains, it pours, then when it leaks, it floods. I have neither slept more than an hour nor eaten more than a snack since 11 AM yesterday morning. That's 41 hours of less than perfect existence. At least I received my weekly affirmation that I'm a little bit clutch.

Today's high jinks began at 9 in the morning when my friend and former student came by to repair the plumbing mess left by the guy who's been "fixing" the house. My guy is a master plumber, which means he knows his shit (the other guy, not so much). He replaced the valves on all of the heaters, repaired the leaky toilet downstairs (which had hot water melting the wax sealing it to the floor), and replaced the pipe beneath our clogged sink. He also shut off the gas and electricity which had been carelessly left on in the boiler in the basement. That's the thing that could've blown up.

The only thing he didn't repair was the pipe leading to and from the dishwasher. He asked if it was leaking, we said no (it wasn't), and he said it would probably be fine. Turns out it wasn't fine. I don't blame him for that. He already did us a huge favor by coming to fix everything two days before his knee surgery. He asked if the pipe was leaking, we said no, and that was that.

The guy I blame is the one who's been doing shoddy work throughout the house, and the guy who left the gas and electricity going to the boiler, ambivalent to whether or not we got blown up. (When confronted about this, he gave some bullshit excuse and acted snotty.)

Long story short (too late), we ran the dishwasher twice today. The first time we watched it like hawks and it ran smoothly. The second time, I sat in my office while the pipe broke about and blew water all over the kitchen, into the bedroom, bathroom and living room (and the shower downstairs). Once alerted to the disaster, however, I ran to the sink and grabbed the knob next to the spraying water. I turned it counter clockwise and it sprayed my face more forcefully. I turned it clockwise and the geyser subsided. Fortunately, we'd recently purchased two 12 packs of paper towels. We need to get a new one tomorrow.

Two hours and one blog later, the floor is dry and I'm exhausted. I hope this blog isn't incoherent, because I feel a bit delirious. I always look for the bright side in things, but right now the best I can come up with is humor. My life has become Grade-A slapstick. And hey, I still haven't gotten blown up yet.

I Didn't Get Blown Up

2010-09-15T14:44:00.001-04:00

I didn’t get blown up. That’s the best thing I can say about the past three weeks.

Two days after moving in to my new apartment, I commented on a building bearing the plaque “Dadi’s House.” A neighbor related to me the sad tale of Dadi’s wife, who had smelled a gas leak, called 911, and gotten blown up, along with her child and two cops. The children in the neighborhood fashioned a plaque made of multi-colored tiles to rechristen the widower’s home.

I spent the first two weeks in my new apartment struggling to grind out chapters for the book I’m writing with Dusty. The struggle came not so much from the traditional writer’s block (although that was an element), but rather from the insane distractions coming from my mess of a new home. Renovations were supposed to be completed one month before we moved in, but here we are, no end in sight. A short list of what’s been wrong with the place:

Recently installed mailbox sucks
Front door doesn’t lock properly
Office door doesn’t fit the frame (drags on the floor, gap at the top – not quite the sound booth I was aiming for)
Bathroom door creaks on its hinges
Bedroom door handle falls off
Light fixtures not affixed
Mice
Insects
Paint all over the floors
Fuse box painted shut
Thermostat painted over
Poorly installed kitchen cabinets
Poorly installed microwave
No hot water upstairs
Hot water in the toilet downstairs (this melts the wax seal at the base of the toilet, causing water to leak all over the bathroom)
Kitchen sink won’t drain, except into the dishwasher, which leaks all over kitchen floor
Leaky water heaters with broken valves (covered in paint)
Broken water boiler valve sealed by a sock wedged in with a screwdriver
Broken water boiler in the basement, which was left empty of water, but with the gas and electricity on (this could have blown up at any minute, but it’s “fixed” now)

I called my former Taekwon-Do student, who’s a master plumber, so the water issues are getting straightened out. And I didn’t fall down the half-installed stairs (even when I was told they were fully installed). And I didn’t really need to go out last night, so who cares that the stairs got lacquered while I was upstairs eating dinner. Who cares that I couldn’t come home the other night because the stairs had been painted?

I didn’t get blown up, so I guess I’m running pretty good.

Hand of the Week 4

2010-09-15T14:44:00.000-04:00

Shameless Self-Promotion

2010-09-10T04:00:00.002-04:00

I don't know how long this offer will be available, but right now you can get my book, Way of the Poker Warrior, for free when you sign up for three months of poker training at DragTheBar. To make things better, they'll throw in a fourth month at DragTheBar for free. This has to be the best deal in poker training right now. My book is written to help you get the most value out of every training resource you use, and DragTheBar is the highest caliber of training resource available. It's a perfect combo.

Way of the Poker Warrior is all about applying things I learned from the martial arts to my poker development, so I'll give you a shameless self-promotion parallel in this blog. When I was first running my Taekwon-Do school, I was very awkward at sales. I had a hard time pitching the service I was offering and a harder time asking for money. I had confidence in my product, but somehow I felt it was impolite to push someone into a sale.

My outlook on sales changed when I realized one simple fact. Practicing Taekwon-Do made my life better. Wouldn't it stand to reason that it could improve others' lives as well? In fact, I had seen it change many of my friends' lives, sometimes in subtle ways, and sometimes in massive ways. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wasn't just going for a sale, but that I was trying to change someone's life for the better. I was never much of a capitalist, but this was something I could get behind.

In a rapid decanting, but I poured my heart and soul into Way of the Poker Warrior, and I believe it can improve anyone's life (not just poker players). I've gotten enough feedback from readers now to know it's not just my ego saying that I wrote a book that I'm proud of. It's not just the writing that I'm proud of though. It's being part of the continuity of education. The lessons that I teach in my book are not fabricated out of thin air. They're things that I learned from my teachers, from my friends, and from my life. All I've done is synthesize that wisdom into a series of easily digestible chapters. And that's a product I can sell, because I believe in it, and I believe it can help you.

So there's my shameless self-promotion.

Hand of the Week 3

2010-09-07T04:40:00.001-04:00

Moving Sucks. Free Books Are Good.

2010-09-06T03:40:00.001-04:00

I've spent the last 10 days moving from a studio apartment into a second floor two bedroom. It sounded like a great idea at the time, and I'm sure I'll enjoy having both a bedroom and an office, but right now it feels like a 500 big bet downswing. Complaining about everything that's gone wrong would be about as entertaining as describing every bad beat that occurs in a 500 big bet downer, so I'll spare you the gory details. Instead, I'll let you in on a way you can get my book, Way of the Poker Warrior, for free. It's late, so I'll be brief: Click Here.

Hand of the Week 2

2010-08-28T03:04:00.001-04:00

Review by Instructor Ray Mannion

2010-08-23T03:54:00.001-04:00

I'd like to thank my Taekwon-Do colleague, Instructor Ray Mannion for writing an excellent review of Way of the Poker Warrior on his website oneontatkd.com. Aside from being a great instructor, practitioner, and writer himself, Ray can do backflips! I have a good number of talents, but that's something I never had the guts to learn. Read the review here.

Hand of the Week 1

2010-08-22T12:33:00.005-04:00

This one took over 12 months from inception to execution, but I'm happy to finally give you Hand of the Week 1. This is the first installment in a series of free poker videos. Each week I'll pick one interesting hand and give it a thorough analysis. If you'd like to see me do even more in-depth analysis, check out my Hand of the Day series on DragTheBar.

Paperback Writer

2010-08-21T03:05:00.001-04:00

I received a package slip from UPS two days ago. "Could it be my book?" I wondered. As I hustled downstairs, I employed a tilt-avoidance technique described in Way of the Poker Warrior. (I developed it for poker and martial arts to prepare for the full range of possibilities, but it's just as effective for avoiding wrong-package tilt.) There was a decent chance that this was not my book. In fact, I had three separate packages, and not one of them was my book.

It was six weeks ago that Way of the Poker Warrior was officially published, but the hard copies were not printed until last Wednesday. The ebooks went out immediately, but there were delays at the printing house. Still, in the publishing business, 4 months from inception to production is outstanding. I can't complain. Today I can finally hold one in my hands.

If you ordered the printed version, I hope you have your own copy by now. I apologize for the delay, and if you send an email to info@imagine-media.net, we'll more than make up for it.

So I've got a stack of 20 books ready to be distributed among my friends, family, and teachers. All I have left to do is figure out which page I'm supposed to sign, what pen to use, and what to say. There was a Seinfeld episode about this.

Nothing makes you feel like a writer so much as holding a book with your name on the cover. And now I feel like a writer.

Insomnia and Projection

2010-08-20T04:16:00.002-04:00

Throughout my life, I've suffered from various forms of insomnia. When I was young, I had nightmares of witches flying through my bedroom window. More recently, my dreams tend to focus on alien invasions and zombie-mashing. I've always felt like sleeping was a massive waste of time. There's so much to do! Sure, when I'm depressed, I can sleep all day. But when I hit my manic phases, I can't sleep a wink. It's just go-go-go.

My father used to help me with peaceful visualizations. I would play along and pretend to fall asleep, because I knew how hard he was trying. Sometimes I'd actually trick myself into slumber. But most of the time I'd just lie there and picture cozy trees on a hill.

A few years ago, I found a magic sleeping tonic: The Golden Girls. Yes, I own all seven seasons. Technically, my girlfriend owns them, since I got them for her as a Christmas gift. But if we broke up, I'd have to buy my own set. Put them on and I drift right off. I can't sleep without my Golden Girls.

Last night as I went to bed, I had Frasier on instead. Of course, this prevented me from becoming unconscious. But along with a recent forum post I read, this show about shrinks reminded me of a very common poker error: projection.

Projection is a term for perceiving your own thoughts and feelings in another person, instead of recognizing their true home: you. In poker, a sort of projection can be a useful way to read hands. If your opponent plays like you, simply put yourself in their shoes, and you'll know how they'll play different hands. But not all opponents play like you. And when your opponent's style and thought process differs from yours, projection is a dangerous thing. You need to think how your opponent is likely to play their hand, not how you would play it. In fact, you're never going to make any money off of someone who plays all of their hands exactly the way you would.

I'm not too worried about projection myself, as I tend to assume that most people don't think quite the way I do. I am worried about insomnia, though. In fact, I'm going back to my Golden Girls tonight to see if I can catch some shut-eye.

ClickTheButton

2010-08-15T20:24:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been dragging the bar a lot, working on my No Limit game in conjunction with writing a strategy book with Dusty Schmidt. It's been fun, educational, and a little bit frustrating. While my NL game is improving by leaps and bounds, I'm still weak at the actual mechanics of bet sizing. For instance, I recently bet $51 into a $30 pot when I meant to bet $15. I tried the slider bar and wound up with some similarly oversized (but less dyslexic) bets. I've also timed out more than once while trying to get a raise exactly right. I know these issues will go away with a little practice, but sometimes a man just wants to click the button.

It was less than six months ago that I recorded the first Limit Holdem video at DragTheBar. You can tell by the name that DTB wasn't conceived with limit poker in mind. Nonetheless, we've already got over 50 videos, 3 coaches, and a great community in the forums. Not bad for less than half a year's work.

As we move into the second half of our first year, I'm particularly excited to have a well-rounded coaching staff. The addition of Dustin "La Peste" Cook provides a great perspective into beating smaller-stakes Limit Holdem for a living. One of my pet peeves is higher limit players making sweeping generalizations about how the lower limits play, when they haven't played those limits in years. Games change over time, so having a coach that's currently beating up on those games is a huge asset.

Also debuting this month is Emil "darkhorse" Jonsson's series on Game Theory. I highly recommend this series not only to Limit Holdem players, but players of all poker variants. His presentation of the material is the best I've seen. It also provides a great counterbalance to my more typically exploitative style.

I'll be wrapping up The Sixth Star, Buddha's Dojang, and The Sauna before the year is done. I've also got a few dual commentary videos/series up my sleeve that may debut in the next couple months as well. My video plans for 2011 include some much more advanced material along with some absolut beginner material. (No, that's not a typo.)

I've got a lot of book left to write, but I'm still gunning for Supernova Elite this year. I'm pretty far behind, so look for some crazy grinding/prop bet action down the stretch.

When Opportunity Knocks This Hard, I'll Answer The Door In My Underwear

2010-08-05T03:31:00.002-04:00

It's no secret to anyone that knows me that I have a tendency to overextend myself. For instance, my plans for August included:

Promoting my book Way of the Poker Warrior
Making about a dozen videos for DragTheBar
Catching up on my Supernova Elite grind
Moving into a bigger apartment
Recording a single with Villain's Lament
Starting a record company
Doing some light writing for my next book

That's a fairly ambitious list and fails to include stuff like forum posting, martial arts practice, band practice, and having fun. Throw those things in and my schedule's looking pretty full.

Despite all of these commitments and plans, when I got a call from Dusty Schmidt asking if I wanted to work with him on his new book, my decision was a snap call.

I can't divulge the details of the project, but it's going to be a strategy book for No Limit Holdem. Dusty supplies the expertise, and I drop it on the page as eloquently as I can, throwing in a student's perspective and maybe some combo analysis here and there.

Penning a book with such an illustrious co-author is obviously huge for my writing career. I mean, who's not going to buy a strategy guide written by a guy who's crushed the everliving hell out of mid and high stakes No Limit for four years? It's also huge for my poker career.

In my quest to become a more well-rounded poker player (and someday to play $4k/$8k in Bobby's Room), I've been working hard on my No Limit game. The best part of working on this book is that I get to talk NL strategy for two or three hours a day with a world class player. I feel like I've learned more about big bet poker in the last three days than I had in the previous three years. And if I'm learning, that means the reader will, too. I guarantee that this book will make you rethink some things that you previously took for granted.

Don't worry, though. Limit Holdem will always be my home. Sauna 10 has just been posted on DragTheBar, and Sauna 11 is recorded and on its way. Sixth Star IV and Buddha's Dojang V are on their way as well, along with some super exciting news that I can't tell you all about yet.

Stay tuned!

There's No Place (Quite) Like Home

2010-07-19T16:47:00.000-04:00

It's 92 degrees and humid in New York today, but it feels like a fucking picnic. They call the desert a dry heat, but I'll take this weather over 110 degrees in Vegas any day. That kind of weather makes me feel like my skin is cracking. Like I'll turn to ash like a vampire in the sun. Here, the summer breeze is actually cool.

Aside from the weather, I feel at home in Sin City. The Strip feels like one giant Times Square. It's big, loud, and not the most polite place in the world. And it smells bad, too. Like New York, the city comes to life at night. The familiar energy of people scuttling to and fro, going somewhere they just need to be. But where it has glitz and glamor, it lacks substance. It feels like nothing of consequence happens out there. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but does anyone really care? I don't.

Back to real life. Back to my city.

I've got a laundry list of things to do today (and a lot of laundry, too!):
[ ] Redistribute part of my $21k to my WSOP backers
[ ] Catch up on email and PMs
[ ] Practice guitar in my new rehearsal space
[ ] Record DTB video
[ ] Get back to the grind
[ ] Eat a falafel
[x] Write blog

Vegas Vagabond

2010-07-17T05:23:00.001-04:00

I'm sick of Vegas. It's time to go home. Unfortunately, I'm checking out at 11 AM this morning, but my flight's not until 6 AM. So I'll be wandering around Vegas for the better part of 18 hours, sweating and sniffling. (I've managed to get genuinely sick for the first time this year.)

I'll be home late on Sunday, and should be fully functional on Monday. I'll be busy right off the bat - grinding, coaching, making videos, posting in the forums, shipping profits to my WSOP investors, and responding to emails and PMs. So if you're waiting on something from me, it'll happen Monday.

Right now I'm going to get the best night of sleep I can to prepare myself for one last long day in the desert.

Superstition, Synchronicity and Serendipity

2010-07-14T15:43:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was July 13th, 2010. That's the day I busted out of the World Series of Poker main event. It's also the day I cashed in my very first main event, good for $21,327. Not bad for a guy who hated tournaments and hasn't played No Limit for a living since 2007.

The turning point of my WSOP came midway through Day 4. I had almost 190k chips when a dude dressed in a white cowboy suit covered with green shamrocks came to the rail.

"Rub the clover for luck!" his wife suggested.

"They ain't clovers, they shamrocks," he retorted.

"No thanks, I've got my Buddha right here," I said as I lifted my little Buddha card protector. "Today's backwards St. Patty's Day, anyway." I muttered something about the luck of the Irish, world history, and irony before I looked down to see two black aces. I raised and got one caller, yielding a stack-to-pot ratio of about thirteen.

Thirteen. The number holds special meaning to a lot of people. Triskaidekaphobia in this country is so strong that I haven't seen a Vegas hotel with a thirteenth floor. When we're talking about stack-to-pot ratios in No Limit Holdem, aces can be said to have triskaidekaphobia. I lost about 71k chips on the hand and wound up playing defense for the rest of the tournament. Luck of the Irish.

July 13th was also my aunt's birthday. I say "was" because she died of throat cancer on my friend's 21st birthday in 1999. She may win the award for nicest person I've known in my entire life. Unfortunately, she's not the only family I've lost to cancer, including my father, my uncle, and a bunch of cats.

This year the WSOP has an official charity, preventcancer.org, and suggests donating 1% of our winnings to the fight against cancer. I was sporting the green 1% patch all tournament and gave 1% of my winnings, which only amounts to a couple hundred dollars. But if everyone donates 1%, that will amount to over $680k from the main event alone.

Coincidence and synchronicity often exist where you look for them, but yesterday, it felt like they were looking for me.

Why People Hate Live Poker

2010-07-13T05:43:00.000-04:00

I've survived Day 3 of the WSOP main event with 108,400 chips. I reached precisely zero showdowns, so you could say that my cards didn't matter at all. I ran sort of well. In eight hours of poker, I had aces, kings and queens at least twice each. I flopped kings full, an ace high flush, and a set of deuces. Unfortunately, I got no action on any of those hands. But I didn't get called the times I was squeezing with air, either.

Several times I saw my opponents reach for their chips as they contemplated playing back at my 3-bets, but each time they folded. I'm beginning to think I have an intimidating table image, even without a huge stack. My confidence has increased each day. I think a year from now I could be pretty good at this live tournament business. Maybe I'll play all of the $10k events next year - Limit Holdem, No Limit, Pot Limit Omaha, Deuce to Seven, HORSE, etc. We'll see.

Anyway, today started off in unpleasant fashion. The first guy to my left was a real nice guy with a real short stack. He played tight until he accidentally got it in with KQ after losing track of the action. Bummer. He was replaced by my least pleasant opponent of the tournament. Double bummer.

Despite the fact that we're all fighting for a piece of a rather large pie of money ($68 million), everyone else has been polite, sportsmanlike, and of generally good cheer. Not this guy. From the moment he sat down to the moment he left the table, I could tell he was "one of those guys."

Our table was full and I was correctly positioned at the table, but he asked me to move over to give him some space. He was in the 9-seat next to the dealer, which is an uncomfortable spot. I was in the 8-seat on his right. He had a bag of foul smelling food, so I tried to oblige, but there really wasn't that much room.

With antes of two black chips (200), he kept asking me for change, despite the fact that he had two stacks of them. This is inconsiderate and slows the game down. The chips, the smell, and the cantankerousness were on the slightly irritating side, but it comes with the territory. I just tried to ignore him and engage some of the other players in more pleasant conversation. Then it happened.

I folded my hand under the gun, and our friend folded his hand next. Two players later, a colorblind offensive lineman tried to open limp the cutoff. We want to encourage this behavior. The blinds were 600 and 1200, and he put a 1000 and two 500 chips in the pot. "Oops," he said as he reached for one of the 500 chips. The dealer pushed it back to him, making this a call.

The button folded, then the small blind asked, "Is that a call?" That's when our buddy to my left chimed in.

"It's a raise! It's more than half the bet. It has to be a raise!"

First of all, it's none of this guy's business whether the cutoff limps or raises. He's already folded. Second of all, it was clearly a mistake. The button didn't care. The small blind didn't care. The big blind didn't care. They're the only guys who should get an opinion. But this guy had the dealer call the floor, who declared the play a min-raise.

As we returned from the second break (but before he returned), I asked "Would somebody bust this guy?" This is pretty out of character for me, but I don't have a lot of tolerance for a single person ruining the vibe of a whole table. He busted soon after and was replaced by a pleasant Aussie (who unfortunately played better than the curmudgeon).

There were two other incidents that I was going to mention, but I'm pretty tired, so I'll save them for another time, but they involve a couple of live poker faux pas. One is an "I want to see that hand" abuse, and the other is a "You're good" at showdown miscall.

Enough of that. I'm excited to make it to Day 4. I certainly didn't expect to get this deep. In fact, I'm supposed to be on a plane at 2 PM, so I have to go rebook that now. Best of luck to Jeremy and David. I met both of them at the DragTheBar gathering, and I hope to meet them again down the line in this tournament. Not too soon, though, as they're both tourney pros and I'm just a humble Limit Holdem coach.

New Friends

2010-07-12T05:30:00.001-04:00

I had lunch today with acclaimed poker author and vegas vegan, Ed Miller. He was kind enough to bring me a box of Ronald's (vegan) Donuts and give me a ride to Whole Foods, where I restocked on coconut water and bananas (among a bevy of other items). It's always nice meeting someone that you have a lot in common with, and as a new author, it was great to pick the brain of one of the best poker authors out there. It doesn't hurt that Ed's a super nice guy, either.

After a late afternoon nap, I hailed a cab over to the Palms for the PokerStars party. I'm sure an open bar, Go-Go dancers, and Snoop Dogg appeal to a lot of people, but to be honest, I was pretty bored for the first hour after I entered the club. I had more fun waiting on line chatting with a couple strangers. Both are still in the main event, and one of them turned out to be friends with the next DragTheBar coach. (I can't tell you who it will be, but he sounds like an awesome addition.)

Things picked up once I met up with two of my Limit Holdem buddies, Jesse "Thor" Haabak and Jake Abdalla. Last year they finished 26th and 72nd, respectively, so they gave me a little WSOP pep talk. They're both cool and pretty laid back, and probably had a lot more fun tonight than I did. I wish I could have hung out longer, but I've got a lot of poker to play tomorrow. It's great to have an insider's view into how the main event plays as the bubble approaches, but first I have to make it through Day 3. Today wasn't all that restful, but it was fun and social, and if tomorrow turns out to be the same, it will be a good day.

Ready To Rumble

2010-07-11T04:44:00.001-04:00

Day 2 of the WSOP began with a colorful introduction from Bruce Buffer, voice of the UFC. I had 42,700 chips when he said "Shuffle up and deal!" I ended the day with 96,100. That's a good day, and leaves me with an average (mean) stack size. I should be well above the median.

My table was very pleasant. There were no absolutely terrible players, but my opponents were straightforward. Many of them were short stacked, so I was able to push them around a bit. I also had the pleasure of flopping a few hands. I had a good feel for the table and played with more confidence than I did on Day 1. The overall mood was very good, too. People were friendly and we had fun. In 8 hours of poker, we only saw two eliminations.

I was well prepared with 4 bottles of water, 2 bottles of coconut water, goji berry trail mix, candied pecans, 3 types of Clif bars, and a banana. Nonetheless, I felt tired and hungry at the dinner break. These days are long.

I spent some time wandering around the Rio, walking into Gaylord's Indian Restaurant, but decided against waiting on line. I came back later when there was no line, and a few folks strolled in behind me.

"Are you Bruce Buffer? I loved your interview," one guy said to another.

"Thanks, bro. I just tell it like it is."

Long story short, I end up having dinner with Bruce Buffer. Very nice guy. We talked about martial arts and poker, and it turns out he's written some articles on the connection between the two. I gave him a copy of Way of the Poker Warrior, which he said he'll mention on his radio show. It turns out he's got his own poker room at Luxor, which I'll have to check out.

I ran good today, and I'm excited to head back to the Rio on Monday for Day 3. If I survive that day, I'll either be in the money or very close to it.

Dreams Come True

2010-07-09T18:09:00.003-04:00

I am proud to announce that my first book, Way of the Poker Warrior, is officially published as of today. You can order it on my brand new website, giantbuddhapoker.com. E-books ship immediately, and hard copies will be on the way in a week or two.

This book draws from two of my favorite pastimes (and careers), poker and martial arts, with the occasional nod to a third, music. You can read the reviews on my website, or this one on Poker News.

In this first of hopefully many books, I strive to extract the most valuable lessons from the martial arts, and show you how to apply them directly to your poker game. While the lessons can be applied to all aspects of life, I analyze 29 individual hands to help you get immediate value from the ideas. With forewords from Grandmaster Suk Jun Kim and DragTheBar coaches Dusty Schmidt and Hunter Bick, I'm joined by some prestigious company.

Being published is a dream come true. I love being a professional poker player and coach, but I didn't cook up that idea until I was 20. I've known I would be a writer someday since I was 13. I had always put it off because writing holds no age barriers. It's something I could always get to later. But I'm done waiting. Now I'm a published author. I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Leaving Las Vegas

2010-07-08T14:48:00.002-04:00

"Drive Safe. Come Back Soon," the sign read. As we passed it, I glanced over my shoulder and read "Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas." The strip doesn't look that impressive under the scorching sun, but the view on the way in looks a lot better than the view on the way out.

Here's the thing: I'm from New York. I don't drive. Where I come from, we walk everywhere. Even when it's 104 degrees under the desert sky. Las Vegas wasn't built for walking, but I still trudged several miles northwest from the strip to Chinatown, and then so far south that I literally walked right out of the city.

Here's the other thing: I'm vegan. I don't eat meat. Or fish. Or eggs. Or dairy. I often get asked what I actually [I]do[/I] eat. Trust me, there's a wide range of foods that I love to overindulge in, all of them completely devoid of animal products. But Vegas wasn't built for vegans, so I had to leave.

Now, I didn't go far. I just moseyed on over to Whole Foods, located in the Town Square themed strip mall. It's only about 3 miles from my hotel. A city boy can walk that in under 45 minutes, but with all of the twists and turns of the strip, it took two hours. I got cereal, soysages, and fauxgurt for breakfast; pasta, burritos and spring rolls for dinner; coconut water, bananas, and two kinds of trail mix for Day 2 on Saturday. Some fresh fruits and veggies now round out my well-stocked kitchen.

The toughest part of main event Day 1 was the dirth of viable food options. I was delighted to see a fresh salad stand in the Poker Kitchen. I was appalled to see the preparer dig her hands into the lettuce, carrots and bacon, then mush them all around with the same hands. As a result, I was relegated to bananas, dried mango and the Clif bars I'd brought with me.

Hopefully I'll survive the full 9 hours of Day 2. If I don't, at least it won't be from starving.

My Callback Is On Saturday

2010-07-07T15:00:00.000-04:00

I don't think I got on television yet, but my first audition for the final table of the main event went well enough. I finished the day with 42,700 chips, which is about average at this stage of the game. More importantly, I'm still alive, and I'll be back on Saturday to play Day 2B.

Day 1 spread a few minutes of excitement throughout twelve hours of boredom. There were colorful characters: some dude dressed up as Batman was sitting next to Dan Harrington across from my table. A Full Tilt Pro was wearing a puffy Unlce Sam hat and an all white jump suit as part of their 1% pledge to [URL="http://www.preventcancer.org"]preventcancer.org[/URL]. I was the first to take a patch from Phil Gordon (happy 40th, Phil). I can confirm the reports - he is very, very tall.

I only saw two guys bust at my table in 9 hours of play. I was fortunate enough to bust both of them.

The first was Dan Shak, winner of the $100k buy-in event at the Aussie Millions. I had been trying to figure out where I knew him from until the other players informed me of his exploits. I don't watch much poker on TV, though, so I'm pretty sure I've actually played with him before. He's a hedge fund manager from NYC, so the latter explanation seems likely.

The hand was pretty straightforward. He opened in early position and it folded to my big blind. I held AKs. I just called, and crushed the flop of AK6. I figured I could get a c-bet out of him, so I went for a check/raise. He checked back. A third spade fell on the turn and I led into the 1,300 pot for 1,000. He made it 3,000. I expected him to semi-bluff spades on that flop and there are only 8 combos of sets on that board, so I shoved. He called and flipped up middle pair with the nut flush draw. A red seven on the river maintained the status quo and shrunk our table to 9.

The second guy was an unknown (to me) wearing Stars gear. He had been opening a ton of pots and I had re-raised a couple times already (earning folds from him). With a 12k stack, he opened the cutoff for 875 and I looked down at black tens. I made it 2,500. He did a fair amount of hemming and hawing before shoving. I paused to consider whether this was sincere or an act. It felt genuine enough to me, so I called. He flipped AT and I had him dominated. The flop of KQ9 bought him an extra 4 hours, but the turn and river bricked off and I was back up to 43k chips. There were a couple other interesting hands, but that's it for this blog.

Live Tournament No Limit Holdem has to be the slowest poker game on earth. (Well, Omaha is probably worse.) The majority of my nine hours of poker were spent waiting and watching. I can say that on two occasions my heart was racing, and that's something that cash games have completely ceased to cause. I'll take the good with the bad, and hopefully avoid the ugly.

I May Never Go Home

2010-07-04T08:11:00.000-04:00

I arrived in Vegas about six hours ago. During my irritating trip through airport security, then my first flight and layover, I was planning to write a Seinfeld-esque blog about air travel. "What's up with those 3 oz. containers? I mean, you can't take a pair of scissors on board, but pen's are okay? I guess they never saw Grosse Pointe Blank or The Bourne Identity." But we all know about airport security. It sucks. It's a pain in the ass, and if someone was really motivated to hijack a plane, I'm sure they could still do it. Moving on.

On my second flight, I witnessed an amusing game of musical chairs between a middle-aged woman, her redheaded daughter, and some dude.

MOM: What seat are you in?
DUDE: The middle one there.
MOM: Would you mind switching with my daughter? She's the redhead over there.
DUDE: Sure. What's Her Name?
MOM: Kristin.

DUDE goes over to REDHEAD, sitting across the aisle.
DUDE: Kristin? Your mom asked me to switch with you.
REDHEAD: Oh. Thanks.

REDHEAD gets up and smiles at DUDE, who takes her seat.
DUDE: Sorry guys, I know I'm not as good looking.

REDHEAD blushes and sits next to her mom.
MOM: Would you take the middle seat? Sacrifice for your mom?
REDHEAD: Sure.
MOM: Or would you like me to switch seats with him?
REDHEAD: Actually, yeah. Danny already gave me permission. He said he wouldn't mind. I told him he would.
MOM: Guys always mind.

Anyway...the reason I may never come home is that I've luckboxed myself into a thoroughly ridiculous hotel suite at Vdara. They ran out of the room size I had reserved, so they gave me a massive free upgrade. This thing has a full kitchen complete with dishwasher. The master bathroom has separate shower and bath, along with two sinks. There's a second bathroom in the living room, right next to the washer and dryer. The living room itself has a desk with free wi-fi, a huge couch in front of a 52" TV, and another table with four chairs. And the bedroom has a comfortable king size bed and its own TV, of course.

The hotel itself is between Bellagio and Aria, both of which have cash games I'll be playing in, but are far back enough from the strip to feel like a relaxing escape. I'll be here for 11 days, so this was the right time to pick the right hotel. I was in a good mood on the way out here, and things are beginning to look even better.

Rollin' Up A Stake And Goin' To Vegas

2010-07-03T04:43:00.001-04:00

I watched Rounders again a few days ago. The poker isn't quite state of the art, but it's still the best movie ever made on the subject. It goes to show how much you can do with a good script and a great cast.

I find myself in much the same spot as Mike McD - a pocket crammed with cash and a plane ticket from New York to Vegas. This will be the first main event I've played at the World Series of Poker. I'm looking forward to the madness, but I'm much more excited about my first book, Way of the Poker Warrior, and my new website. Details to come.

In fact, there's a possibility that I'll play my first hand at the Main Event on the same day that my book is released, and one day after meeting Hunter, Dusty, perhaps our bracelet winning coach Ian, and who knows how many other awesome coaches and players. Considering that two years ago I was grinding it out at $3/6, it feels like the big time.

I'll be making regular updates on Facebook and Twitter (GiantBuddhaPoke - yeah, funny, huh?). If anyone's in Vegas, shoot me a PM, or stop by and say hi if you see me. When I'm not at the WSOP, I'll be at the 2p2 parties, playing some crazy mixed games, and at the Bellagio, camping out at the mid-high Limit Holdem tables.

Road Trip

2010-06-20T18:02:00.000-04:00

Unlike most online poker pros, I love live poker. I love it for all the reasons many hate it. The people. The pace of the game. The sound of the chips clacking together. The feel of dragging a big pot and stacking my winnings into massive pyramids. Well, everyone loves that last part.

The pace is what kills most online players. We see so many fewer hands per hour. Patience, which was once paramount in poker, can almost be sidestepped online by adding more tables, or playing this aberration they call RUSH. I like to do everything fast, unless it's worth doing slow. But the best life advice I can offer is this: don't rush.

So I'm going back to where patience is at a premium. I'm heading down to the Borgata in Atlantic City tonight. I'll be there until the sun comes up. If anyone's in the neighborhood, feel free to drop by and say hi. I'll be getting my live poker reps in, taking my time, warming up for the WSOP.

Way of the Poker Warrior

2010-06-14T16:43:00.005-04:00

It turns out that writing a book is both difficult and time consuming. It's also a hell of a lot of fun. I am proud to announce that I have spent the past six weeks writing and revising my first book, titled Way of the Poker Warrior: A black belt's guide to conquering the tables. Better yet, it will be published by Imagine Media and available on my new website and elsewhere within the next few weeks.

This is not the first book I have written, but it is the first book I have finished. They say that writing is rewriting, and that's the difference between a completed book and a finished book. Completed first drafts of a novel and a screenplay sit on my shelves, but I never got around to sanding the edges and making them the best they can be. I only spent six weeks doing that for Way of the Poker Warrior, but I had two huge advantages: an editor and a deadline.

Writing for a deadline is tough. Harnessing creativity on command is not simple. But being on a mission can be inspiring in its own way. Knowing that I had a deadline to make and that this was actually getting published provided the drive to push through to 4 PM on days when I had to. 4 PM may sound like an early quitting time to some, but when you begin work at 8 PM the night before, it has a different feel.

Writing for an editor is easy. Well, writing for a good editor is easy. Criticism can be hard to take, but when it's constructive criticism attached to intelligent suggestions, it makes the process more efficient and productive. While I did all of my own writing for this book, Scott Brown made sure to get the most out of my poker, teaching, and writing abilities.

I'd like to thank Scott for helping me write the best first book I could. I'd also like to thank my teacher, Grandmaster Suk Jun Kim, legendary grinder Dusty Schmidt, and DragTheBar CEO Hunter Bick for contributing awesome forewords and afterwords on my behalf.

So what's this book about? It's about martial arts and poker; learning and teaching; and a way of life. There is blood and sweat; peace and discipline; and sexy river check/raises. I do my best to be honest, introspective, and informative while switching gears from entertaining narrative to broad poker lessons to in-depth hand analysis, with the pride of a samurai and the humility of a monk. Or some crap like that.

You can read it soon enough and let me know if I hit my marks.

Grilled Cheese, Eh?

2010-05-28T04:04:00.000-04:00

I just ate a grilled cheese sandwich for the third time in 15 years. The other two times were this past week in Toronto. The time before these three was over 15 years ago in Montreal. I'm not from Canada, but I guess it's kinda like the land of grilled cheese for me.

There was a big difference between the two Canadian grilled cheese sandwiches, though. The Montreal was a regular grilled cheese sandwich, eaten by a hungry vegetarian searching for protein options. The Toronto was a tapioca cheese sandwich, eaten by a gluttonous vegan at the 8th vegetarian restaurant of his week-long trip.

Soy cheese has come a long way in the past decade and a half. It went from practically non-existent in the nineties, to not very good in the noughties, to pretty good in the past couple of years. Now, it may be on its way out with the introduction of tapioca cheese.

There is a brand of soy cheese that melts (Vegan Gourmet), but there is no non-dairy alternative that compares to Daiya's tapioca cheese. It's the first vegan cheese that I would describe as awesome. I've frequently said that cheese is the only thing I miss as a vegan, particularly on pizza. Now there is nothing that I feel I'm missing out on. In fact, I enjoy tapioca cheese considerably more than I ever did traditional cheese, particularly after a decade plus of soy cheese.

May Day

2010-05-01T16:09:00.002-04:00

Happy May Day, Beltane, and seasonable warmth to all! And happy birthday to me. Yes, I'm 32 today. The nice thing about being born in the spring is that birthdays never make me feel old. Sure, they did when I was 22. But now they feel like a rebirth of sorts. A reinvestment of energy and rededication to purpose. And there is much for me to be excited about right now.

Just this week I have committed to playing the Main Event at this year's World Series of Poker. As I write this, I'm playing the PokerStars $1 Million freeroll as sort of a warm up. I'll be playing some of the SCOOP events on Stars as well, to make sure I'm in good tournament shape before plunking down $10k on a buy-in.

But I'm doing something much more exciting (to me) than playing in the WSOP. I'm hoping to have my first poker book published before then. This is an absurdly ambitious time frame, but that's sort of what I'm all about. I'm still working on a limit holdem strategy book (or two), but my first book should have more universal appeal. I'll share more details once the process is further along, but needless to say, I'm overwhelmingly excited. I've wanted to be a writer since I was 13, and having a book published is the beginning of a dream.

I've also started private coaching again, but given everything else going on right now, I'm keeping this on a small scale. I'm offering half price session reviews which become Drag the Bar bonus videos as part of The Sauna series. Details Here.

Finally, if my poker work isn't keeping me busy, there's always music. I'm playing a show tonight with my band Villain's Lament at Arlene's Grocery (95 Stanton Street). We go on at 10 PM, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday. If anyone's from NYC, stop by, say hi, and I'll buy you a drink. Cheers.

Grindathon: Day 28 (Final Day!)

2010-04-12T07:46:00.003-04:00

After 207.5 hours and 80,022 hands, my Grindathon is finally done. I will leave my building tomorrow and not play poker. At some point, I will post a coherent summary, but for now, here is today's video:

Grindathon: Day 27

2010-04-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

9 hours
3,907 hands
6,019 VPP

Grindathon: Day 26

2010-04-10T07:34:00.001-04:00

10.5 hours
4,802 hands
8,412 VPP

Grindathon: Day 25

2010-04-09T07:57:00.001-04:00

7 hours
3,337 hands
5,755 VPP

Grindathon: Day 24

2010-04-08T06:14:00.001-04:00

9 hours
3,803 hands
5,866 VPP

Grindathon: Day 23

2010-04-07T05:10:00.000-04:00

9 hours
3,282 hands
5,583 VPP

Grindathon: Day 22

2010-04-06T05:30:00.002-04:00

4 hours
1,376 hands
2,053 VPP

Grindathon: Day 21

2010-04-05T06:25:00.000-04:00

9.5 hours
3,862 hands
6,765 VPP