Month: March 2014
A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK
Must Read . . . continued
The continuation of Eddie Harari’s excellent article on cyber safety, cheating, and collusion as it relates to online poker.
Read it here . . .
SITTING IN NEW YORK
Must Read
It’s not often that I read something that I believe everyone else should read but this is one of those times. An article from last year by Eddie Harari reported on Twitter today by Robbie Strazynski about cyber-security is a must read for anyone playing online poker or anyone planning to play online poker. It’s not so much that you can do much of anything about these things but it certainly makes sense to me to be aware of them.
Please read:
http://cardplayerlifestyle.com/cyber-security-experts-analysis-online-poker/
HUNGRY?
SLOTS!
So many people love them but I am not among them. I really don’t like slot machines and never have. There was a time when you could make a steady income from going back to the same machine over and over again but these days casinos can reset them, move them, or change the way they pay out with a few mouse clicks. Nevertheless, they are the big earners of the gambling world.
Here’s a story about a very unique machine. I’ve never seen one like it before or since!
Missing the "Old" Las Vegas
There have been plenty of news articles detailing the newly started construction of the “Cromwell” on the corner of the Strip opposite Caesars. I’m sure it will find many devotees and loyal customers after it opens. For me, I’ll always remember what was there before – the Barbary Coast, Bill’s Saloon and Gambling Hall. I’m not one to dwell on the past but nostalgia does have its place.
I wrote a piece a while ago for an internet site about places to find surprisingly good food in LV for under gourmet prices. The Barbary Coast/Bill’s was on the top of my list.
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Becoming a Pro (Professional Poker Player, that is)
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Doyle Brunson |
Puggy Pearson |
- You will need to have anywhere from a year to three years of consistent profitable winning under your belt before you can consider yourself a pro. You not only have to hold onto your grub stake but you have to increase it to cover all your expenses.
- You have to study! Poker studies take place in the game and outside the game. Reading some of the many good books out there about the game is essential. When you finish reading a book, read it again. Study also takes place at the table or on your computer. You will have to be an excellent judge of human nature to make it as a pro.
- Professional poker players make most of their money in high-stakes side games and they garner most of their fame at tournaments. You will need to do both to succeed. The former big names in poker, the “old-timers” whose fame and notoriety precede the TV fascination with poker, now make most of their money in endorsements and sponsorships. Fame is important.
Stu Ungar |
- You cannot do it part time. Your apprenticeship cannot be half-hearted. Save up an initial stake – enough to live on for a designated period of time, pay entrance fees, and cover losses – and take the plunge. You will have to travel although there are ample poker games around so you can limit yourself to the east coast or the west coast of the US or a bunch of European countries. Poker must be your life for this trial period. “Do or die,” as they say!
- Last but not least, know when you are done! Some of us, most of us, in fact, are not destined to make a living at playing poker. If you can’t make it through a trial period you can’t make it. Admit it! Be honest! Relegate your poker playing to the status of “hobby” and enjoy yourself. No sense in “kicking a dead horse,” as they say too.
Life Lessons – Gambling
Kids in this new century are being treated a lot better than in the mid-1990s and before. Parents go out of their way to protect them, coddle them and shelter them from so many things that today’s children run the risk of being totally unprepared for the real world. Years ago, junk food was a staple, helmets were for fighter pilots not kids on bicycles, and playing out in front of the house or down the block was a daily routine. Mothers kicked the kids out of the house to “go play” instead of piling them all in the van and driving them to soccer practice.
I never was nor will I ever be a person who tells others what to do with their kids but a little useful experience is something parents ought to think about imparting to their kids instead of pushing them to be the next $20 million pitcher or the next movie star.
And that brings me back to gambling. Should kids be taught to gamble? You decide.
Here’s an essay I wrote a while ago on that topic. My two cents on the subject.