Requiem For An American Dream (1/2)

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Sadly enough I don't think the average American would be able to tell you where that passionate and inspiring bit of poetry comes from. Hard to believe, considering it's inscribed on the base of what is probably our most meaningful and easily recognized national monument. Each year thousands of Americans visit the Statue of Liberty, stand in its shadow and read this poem. Then they go home, no different then when they came. That's what is truly depressing about such a vast part of today's society...these words meaning absolutely nothing. They no longer strike people as the fundamental CORE of what makes America great, or as the guiding ideology of our country. America has forgotten what it means to be American. Our country has forgotten that we are ALL ultimately descended from a motley, hodge-podge collection of rejects from other countries...if you really want to be honest about it. Rejects who for the most part, didn't look alike, didn't talk alike, didn't think alike, didn't pray alike; and really didn't have much in common at all. And yet there was always one thing they DID have in common. They all shared that same enduring dream of a country where everyone was welcome, everyone was equal and everyone was free. That was the country our ancestors founded, and that is the country that America has fought and struggled to become ever since. Why then today, does it seem like the country as a whole has lost sight of the idea?? Why is the income gap between families worse then it ever has been? Why are racism and ethnic discrimination still alive and well in this, the country of equality? The answer is simple really. America has finally come full circle. The majority of our country now fears and despises the very thing that made it great: diversity. How else do you explain the fact that the majority of the politicians we elect now have goals like,
---Making it harder to immigrate to our country
---Cutting taxes for the wealthiest 10% of the population and not the rest
---Giving Christianity a privileged place in our courts and political system
---Eliminating laws designed to help minorities gain equality
---Allowing massive corporations to dominate markets
---Denying basic rights to gay and lesbian couples
Is this really the kind of country we want to live in?? A country where everyone is a clone of everyone else, and the only thinking allowed, is the thinking approved by the people in power??? To me, this sounds a frightening amount like Orwell's 1984, and even more terrifyingly like the origins of totalitarianism and a dictatorship. And yet somehow the American spirit endures...we hope.

END PART 1/2

Short Stacked

People ask me all the time what I think the most important part of being a good poker player is. Turns out that's a pretty tough question to answer. Beyond just knowing the basics of the game, there are all manner of things that a person has to understand and be able to apply whenever they touch cards, in order to be a "good" player. I think lots of people would tell you that being able to 'read' your opponent (the ability to discern what type of hand your opponent has just by watching them) is the most valuable skill a poker player can have. If not 'reading' then other people might tell you that being able to 'change gears', meaning to change the style of your play, based on the way people at your table are playing, or the number of chips you have in front of you, is something no great poker player can do without. Still others might tell you that having an aggressive nature is crucial to success...and while all three of these are certainly important parts of having a good poker game none of them are, in my opinion, THE most important. As far as I'm concerned the one trait or skill that separates the average player from the exceptional player is simple: patience. Yep, that's right patience...more specifically though, to be a good poker player you must have the patience to be able to play from a 'short stack' (having the fewest chips at the table at a given moment). This is a situation that your average player is not mentally equipped to deal with, because for 90% of the people who play poker, the goal is to have the MOST chips ALL the time. Unfortunately this will almost never be the case....especially when you're playing tournaments that last for days, and even weeks before they end. Eventually a person must become comfortable with the idea that they will NOT always have the most chips, and sometimes they'll have so few chips that the situation looks completely hopeless. For an undisciplined player, this is the point where they begin making stupid decisions and even less intelligent plays, and quickly 'bust out' (to lose all ones chips or money).

The patient player, by contrast, will recognize ANY number of chips as exactly what they are: an opportunity. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson coined the term "A chip and a chair" when referring to what a player needs in order to win any given game. One single chip, and a place to sit, can be all the opportunity a person needs to be successful. The problems arise when we don't think we have as much as much 'opportunity' as the other people at our table. We scramble around, taking unnecessary risks, and making poor decisions, in hopes of getting more 'opportunity' in front of us, rather then being patient and waiting for the right place to play our 'short stack'. Waiting for that right place to play, rather then trying to force the issue, will often allow you to put all your chips on the table and 'double up' (literally doubling what you have). And while doubling up from a short stack will never give you the chip lead, it will often put you in a place where you can play, gain chips, and maybe even double up again at a later time. Do this enough times, and you'll quickly find yourself at the top of whatever game or tournament you're playing in.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I think there is probably a pretty close analogy here to life in general. In order to be successful, you have to have the patience to play well, even when it feels like you're short stacked on a daily basis. You can't go around worrying about how many chips the other guy has...instead you have to be able to make the most out of the opportunity you have in front of you. If you can do that, odds are that eventually you'll be presented with an opportunity to double up, rather then bust out. Of course there is always risk, that's part of the game and this is not to say that short stacks always win, or that sometimes you don't make exactly the right play and STILL lose, but in poker as in life, all you can really do is play the cards you're dealt and hope for the best.




*Thought of the day: Poker skills and life skills are very similar...you have to recognize when a risk is worthwhile, when it's not, and how many chips you're willing to lose if you're wrong.

Political Rant #1

/begin rant

So today the Pentagon ordered an additional 1,500 troops over to Iraq, from our very own 82nd Air, stationed in Ft. Bragg. The reasoning of course is, there will likely be an increase in violence leading up to the elections scheduled for October. Now who would have ever imagined that? I mean I was under the impression that everything was hunky-dory in Vietn- I mean Iraq. Oh wait...I forgot that the Sunni portion of the Iraqi population feels left out of the "democratic process" its leaders are now making plans to attempt to DEFEAT the first new constitution in Iraq. This can't be a good sign, and that's just the non-radical leaders. It's more or less been established the more extreme Sunni leaders are the ones responsible for organizing and executing the attacks on American soldiers and American interests. Add to that the fact that Al-Queda, which had no presence in Iraq prior to the U.S. invasion is now well established and working in tandem with these militant groups, and things start to look pretty grim. So grim in fact that respected Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, who served in the Vietnam conflict and received a purple heart, said Iraq is rapidly beginning to resemble that same ugly situation. Come on GW, even YOU have to know things are getting pretty bad when a ranking member of your own part publicly says we're failing in our mission and that "Stay the course" is not a viable foreign policy. It just goes to show that there are in fact a few reasonable and intelligent people left in the Republican party.

Now, lets talk for a moment about Cindy Sheehan. In case you've been living in a cave for the last three or four weeks, this is the woman who set up camp down the road from GW's Texas ranch, in protest of the death of her son in Iraq. Since then she's been joined by about one hundred other anti-war protestors, who have quietly and peacefully showing their opposition to the "war" in Iraq. (For the record, people need to top referring to it as a "war". It is at BEST, a peace keeping operation....and at worst a hostile occupation. The fact is, we never declared war on Iraq or it's people...it's a misleading way to refer to the situation.) So anyway, since these protestors set up their camp. which is on public land btw, they have been shot at, threatened, had parts of their camp run over by angry Republicans in pick-ups, and now a SECOND camp, inhabited by PRO-Iraqi supporters, has sprung up. Why the second camp you ask? Well popular perception among the conservatives in this country is that anyone opposed to our involvement in Iraq are disrespecting the brave men and women who serve in our armed forces...and this is the reason for the anti-protest, protest. This is completely ridiculous, and while I certainly don't oppose anyone's right to protest pretty much whatever they want, I think this is a pretty ludicrous stance to take. I personally think that the U.S. invasion of Iraq was one of the biggest mistakes in the history of this country, and that 50 years from now our children will look back and wonder what in the hell was going on, but that does not mean that I have any less respect or admiration for people in uniform. I understand completely that they took an oath to serve and protect this country and it's interests, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with the orders they are given; orders which they have no choice but to follow, regardless of personal opinion.

You see, in the military they don't ask you if YOU think it's ok to shoot the person they tell you to shoot, they just tell you to shut up and shoot. I take great pride in our military, and that fact that we are the most powerful country in the world...I really do. However that does not give us a mandate to do whatever the hell we want anywhere we want to, or to spend the lives of our children frivolously in a country where we are not wanted, and in which we never should have become involved in the first place. To quote Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility." The invasion of Iraq was NOT part of that responsibility. The men and women of our military take the oath they do with the assumption that they will never be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice without good reason. What does it say that now more then 60% of the country (according to the latest numbers) no longer thinks Iraq qualifies? Is our country destined to keep sacrificing the lives of its soldiers in Iraq because our President is to stubborn to admit he made a mistake? It certainly seems like it.

/end rant

*Thought of the day: It's interesting how acts of heroic "revolution" can become acts of cowardly "terrorism" depending on which side you're on.

*Addendum: That is not to say that I in anyway think said acts are right or justified...I just find the question of perspective interesting.

The People We Think We Know

Ever woken up one day and realized that someone you thought you knew, you don't really know at all? It's a funny thing about life, but people change...every single day. One day you can be perfectly, amazingly happy with someone, and the next something changes and you're left wondering what in the world happened. As hard as this is for a person to go through, I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason...and if God suddenly changes you or someone in your life, there's probably some sort of higher plan at work.
I think people pass into and out of our lives for a reason, and just because you are happy with someone to begin with, doesn't neccisarily mean you will be happy with them forever, or even that you SHOULD be happy with them forever. I know this sounds like common sense, but I'm constantly amazed how many people don't seem to understand it. The fact is, there's not just ONE perfect person for all of us out there...there are lots of different people who are perfect at different times. Eventually of course, one person can and will become THE person that you'll love the rest of your life, but it usually happens when you least expect it. I know that doesn't make it feel any better when you love someone, and end up losing them (for whatever reason) but like I said, in love as in life, lots of things happen that we don't understand right at that moment. You just have to trust that their is a larger plan at work, and that it will all be alright in the end....cause if it's not alright, then it's not the end.

"This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That lead me straight to you..."

~Rascal Flatts

*Thought of the evening: Falling in love quickly is no less valid or meaningful then falling in love over a long period of time.

Disreputable Poker Players

So I was having lunch with my mother earlier today, and one of the more interesting parts of our conversation went something like this:

(Me) "Yea, right now my goal is to save enough money to buy an entrance into one of the major WPT or WSOP events. One good finish would probably be enough to get me on the tour permanently."
(Mom) "You are NOT going to be a poker player forever!"
(Me) "I could be! Why not?"
(Mom) "Because poker players aren't good people! They're sleezy, shady and don't have very good morals."

Gee thanks Mom...seeing as how I AM a professional poker player, I'm not sure how that makes me feel. Anyway, my point being I think there's a pretty widespread misconception of the type of people that poker players actually are. Due to the incredible popularity of the game right now and the extensive TV coverage that goes with it, this stigma is slowly changing, but the vast majority of people still think of poker players as the low class, immoral seedy types that frequented the game 50's, 60's and 70's. That simply not the case today. Which isn't to say that these players don't exist anymore, or that they don't play...it's just that they're no longer representative of the whole. A couple of quick examples:

*Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson - Now Doyle is old enough to have played with the absolute WORST the poker world has to offer, but he and his wife are both devoute Christians and have a perfectly normal and loving family situation. It's clear when you hear the man talk that nothing has been more important then being a good father and family man.

*Phil Hellmuth - I don't personally like Phil's attituide when he plays a lot of the time, but like Doyle, he's a family man w/ a wife and kids. If you ran into him @ PTA meeting, you probably wouldn't think twice.

*Barry Goldstein - They call this guy the "Robin Hood" of the poker world, and he is by far one of the classiest guys out there, and I have nothing but the utmost respect for him. He's a retired software engineer who just enjoys the game...and he donates everything he wins on the tour to charity. We're not talking $2,000 here, or even $5,000 or $10,000....we're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. I mean how amazing is that? This isn't money he gets from some sort of investment return, or for being the president of a company...this is money he earns by working for hours (and even days) on end in grueling tournaments all over the country. THAT is class.
Anyway, these three guys are more indicitive of poker players today then people think...it is more and more a profession of good, normal people trying to make a living doing something they enjoy. And it doesn't hurt that you can make a sh*t ton of money while you're at it!!!


*Thought of the day: It's almost as bad to judge a book by its length, as it is by its cover.

Thought of the day...

With President Bush on a five week vacation, one must assume the average IQ of the DC metropolitan area must be significantly higher for the time being. The same can probably also be said for London Eng., since PM Blair is also on vacation. My question then is, who's running the world???

On second though...I don't want to know, because the answer is probably something along the lines of "the same people who have been running it since GW took office". Anyway, my suggestion of the day: Replace GW and Tony Blair with their Hollywood counterparts, those being Martin Sheen and Hugh Grant respectively. (The West Wing and Love Actually for the less media savy) I mean honestly, if those two were really in charge of their native countries, lets just consider for a moment how much better a place this world would be. Ahh well wishful thinking I suppose...though I might go print some "Sheen for President: In the real world" bumper stickers at some point.

Cafe Sinatra Grand Opening

First off, let me clear up any misconception caused by the title of my blog...this site has nothing to do with the late, great Frank Sinatra. My apologies to anyone who got here thinking it did. It is instead named in honor of one of my favorite drinks, which Sinatra supposedly used to order at a bar he frequented in Hollywood.

"Cafe Sinatra: 2-oz Maker's Mark, 2-oz chocolate liquor, 1-oz Tia Maria, 1 shot expresso, served over ice in a brandy snifter."

Sounds great doesn't it? Well trust me, it IS! It's also STRONG to...two of these is enough to catch an nice little buzz. I highly recommend it, espicially if you have your own expresso machine, as it's usually rather expensive if you order it out somewhere. Anyway...now on with what this blog actually IS!

This blog is pretty much going to be a yardsale of my personal thoughts on life and will include (but not neccisarily be limited to) the state of the world, political goings on, religion, sports, poker, relationships, literature, and any other rants I see fit to go on. If I offend, then I apologize, if I fail to offend, then I also apologize. This is my blog, and I hope you enjoy reading it...if you don't, then you can go soak your head.

And with that, let the ranting begin...