Let’s discuss the tenuous, tangible, ongoing, never ending beast called POKER! Oh my God! She’s drinking again. I do not profess to play it well, understand the theory and logic, or the mathematical side of it. I know many things about poker and players that the rest of you will never know. I have a sense about it. You can laugh, talk it up, play it out, try to figure it out, but I, on the other hand…have been there…am there, day after day.

I see you. I watch you. I listen to you. I know that everything you present to the world is not the real you. I know that everything I hear from you is not what you really are. I know that most of you really don’t understand yourselves and don’t want to know what you are really like. I know that life is hard and frightening and yet beautiful and bitter and sweet and painful…such is poker. There is no mercy. There is no justice.

Poker is what it is…there are no judges, no juries and no executioners. There are, however, the lunatic, crazy sides of it that should be part of all movies…the perfect moment when the guy that didn’t have a chance just called all raises to pull runner-runner gut shot against top set. It’s kind of like a ‘Rocky’ story. There’s a surreal sense of beauty about it yet an ugly sense of reason and mathematics that appears to be kicked off the edge of the world to end up falling for eternity into the realm of disbelief.
I get a kick out of the guy/gal that comes in to play and doesn’t know jack shit about the odds or why they are there or what they think should happen. They just came to play. That’s really what it’s all about. If these people didn’t come in, you guys that know it all wouldn’t have anyone to feed off of, right?
Strange as it may seem, you guys that need someone to feed off of really aren’t always the ones that get the meat. You think you’re IT! Well, honey, you aren’t. It’s possible that you meat eaters really don’t know what’s going on. Look around! There’s a whole world out there of people that want to breathe fresh air and eat meat too. You’re going to have to try a lot harder if you want to fill that freezer up with meat…er…ah…poker chips for the winter. Get a new attitude. Play poker for life not for the day or session. End of lecture!
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There’s a post in the ‘discussion’ section from one of the players that read my diary posts about him. I find it to be quite interesting. If anyone has anything to add, please feel free to do so. Interestingly enough, only 2 people that have ever read this Diary have thought that Bellagio should be ashamed to have me as an employee…one is Mason M., (he’s referenced in a post here), because he doesn’t want to be ‘flamed’ or feels that anyone else should be ‘flamed’ yet he doesn’t mind doing it to others, and Bobby K., because I have a tattoo…not because I don’t do my job well, but because I have this website and I state what goes on from the people side of poker and a…oh my God…she’s really got one…TATTOO!
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I pushed into a $8-$16 Holdem game tonight and Gail was playing in the 9 seat. She was cold and mentioned it several times. The 10 seat offered his sweater and she told him she already had on a sweater and a jacket. I laughingly told her that 5 minutes of Jumping Jacks would cure it.
She still continued with the ‘cold’ thing and I said, “Huck Seed drops down and does push-ups when he’s playing $400-$800 7 Card Stud so you can do Jumping Jacks if you want to.”
The 10 seat asked, “How’s Huck doing these days?”
Me, “Hell if I know. They never discuss their bankroll with me.”
Gail, “They don’t tell you, huh, Linda?
“Nope and I don’t ask them. Huck just comes in to play and never acts like a cry baby when he wins or loses, just gets ready for the next hand.”
The 10 seat pulled out his Driver’s License as I dealt the next hand. His last name is Seed. I said, “Wow! Interesting.”
He said, “He’s my cousin.”
Embarrassing here because a hand was in progress and I apparently took $1 too much in the rake. My friend, Jan, and I had just talked about that a few weeks ago. He was in the game and after I pushed the pot, he asked me how much 4 times $16 was. I told him it was $64. He told me I had taken $1 too much in rake. I pulled the $1 out of the rack and gave it to the guy that won the pot. Ouch! I’ve tried to be so careful about that because the rake cut-off is $1 below the $64…it’s $65 for $3 to be taken for the rake.
I told them I was sorry and that I would have to quit talking while I dealt….
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Satellites begin tomorrow for the trip to Melbourne Australia…every Saturday through November and on December 14th…check it out.