My first blog entry was about aspects of living in New York that I’m going to miss. One thing that I’ll miss for sure about living here is my weekly poker game. I’ve played in a weekly home game for the last four years or so, every Tuesday night. Last night was my last game with the poker crew (barring any trips that have me in the city on a Tuesday night), and it was very bittersweet for me.
Over the course of the last four years the players in the game, and the the skill and ability of those players, have changed considerably. My friend Rob has been the regular host, and I first met Rob years before this game started through my friend David, who was also one of the original players. David is a law school buddy of mine, but he developed a love for poker while living in the city and working as a lawyer, and much like Andrea and I are leaving the corporate world to pursue adventures under the sea, David left behind his legal career to become a professional gambler. He has twice played in the World Series of Poker, and he frequently plays in high stakes games and tournaments in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and online. David writes a very interesting blog about his poker experiences, which you can check out here. His increased interest in poker had a huge effect on the way our home game was played — as he learned more from the books he was reading and as his penchant for gambling grew, the skill levels of the others at the table and the amount that people would bet were forced to keep up with his advancing skills and betting. It used to be that the three-dollar max bet was rarely made, but thanks to David, it is more unusual for someone to NOT make a max bet now than it is for someone to make the max bet.
Last night’s game had a big turn-out (perhaps because it was everyone’s last chance at the easy money I bring to the table?), and David made a rare appearance at the game. His game is no-limit hold-em, which is what you see on TV on the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour shows. He plays in those big events, and he plays with all the big names in poker, so he is no joke. He has read, re-read and studied dozens of poker books. He blogs about poker. It is his job. He has poker skills.
I mentioned that last night’s game was bittersweet for me. The bitter part, obviously, was that it was my last game. The sweet part came at the end of the night, when we decided to have a small no limit hold-em tournament. David plays in these all the time, against the best poker players in the world, so he was the odds-on favorite to win the tournament. But as it turns out he did not win, because I BUSTED HIM OUT! Take that, mister fancy-schmancy poker pro! David went all-in with King Ten, and I made the call with King Jack, so I had his hand dominated and I busted him out! Of course, I didn’t win either (my friend Kevin won — he is actually a very good player also, and he has also played (and cashed) in the main event of the World Series of Poker). But who cares who won — I am the one who beat the pro! Using the transitive property, not only am I a better poker player than David because I beat him, but apparently I’m also a better poker player than everyone that he is better than, and apparently I also have the skills to make a killing as a professional poker player! Yay me! If this scuba-diving thing doesn’t work out, watch out poker world!
While I’m obviously not better than any professional poker player (even one like David, whom I whooped last night), poker will play a part in my future adventures. Along the lines of trying new things and having fantastic experiences during this time of change and adventure, one of my goals is to play in the 2007 World Series of Poker. I play online poker from time to time, and my goal is to win a qualifying tournament to get a $10,000 entry into the 2007 no-limit hold-em Main Event! So despite my poor skills, with a little bit of luck I hope to be in Vegas in late June or early July, participating in the WSOP! Maybe by then David will have forgotten the stinging defeat I handed him last night and will give me a few pointers to help hide the fact that I’ll be the deadest of the dead-money in the entire tournament.
Thanks to all of my poker buddies for the good times, and thanks for being so willing to take my hard-earned money on a weekly basis! While I won’t miss the ride up to 93rd street every week, I’ll miss the game and I’ll miss you guys!