Loving Las Vegas
Three weeks ago I moved to Las Vegas. Since this is a profound event, I am deviating from my usual practice of providing hard-hitting poker and fashion tips in favor of some personal reflections on the one long session of my life. Many authors have played with the idea of poker as a metaphor for...
The Cross-Dressing Goatherd
December is a treacherous month for poker players. Here in Kansas it invariably marks the beginning of bitter cold and snow, the Salvation Army taking to the streets in force, possibly armed, with bells and unspeakable music, and “The Holidays” sucking out dollars from the poker pool like one of those vacuum cleaners with a...
Doyle’s Pole Dancers
The restrictions on online poker in the USA are forcing me to adopt the casino as my office. It’s an environment where I feel comfortable, but outside of the poker room I am a complete spectator. I will not put a quarter in a slot machine, roll the dice at a craps table, or place...
Is Bigger Better?
I was thinking about leaving the game when The Stranger sat down. We’d been playing $25/50 Limit Holdem six handed for about an hour, all regulars. I had position on Karen, by far the most dangerous player at the table, and while this was making life a little easier it was also restricting my ability...
What’s Your Image?
A freezing evening a few years ago found me outside a local bar bemoaning the smoking ban that, despite supposedly being prompted by public health concerns, was exposing me to frostbite and pneumonia. Much to my surprise I noticed that a tall blonde woman was listening to me. Back inside the bar it transpired that...
Winning is Easy
I have some good news. Becoming a winning poker player is easy. The process involves considerable study, practice, self-discipline, and the ability to assess realistically one’s emotional and intellectual strengths, but fundamentally it’s easy. There is a vast repository of high-quality poker information in books, magazines, forums and training sites. With an eighth-grade understanding of...
