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Dec. 8th, 2007 03:51 pmSad to hear of Chip Reese dying. Admired by many as the best all-rounder poker player in the world, he was a particular hero to me because he was not a tournament/sponsorship whore, and looked to make most of his money as a professional poker player, playing professional cash poker. Not TV appearances, not tournaments.
And, of course, he won the first HORSE $50K. If there had been an NL $200k tourney in the WSOP he might have entered. The six-day nightmare-fest that is now the "official" WSOP just didn't offer him the required ROTI (return on time invested).
And Anton Rodgers died. Not a good week for the good guys going.
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I'm beginning to long for the days when good poker books were rarer than exciting England performances on the football pitch. I've a fair number of books waiting to be read, an equal number that are already out and that I ought to purchase, and now I see that the 2+2 money-making machine has this as its schedule over the next few months:
Harrington on Cash Games; How to Win at No-Limit Hold 'em Money Games: Volume I by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie - February 15, 2008
Harrington on Cash Games; How to Win at No-Limit Hold 'em Money Games: Volume II by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie - February 15, 2008
Heads Up Hold 'em: Expert Advice for Winning Heads Up Poker Matches by Collin Moshman - April 15, 2008
Professional No-Limit Hold 'em: Volume II by Matt Flynn, Sunny Mehta, and Ed Miller - May 30, 2008
Winning in Tough Hold 'em Games for No-Limit by Nick "Stoxtrader" Grudzien and Geoff "Zobags" Herzog - summer 2008
In addition, they are revamping their own book, but I think that that can be safely ignored.
It seems clear to me that if you want to be able to play tournaments and cash to a high level these days, you need to be playing the game full time. As for branching out into other poker games, well, forget it, unless you want to get ripped by specialists.
This is kind of sad, although for a player like me who probably can cope with the 'boredom' better than yer average poker-playing action junkie, it's a good thing. But I miss the other games. If I were to play them online, it could only be at stakes which were meaningless. At my 'average' stakes, I'd likely get destroyed.
I enjoy tournaments, a bit (I'll admit that the idea of a game where you nearly always end up disappointed strikes me as less than ideal), but I just limit myself to the freerolls that get thrown at me with gay abandon (why do poker sites think that cash players should be overjoyed at being offered free tournament entries? Do frequent tournament players ever get offered $100 to sit down in a cash game (play with it until you lose it or reach $200, at which point you can take out $100, or more, if you carry on winning)? Nope.
+++++++++
Watched Jet Li in Fearless last night. Hero it ain't. But there's something balletic about these movies when they are good, and director Ronny Yu got a couple of beautiful pieces of cinematography in (a time-lapse of the rice steppes through the seasons, and a piece of superb colour at the end).
And, of course, he won the first HORSE $50K. If there had been an NL $200k tourney in the WSOP he might have entered. The six-day nightmare-fest that is now the "official" WSOP just didn't offer him the required ROTI (return on time invested).
And Anton Rodgers died. Not a good week for the good guys going.
+++++++++
I'm beginning to long for the days when good poker books were rarer than exciting England performances on the football pitch. I've a fair number of books waiting to be read, an equal number that are already out and that I ought to purchase, and now I see that the 2+2 money-making machine has this as its schedule over the next few months:
Harrington on Cash Games; How to Win at No-Limit Hold 'em Money Games: Volume I by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie - February 15, 2008
Harrington on Cash Games; How to Win at No-Limit Hold 'em Money Games: Volume II by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie - February 15, 2008
Heads Up Hold 'em: Expert Advice for Winning Heads Up Poker Matches by Collin Moshman - April 15, 2008
Professional No-Limit Hold 'em: Volume II by Matt Flynn, Sunny Mehta, and Ed Miller - May 30, 2008
Winning in Tough Hold 'em Games for No-Limit by Nick "Stoxtrader" Grudzien and Geoff "Zobags" Herzog - summer 2008
In addition, they are revamping their own book, but I think that that can be safely ignored.
It seems clear to me that if you want to be able to play tournaments and cash to a high level these days, you need to be playing the game full time. As for branching out into other poker games, well, forget it, unless you want to get ripped by specialists.
This is kind of sad, although for a player like me who probably can cope with the 'boredom' better than yer average poker-playing action junkie, it's a good thing. But I miss the other games. If I were to play them online, it could only be at stakes which were meaningless. At my 'average' stakes, I'd likely get destroyed.
I enjoy tournaments, a bit (I'll admit that the idea of a game where you nearly always end up disappointed strikes me as less than ideal), but I just limit myself to the freerolls that get thrown at me with gay abandon (why do poker sites think that cash players should be overjoyed at being offered free tournament entries? Do frequent tournament players ever get offered $100 to sit down in a cash game (play with it until you lose it or reach $200, at which point you can take out $100, or more, if you carry on winning)? Nope.
+++++++++
Watched Jet Li in Fearless last night. Hero it ain't. But there's something balletic about these movies when they are good, and director Ronny Yu got a couple of beautiful pieces of cinematography in (a time-lapse of the rice steppes through the seasons, and a piece of superb colour at the end).
