Walking The Halls, Part Four

July 8th, 2011 One comment

During the World Series of Poker, I sometimes meet up with clients for a short visit during their tournament breaks. If they text me and say something like, “I’m at table 119 and we have a break in 26 minutes,” then there is a greater than zero probability that I will magically appear at table 119 in 26 minutes.

There were a couple times when I was walking from my room toward the tournament area to meet a client on break, and I was a little late. You’ve seen salmon struggling to swim upstream, right? Imagine if those salmon had thousands of other salmon swimming AT them, not with them. That’s what it was like trying to get to table 119, 27 minutes after I got the text.

Here’s the main hallway in the main tournament room where poker players go each year to spawn.

Imagine that center aisle full of a thousand people who have to pee coming at you. What I noticed when walking into this walking wave of humanity going the other direction is how easy is it for us to not run into each other. If all those bodies were moving in straight lines and at uniform speed, it would be a slalom-like athletic achievement to get through it unbumped. As it was, no problem. We all instinctively give each other space, at the table, in the hallway, and I feel a Kumbaya moment coming on.

Walking the Halls, Part Three

July 7th, 2011 No comments

When I walk the halls between poker sets, I sometimes phone home to give a report, and to hear Kay’s voice which serves as a reminder that there really is life after the WSOP.

Last night I said, “Bla bla bla bla, the game is wild, and I’m playing no hands.”

She said, “You could call it ‘hands-free poker.’”

“Right!” I said. “And just like with hands-free phoning while driving, you’re less likely to get into an accident!”

Walking the Halls, Part Two

July 5th, 2011 No comments

I’m in the middle of my third and final trip to the 2011 World Series of Poker. This time I rented a car because I have some off-strip visiting to do. At the airport, I got in my little red rental car and started driving. Zing! This little guy had some zip!

I am what my wife calls, “Not a car guy.” But for some reason I was curious as to what kind of car I was driving, so I looked at the steering wheel to find out. I learned that I was driving a Ford Airbag.

Walking the Halls at the WSOP, Part One

July 4th, 2011 2 comments

This might look like a photograph of a third-floor hallway at the Rio in Las Vegas, where I am living for a couple weeks, at the World Series of Poker. But it’s more than that. It’s where I go when I want to feel like I’m not going anywhere, but it’s hard to, because I’m always on the way to somewhere, or am I? See, I told you it wasn’t just a hallway.

Curious as to just how much walking I was doing, I did some pacing off. I happen to know how to walk so that each step is very close to one yard. I did that, while counting. Here’s my data:

My hotel room door is at the end of the hall. From my door to the elevators is 120 yards.

From the elevators to table 225 in the cash-game area – which is right in the heart of the $5-10 no-limit hold’em area, which is where I camp out – is 250 yards. Most of that is walking down a long, wide hallway to the convention area.

Total yards from door to table: 370.

I typically play three sets of poker per day. A set is about 100 minutes of playing. In between sets, I walk the halls. I go back to my room and dawdle and yoga and then walk back to the poker room. After the last set, I hall-walk back to my room. That’s six one-way walks per day.

370 yards x 6 = 2220 yards.

That’s 1.25 miles. Not bad, for a stationary activity. I’m going to add this on to my list of things I love about poker at the WSOP. It provides exercise!

It was delightful to play lots of poker with my good friend Matt Flynn. We had not played together for years, after playing together for years. Last week we played $5-10 NLHE several times, followed by leisurely debrief sessions about the hands, just like old times!

At the start of the first session, I pulled out my chapstick – the basic black and white kind – and balmed myself. I looked at Matt. He had the smuggest look on his face as he somewhat flamboyantly reached into his pocket. We didn’t make eye contact. I knew he would come out with his own classic chapstick and get balmed. A day or two later, when we played again, we did the same ritual. And then, last Thursday, at the DeucesCracked home game, we got in the same game, and without a word or a look, we exchanged our secret salute. Poker is fun.

One more Matt story. Our first session together was a magical day. We sat at either end of the table, and we played for seven hours. We both played our best and ran well and scored well. This one hand, I had 85 offsuit, and I folded before the flop. I am a graceful, efficient folder, and I had been stylistically folding all day long, showing off for my buddy Matt. When I folded the 85 offsuit, it was one of my standard moves where I lead the dealer’s swooping hand – like a quarterback leading a receiver – so that my cards disappear under the dealer’s moving hand without the hand needing to change course or speed. But something went slightly wrong this time, and my cards flipped up.

Matt said, “Bad fold.”

The guy next to Matt said, “Huh? He folded 85o. What’s bad about that?”

Matt didn’t reply. He knew that I knew what he meant.

Elements of Poker goes Russian

July 2nd, 2011 2 comments

My plan for global domination is moving along quite nicely. :-)

That’s a picture of what just came in the mail. It’s the Russian version of my first book. You can get yours here:

http://books.all-games.ru/?hormenu

My deepest thanks goes to my good friend and fellow poker writer, Alan Schoonmaker, who has and continues to help me make publishing connections around the world.

Hourglass Poker

June 12th, 2011 8 comments

I don’t mind slow. I’ve had James training. James is the slowest player in the universe and I used to play no-limit with him often, years back. A slow poker game is good for me because if I become impatient because of the slowness, I remind myself that the problem is not the slowness, the problem is my impatience, and then I am in position to go to work to fix the real problem on the spot, rather than grumble inside about a perceived problem that is really an illusion. So like I said, I don’t mind slow.

Last week I played $5-10 no-limit hold’em for five days at the WSOP at the Rio in Vegas. Roundabout day three, I had a conversation with a friend during which he complained harshly about the exceptionally slow pace of $5-10 games. Many players did lots of long delays, much longer than is necessary to make betting decisions. It seemed to feed on itself. Because so many players were taking so long, others would do it do, when they otherwise wouldn’t have if the pace had been more in keeping with the time actually needed to decide what to do.

The next day, while playing poker, and calmly appreciating my existence while a player waited several minutes before folding, I had an idea.

Hourglass Poker

The details and mechanics can be worked on and improved over time. The basic drift is like this:

After a player makes his betting action, the next player has a set amount of time to act. If he does not act during that time, then that is a fold. His hand is dead. This concept will be familiar to online players. All I’m suggesting here is that we explore ways to go live with it.

Imagine a small hourglass that only takes about a minute for all the sand to go through. When it’s my turn, the hourglass is restarted and put in front of me. When I make my betting action, I turn the hourglass over and sit it in front of the next player. If the pot is headsup, I just pass it to my opponent.

This would obviously be way too much hour-glass passing, say, before the flop, when the action whips around the table so quickly. A practical deployment of the hourglass would involve some evolved protocols, and the dealer. For example, the hourglass could stay in the dealer tray, and the only time it would be used is after someone thinks for 5 seconds or so. That way, the typical in-tempo actions of folding and checking would not have their rhythm broken by hourglass activity.

If this idea were to catch on, it would probably be done with a digital clock that all can see. Either way, using electricity or gravity, Hourglass Poker would speed up the games, make the house more money, and give the players more of what they came for.

Two Amusing Signs

April 27th, 2011 2 comments

Kay and I went on a little getaway for a few days north of San Francisco and during our adventures we saw two signs that made me glad I carry a camera in my pocket cleverly disguised as a phone. This first sign was on a wall that was in front of some dumpsters:

On our way home, Kay was driving, and we had time and energy for exploring. In that condition, we’re quick to pull off the road to go check something out. So when we came upon a sign that said, “Spirit Rock Meditation Center,” the car practically slowed down and turned off the main road on its own.

Along a narrow signless road we drove. And then, up ahead, we saw some yellow at the top of a pole. Yes, it’s a sign, no doubt. Whatever might a sign want to tell us clear out here? There are no buildings in sight. No turns to make. Just more trees and grass and sky and such. We moved closer, and closer, and then, when we could read the text, the car knew to stop for the photo op:

Howard “Tahoe” Andrew is a funny man

April 16th, 2011 3 comments

I went to a party recently where I ran into John Mugnani, floorman extraordinaire at the California Grand Casino. The next day John sent me an email with a story about our mutual ancient friend, Tahoe.

A guy walks up to Tahoe and says, “Listen to this terrible bad beat story that just happened to me.”

Tahoe says, “Did you lose with a royal flush?”

The guys says, “No.”

Tahoe replies, “Then I’ve heard it before.”

What the hell, as long we we’re here sharing Tahoe stories, this is a paragraph I wrote about Tahoe in 2001 in an article I wrote while I was at the WSOP:

Before the Senior’s event, Howard “Tahoe” Andrew said that no medication or walkers would be allowed during the tournament and that whoever was still breathing at the end would be the winner. Tahoe said he’s not taking any “last longer” bets.

A Client’s Poem

March 29th, 2011 3 comments

Today’s post is a poem a client wrote and sent to me. I asked if I could blog it. He said, “Yes, but please don’t include my name.”

Here it is…

Morning practice

I wake up, groggy and confused

Is it really time to get up?

I don’t want to

I turn over and sigh

When I get out of bed I have to be mindful

It always takes me a few minutes

The long process of coming out of hibernation

I rise and dress; go to the bathroom

I take my mat and my bench

and assume the position

I breathe in, and calm my body

I breathe out and smile

I try to be mindful first thing in the morning

For at least 10 minutes

Its not as easy as it sounds

Your body plays tricks on you

My forehead starts to itch, or I feel like I need to use the bathroom

Even though I just did

These things used to annoy me

Why are you fighting me, mind?

Now though, they just make me smile

I smile at the things my mind throws in my way

And I smile at myself

I know there is no fight here, except the one that I start

Baby You Can Drive My Site

March 7th, 2011 2 comments

I have a new website.

It has these really cool sliding thingies.

“Beep beep, beep beep, YEAH!”

The major new items at my new home page are:

What’s New – info and links about my latest books and projects

In Progress – projects in motion

Mailing List – sign up to get an occasional newsletter from me

It all started one year ago, with an email from Tom Fuertes. Tom wrote to request an inscribed copy of Elements of Poker. Then he made an offer I’d’ve been a fool to refuse.

Tom described himself as a “nerd barterer.” He offered a website upgrade in exchange for poker coaching. My site was old and clunky and in much need of modernization. Tom was young and spunky and ready to go full-time with poker. And now, one year later, Tom is playing poker for a living, and I love my new website. So at least one of us has been relieved from suffering.

Wendelin Montciel is known to most of the world as the artist who did the drawings for my “The Eightfold Path to Poker Enlightenment” series. She also designed the book cover for “A Rubber Band Story and Other Poker Tales” which you can see at the new In Progress pane.  And she provided much aesthetic oversight to my new website. Je t’aime bien, Wendelin!

Please feel free to come on by and kick the tires and look under the hood and take it for a spin, but please, whatever you do, don’t text and drive.

www.tommyangelo.com