Danny ChaiJust finished The Biggest Game In Town. It’s much better than Positively Fifth Street, I think, just well written. He describes the loserness and insanity of professional poker players so well it makes me want to be one of them.
I’m sure people give a rat’s whisker what I think about good writing, but what I like is when writing seems effortless. There might be a lot of work behind it, but on the surface, when it reads eloquent and effortless, I like that. What I don’t like is writing that feels overly florid and forced. Like, there are sections in Grapes of Wrath that just feel artificially florid, not a fan. But wait, I do like the random digressions in Les Miserables. Hmm, no clue.
Anyway, I think you can learn more from the tournament style tables at PartyPoker.com. The blinds keep going up, so you can’t just wait for the nuts all the time, and you learn more about betting and bluffing structure. Just wait for the all-in idiots to eliminate themselves within the first 10 hands. The people left tend to be a tad more thinking.
It’s also a tad more realistic when multiple people at the table have tons of play money, because it’s still not real but it takes so much work to accumulate that much that they’re loath to lose it all. Last night I had 80K play money and took out someone who had taken forever to get to 60K. Every big raise I made this person kept fold, fold, folding. Finally at the end they call my all-in and they lose. That was a good feeling. I’m a loser.
I love bargaining also. I dunno if Wong remembers this but I was so aggressive with a vendor outside the Forbidden City that she actually hit me. Good times. Most recently, I cajoled a Wienerschnitzel to give me a chili dog and chili burger for $2, even though they don’t have that deal anymore. “Why not” the guy said.
Speaking of bargains, 33% off coupon at Foot Locker this weekend only. I picked up some basketball shoes and cross trainers to replace my current pairs, both of which I’ve had since 1995.
Boring.