Poker/Music/Literature
This is my third PGC and might be regarded as the final, perhaps endless, instalment of a trilogy. Whereas my previous threads were focused on specific poker goals, this is more general in scope. Here, I plan to document the interrelations of poker, music and literature.
I've decided on this approach because my life tends to shift between these pursuits. Prior to covid, I was playing poker live, mostly PLO, in my home town of Melbourne, grinding a modest living. I was also playing music, with a few different bands, every so often.
Since covid, I've returned to writing creative fiction, a short novel I began some time ago, which has music as its setting. I've also continued a recording project with long time pals, in which we improvise pieces of music, directly to a two-track tape machine. Both of these non-poker projects are dear to my heart, and, I hope, will eventually reach an audience, albeit a small one.
I don't exactly know how poker, music and literature inform each other, but, ideally, an entertaining and persuasive theory will arise (there are a few excellent threads on poker and writing already: https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/174/p...;https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/92/tr...). What I do know is that my life is experienced through these pursuits, none of which provide a guaranteed income, but all of which involve creative and strategic thinking.
While I don't think about poker when writing (like some do, for instance Rick Bennet in King of A Small World), or music when at the poker table (you’ll rarely see me in headphones), I've always felt these activities have more in common than some may believe. Of course, I do think about music when writing fiction—an intermedial relationship I investigated as an aspiring academic and which has fascinated me ever since.
In sum, this PGC will function like a journal, without set goals, aside from documenting life in the poker/music/literature triangle. The challenge will be identifying elements of music and literature in the poker grind, particularly how we act and think at the table, in contrast to the poker training of these solver days. In addition, I'll be observing how we frame ourselves as poker players, that is, how we project ourselves as social beings, just as musicians and authors typically do.
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Well, it’s been over two years since I last posted in this thread. In the interim two major events have occurred: (1) the album in the home-studio was recorded late 2022 and the home-studio has now become a bar; (2) I stopped playing poker in Melbourne in late 2023 when Crown increased the cap on its rake from $15 to $25.
After considering my options in early 2024 I decided to relocate to Manila for 6 months, with a few side trips to Phenom Penh. The latter was demoralising poker wise, but I still enjoyed Cambodian culture:
Manila was relatively successful, and, although I struggled with the relentless heat, pollution and poverty on the streets, I managed to feel at home there. Given the lower cost of living, it’s possible I may return to Manila, especially as the games are decent:
The lesson from the truncated year would seem that playing low-stakes, relatively shallow, high-raked games is not profitable enough, which is hardly surprising. Generally, in a decent mid-stakes game, where you can buy-in for at least 200bb, a win-rate of 6-10bb/hour is sustainable (for the record in the $15 cap 2/5 game at Crown in 2023 I made 5.96bb/hour over a 500 hour sample). The game in Manila I played the most (100/200 PhP which is roughly equivalent to 2/4 USD) meets these criteria.
Before I play poker again I want to complete my novel, which I hope to do in the next few months. If I glean some magic from any of the books I read since 2023 then I’ll be mighty happy:
