The Poker Project (playing and writing about poker in the U.S.)
I've learned a bunch from the strategy/life posts on 2+2 over the years and want to involve others in my own poker-related goal: to play, write about, and better understand poker in the U.S. By "better understand poker" I don't mean learning when to reshove with 20BBs vs. a loose opener. I'm more interested in the tougher-to-answer questions that you may have asked yourself from time to time. How is poker important to me? Why does my family discourage (or support) poker as a hobby/profession? What does poker mean to different parts of America and to different parts of the poker-playing community? How does poker appear in literature and film? Why do so many players write about their experiences (insanepoker7, anotherkidanotherdream)? What can we make of this impulse for storytelling?
My Goals
Contribute to the (more or less nonexistent) academic literature on poker
I'm a teacher-researcher who studies literature, narrative, and American culture. In the fall I'll be starting a two-year post-doc in which, as a kind of secondary project, I plan to write about poker. I have two pretty clear ideas for articles and one big, hazy idea for a book. This thread will hopefully serve as a journal/blog/place to brainstorm and hear from 2+2ers.
Become a better poker player
I'll detail my poker story in the next post. The cliffs is: found poker around 2005, played semi-seriously online from 2007-2011, and transitioned to live cash around 2010 (1/2NL, very part-time). For me, getting better means more creativity and rigor in my approach to the game; developing a more intuitive grasp of poker fundamentals, esp math; and moving up in limits (2/5 and 5/10, if the bankroll allows).
With these goals in mind, you can expect a few different kinds of posts in this thread:
Session reports
I should play a decent bit this summer and hope to recount some of my sessions. The content will be similar to my trip reports from Nola (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/27/bri...) and Florida (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/27/bri...). The goal is to write entertaining stories with some strategy mixed in. My "home base" for playing will be in the Gulf Coast area: Houston, Lake Charles, Nola, and Biloxi.
Book Reviews
I plan to review both poker fiction and non-fiction. These posts will probably include a brief summary, my assessment of the book (if I like/dislike, whether it's "well-written"), and questions to think about.
Links to worthwhile poker content
Like this!: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9286...
Thematic Posts
on topics like tilt, storytelling, aging, regionalism, literature, strategy--whatever comes to mind!
I'm starting this thread rather than a blog because it encourages dialogue. Part of why I like poker is because it's rooted in stories and people. I'd love to ask and receive questions from you guys for as long as this thread exists. Lookin fwd to it!
If you want to give someone else a sweat besides me I understand. Dirk with a dog rocks anyway.
Your posts from Beau Rivage was truly excellent writing - no surprise but it did remind me of your long waited book on card room life - any update?
I'm currently making a playlist for a friend entitled "songs from the 2000s I tolerate". It's currently got one song on it from a band who had their heyday in the 90s. But I'll dip into Vampire Weekend at some stage; so short-answer: detailed impressions in a state of postponement.
Not in Melbourne at the moment. Played a few gigs earlier this year. Highlight was some random saying to me after the gig: "you're a great ****ing drummer, man." I later discovered the said random was in fact a guitarist in some semi-famous band. A few gigs, one brag --- not a bad winrate.
Loved your TR btw. Gulf coast poker is a literary goldmine, for sure. Ibrahim stacking your AK with AJ was a form of poetic justice, perhaps. Can we quantify poetic justice in terms of EV? Not sure if that's rhetorical tbh.
I don't believe the Dirk thing is too bad at all. The other day someone thought I was Johnny Vibes. I said, "no, I'm his brother." Guy instantly replies, "makes sense."
Long Day at the Beau
For all my interest in poker, I didn’t know why I was really here, why gambling had its strange, fascinating grip on me and so many others. The only thing I knew for sure was that I would never know. I recalled what Ibrahim had told me a few hours earlier: he was working the graveyard shift tonight at seven, and he would be leaving soon to drive home to Nola. And yet I would have bet my whole stack that he’d still be in the game when I got back.
“Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow,”
Beautiful words Ben, thx for the write-up 
It's "Whitetail" by Low, from the Things We lost in the Fire album recorded by Albini in 2001. Keep in mind, I just started the list ... it's not the only song from the 2000s I like. This track was effectively an addendum to another (drumming related) playlist. Actually, makes me think of doing a "90s bands that still released great stuff in the 2000s" playlist.
I've got about a dozen or so Low tunes on the iPod (plus Death Cab For Cutie's cover of The Plan), although I don't think I'm familiar with Whitetail.
GR.I.P.Mimi,imoG
If you want to give someone else a sweat besides me I understand. Dirk with a dog rocks anyway.
solid pic! you're back on the anti-sweat. GL GL
Your posts from Beau Rivage was truly excellent writing - no surprise but it did remind me of your long waited book on card room life - any update?
Thanks JRR. I'll be finishing a full draft of "the poker book" up in Vermont. It's good to hear this latest poast resonated with a few of yall, because I'm aiming for the book to have a similar tone/POV
I'm currently making a playlist for a friend entitled "songs from the 2000s I tolerate". It's currently got one song on it from a band who had their heyday in the 90s. But I'll dip into Vampire Weekend at some stage; so short-answer: detailed impressions in a state of postponement.
Not in Melbourne at the moment. Played a few gigs earlier this year. Highlight was some random saying to me after the gig: "you're a great ****ing drummer, man." I later discovered the said random was in fact a guitar
Thanks for the popping in, Dr! It's no surprise to hear that you're a great ****ing drummer. The Johnny Vibes comparison, on the other hand, comes as a bit of a surprise. But I can see it.
I've gotten Brad Owens a few times.
Thanks Dubn! How's your new blog going? (feel free to drop a link here so others can follow your progress as well)
THIS is the question that needed to be asked!
It's "Whitetail" by Low, from the Things We lost in the Fire album recorded by Albini in 2001. Keep in mind, I just started the list ... it's not the only song from the 2000s I like. This track was effectively an addendum to another (drumming related) playlist. Actually, makes me think of doing a "90s bands that still released great stuff in the 2000s" playlist.
Thanks Dubn! How's your new blog going? (feel free to drop a link here so others can follow your progress as well)
Thx Ben, sure, will do : https://www.unibetcommunity.com/forums/t...
It is going alrightish ; I guess I am still getting back into the flow of blogging once again, and mainly writing in English, as while the latter is still part of my daily life (I listen to podcasts in English and certain movies), I no longer write nor speak it except on very rare occasions - but that will change in Vegas 😉. I hence feel that while I did write a few solid blog entries, others left a little to be desired... Nevertheless, it should start to get more interesting starting on June 21 with some daily WSOP updates ; thx for asking friend
Thx Ben, sure, will do : https://www.unibetcommunity.com/forums/t...
It is going alrightish ; I guess I am still getting back into the flow of blogging once again, and mainly writing in English, as while the latter is still part of my daily life (I listen to podcasts in English and certain movies), I no longer write nor speak it except on very rare occasions - but that will change in Vegas 😉. I
Thanks for dropping the link, Dubn. Glad to hear you're settling back into post-LTR dating and getting ready for the WSOP. I'm eager to hear how you find Vegas, the Horseshoe, the donkament grind, the food scene, etc
I just got up to VT and, although I don't have WSOP FOMO, I've been following the action closer than I thought I would via a few vlogs, podcasts, etc. Was fun to see Ivey snag his 11th bracelet, and Schulman's performance in the 25K ranks as the best FT performances I've seen outside of Joe Mckeehen in the 2015 Main.
My friend who I went to Jazzfest with is a yuge Vampire Weekend fan—like, she has one of their song lyrics tattooed on her forearms. I’m nowhere close to that level, but Modern Vampires of The Weekend was an album I loved back in the day, so I was game to see them live. Really glad I did. They put on a fantastic show, and Ezra especially seemed to be having a blast performing. I need to listen more to their new album, but I’ve been preoccupied with the new TayTay.
oh sweet had no idea there was a new album, i thought this was their latest
June Recap
At the beginning of the month I gathered my things, ushered my fluffball into the back of my Honda CRV, and drove to Oxford Missippi.
Square Books—one of the best around
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Obvious Best Candidate is Obvious (United States of Lolmerica)
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Unwittingly scheduling our annual friendmeet during CMAfest (Nashville)
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Underrated city? (Columbus)
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Assuming the Position (Woofington)
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Presque Isle State Park
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Watkins Glen
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Fed up with living low on the hog (Great Barrington)
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Training the next generation of architects (Barre)
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A few short trips planned for this month, but for the most part I'll be hanging with the fam and doing a bit of writing. I'm also happily following the WSOP from afar. Some fun stories, from Schulman's dominance at the 25K FT to Isildur's return, but so far the story of the summer hasta be Deenegs shipping the 50K. GL to all those trekking out there! Still plenty of time left to bink a donkament or get your soul crushed.
Operation (re)Deny marknfw [259/500]
July Recap
Surprise surprise, no poker was played this month. I did enjoy watching the WSOP coverage of an action-packed summer: Seiver, Ivey, Isildur, Schulman, KrissyB almost binking a FT, Tamayo's solver sidelines coaches...plenty of notable stories.
Played beeball for the first time in twoish years and avoided injury, so this month was definitely a win!
Speaking of poker-beeball, I picked up Peter Alson's Take Me To the River (2006) and Darcy Frey's The Last Shot (1994). Alson's account of the 2005 WSOP is (rightly) overshadowed by James McManus's Positively Fifth Street, but at times it's well-written and illuminating. Frey's book is a must-read for anyone interested in the NCAA or the LOLmerican Dream.
Also stumbled across a few essays.
Zoe Bernard,
Adam Wren, How LOTR Shaped JD Vance's Politics
All the chatter about childless cat ladies led me to one of the best pet essays I've read in a while, Tim Kreider's
. I happened to meet an elite cat myself, not long ago.
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Burlington
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Montreal
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North Hatley
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Heisenberg in the Woods
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Dog Mountain
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Operation (re)Deny marknfw [259/500]
So whenever I randomly stumble upon / think of a song that could possibly be iPod worthy, I try to immediately write down the song name + artist on a piece of paper so I don't forget it. I'll then transfer that info to a binder at home, and then I'll go thru that binder every once and a while to see what songs make the cut and update the iPod.
So I wrote down "Real Love Baby - Father John Misty" on a piece of paper.
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And I did that on Friday... the day *before* you posted. Weird?
I've done a deep dive on Father John Misty / J. Tillman in the past, but to date only two songs have made the iPod.
Also had to wiki to see if he helped record this iPod song (he didn't, but he did tour it, and I'm not sure if that little clay drummer in this video is supposed to be him or not):
GcluelessiPodmusicnoobG
August Recap
Thought I'd poasted but apparently not. Maybe that's an indication that things are busy (but good) at the moment: added a third class this fall which has taken some time to map out alongside the others. We're reading some solid stuff if I do say so myself: The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Sonny's Blues, on the short story side, plus Tracy Kidder's newest book Rough Sleepers, a novel by a palliate care doc called Our Long Marvelous Dying, the graphic novel Epileptic, and the memoir The Undying. All puppies and rainbows in my classes, as usual!
Also just weathered Francine, which ended up being a Cat 2 hurricane but wasn't as damaging as some had feared.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. At the beginning of August I loaded the fluffball into the CRV and headed south, stopping first in western Mass where a few friends and I visited MGM Springfield. Never thought I'd get bluffed by a goldendoodle, but...
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Old Stomping Ground
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Panama City
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Back in the NOLA Saddle
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The Doctor
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The Modern Doctor
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No More Traveling for a while, Please
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Pokerwise, I've been limping back to the felt. Trying to get a sesh in a week, maybe two, and will backload volume to the last few months of the year.
Operation (re)Deny marknfw [285/500]
We just got new Harrahdise chips that I'll share in my September update. Stay well yall!
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"Harrahdise" is officially a misnomer now that the Caesars rebrand is almost complete. But Nola's only land-based casino will always be Harrahdise to me.
It was good no direct Francine hit on NOLA - it apparently came ashore around Houma and Morgan City - both of which I knew back in the day. First time I got cheated in a poker game was at Troxies bar in Houma. Long story not worth repeating here but learned a lesson for sure.
It was good no direct Francine hit on NOLA - it apparently came ashore around Houma and Morgan City - both of which I knew back in the day. First time I got cheated in a poker game was at Troxies bar in Houma. Long story not worth repeating here but learned a lesson for sure.
Yep, all in all a pretty tame storm, by NOLA standards.
Oh, you've told me that story already. It's a good one
I think I've got 4 Gillian Welch songs on the iPod. Feel I should prolly have a lot more, as I really love their harmonies / acoustic guitar playing / etc.
GcluelessWelch/RawlingsnoobG
My favorite of her albums is Boots 2: The Lost Songs and The Harrow & The Harvest. Easily found on Spotify/YouTube. If you like that stuff, much of Allison Krauss' catalog should be added as well.
My favorite of her albums is Boots 2: The Lost Songs and The Harrow & The Harvest. Easily found on Spotify/YouTube. If you like that stuff, much of Allison Krauss' catalog should be added as well.
Thanks for the mentioning. I'm sure I've listened to that one before but forgot about it. YouTubing now...
I think I've got 4 Gillian Welch songs on the iPod. Feel I should prolly have a lot more, as I really love their harmonies / acoustic guitar playing / etc.
GcluelessWelch/RawlingsnoobG
This is all the excuse I need to poast my top 5 GW/DR songs. As for albums, Gillian's Time (The Revelator) is my clear #1.
#5
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vintage Gillian
#4
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One of their many songs that sounds like it could have been recorded 50 or 100 years ago, but it was released in 2020 (on the album that won the Grammy for Best Folk Album)
#3
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Can't touch their gospel tunes...
#2
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Rawlings wrote this one with Ryan Adams, and my first exposure to this song was back in the early aughts when I saw Old School. It's interesting to compare
with Rawlings's.
#1
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The songs that have made my iPod cut so far:
Orphan Girl
By The Mark
Everything Is Free
I'm Not Afraid To Die
ETA: As much as I hate 99% of the music that is played on the mothercorp radio station up here, I have to give them props to playing stuff I'd otherwise be unlikely to stumble across. They randomly played "Orphan Girl" while I was out driving in a hurry to one place or another and it was a wonderful who-the-****-is-this? moment.
Gthelifeoftheparty,ldoG
September Recap
As you can see, the new Harrahdise chips are in circulation. They're consistent with the renovated design of the new casino: spiffy and serviceable, but uncreative.
A few gambol-related topics as a reminder that this is still, at least in theory, a poker blog.
Karas is probably best known for his epic "run" when he turned $50 bucks into $50 million, or more, and then lost it all. A few years ago he did an interview that, to my mind, offers a great argument against a gambling-centric life.
and then there are the bots, courtesy of Bloomsberg reporter Kit Chellel.
Old School
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Crescent City Connection Bridge Run
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Sunbathing in Flopville
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Operation (re)Deny marknfw [297/500]
October Recap
Mostly been pleasantly trapped in the teaching vortex, along with some occasional gamboling in the Quarter, where oodles of Swifties ran amok
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Didn't go to any of the three shows, but by most accounts they were solid and the locals were thrilled with bizness: the Swifties were polite and tipped well, which is all you can really ask of tourists, right? All told, Empress Tay brought in $500 million to Nola. Enough to fix a pothole or three.
Not For Sale
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In New Orleans You'll Never Get Caught
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Childless Dog Owners, Unite!
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Post-Frolic Glam Shot
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Splash Pot
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Operation (re)Deny marknfw [338/500]
