POKER? I hardly know her. Oh and my man NAS

There is a new woman in my life. I fell hard and fast. Call it an addiction, an obsession, whatever you want. I love her! But she wont love me like I want her to if I don't play her just right. Yes ladies and gents I am a poker fiend. That might explain away why this particular entry in this blog is a little late and hasn't a damn thing to do with politics. I have been scouring the virtual Poker tournament universe looking for a way to play and have it mean something without spending a dime.
I fell in love with Poker because it's more than just a game of chance. There is real skill involved in it. It falls in line with what it takes to be a really good actor as well and I mean a lot more than just having to pretend you have a hand when you don't. It involves memory, calculation, emotion control, perception AND pretending to have a good hand when you don't.
I think, no I'm sure I want to be a professional poker player. Yes I said it. I know, I know. I love acting. I really do. But poker? Poker is like mistress who keeps dancing on the bed naked singing, "don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me". While acting is my wife who seems to have a headache every night lately. Now don't get me wrong. Poker has hurt me more than few times. Im pretty deep in on my downtown game. So much so I had to back off it for a while. In my Chelsea game, however, Im up and really look forward to it. Online, well, I've won a few tournaments and am feeling pretty confident. My main rule online though is to play freeroll or with fake money only.

When I first started I played with real money (very little indeed) and the rush was just a little too intense for me. In true Poker parlayance (parlayance? wtf? is this even a word? not sure, but it sounds cool and you know what I mean right? right) the term tilt refers to the mental frustration one might go through after a run of bad luck at the tables. But online this takes on a whole different meaning as one particular article in the NY-times points out, describing online Poker's influence on college campuses. Hmm... let me try to explain this tilt feeling: Let's see, I guess I can say it was quite similar to the feeling I got after trying a certain unmentionable drug back in the 80's that made me reach for it when the high was gone. I resisted that feeling and never picked it up again. I will never play with real money online again and I only lost 50 dollars.
The name "Poker" is likely descended from the Irish "Poca", pronounced "Pokah" meaning "Pocket" or the French "Poque", which descended from the German word "Pochen" meaning "to brag as a bluff" literally. (who knows, this is what the internet tells me). Some say the original American version of Poker, similar to 5-card stud, has its roots tied to a 16th Century Persia game called "As Nas". haha... Nas, deep.

Speaking about my man Nas; he's got a new album dropping next week called, "Untitled" or like how I like to call it, "the album formally titled 'Nigger' until Nas' creative expression, albeit a bit misguided, was stepped on by his record label and old school black activists who wouldn't understand his music anyway". Eh, I heard leaked track. It was alright, but it didn't really blow me away. There isn't much in hip-hop that does anymore anyway. But I'll cop it because with Nas you know what you get, hot beats and intricate, thought provoking lyrics. There's no gamble there. Get it, "gamble". Haha... I crack me up...

As I segue back to Poker!!!

So after I decided I wasn't going to play with real money online anymore I found that playing with fake money was kinda corny except for when I was preparing for a live game.
I love the live game. I play mostly with friends and the money I spend for the game is ok. We're paying to have good time. It's usually less than I would spend for dinner on a date. And a good time is guaranteed win or lose. Can't say that much for dating.
But online, I've discovered that, in the tournaments, I can win real money if I'm good enough. I can make my way onto tables that can get me onto other tables that can eventually lead me to (cue cliche angelic heavenly music now) The WSOP. That's the World Series of Poker for some of you that don't know. Woo wee... Ten thousand dollar entry fee and the top prize is somewhere around 9 million. Out of around six thousand entries about 300 or so get into "the money" meaning they walk away with at least double the entry fee. I likey those odds baby. I watched a six hour marathon of the 2007 WSOP on ESPN2 the other night. whew I f'n love acting but the drama doesn't get any better than a pair of aces going all in against a pair of queens and then watching two queens land on the flop. Talk about stunned bullets baby. Poker, I'm like a moth to a flame who aint trying to get burned.
haha... wish me luck.

gorealer

P.S. I changed my comments settings. anyone can leave comments now. you don't have to sign up. you can leave them anonymous if you'd like but don't sleep, I'll find you.