Post Archives Tag: narrative

Coming to Montreal

Sorry for the lack of posts here. As you’ll see, I’ve had a busy few weeks.

It started nicely, with a trip to visit some old friends. As much as Emily and I have enjoyed living in San Francisco, there are some downsides, most notably the fact that most of … Read full post

Words With Ferguson

After busting Flight A of the Crazy 8s WSOP event on Friday yesterday, I took another shot at Flight C yesterday. I ended up with a shallow cash and there were one or two moderately interesting hands, but I’ll cut to the chase: about halfway through the day, Chris Ferguson … Read full post

The Thinking Poker Diaries, Volume 8 Now Available!

vol8threedeeThe eighth installment in my Thinking Poker Diaries series, which tells the story of my summers at the World Series of Poker, is now available. Unlike past volumes, this one covers many preliminary events as well as the 2013 Main Event. In particular, includes a report from the $1500 PLO8 … Read full post

Just Released! The Thinking Poker Diaries Volume 6

cover_7fcd65a2-b494-44c9-ad82-075a3bdad5f6_grandeMy sixth e-book tells the story of my 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event, in which I finished 53rd. Like the other volumes, it features an entertaining trip report from the tournament interspersed with essays discussing strategic concepts that play an important role in each day’s success.

Pick up … Read full post

Thinking Poker Diaries, Volume 5

Depending on your definition of exciting, you might be interested to hear that my latest book has hit the digital shelves! The fifth volume of The Thinking Poker Diaries chronicles my 87th place finish the 2010 WSOP Main Event. Day by day, it introduces the situations and opponents I encountered … Read full post

Best of the Thinking Poker Podcast 2014

Nate and I are grateful to those of you who have listened to The Thinking Poker Podcast this year, whether you’re a regular follower, a sporadic listener, or just now discovering the show. I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite episodes of the year, in case you missed … Read full post

The Thinking Poker Diaries, Volume 1

I’m excited to announce, to those who missed the news on Twitter and the podcast, that I’ve finally published a book! It’s based on my 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event, and it’s actually the first in a series of e-books compiling updated and revised versions of my most … Read full post

Mind Blown

In February of 2011, after a year and a half without a permanent residence, I began thinking of settling somewhere again. My girlfriend and I returned to Boston, where we’d lived for five years, where my poker career had blossomed, where I’d founded a non-profit organization that I eventually handed … Read full post

Best of the Thinking Poker Podcast

Nate and I were flattered to be nominated for Best Podcast in the 2014 Bluff Reader’s Choice Awards. Hopefully this will prompt some new listeners to come check out the show, and with nearly 100 hours of content out there, it might be hard to know where to start.

In … Read full post

WSOP Update

Hopefully a lot of you follow me on Twitter, because I know I’ve been bad about keeping the blog up-to-date. The short version is that I’m still in the Main Event going into day 3. I’ve got about 20K chips, and blinds are 800/1600/200 when we return, so if I’m … Read full post

Venetian $2600

I left Vegas a week ago, but that week has been even more hectic than the weeks I was in Vegas, so I’m just now getting back to my tournament write-ups:

I arrived at the Venetian DSE area, which is actually in the Palazzo, at the stroke of noon. I … Read full post

WSOP Event 11: $2500 Six-Handed

The $2500 six-handed event got off to a good start for me. It seemed like a pretty tough field overall, so I was pleased with my starting table at which there was only one truly tough player, seated across from me.

Even better, I took a big bite out of … Read full post

WSOP Event 9: $3000 No-Limit Shoot-Out

Someone flopped a set against my Aces in a four-bet pot. Stack-to-ratio was less than three when we saw the flop. If I put it to you like that, it sounds like a cooler plain and simple, like I was simply destined to go broke. And maybe I was. But … Read full post

WSOP Event 6: $1500 Millionaire Maker

The Millionaire Maker is like the PokerStars Sunday Million on crack, drawing a field of thousands with a relatively affordable buyin and the distant prospect of a life-changing score. It ended up drawing a field of 6343, making it roughly the size of the Main Event for about 1/7 the … Read full post

WSOP Event 4: $1500 6-Max

I went grocery shopping on the night I arrived in Las Vegas, but more chores remained for the next morning. I packed myself a lunch, a task that took me back to my grade school days as I tucked two halves of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (I didn’t … Read full post

Road to the WSOP, Part 10: Vegas, Baby!

On Wednesday morning we drove down the mesa and set off into the Arizona desert bound for Flagstaff.  The way this road switchbacks through the canyons is really something and makes for some extraordinary views:

Though long, hot, and largely devoid of human settlement, the drive through the desert was … Read full post

Road to the WSOP, Part 9: Mesa Verde

My original plan for this point in the trip was to catch a flight to Vegas while Emily continued on alone, stopping at several national parks before reaching Austin. This would have put me in Las Vegas in time for the opening events.

I decided, however, to skip the first … Read full post

Road to the WSOP, Part 8: Amongst the Yuppies

With the luxury of a house and a driveway, we took some time Sunday morning to rearrange the car a bit make sure things were packed up right. We don’t exactly travel light on these road trips, and keeping the car organized is essential to minimizing the annoyance of more-or-less … Read full post

Road to the WSOP, Part 7: The High Desert

Sorry, despite my valiant efforts to keep up, this blog is a few days behind my actual progress. I arrived in Las Vegas last night and am playing my first WSOP event, the $1500 6-max, today at Noon. Now back to our story…

Lathrop State Park seemed to come out … Read full post

Road to the WSOP, Part 6: Enjoy the Ride

Thursday began with the Truman Presidential Library and Museum. Though head and shoulders above the Lincoln one, it still wasn’t as good as some others we’ve visited, especially the Johnson and Eisenhower Museums. It was more broad historical information about the era than a unique perspective on the man … Read full post

Road to the WSOP, Part 5: A Long Way From Home

With a lot to see on Wednesday, we got an early start. The Illinois statehouse was the first stop. Of all the statehouses we’ve visited, which is well over half of them, we found Illinois’ to be among the most beautiful both inside and out.

Our tour guide was a … Read full post

Road to the WSOP, Part 4: Land of Lincoln

Tuesday morning came on bright and sunny, with barely a cloud in sight. Even the ground wasn’t as wet as we expected – it was almost as though the storm had simply been a bad dream. Drying off the tent required a little extra time, but still we packed up … Read full post

Road to the WSOP, Part 3: Tornado Watch

We woke to a foggy, humid Monday. Columbus, Ohio was our first stop. Emily is into government and politics, and she used to work at the Massachusetts state house, so we try to visit state capitols when we travel. With a lot of ground to cover, there wasn’t time to … Read full post

The Hardest Player to Bluff

Often, when I’m in a smaller stakes game waiting for a seat in the bigger game to open up, I use it as an opportunity to practice my discipline. Generally it’s easier to pick up physical tells, betting tendencies, etc. in smaller stakes games, and rather than acting like it’s … Read full post

The Wild Side

Just as I take my seat in the $1/$3/$6 game, I see a player curse, hurl his cards angrily into the muck, leap out of his chair, curse again, and kick the wall. Naturally curious, I look to the board to see what has happened and am surprised to find … Read full post

On Fish

I suppose the Atlantis resort is an appropriate place for a poker tournament, because the whole place is built on value betting the shit out of rich fish. Everywhere the trappings of luxury convince people to fork over absurd sums of money for silly baubles, bad food, and tacky experiences.… Read full post

PCA Main Event Day 1

I took my seat and immediately recognized Lee Markholt two seats to my left and Dani Stern two seats to his left. I never learned the names of the rest of my opponents, but they proved nearly as capable, and it was probably one of the toughest tournament tables I’ve … Read full post

An Old School Home Game

My latest article for the 2+2 Magazine, An Old School Home Game, is a bit of a departure from the standard fare. It’s about a very interesting home game to which I was recently invited, and while it contains some strategy content, even that is mostly concerned with the … Read full post

WCOOP Main Event, Day 2

In my essay Gray Friday, I talked about how online poker has contributed to my increasingly heavy reliance on the internet:

“The more time I spend on the internet, the more disdainful I become of the physical world. I work online, I play online, I shop online, and I

Read full post

Mon Anniversaire

The last Friday of WCOOP was also my birthday. For the second year in a row, I spend it in a foreign country playing a card game online. Specifically, this was my 30th birthday, and while I don’t generally put much stock in such things, it would’ve been nice if … Read full post

$200 Rebuy and the Dépanneur

Unfortunately there’s been a delay with the next episode of the Thinking Poker Podcast, which was scheduled to be the subject of today’s blog post. I’m not sure when that will be available, so until it is, I’ll continue my chronicle of the WCOOP.

The only WCOOP that I … Read full post

Le Lapin Pressé and a Quick 1K

With no poker to play until the 5PM $1000 NLHE WCOOP, I made a second trip to the Jean-Talon Market. Perhaps I burned up all of my run-good, because I found a bike at the second Bixi station on my route, which was a far sight better than the … Read full post

Four-Max and Photo Exhibition

The only WCOOP I played on Monday was the 4-max, which is always a wild and crazy time. I stayed out of the fray for a bit, but sooner or later a draw comes along that simply bets to be played aggressively. I don’t hate my line, but I think … Read full post

An Autumnal WCOOP Sunday

Saturday’s storm brought on a precipitous drop in temperature that was immediately noticeable on Sunday morning. I like mornings, especially Sunday mornings, and I like Autumn, especially when the air is crisp and just a little chilly. I made coffee and took a walk.

Though it was nearly 8:00, the … Read full post

Stormclouds Gather

My first few days in Montreal felt like summer. They were hot, sunny, and sticky. Autumn came suddenly over the weekend, though, and it feels like it is here to stay.

I woke to grey skies on Saturday morning. With the $109 NLHE WCOOP starting at 11, I had time … Read full post

Not the WCOOP But It’ll Do For Now

Friday was to be not quite a day off from poker but a light day. I planned to play only one WCOOP event, the $320 NLHE with 10-minute levels that started at 5 in the afternoon Montreal time. On a whim, I also late registered the Big $150 that started … Read full post

PLO8, 6-Max, and Bixi

The PLO8 WCOOP event began at 6AM my time on Thursday. I tend to wake early anyway, so I didn’t set an alarm but expected to be up in time to late register it. By 7:30 I was at my computer with coffee in hand. I didn’t even realize it … Read full post

U Jelly Bro?

With my first tournament, the $320 Ante Up, not starting until 11, I had a leisurely Wednesday morning. It was a beautiful day, bright and crisp, and The Plateau, the neighborhood where my Montreal apartment is located, looked lovely as it woke up. My street is lined with trees through … Read full post

Book Review: A Rubber Band Story and Other Poker Tales

Tommy Angelo’s second book, A Rubber Band Story and Other Poker Tales, is an eclectic collection poker writing from one of the game’s most beloved authors. Because A Rubber Band Story spans more than a decade of Angelo’s career and runs the gamut from fiction to advice to memoir, … Read full post

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