Another Trip

My kids love those fruit roll-up snacks, which remind me of when I was 11 and the shopping mall was just coming into existence. My friends and I would think we were the shizzle cause we were on our own, spending money, buying what we wanted. It was in the shopping mall that we were introduced to “the health food store”. I’m not sure of their origins, but some 32 years ago, I don’t really remember a push for healthy, organic foods. I digress…in these stores were the original fruit rolls. My friends and I would buy a supply, take them home and cut them into “chips”. Chips, you say? Yes, chips with which to play poker. We would play 5 card draw, usually deuces wild, and bet our favorite find…pieces of fruit rolls. I remember playing poker a lot with my friends that summer. Summer ended, I moved far away, started noticing boys, wearing make-up…you know the drill. I really don’t care for the tart fruit rolls anymore, but a couple of years ago, just before the craze hit, I did rediscover poker. Not 5 card draw this time but
Now poker comes in many forms. Stud, draw and community are the main categories. Texas hold-em is in the community category where you are dealt 2 cards fTexas hold-em.
ace down and 5 cards are dealt face up. I like this form the best because it takes more than just luck of the draw to win. This form of poker you need to be able to “read” the other players. There is some psychology to this, as well as statistics and guts.

One of the icons of Texas hold-em is 75 year old Doyle Brunson. He’s amazing and I watch him thinking, this guy is so mentally on top of this, and I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday. Another character is Phil Hellmuth, the poker brat, and aptly named. Just watch…you’ll see why.



In this video he berates the “kids” from online poker rooms. They aren’t playing right, in his eyes. He comes from a world of poker where you just did not play certain hands, or bet when certain cards are on the table. However, with the burst of popularity of texas hold-em and online gaming sites, the “rules” have had to adapt. It’s harder to figure out a person’s tells (when you can tell if they have a good/bad hand) and easier to play more aggressively, take more risks. I love to hone my skills online, but never bet money. I’m too afraid I’ll lose my shirt, course if I’m online, no one would ever see!

To watch these tournaments on tv, they are, to say the least, entertaining and suspenseful. With the influx of online players, it changes how the “originals” play. With people like
Gus Hansen and
Daniel Negreanu how can you go wrong? From fruit rolls to Daniel Negreanu, the way my mind works!? (shudder)