February 7, 2005
(Note: I'm not back from DC yet, so I'm not going to do my Super Bowl write-up just yet. Check back for it, probably on Thursday. Hopefully I'll have something more to write about this year than just the commercials.)
Last Friday I drove down to Washington (PA) for poker and booze. Like every other time we only played for chips, not for money. Usually this is a good thing for me, because I never win.
Friday I did. Came back from being forced all-in three times, usually on the river*, then beat out the guy who had the early lead. It's very satisfying raking in that final batch of chips, even when it doesn't mean anything. Even more satisfying than cleaning out three different people in one pot :)
In the second game my luck ran out. I pulled my own ass out of the fire one last time before the Law of Averages caught up with me and I lost out to Rob.
But hey, if I keep it up I may actually start to look like I know what I'm doing.
* OK, that paragraph probably looks only vaguely like English if you don't play Texas Hold 'Em poker. Being all-in means you're betting your entire pile of chips. Since you have to bet a minimum each time a card is turned up but can bet any amount beyond it, you usually just go all-in if you won't be able to make the next minimum bet. The river is the last (fifth) common card turned up; the flop is the first three common cards that come all at once. I'm pretty sure the fourth card is the turn, but I can't remember for sure.
