Poker – 922

I fold.

I fold!

This is one of those big decisions for rest of 2015.

I am going to stop playing poker. Few reasons.

1. I have been on a losing spree. As per my poker stats, I have lost 9 out of 10 times I have played. Also, I have wiped all my bankroll. Since I dont have any predictable earning, I am not sure how to build the bankroll without investing anything from my savings. And that, ladies and gents, is not happening.

2. Luck doesnt seem to be favoring me. Not luck, odds. I mean what are the odds that hand after hand you would have like 30 outs and you wouldn’t connect even one? Or you’d have pocket kings and every flop would have a string of aces? Or on the button you had hands so cold that you could deep freeze your coke with em. I am losing that perpetual “war with luck.”

3. I dont see myself improving at it. Improving at poker, I think, is a simple function of time, practice and reading. I dont have that time. There are just too many things that I am busy with – earning my bread, writing my next book, travel, trying to get fit and so on and so forth. Take guitar for example. Neo just got me a new guitar. A F310. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. May be I would focus on it for 2015.

4. There is no 4. The above three are reasons solid enough reasons to make me reconsider my poker “career.”

That’s it. I think I would get away from poker. Except that home game once in a while and that occasional tournament.

I know quitting sucks but you ought to know who you are and what could you do!
Wish me lucky with the guitar 🙂

P.S.: I will get back to poker at some point in life. It gives me everything that I want – money, travel, decision making, access to great minds, time and all that. Just that I have other things to chase right now. May be in 2016?

P. Poker Professional.

This is a part of the April A to Z Challenge. My theme is my Bucket List. Read more about the project here. The other things on my bucket list are Ancient Ruins, Book, Coffee Shop, Date a Supermodel, Entrepreneurship, (Be a) Finisher, Give Away my Wealth, Handle a Baby, Inspire, Jack of all trades, Keep my shirt on, Make a lot of money, No and Off the Grid.

Next is P. P for Play at a professional level. Poker.

P is pretty simple. So simple that if I had to list just three things for my bucket list, I would have chosen B, M and P. Book, Money and Poker. In that order.

Poker for me is No limit Texas Hold Em.

Professional for me is make enough money with it that I don’t need a day job. Professional also means that it becomes my day job. Like Sachin Tendulkar is a professional cricket player, Roger Federer is a professional tennis player, Amitabh Bachchan is a professional actor, Jeffery Archer is a professional writer, I want to be a professional poker player.

Like I said, Its pretty high on my bucket list. Right after book and money.

Stu Ungar – The greatest poker player IMHO

So, my first encounter with Poker happened almost ten years ago when I went on a trek and someone taught me the game there. I dismissed it as too mathematical and complex at that point and moved on. And then I played it off and on when I went to Goa (the only state in India where gambling is legal).

However in last three or four years I started to think more about it. I started to go to home games and played with a lot of friends and strangers. I made some money. I lost more than I made. I read whatever material I could find and I could comprehend very little. But I realized that I loved the feeling of sitting on a table and making decisions that can change fortunes at the drop of a card. True with all forms of gambling. But with poker, it has been proved beyond doubt that its a game of skill (whereas all other forms of gambling are more dependent on chance). And unlike other sports or games, poker requires you to have like a million weapons in your arsenal. You need to know maths, psychology, probability, opponents and so on and so forth. Challenging. Aint it?

When I took the break to work on the book, I had some free time on my hands. I used that time to get regular with poker. I now play once every week. If not that, twice every month for sure. I know its tiny if I am to get serious about poker but its a start. Its my honeymoon period. Life looks rosy on the other side. I just need to do the grind and get there. But, I have started keeping scores and I have started to treat it like a serious sport than a mere form of recreation. Hopefully one of these days, things fall in place and I get the practice going. And then who knows what.

Thing with poker is, if you are good with it, it opens so many doors that are otherwise closed to you. You get to travel. Get to make money. Get to make or lose a fortune in a hand. There is this element of luck. There is risk and there are rewards. There is rush. There is the element of capability. There is psychology. There is science and there is art. There is people-watching. There is trash-talk. There is competition. There is individual confrontations and there are skirmishes. Its something that I can work on and improve. This is a skill that I can develop. Its independent of age (unlike tennis, swimming, cricket). Its an individual sport. There is that element of unknown. The thing that makes it exciting and addictive. Its everything that an adrenaline addict may want in life.

Oh… I can talk about it forever. Its beautiful. Its frustrating. Its liberating. Its exhilarating. It takes time to master. And even when you’ve mastered it, you can never tame it. Its like that illicit affair that adds spice to your life. Its like that out of control mistress, the temptress that you cant live with or without.

I sincerely wish I knew about the game when I was younger. I knew about it 10 years ago and I should’ve spotted it back then. I don’t know why I did not. Its ok. You get better with it as you age. I may be ready for it. Just need to decide and take a plunge. One of the easier things on the bucket list. Assuming you are good with it. I know I am an average player. And I know that I can get better as I play. The question is, do I have the balls and galls to take it up?

I dont know. Time shall tell. In the meanwhile, lemme go find a game. Do wish me luck with the hole cards. And more importantly with the river. And do try the game. Trust me, nothing like it.

P.S.: If poker excites you even an iota, do read about the glorious life of Stu Ungar. And see this.

What I want in life. Part 2.

Note: This is part 2 in a series. What I want in life, Part 1 is here.

After struggling for all these years, I think I now know what I want in life.

Before you get excited about my new found power of thought and clarity of mind and decide to hire me to help you, here is the spoiler. There was no divine intervention that made this discovery possible. And it did not come all of a sudden. Its been cooking in my head for some time and it was about time the cookery thing got over. And, as a result, I think I now know what I want. Here is it.

I want to write, travel and sleep.

And when I wake up, I want to go play Poker. Yes. Poker. That card game. I know, it sounds outrageous but I want it. And I want to do it for the rest of my life.

I no more want to rule kingdoms, buy fancy houses, drive around in cars. Really I dont. I am too old. I now merely want to write, travel and sleep when I am tired. And play a hand or two after I wake up. That’s it. Its that simple.

Write. Travel. Sleep. Poker. Sleep. Travel. Write. Poker. Write. Travel. Sleep. In any order. And repeat. Repeat. Repeat over and over again.

So now that I know what I want, I ideally ought to chuck everything else and just spend my time working towards these things. I know I would start at the bottom of these disciplines and age is definitely not on my side. I dont mind the age, I am a fast learner. I dont mind starting at the bottom, I already said that I am a fast learner. Everything looks ok. Except that small hitch. The Money one. Thing is, writing and travelling do not give you money. Not even the kinds to be able to pay your rent. And knowing my track record at poker and my ability to remember details, I know poker is not an option. And I dont have the talent or seed to bootstrap these things. Sigh.

So bottom line, I know what I want in life and its a tussle between head and heart. Pragmatism and dreaming. Left and the right. Old and the young. And, the sad bit, I know who is gonna win. Remember the split personality disorder that I spoke about the other day? I think I need to add more types in there.

So what do I do without the money?

What else? Chase it like a mad dog and get back in the rat race! Too many animals.

🙁

Now that the pragmatic head has won, I know that I cant chase these things. But I can at least talk about these things to make myself feel good about em? Right? Here.

A. Writing
I am not sure if I am a good writer. I know I love the feeling of fingers dancing on the keyboard and words forming by themselves. I love getting lost in my tiny laptop screen and the large world I weave in it. I love sitting at a local Starbucks and working over the din of people around. I love lying on my tummy and typing till odd hours in the night. I love it when people tell me that they loved what I’ve written. I am happy when something I write entertains people. I love creating stories. I love telling those stories. But then I dont know if I am good at it.

If the number of readers on this blog, number of comments, number of interactions, Klout score, any other metric is to be believed, I am not. I am like that irritating voice on the other end of the loud speaker that continues to blare incessantly, even when the voice knows that no one is interested in listening. And increasing the volume will not really help.

If the world at large starts liking what I write, I may be able to make money from it. But I dont think that unless you become a Chetan Bhagat or a Amish Tripathi, you could be a full time writer and make money. Of course there are journalists that just write and all that but then I am not talking about that kind of money. I am talking of the kind of money that people on this list make.

B. Travel
Travel is awesome. I can fill copious volume of texts talking about travel. But then, I shall try to be faster here.

So there are a lot of lucky people in the world who have been given an opportunity to travel for free and all that. There are ways to become that but I haven’t been blessed with any of those skills or attributes that are required to become a travel-for-free kinda guy.

So alas, I would have to pay for my travel. Unless I can become a good poker player. Which is kinda tough, if you ask me. Or unless I go back to working with an events company again. The kinds that does a lot of international events. Or become one of the umpteen porters for a celebrity.

C. Poker
I dont know how to play poker. As simple as that. I just know the rules of the game. But then if just the understanding of the rules made you good, everyone would be like Sachin. I dont understand odds and I hate probability as a concept. And I have a tough time concentrating.

And if I am so bad, why do I play? Because I love the “feel” of being on a poker table.

Being the fool I am, I want to play and because of everything that I’ve mentioned above, I end up losing a lot of money. Money that I dont really have. Money that I hope could’ve been put to better use.

I am losing so much money and time on the game that I have made up my mind to quit if I dont get better at it. And how would I know if I am getting any better? I would win more often than I would lose. Its a simple metric. Update. As of 20th Oct ’13 I quit playing poker. Not quit, but I am taking a break till the beginning of the next year.

The lucky ones who’ve made poker their profession, I am so jealous of them. So very jealous. They have money. They get to travel (for free). And they get to write about their game and all the places they travel to. If I could get lucky and make a career playing poker, it would be awesome. Because I would become that artist that I have always wanted to be (read this post). Funny how a lot of posts in the recent days have been around work and love and passion and dream.

D. Sleep
I will not talk about sleep. Just that over a last few weeks I have realized that sleep is an integral part of what I am. It makes me what I am and allows me to dream and think and stay creative. I want it. At least 7 hours in a day.

End Notes
Finally, the wishful thinking bit needs to end right now and I need to get slightly pragmatic. I know that I need to get back to zameen. So I know that I need to finish the Nidhi Kapoor Story by end of this year. And then either make one of my startup ideas to get working or find a real job. A job that may make me a corporate bitch but yet pays me money. And a lot of it. In 2014. Enough to buy comforts and not get bored. And not get bored means I would not have time to think about fuckeries in life. I sincerely believe in that “ignorant are the most blessed” adage.

How I wish I could live life in a dream where I am paid for being me. I am paid to merely exist and not move an inch. But then I am not Abhishek Bachchan or Ranbir Kapoor. I am not even a Bryan Adams. I would have to work hard. I will. Once I am over with Nidhi Kapoor Story.

But then, apart from a job that gives me a lot of money, or a startup where I make meaning, I really want to chase Kwan. The “Love, respect, community and money too” from a character in the movie Jerry McGuire. Whatever I do in 2014, I will ensure that Kwan happens. And while we are talking about Jerry, do read this post as well. It talks about what I really want to do in life. I am serious. Apart from writing, sleeping, traveling and poker that is.

And in the end, do pray for me.

P.S.: Written sometime in Sep 2013 and publishing in end of Oct 2013.

Andy, Red and Nidhi Kapoor. sgMS. And Poker.

Today evening I was home and had nothing to do. I took out time and wrote that longish rant on freedom. And while writing the post, I read about Shawshank. And then I read some quotes and saw a few clips online. And then I got the movie and saw it.

While I was seeing the movie, a few really interesting things happened. For starters, it gave me insights into how I live my life viz a viz the inmates at Shawshank. And more importantly, it gave me insights into what all could be ~~still~~ done with The Nidhi Kapoor Story (tnks) to make it better. Let me use bullet points to talk about this further.

So far the story is about three characters, Nidhi, Renu and Prakash. The entire story is not really narrated by someone, as Red does in Shawshank. What if, tnks was narrated by someone. I dont know if this will make the material any good but it would be exciting for sure. It would also mean that I would have to rewrite a large chunk of what is already on paper. But then, I have a responsibility towards the readers of tnks and I have made them a promise and I would re-write as many times as I think is required to get the story in a readable shape. If not for twists and turns, I want people to have a good time while reading the book. So, over the next few days, I need to figure out the way forward.
Apart from the change narrative and the plot, the scene from Shawshank where Andy, Red and their gang is painting the roofs with tar, it gave me yet another gimmicky idea for marketing tnks. After all, beneath the damn bald (ing fast) head, I have a marketing brain on my shoulders. Its early days to talk about it here but I am really excited about it.
Live life from each character‘s perspective and then write it. And not as a journalist with a third rate publication. But as a real person. What emotions would someone go through if her favorite pets are killed? What emotion would a guy go through when the love of his life is fucking his best friend? What emotion would the reader go through while he is reading about the unfaithful girl? So on and so forth.

I know am not taking the story forward with these things but I am definitely putting shape to the ideas that I had in my head. And I believe that it would do a world of good. That’s it for Nidhi.

Apart from Nidhi, the other woman that occupies my head a lot is sgMS. I will talk about her now.

So, today, something interesting happened. I met this really old and really good friend for coffee. She knows me in and out and I really thank my stars that I am friends with her. She made me realize that my fascination for sgMS may be misplaced and I need to move on. She made me realize that if she is happy without me, actually enjoying her life without me being around, I have no right to interfere. What if she was brought on Mother Earth for me!

So, since its something that I can control by myself, I have decided to flip the switch and have decided to move on. And try and find some real love. I mean I know I cant find real love but I would let these accidents happen now. I would live. I would be free. Remember the post I made yesterday about freedom?

I know I have made this promise to myself at least a hundred times earlier, if not more. But this time, its for real. Andy, in Shawshank says, Get busy living, or get busy dying. Here is a poster.

Its one of THE most powerful set of words ever written. All this while, I was busy dying. Now, this day onwards, I am going to live. And get busy with it. And there is no place for sgMS in that busy life. But then the fact remains that she is above everything else. She defines the beginning. And she defines the end of all my endeavors. She is that important. Whatever we shared for whatever duration, was special and I feel blessed to have had that. But like every good thing, I guess the relationship has served its purpose. And I need to move on. And I would.

Finally, the third thing that I want to talk about today is poker.

Since I left my job in July, I have spent a large chunk of time playing poker. With real money, online and offline. And with moderate success. But then I realized that I was getting addicted to poker. Like I get addicted to all forms of games of chance. I promise that as a part of this get-busy-living phase of life, I would take a sabbatical from poker. I would read about it alright, I would talk about it, but I would not play. Except the coming week.

That’s if for the time being for an update and a blog post. This is also the third post in as many days. A welcome change, since I hadn’t written for a large chunk of this month. Do check out the FB page for The Nidhi Kapoor Story and Like it if you like what you see there.

P.S.: This is like a daily diary on steroids. Writing, fiction, fact, inferences, thoughts et al. Four days on the trot. Lets see how long do I continue it this time.

The King of Rivers

I have always known that I want to play some sport professionally. But then at my age and my physical fitness level, I am not too sure if I can compete on physical games with younger, faster and nimbler people. So that rules out most of the sports that are recognize universally. Had to find something else. So right now, poker seems like a good option. I am not that good with it but I think its a game of skill and if you work on it, you can improve it. Why do I think its a game of skill? Because like all other games of skill, there are a few players who consistently do better than everyone else. They have been playing for ages and there has been a gradual improvement in their game, again a hallmark of all skill based games.

But no one can refute the role that luck plays in poker. After all you dont know what those 5 community cards would be and you definitely dont know what hole cards do your opponent have. Even while playing, when you have seen the flop, you never know what the turn or the river is going to be. You need to rely on probability theory and, unfortunately, luck! And ever since I have started playing, I dont think I have ever been this lucky. I am hitting the river so often that its not funny. Its as if the God is on my side and is dealing the exact cards that I want. Its as if I am the King of Rivers and I command the cards to flip my way.

I wish I could remain this lucky for next few years when I up the ante and start playing in poker tournaments around the world. Ofcourse I am not too sure if I would ever do that but I have all the plans to give my lifelong dream a very serious shot. And no, I refuse to get in the debate about poker being a sport!

Games People Play

Since I have some time on my hands, lemme think (with my fingers) on the reasons why I like playing poker. Of course like any other blog entry, this would have a long preface, followed by an even longer back story about he game. I would then beat around the bush aimlessly for a while, before I start uncovering the layers from the real reason why I am writing this. Finally after all the million words, I would write one line about it and then end it abruptly. And I know that once I read the draft after I have finished writing it, it would be about something else altogether.

So, here’s the preface.
I have always played card games as a kid, but most of those were those ~~Indian~~ British games like teen patti and seep. And then since these were played with family, betting was a strict no. Not even on Diwali when even the Marsians gamble. Cards was more of an excuse to stay indoors during those fiery summers. And since playing cards helped with maths and brains, parents encouraged and we played for long hours.

The long back story.
But despite playing cards for all those years, my first tryst with gambling happened at MDI in 2005. I was the founding member of the teen patti club. We played a lot of Flush during those two years. So much so that at point in time, we were playing almost everyday.

It was at MDI, I think this was the time when I first heard about Poker. It is apparently Warren Buffet’s and Bill Gates’ favorite card game. And since I am on a perpetual ape-the-intelligent mode, I had to learn the game. I read about it, tried playing it with a couple of friends but I dint really like it. I even played it with some guys from IIMA who I bumped into on a trek trip. But again, I dint like it. Like everything, one thing lead to another and I passed out of MDI. I forgot about it all till I went to a casino sometime in 2007 and I played some poker on a real table. I ended up winning some 10000 bucks and it felt awesome to have the extra cash. Not that I would make castles from the poker money but it was something I hadnt anticipated. And like all humans, I like surprises and I like extra moolah.

Beating around the bush.
I think that was the time when I told myself that I need to start playing poker again. And I think once I came back from Mumbai, I started playing poker seriously. Started playing it online and every offline opportunity that I got – read home games, casinos etc. I even entered into a couple of tournaments at Macau and Amsterdam (no I dint specifically go there to participate, I was there and hence I participated). Both places, I was out before I knew I was in. I ~~was that bad~~ am still that bad. Last time I was playing on a real table (I think Casino Prime in Goa), I started with 10k, went down to 3k, went up to 90k and finally ended the game with 12. I must have played for well over five hours. I made 2k in 6 hours. Mr. Ahluwalia and the planning commission he deputy-chairs would be disappointed. I am after all in the elite category of skilled labour.

Anyways, so I started playing poker seriously in 2009 and played it on and off. I never got around to allocating a particular time of the day to it but I do try and play when I can. I tried creating a couple of groups in Delhi that could help me find some home games but I realized that for most people, poker is a mere hobby. For me, poker is something that I want to pursue as a professional. I am not sure but from Daniel Negreanu‘s tweets, it sounds like awesome fun.

One line about the reason why I am writing this.
I could have summarized the entire post in a few bullet points. They would have been (in no particular order if read it top down and in decreasing order of importance if you read it bottom up)

I want to get rich!
I want to develop myself as an individual.
I like the unpredictability of the entire game.
I like the thrill and excitement of being on the poker table.
I want to play some sport at the professional level, even if its a mundane card game.

Abrupt end.
Anyways, I have been writing this for well over an hour. Enough. Blogger should actually create a feature that tracks the time that is spent on crafting a particular post. I would use it because it will tell me if I get my writing in the first attempt or I need revisions.And may be, some day bill some client for the time ;P

What I wanted to write about and what I wrote about.
I wanted to write about the reason why I play poker and this ended up being a bried biography. I think I suffer from, as Shatru puts it, verbal diarrhea. Oh, by the way, if you live in Delhi/NCR and are keen on poker home games, do write in. And if you arent, request you to please spread the word.

First post of 2012

I have been trying to write this for quite some weeks now. I started with thinking I would write about the year gone by and review all the posts. I started and could not finish it. Then I said I would talk about my most favorite post of the year. Again, I starting writing, and could not finish it. There were reasons and there were thoughts, too long to be constrained to a small blogpost. Then I said I would talk about why 2011 sucked so much and how I had been waiting for it for more than five years. But I couldn’t finish it.

But then I had to write something. After all I am an aspiring ~~writer~~ storyteller and I have to be able to ~~write well~~ tell compelling stories. Even if the stories are boring and mundane, I should be able to make them interesting by the way I tell them. And to be able to tell good stories, I realize that I need to write often. More I write, better I get (apparently) and hence this blog. And this post. Like Yogi says, “You can’t think and hit the ball at the same time”. I ought to hit, hit and hit.

Anyways, after the longish introduction, coming onto the first post of 2012, let me do something that is as cliches as white safari suit and white shoes. I shall talk about my resolutions for the year. Without further ado, here is a quick list.

Lose weight. This has to be the most common resolution. If I owned a gym, I would promptly drop the prices of memberships, get as many members to pay for it and then retire to Goa. And if all the people who have promised that they would lose weight, the sea level would actually drop!
Eat right. At least once a day. I plan to stop having dinner. Vipassana taught me how to live on two means a day (just a simple breakfast and lunch) and I was fine with it. I plan to do that. I will try and achieve it by end of January. I am not sure if I can but I will try hard.
Continue to not drink Coke. I stopped drinking coke in 2011. So far I have resisted the temptation to restart it but I will try to not have it as long as I could. I dont know if it does any harm to my health but I know any sort of addiction is uncalled for. And I know that once I start having coke, I would get hooked on. So why take a chance!
Get Leh’d. I have been dreaming about the trip for a long long time. I have made plans and failed. This year hopefully I would go to Leh. With sgElectra.
Play poker more seriously. I have been toying with it, off and on, for last two or so years. I have now reached a stage where I think I am an average player and I have a keen interest in the game. And with almost two years of non-serious play, I have developed a fair amount of understanding and gut for it. Its about time I capitalize on it. I plan to play more and hopefully goto more live games. But then this is something I am not too sure about. I dont have the money to invest that the game calls for.
Start making a lot of money. I have had the pleasure of chasing my dreams and working for companies that you don’t often associate management graduates with. Its been fun ride but as a result I have been left poor. Now that I am almost at my half life, I need to fend for myself. And I need to start making money. Btw, any recruitment placement hr consultants reading this (three keywords in one line ought to attract some bots)? I am a MDI graduate with almost 5 years of solid brand management and advertising experience. I just need a lot of money and I will sell my soul if I have to. You know where to reach me.
Ensure that all the resolutions listed above. 🙂

And ofcourse this is no way a complete list. I would keep adding things to it. 2012 could be the last year for us humans and I better make the best use of it. I need to live it up. And, if, by any chance, this is not the last year, I am sure having done these things would do no harm. It would only help. Right?

Take your pick!

Steve Jobs. I dont know the source.

Its one of those days when I want to write. I have no clue what direction would this post take and how would it end. But I want to write. And write till I am tired of typing on the really small HP Mini keypad.

So I can talk about my Poker addiction. I am not sure if it qualifies as an addiction yet but I tend to spend at least four hours everyday, almost everyday on playing online poker. No, I dont play with real money. I play with play money and play just the freerolls. Btw, I started a poker blog in 2009. Preflop.wordpress.com. Do check it out.

Or do I talk about the stupid rule that they have enforced in office where they check our bags every morning and evening. I have no clue how can they track all the times during the day when I leave the building and how would they even know if I stole something that is of no apparent value to the guard but still is an important asset.

I can also talk about my new found love AND hatred for Quora. Love the platform and love the fact that it allows me the chance discovery of things that I would have otherwise skipped. And hate for the latest feature that they call boards.

I may even talk about my latest quirk where I window shop for… jobs! Something told me to create a profile on Naukri.com and ever since I did that, I have been flooded with ~~job offers~~ interview calls that promise me a salary package starting at 10K a month and going upto “best in the industry”. Some expect me to have my own two vehicle with a valid drivers license. And for the advantage of all the consults who look at my profile on naukri.com, I am not looking out right now. Unless you offer me a three time salary. And your client allows me to keep a beard.

Or I can talk about my wallpaper that changes every 10 minutes. It ensures that there is something new to see every time I goto the desktop. And all these are the images that I have gathered over time, in a folder called imagesBank. These are the ones that I save and then never go back to. With these images on loop, I get to see these. Serendipity anyone? Like right now, its Steve Jobs sitting on a swing. Attached above for easy reference. I have no clue what would it be next time I go the desktop.

I can also talk about recent spurt in activity on twitter (I am @saurabh there). Not that I am jobless again but it just means that I am now back to being what I was three years back. Pseudo social. Trying to track some interesting people and hopefully making their acquaintance. Why would I do that? I dont know. I love quoting Joker on this. So much so that its my twitter profile. It goes… “Like The Joker says… A guy without a plan. A dog chasing cars. Wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught one. I just… do things.”. So I do things. I just do them.

I may also want to talk about my latest project. Offbeat Mag. But then it will be too immature to talk about it. I am not really sure what I want to do with it. I shall talk about it eventually. Right now, let it be what it is. An experiment.

Thats it I guess for the time being. My fingers are freezing. Lemme get them some sun. And now that I have given you, dear readers, so many options to chose from, pray tell me what would you want to know more details about and I shall try and come up with a brilliant post!

Hi, Poker.

Been some time since I picked a major hobby. Now sounds like a good time. And what better than Poker.

I was first introduced to poker way back in 2005 when I went to a trek with few classmates from MDI. There we met some guys from IIMA and they apparently were big on poker. We played for a while and it seemed interesting. Back from the trek, read bits about it and then lost interest as poker required other players and all.

Fast forward to 2009. Now that I work for myself, I have some bit of free time. And I plan to use this time in picking up a new hobby. Poker sounds like a good one. It teaches you discipline, odds, patientce, respect for competition, history, maths and lots of other things.

Kick started things by downloading these two (1, 2) documentaries on poker and starting this FB group. Any takers anyone?

And if this is a convincing enough a reason, WEB and Bill apparently are kick-ass poker players. May be I get to rub shoulders with them on a green table? 🙂