Survivor and Poker

Right now I feel somewhat guilty because I'm sitting in my sister and her husband's living room watching their television, typing on their notebook computer, and dirtying up their dishes.

I'm watching all the shows from the past week that I haven't watched. I'm watching a bunch of slackers, and schemers cooking up plans to cheat each other in order to win a million dollars. Now I'm not mortally wounded by the devious nature of the show. I don't mind watching it develop over the weeks. I'm not insulted by the stock characters, or the shallowness of the events. I just find it funny in the same way I find "The Price is Right" funny. What makes it all the funnier for me is that these people are not playing for a million dollars. After they are taxed, the prize certainly is not a million dollars. Though the "celebrity" endorsements are much more valuable than the prize money, those are available for everyone making the whole prize seem rather moot.

Last night I played poker again at the same bar I was at last week. Out of 38 people this week I, again, made it to the final table, and I finished fourth. I had pocket 10s and the flop was 45Q. After he checked on the post flop betting, I knew he didn't have the Queen and so I went all in for 16500. He called with a pair of fours. He hit his Jack on the turn and the river came up 2. I lost out, but at that stage of the game with a strong hand I had to make my move. Oh well. Two final tables in my first two weeks is pretty good, I think.

Poker's a funny game. You can study mannerisms and have amazing cards every hand, but there's no substitute for luck. It's a game where you can win or lose based on dumb luck. It happens to the best and it happens to the worst. It's a funny thing because no matter how often you practice, how much of math genius you are, or how many books you read, you can still win or lose a free tournament for a stupid t-shirt or a billion dollars because of chance.