Chip jockey extraordinaire

As many of you may already know, I rather enjoy the game of poker. Primarily Texas Hold 'Em (but not exclusively). Not hardcore or anything - I'm not addicted to on-line tournaments and the World Poker Tour on TV or anything - just every once in a while with family and friends. Luckily, I've twice had the occasion recently to partake in this fun pastime.

Occasion #1 was last Saturday (August 29) at my dear friends' Leslie & Noel's place. A friendly, informal affair - just some university students (both former and current) battling it out for nickels. 'Twas good fun. Had lots of laughs, punctuated by good-natured insults and put-downs. Bandied about numerous Simpsons, Family Guy and Arrested Development references and jokes. Ended the night with a profit of 80 cents. Hooray! Such an accomplishment! Most remarkable was my unusual ability to win hands after the final flop. By some odd miracle, I was often able to get the desired card(s) right at the end, when victory seemed improbable. Even more amusing was Noel's mounting frustration at this phenomenon. Often robbed him of what he perceived to be certain triumph. When he had the King, I almost always had the Ace! Too funny! Also atypical - I'm not normally that lucky. Oh well, you know what they say about gift horses and mouths... Overall, though, was an enjoyable evening!

Occasion #2 was last night here in C.P. Over at my friend Matt's house playing with a bunch of high school buddies. Equally friendly, informal and fun. Even more foul language was freely used, given the fact that we've all been friends for nearly a decade. Higher stakes this time around - we each put in five dollars per game. Was out fairly early in the first game. Actually won the second game, though! Again, I was atypically lucky... Master of the flop once more, for some inexplicable reason. Kept managing to get the right card(s) towards the end of the hand. The river was generous... Surprised me as much as it did the other guys. Also, whenever my chip count got perilously low, I found that using "blitzkrieg" (or perhaps kamikaze) tactics often paid dividends: I would go all in for the hand, betting all my remaining chips - the end result being that it either scared the other players into folding, or that I miraculously had the winning hand anyway. Oh, the things they called me whenever that happened... :-) It was all in good fun, though. Left with a net winnings total of $15! Woo-hoo! Next stop: Vegas! (Yeah, right... ;-)