you gotta know when to fold 'em

i played texas hold' em poker last night. didn't lose my shirt, but still lost. my game was off, and i made many poor choices. basically i played crappy. it's a cool game though...and there's something about playing with strangers that makes the game oh so different! it reminded me of the times when i used to play in the poker room in reno hotels like circus circus or harrah's.

i wasn't even 21 (had a fake id) when I started playing at casino poker rooms. if there's no wait, you just walk up to an empty seat at a table and buy in for some chips. starting off was always nerve racking! as you wait for the dealer to count out your chips, you can feel everyone sizing you up...even if for just a second. we're talking cowboys, a few asians, old ladies, truckers, all kinds of people, and most of 'em were much older than me.

haha! just thinking of it cracks me up...there i was...just shy of 20, sitting at a poker table with strangers who were usually 40+. i was still smoking at the time, and if you passed by the poker section, you would have seen little o' me, with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth and a glass of scotch in front of me, trying to out fox total strangers of their money.

One good thing about poker is that you choose when you play. if you make the right choices, you can make your money last and play for quite a while. $20 could last me 2-4 hours back then.

i don't gamble too much anymore, which is good cuz i've got mcuh better things to spend my money on...like little baby cruz!