Ok, first you need to know that I am a sicko, if it’s the newest techno gadget sign me up.  Unfortunately most of them ending being duds mostly because they aren’t user friendly and end up in my basement closet (which I am sure my wife would like me to clean).  So today I am driving by the AT&T store, I knew this was the day but I just wanted to see the anticipation and sure enough there was a line.  This was at 1pm; they would sell them at 6pm.  We need a new cell phone and it was between the Iphone and the Blackberry Curve.  I kind of feel for the Blackberry Curve, cool phone, but its like that Robin Williams’s movie being released on the same day The Transformers is being released, it just had no chance.  After no luck convincing people to stand in line for me I rescheduled my hair cut and decided I would play some online poker while waiting in line, people seemed to get a kick out of that.  I got there at 2pm and the time flew by, the people in line were all very smart tech savvy people, my kind of crowd.

Also, the people at AT&T were outstanding making us feel comfortable while we waited.  They had a stage and they blew us all away with how they handled the situation.  They made sure we had beverages and candy; everyone was thrilled with their service.

Activating the phone was easier than you would expect, like 4 screens and boom your phone is ready to go.  I first called my wife, and then I called my assistant, both of which said they couldn’t hear me, not a good start.  Then I tried to get online and it was unmercifully slow.  Strike 2.  I went online for a short tutorial and got some tips on how to scroll and set up my email and such, and then I found one of the coolest features, IT IS WIFI ENABLED.  Soon I was blazing on the interweb; this is likely the coolest feature of everything on the phone.  I have not had this function on a phone previously and it will sure make trips to the coffee shop a lot more enjoyable.

It really is for surfing, the keyboard is a little small long ways (I haven’t figured out how to do it sideways yet) but since it automatically imports from outlook most of my emails and phone numbers are already in the phone.  Overall I am really happy with my purchase and up to this point it was well worth the wait.

The phone was supposed to be for my wife but it looks like she’ll be inheriting my Blackberry.

I always knew that I was from the coolest place on earth (New Orleans, Louisiana), that is until Katrina hit. Nothing is more uncool than poor people left out on the street and all of the stories have basically killed tourism in New Orleans. I now live in Minnesota, I have for 20 years, people often ask why and I give them this funny stare like “please, there has to be a woman involved, right?” Otherwise why would you leave the coolest place on earth? Last night I went to a tribute to Duke Ellington performed by an octet including Branford and Delfeayo Marsalis. Music is such an important part of my life because it allows me to stay present, to feel some of the joy that New Orleans has inspired moved me a bit and took me out of my day to day.

This weekend I am headed about 30 minutes north of Duluth, MN to get some R&R before the main event. I am extremely confident in my game at this moment. I have been playing a lot of sit and go’s lately on Full Tilt and even though my results haven’t been stellar I feel like my heads up game is quite good. For some reason every time I play a $500 Heads up sit and go I get fancy play syndrome and lose my patience. That is a credit to my opponents. If I were to stick with $200’s I would probably be up 6k for the last 3 days. I have really found no one that just blows me away at those levels. I am likely going to write a strategy article on how I play those so keep a look out for that.

I also have a new Vespa, well I have had it for about a month, but the weather is just getting real nice to drive it more. It also allows me to stay in the “now” because loss of focus could be real bad. I am also motivated to get out of the house and quit doing “work for works sake”, which is good for my attitude and demeanor.

After last year’s Final Table in the $50k HORSE event was loaded with some of the biggest names in the history of poker, ESPN decided to dramatically expand its coverage of the event. After all, there was a ton of marketability in the 20+ bracelets, the names (Brunson, Reese, Ivey, Cloutier) and the hype that these were obviously the best players in the world.

Well, this year is a new story, and highlights the variance that takes place for one single tournament. Out of this final table:

Seat 1 - Kenny Tran - 2,445,000
Seat 2 - David Singer - 1,330,000
Seat 3 - Bruno Fitoussi - 895,000
Seat 4 - John Hanson - 1,995,000
Seat 5 - Freddy Deeb - 3,500,000
Seat 6 - Thor Hansen - 40,000
Seat 7 - Amnon Filippi - 4,015,000
Seat 8 - Barry Greenstein - 750,000

…there is ONE bracelet (Greenstein, for Deuce-to-Seven three years ago). The only returning final tablist, Singer, is the one with the least camera presence. Deeb and Filippi are names known to the serious poker fan…but that’s not the audience that ESPN is catering to. And even I know almost nothing about Tran, Fitoussi, Hanson and Hansen.

As ESPN edits the footage, it’s possible that they can create some stars here…but that’s not the point of the “Players World Championship”. The stars were supposed to be ready-made. This event will be an interesting test of ESPN’s commitment to showing non-NLHE tournaments.

In every Las Vegas casino, there lies a room for slot players that is the equivalent of Bobi’s Room for the highest limit poker players. In these rooms gamblers have the chance to win and lose thousands of dollars with the simple push of a button or pull of the handle. Your typical Las Vegas slot player is the type that probably shows up with $500 and a players card. These are the type you hear in the buffet line speaking about how they start with $100 each day in their left pocket, and the precede to put any winnings into their right pocket.

In all honesty if you are going to Las Vegas in this day and age with only $500 to spend, allow me to make a suggestion, Go to the Moonlight Bunny Ranch and look up Bunny Love. This will be such a better investment than sitting at the same 25 cent Red,White, and Blue machine waiting to strike it rich. Plus you’ll have a memory that you’ll never forget. Whatever you do though, avoid Airforce Amy at the ranch, she looks like she could be a real crazy bitch if you caught her coked up or on the wrong day.

Anyhow, back on to the high limit slot talk. Most of these Las Vegas tourists stroll past the high limit slots and wonder, “Who would actually play those things”. **Hand raised** I’m actually not a regular high limit slot player, but I would say I dabble in the field a bit more than anyone else. My high limit slot degeneracy all started in 2004 when I hit a $10 spin for $30,000. I’ve never been right since then.

But here are my thoughts on all this. Usually I don’t mess with the high limit slots unless I am up a dime or so, usually from poker. Now most professional poker players would frown upon this as they would see it as a “mini T.J. Cloutier move.” But with me, I am not trying to grow or conserve my bankroll……hell I don’t even have one. I am not a professional gambler, I am not a business man either. I AM a business………..man.

When I went out with my buddy Marc I was mentioning a hand I played with a pretty high profile guy and Marc said “yeah, I heard he was broke, so that should explain why he was playing so low.” Then he said the funniest thing I have heard in a while, “how the hell do I know that and more importantly why do I care, every year the WSOP just allows you to catch up on the poker gossip”.

There are a couple of things hurting everyone, the UIEGA didn’t help but Full Tilt’s higher limit games have broken more than a few people. Golf is another, it always seems the money with golf flows a certain way. Anyone who plays high stakes golf and poker likely knows what I mean. The nice guys seem to take the biggest losses.

Also the way people loan money in Vegas is unreal, that is probably the biggest reason everyone is broke. I was in town less than a day and I got hit up for about 70k, one of the guys asking I not only don’t know but I don’t know anyone that does know him. He is likely incredibly good for the money but I have been on the wrong end of too many of these in the past. Forget the fact that I didn’t have it.

One of the funniest stories was from a guy that plays in the 4000-8000 game. Apparently he needed a loan and one of the new internet guys had some money to loan but asked for a specific date to be repaid, which miffed the high limit guy. Well, the internet guy decided to ask him to do some promotions for a site he owns and in turn he would let the guy repay the loan over a longer time period, the guy literally got pissed at him. Apparently in Vegas you are entitled to people loaning you money and them asking you for any type of favor related to that money is out of the question. In his defense the guy is reported to have over 5 million out to various debtors himself.

Numb/Encore (Explicit Version) by Linkin Park

We are going to soon unveil a strategy section that will be a bit different from what most other sites do. This is an example of what those articles will look like. It’s always been said that no poker book can accurately describe how to teach people because all situations are different. This section will be a lot of information over time but I am hoping it will develop into something where people can write various articles that contradict one another and debate playing styles.

I would classify mid limits as any level 10-20 to 30-60, though many people would argue that 30-60 is a big jump and they are probably right. The biggest difference is that at 10-20 or 15-30 people are more transparent. Even the good players do not really disguise their hands very well. LIMIT POKER IS ABOUT EXTRACTING THE MOST BETS WHILE GIVING UP THE LEAST BETS. So if you are betting a player out of a hand when you have top pair you are playing wrong. Said differently losing with the best hand is more OK in limit poker because over time you should be OK with the variance. In a sense you want them to see the river.

I don’t play PokerStars that often but recently a friend sent me some money so I decided to give them a little play. Normally I like to play 30-60 up to 100-200 but I believe when you have money on a site you should play stakes that relate to that bankroll. He sent me 9k, so I played 15-30 or 300 big bets. Also when I begin playing at a new site I like to feel out the player base a bit so I am limiting myself to 1 hour sessions HU to short handed and a $500 swing either way. This is more or less an experiment but is important research when playing at a new site. At FTP for instance I will play up to 2 tables at 50-100 and will allow myself 2 hours if the conditions are right, anything more than that and I feel that my play drops off.

Let me give you an example of a recent hand and how I remember it, I will attempt to give as many details as possible as to how I was thinking throughout the hand.

I hold AQ, suits didn’t matter and they often don’t heads up, heads up is a game of position and hitting your cards. If you run cold HU Limit poker can be brutal, the same can not be said for No Limit Holdem because you are not as likely to play as aggressive with marginal draws and such because the cost to you is more extreme. In Limit poker it is just one more bet. My opponent 3 bet me and I capped it before we saw a flop.

The flop came K 5 3 and he led out and I raised, there are many reasons why I would raise here. What would he three bet me out of the Big Blind with? I don’t really know the player at this point so I tend to give players like that some credit but realize that I will need more info and this could be the hand to do that. There is also a ton of money in the pot so gaining control of the pot and using my position is important. He three bets the flop and I call. The turn brings a Q, he leads and I raise, he then three bets.

Here is the board K 5 3 Q, he either has a King or a big draw or he is overplaying a hand like 10’s, which you can never rule out. The river is a blank, he leads and I call and he shows me K 7, just about what I thought. Clearly I did not take a bad beat but I went on to crush this guys soul based on how he played this hand and other subsequent hands like second pair. The issue isn’t how he/she played this hand the issue is he/she played every hand in this manner so it made it easy for me to know when to save bets and usually when I bet and he re-raised, if I had a strong holding I was going to be able to max the bets from this player. This of course isn’t the easiest player you will encounter but its pretty dog gone close. The only easier player really doesn’t happen often heads up, if you play heads up part of the price of admission is being willing to be aggressive with the money in front of you. Which is one of the reasons why HU at 15-30 and 10-20 is so profitable, another reason is that they are good move up levels for people beating levels like 5-10 or even stuck at those levels.

If you look at the hand in question the only way he was able to extract extra bets from me was because I hit my Queen. Later in the match that Queen would have been an easy laydown as an example.

One of the reasons for this form of strategy guide is that in poker most things depend. I could play this same guy tomorrow with a completely different set of analysis but in general my point is spot on. The reason people have trouble beating higher limits is because they are too transparent.

Everything by Michael Buble

Working in the poker industry for the last 5+ years it has become clear to me that barely anyone, myself included has appreciation for the value of money. I have thought about this often over the years, but even more so lately. The subject was fresh on my mind again after an incident yesterday on the golf course. The shaft on my Tight Lies 3 wood snapped in mid swing! This in itself is pretty amazing considering my club head speed is that of an 80 year old man.

Anyways when I went to the pro shop afterwards I found myself pondering if it was really worth spending an EXTRA $45 for the premium graphite shafts. What the hell is the matter with me. The night before I played in a $50 sit and go, donked out first, and thought nothing of it. By no means am I a big player like some of the other bloggers here, but I have had my fair share of swings in the $1k - $4k range for a single session. Luckily I am at a stage in my professional life that a few swings like this once in a while are not going to make a difference in my net worth or lifestyle. The fact that I can win or lose this much without feeling any pain, makes a $45 decision about a golf club so negligible. Yet somehow it still troubled me on why I didn’t just say, “yep gimme the best shaft you have.”

It’s just bizarre to me how poker players can win or lose what is some other people’s 2 week paychecks in a single session. Yet when we have to deal with money in the real world we can fret over decisions that are $100 or less.

I think many poker players that play at any level over $2-$4 are like me and have delusional views of the value of money. For instance, if you lost your $215 buyin playing in the Sunday Million, would you pissed off all day? Probably not, as you expected this was likely to happen. Now let’s say your wife came home and showed you her manicure/pedicure and knew hairdo that she got done on a whim, with a price tag of $215. Most guys would be like wtf? Actually maybe not, (letting your wife spend freely on herself is such +EV for later on in the evening.) But you can see the rationale here….Either way it is $215. Why is different if it leaves your possession at a poker table versus somewhere in the real world.

On the topic of the value of money, it just baffles me when I hear people speaking about saving 10% on a $20 item, and that’s why they waited to purchase. Or the people that drive 8 extra miles to save .05 a gallon on gas. Somehow though, more people in the U.S. have this mindset than the mindset most gamblers have. Although I suppose these people also don’t know the feeling of either winning or losing $1000 in 1 hour playing a game on the internet.

All in all, my conclusion is that we all need to seek a few sessions with Dr. Melfi and get our heads screwed on straight when it comes to the value of a dollar in the real world versus the poker world.

Most people know me from p5’s and as far as I was concerned until they came along RGP and 2+2 were the only options. Until I met Nick, he is the administrator of Cardschat and what really separates them from the pack is his effort. The strategy section on his site is second to no other site out there. While most forums become negative often cardschat seems to be less so and I find it refreshing.

If you want to take a break from all the bickering that often accompanies poker forums give cardschat.com a try (or at the very least make use of their strategy section).

Recently they put up an interview from Daniel Negreanu and it wasn’t the same standard fare interview that we have become used to. These guys are real fans of poker and that shines through when you visit their site.

I have known Hoyt since 2003, the weekend he won Foxwoods I was supposed to share a room with him (he only went last minute, having to convince himself), personal obligations didn’t allow me to go but that tournament turned Hoyt into a household name.  Why Hoyt? Well mostly because he is about the nicest guy you will ever meet.  He is also a world class player; the thing that makes Hoyt so different also makes him look silly occasionally.  That type of deception is what separates the merely good from the best at times. 

I have been frustrated over the last 4 years watching Hoyt win over 3 million dollars and literally never get invited to anything.  The TOC where he placed second to Matusow he had to qualify for, and he has never played in the heads up tournament on NBC.  To a certain extent you could argue that nice guys finish last and that would apply for Hoyt, no one is screaming his name and he, of course, would never do so.

Hoyt has become great friends with the Brunson family and I think that is great because both parties are the epitome of class.  Congrats buddy on your second WSOP bracelet.

So, I haven’t blogged for a while, mostly due to waiting so my blogs will be posted on the new site that has decided they wanted me as a blogger. It seems as if there will be some very good things happening with this site. I’m not sure exactly what I can say yet about it, but as soon as it can be public knowledge, I’m sure they will post up the great news, so stay tuned to the site!

My last blog on my site - BoostedJ.com, was quite a while ago. I believe it was right before I took a road trip from Orlando, FL all the way to Las Vegas with my fiancee Anita. We made a few stops along the way. The first stop was New Orleans to scope out the scene there and listen to a little Jazz music for a few hours. We stayed in Baton Rouge the first night. We then continued all the way to Ft. Worth, Texas where we stayed at Durrrr and Raptor’s “poker pad”. They have a very nice house which includes a full 15 person seating home theatre, state of the art computers and monitors, pool table, pool, and it seems like groups of sorority girls just like to spontaneously come over and hang out too! The third night we stayed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which didn’t seem like much at all. On our last day of traveling, we stopped at the Grand Canyon for some scenic view and there was a two hour backup at the Hoover Dam which you must cross over to get into Las Vegas, so we saw that plenty as well.

The first few nights I arrived in Las Vegas, I stayed with a few friends of mine: Dustin “neverwin” Woolf, Mike “MadCaddy” McKenna, Mark “newhizzle” Newhouse, and Mike’s friend Steve-O at Dustin’s Las Vegas home. As soon as the house Anita and I set up to rent was ready and furnished, we moved over there, since we had our dog shipped out here so she could be with us for the three weeks we were going to be out here for.

One of the first days I was here we really got into a full blown animal degenerate golfing match that included: Neverwin, Joe Cassidy (Nizot Skared on FTP), Newhizzle, and high stakes limit professional and the 2006 Aruba Classic champion Devon “Savagegamble” Miller. Of course there were bets made with a few guys winning and losing thousands of dollars but what else is new, at least I was a winner

Along with golfing numerous times out here, I’ve had a few medical problems that have still persisted that I’ve done my best to take care of. We have also gone to see a lot of the shows out here. I decided with this trip that moving to Las Vegas over Miami would probably be the best choice so that is what we are planning to do following our wedding. Cheaper schooling for Anita, cheaper real estate, more entertainment, more people I know, and of course the yummy restaurants!

My plans for today will probably include dinner, a show on the strip, and possibly golf in an hour or two. The golf courses out here are absolutely amazing; their scenery as well as the shape they are kept in.

I’ll start writing frequently again now so be sure to check in regularly.

There was recently a confrontation during a WSOP prelim event between online pro Aaron Been and Poker Stars pinup girl Vanessa Rousso. Vanessa slowplayed trip Aces on the flop, then got away from the hand when she read (correctly) that her opponent made a 2-out full house on the turn. Aaron, who was at the table but not involved in the hand, proceeded to tell Vanessa how bad she played the hand, and how bad she is in general. Both sides of the story can be found in a message board thread here.

Being the mature, grown-up, professional poker player that she is, Rousso addressed the problem by running to her boyfriend, Chad Brown. Brown, being the level-headed long-time poker player familiar with every angle-shoot and Hollywood grandstand in the book, responded by chasing Been down during a break and threatening him with physical harm and/or being barred from the premises.

When it comes to professional at the highest echelons of their sport, you would expect everyone to know what’s going on. Nope. Not this time. Aaron should know to keep his fucking mouth shut…why give Vanessa a reason to bear down and play better to prove him wrong? If she’s a bad player, she’ll donate her chips soon enough. Rousso should know he’s just trying to get a rise out of her. By reacting the way she did this time, all she accomplished is to invite 10 guys to try it the next time. Brown should know that all Aaron was doing was yapping to invite a tilting response, and tell his girl to knock it off if she’s not smart enough to figure that out. Instead, he tells the poker world that you can tilt BOTH of them if you go after Vanessa.

The beauty of online poker is that the gambling community is being flooded with people who have no clue how to carry themselves while gambling.

Finally I have found a home to blog my inner most thoughts……well actually probably more random B.S. than anything. I have been looking for a spot to blog for quite some time now. When my friend Beanie started up this site, I figured AlwaysBluff would be the perfect spot.

Many people might find it odd that I wouldn’t blog on one of my own sites considering I have too many to count now days. However the problem with writing a blog on a site like PAW is there is too much politics. Imagine if I ripped one of my affiliate partners on my own site. Likewise all my posts would have to pertain to poker affiliate jargon, and that could get quite boring.

As an introductory blog post, I suppose I could share who I am. Although I guess it would be funner to just post and let you (the reader) figure it out. Some of you may remember a guy in 2005 that was going to play in the WSOP dressed as a pink bunny. Well as much as I hate to admit it, that dumb ass was me.

To say this is a unique day as I wake up is an understatement, I showed up in Vegas on July 5^th 2007 and now I am surrounded by friends and family as ESPN is beginning to film the final table.  Since I can’t get back to sleep I figured I would write my account of how things have gone so far and interesting hands I encountered along the way.  I am 2^nd in chips to Jared “TheWacoKidd” Hamby, who is a huge favorite going into the final day but ironically so am I.  I went from unknown to well known in the course of 2 weeks.  Suddenly everyone remembers my struggle, my fight to make it as a profitable player and all of the sacrifices along the way.  My dream was never to make the final table or even have a bracelet, when I first got serious all I ever wanted to do was play the WSOP.

First let me say that the WSOP does not crown the best player in poker every year and I doubt it won’t today.  I would love to tell you I won’t fall into the trappings of other players that suddenly got an itch to play in “The Big Game” at the Bellagio or begin playing $50,000 hands of blackjack just to attempt to recreate the rush of today.  Right now, I get why, this is excitement times 10, I am amazed that my senses have been so keen once I took the chip lead from Allen Cunningham.  A lot of people like to claim that they didn’t get lucky along the way and I suppose I could as well but in this hand I needed to catch up to the best hand (though in my defense I was the about even money).  I was playing pretty fast and loose, so I raised under the gun with 5c6c, Allen raised me from the Big Blind and I called, this was day three and we were both in the top ten but Allen was the chip leader and he was cruising.  The events were almost a blur, I picked up a combo draw and I managed to have all of my chips in the middle of the pot while Allen is trying to pick my brain on what I have.  I didn’t really know what to do so I just shut my mouth and Allen sees right through me.  He calls with Aces and the Ace of clubs.  The river makes my straight and with little fan fare I was the chip leader for about 10 minutes until John Phan made a straight flush against quads against some poor guy from Toledo.

Other than early on where I got some great momentum I have been effectively managing the tournament to this point, picking on the shorties, knowing who is trying to inch up the money and more importantly who isn’t.  My wife has been great; she managed all the travel of my family and friends.  Hoyt Corkins and Scott Fischman have been sent from god; they have been here before and are a nice crutch to lean on, it also seems to be psyching out a few players which is a nice added benefit.  Unfortunately, there are many other pros that seem to want to pretend to be giving me advice, meanwhile they are just looking for a little more camera time than usual.  I have told my wife to be on the lookout for a few people and she has been instructed to use security if necessary.  This is my moment, I want to spend it with friends and family not some broke TV poker star trying to hawk their  latest book.

To be honest I have nerves, I also feel I will win today, I played with Jared the last 2 days and I studied his hand histories at crucial moments in big tournaments online (thanks Bobby), I doubt he has that information on me.  Overall he is running things over but I expect the play to loosen considerably, 9^th place pays $756,000, so it’s not about the money anymore and I expect some guys (or gal) to come out swinging.  But you never really know with that, so I am going to just keep playing the situations like my instincts tell me.  There is a lot of play left and the blinds and antes are at a comfortable level.  Mostly, I have played small ball and will likely continue with that approach of calling in position with deceptive hands that can bust a player if it hits.

Other than Jared and I the table is literally a microcosm of the world there is a software engineer originally from India that lives in Pennsylvania.  A 21 year old kid from the Bahamas that entered on his 21^st birthday, so if he wins he will be the youngest ever to win and the discussion will go to hours and not days. A plumber from Nebraska, a couple of internet wiz kids that have had some success and lastly the second woman ever to make a final table at the WSOP, she got in through a freeroll that she played while her kids were in school. 

Whatever happens today no one will be able to take this experience from me and I can finally have a decent answer for the question I have heard often, “have you ever been on TV playing poker”.  Yes, now I have.

Work is not the goal, life is the goal. As most people know in most organization’s they are expendable. You should view your employers as expendable as well.

All of your life is a negotiation. If you are uncomfortable negotiating you will struggle with life.

Don’t negotiate out of boredom and being known as “The Negotiator” is not a flattering term.

“No hassle sales” means you didn’t get the best deal and sometimes that’s OK.

Smart people are typically successful.

People too smart over think things and paralyze their usefulness. They are also very susceptible to psychosis. Too much time in your brain is unhealthy.

Alone time is important, spending that alone time without occupying your mind is an incredibly difficult thing to do.

If you are dieting motivation is a big key so exercise in the morning. Not only will it start your body burning fat immediately but if you weigh yourself you will see that your weight will actually decrease a significant amount depending on your level of exertion. Boxers and wrestlers have known this for years.

Traveling (air flights) and returning on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s is not only cheaper but the plane is often less crowded.

Make an attempt to speak the language when you are in a foreign country and people will give you credit for being a decent human being.

Schedule time with your family that doesn’t get interrupted, also give your children some alone time. TV and computers are good in small consumption; it gives children a way to decompress.

If you make $150 an hour and you cut your own grass you are not as smart as you think you are. People will cut your grass for $25 and they can get it done in ¼ of the time and will do a better job than you.

Racism exists because people are uncomfortable with people that are different from themselves. It’s natural, everyone is a racist.

To treat people unfairly because they are different than you is wrong and immoral.

Google ranks you better if people link to you with a higher Page Rank than you.

People won’t link to you if it takes money away from them typically.

Digg’s page rank is higher than mine that is why I submitted this article. And so did everyone else on the front page, keep that in mind, you are always being sold something by someone and that is a negotiation.

My site has no advertisements (yet). It’s a site about life that predominantly gamblers visit.

The majority of people gamble responsibly.

Being home this week, I’ve gotten to watch Bob Barker’s last few episodes of “The Price is Right”. The show has had an imprint on American culture for 30+ years, but I hadn’t seen very many episodes since I was a kid on summer break. So I watched with great interest, primarily for the historical importance. But I learned something.

I watched a guy who had made a living for 50+ years on TV by being the nicest, most genial, unimposing person in the room. His schtick was repetitive, his jokes corny, his clothes well-fit but completely uninteresting. If he wasn’t Bob Barker, you’d never know he was there. You enjoyed watching him, but he never made you think, “Wow, if I was putting together my dream dinner party, I’d have to include Bob Barker” (unless, of course, you’re Mrs. Barker).

But you see, that’s the genius of it. Regardless of what kind of guy he was behind the scenes, no matter how many model asses he’s been reputed to have grabbed, when he’s doing his job, you want to like him. However, he’s not the focus of attention. He’s smart enough to let the action swirl around him, only stepping in to keep things moving along and do his job.

You can do that as a gambler too. James Acquaintance told me a lot about being completely neutral…be nice, have people like you…but don’t stand out as a target. The job, whether it’s hosting a game show, shooting pool, or playing poker, isn’t about you and your personality. It’s about the money. Bob Barker made a phenomenal living knowing this. That skill (and the fact that he may or may not have nailed Dian Parkinson when she was smokin’ hot) is something to admire and learn from.