by Max on Saturday, June 27, 2009
Sure, I enjoy a solid, friendly poker game now and again. I have some Paulson’s Top Hat & Cane chips (pictured), some KEM playing cards, and a home made poker table to slide those cards across. Always a good time and worth the effort. So, six of us played a quick Texas Hold’em style tourney with a $20 buy-in gets you $1500 in chips. With a standard blind structure and a timer provided by DD Poker, things were off and running. About three hours in, I’d amassed a significant chip lead and only one player threatened as we moved into heads-up action. However, it didn’t take long. A couple of bad decisions later and a cold run of cards, I found myself on the short stack. The killing blow came with the final hand of the night where, on an all-in bet, I showed two pair while my opponent nailed a straight. Tough beat but that is poker.
by Max on Friday, June 26, 2009
I’ve been an avid golf fan for years. Picked it up while overseas and brought it back home with me. I have a middle-class set of clubs, some old but fabulous technology in my hybrids, driver and woods, and a putter that finally made me happy. All in all, I enjoy the game; however, I was recently bitten by the golf bug all over again.
Watching the US Open, hosted at Bethpage Black in New York, was a wonderful event. Though some of the early action was rained out, the weekend and the final Monday round was brilliant. Even though I was actively pulling for Mickleson (due to his wife’s recent cancer diagnosis and him being an all-around nice guy) and Duval (how can you not root for this underdog?), I was pretty impressive with Lucas Glover, the eventual winner by two strokes over Mickleson and Duval.
In the second major on the PGA tour this year, Glover kept it together and managed to squeak out a rock solid victory. Meanwhile, his playing partner, Barnes, succumbed to the pressure and lost his game amidst the constant cameras, the huge crowds, and multiple wayward shots. I have to hand it to Glover, he held his mud in the pressure cooker of the US Open and earned his victory. Well done.
