Category: Poker

Philosophy Weekend: Because War is a Form of Language

It’s because words are such effective tools of communication that we sometimes fail to realize how often we communicate without them. A conversation is sometimes a physical exchange. These conversations carry meaning that can only exist in the physical realm.

We signify to each other with words, with gestures, with … Read the rest

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Colson Whitehead’s Gloomy Game

I was nothing but psyched when I heard that postmodern novelist Colson Whitehead was writing a book about poker. Sure sounded like a great idea to me.

Whitehead is a clever, acidic satirist with a gift for inventive situations and touching emotional connections. Can he write? Absolutely — novels like … Read the rest

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Gettysburg 150: Longstreet and Lee and the Quintessential Battle

What happens when an irresistible force meets an unmovable object? In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 150 years ago, 51,000 people died or were severely wounded.

I’m in Gettysburg now, soaking in the historical moment with Civil War buffs, reenactors, curious locals, traveling families, bikers, historians, writers, artists, unidentifiable visitors from North and … Read the rest

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Beats & Blues & Poker

I’m psyched to be included in an impressive series of interviews about the Beat Generation conducted by Michael Limnios at Blues @ Greece, a Greek web publication devoted to underground music and culture.


I particularly like the question Michael asked me about Beat writers and poker (which shows that … Read the rest

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Philosophy Weekend: Cognitive Bias Gone Wild

Okay, enough about what the US Supreme Court’s historic ruling to uphold Obamacare means for the country. Let’s talk about what our reaction told us about us. It sure was a strange reaction.

The decision was scheduled to be announced on Thursday morning, June 28, starting at 10:am. The first … Read the rest

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Why I Wrote A Book About Poker

I’ve played poker all my life. I learned five card draw as a kid, and moved up to seven card stud in college. During the late 1990s, I started to hear about Texas Hold ‘Em from my older brother Gary, a serious player who won a few tournaments around Foxwoods, … Read the rest

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