Oblivion

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Tabitha, Frank, and Scott.

Subject: Oblivious

It’s early afternoon on Tuesday. Tabitha and Ann are headed to Starbucks to get some coffee and see Scott at work.

“I’m in the mood for one of those syrupy, sugary frappachinos.”

“You’re still on a sugar high from Halloween aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I think so. The candy’s almost gone though, and then I can fight through the sugar crash and be okay I think.”

“I’m going to get a hot chocolate. Those new ones are very good.”

“Yes, they certainly are.”

“Hey look, Frank’s here!” Tabitha says, as they walk in.

“Hey Frank! What are you up to?”

“Hi there ladies. Nothing very interesting. Normal poker stuff, chasing this fish..”

“You remember to vote?”

“Vote? Crap..today’s election day?”

“How could you not realize it’s election day? Are you really that oblivious?”

“I haven’t really been paying much attention to anything but work lately. Well, work and beer.”

Scott jogs over, and skids to a stop. “Hi guys. I don’t know how you didn’t realize Frank..there has been so much election talk here today..I’m so sick of it.”

“Well, only one more day and hopefully it’ll be done with.”

“Thankfully. Although, I’m sure I’ll be bored of the teeny-brats talking about Gossip Girl and other such shows just as much.”

“You just love your customers don’t you?”

“Only the annoying ones.”

“Since you’re here, you can take our drink orders!”

“Like this one!” Scott says, ruffling Ann’s hair.

“Extra espresso shot?” Scott asks, as he walks back behind the counter.

Political Poker

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Tabitha, Frank, Billy and Scott.

Subject: Political Poker

“They could call it Political Poker.”

“Call what political poker?”

“Did you not see the Colbert Report last week?”

“I caught an episode or two, but I don't know what you are talking about.”

“He had on this Harvard professor, Dr. Charles Nesson, who wants to legalize and legitimize Internet poker, and poker in general. He teaches strategy and he was explaining how poker is the ultimate tool for teaching it.”

“That sounds interesting, learning strategy via poker, but how is that political poker?”

“Oh, at the end he suggested Stephen Colbert should get together all the presidential nominees for a game of poker.”

“That would be interesting. You'd be able to see how they think and plan based on the game. Intriguing. What did Colbert say?”

“He said something about Hillary already having the glasses for it. I'd love to see this, I feel like I could learn more about a candidates personality and character by watching him or her play a game of poker. Certainly more than I would learn watching any of those debates.”

“Those debates at least deal with the issues though. How would a poker game tell you how the candidates feel about the issues?”

“I'm not advocating replacing the debates, just supplementing them. However, all you hear at debates is canned speeches. They know what they're going to tell you about each issue, and it's more what you want to hear than what they believe. There are plenty of other ways to get into how a candidate feels about the issues, but poker would be better to tell you how well they can make decisions.”

“That would probably get ratings too. Especially with people our age that everyone seems to want.”

“It'd blow the debates away. It'd be perfect for Monday night, going into super Tuesday.”

“I'd be more inclined to watch, and feel more informed about voting if I saw something like that.”

“Wouldn't it be unfair to candidates that don't know how to play poker?”

“They could always learn. I don't think any of them are sharks. Their wouldn't be any huge advantage, and it wouldn't be mandatory, although you'd look like a coward if you backed down from a friendly game of cards.”

“It can't be that friendly if you're talking about basing your vote on it.”

“Better I vote by judging their character in a game rather than a coin toss or not voting at all right? Besides, what better way for people to relate to these politicians than by watching them play a simple, American game?”

“We're trusting these guys with the leadership of our nation. And it's easier to trust someone you can relate to and understand. Poker provides that.”

“It sounds like a very cool idea. I don't see it happening though.”

“Well, maybe I can use all my political clout to suggest it for the next election in 2012.”

“You don't have any political clout. Playing poker once with a guy that looked like Al Gore is not clout.”

“I'll have to get me some clout then.”

Poker and Me

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Frank

Subject: How I Earn A Living

I've been asked a bit about my job so I figured I'd talk about what I do, and how I do it.

I'm generally a cash game player. Which means that I play in games where you exchange money for chips, and I can walk away whenever I want and change any of the chips I have for their value in money. The alternative is tournament play, which is what you see on television where you buy-in to the tournament, and you play until you either have all, or none, of the chips. I've played a tournament occasionally, but I generally stick to cash games. The big difference is with a tournament, you have to beat everyone to make money, in a cash game you only have to beat one person, and it can be the worst player at the table.

One of the biggest reasons my parents basically kicked me out of the house is because they didn't believe I could make a living playing poker, they considered it gambling with my future. Now poker playing does contain a lot of gambling situations, but it's not like rolling a dice for my dinner. What happens is when I get into situations where I need a certain card to win the hand, I calculate the odds of getting that card. If it's only going to come 25% of the time, I make sure that if I win I'm winning more than 4 times what I would be betting in that situation. If I'm consistent and play that hand the same way every time the situation comes up, in the long run I'm going to win money, even though each individual situation may be a gamble.

The trick to that is being able to play for long enough that you get enough of those situations before you run out of money. You should never run out of money while playing poker or you're playing at too high a level. Even if that means you're playing with nickels for months.

I'm not going to say how much money I make or what level I play at, but it's enough to get by. I've been banking money, and I have some loans to pay off, but I haven't made the push yet to play at a higher level. I like to have some extra money to do things with, and often times I splurge and spend the money that I'd need to bankroll to move up to a higher level. I always make sure I have enough saved, and can pay the rent though, I'm not stupid.

I've never been to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker, but I hear even the cash games during those weeks are great. I suppose a lot of amateur poker players come and want to play. I may go and check it out this year, I'll have to look into it.

While it's always great to not have to get up for work, or have set hours, it's not all flowers and sunshine. I still spend a lot of time working, and I can get very stir crazy never leaving the apartment. Even if I did have a regular job, I don't imagine I could have one where I work from home. It's nice to get out and see the world sometimes, which is why I occasionally find a wireless hub and play from there.

Nothing Loosens Lips Like Alcohol

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Tabitha, Frank, Billy and Scott.

Subject: Nothing loosens the lips like alcohol

After the game Friday night me and Frank headed over to Union Square to meet the rest of the gang. As we get off the train I call them and it turns out they've also just arrived, so we all go to Max Brenner together. We're about to head in when we're stopped by someone calling most of our names. It's Amy and Sue, two girls who used to live on our floor before moving in with their respective boyfriends. Sue is actually getting married in a couple of months.

Sue: “Hey guys! It's funny running into you, especially today! Me and Amy just decided to meet up and go out and have some drinks tonight. You should come with us, it'll be just like old times!”

“I'm in, are you guys okay with skipping chocolate tonight?”

“It's a tough choice, but I guess I can skip chocolate for these two...as long as one of them buys me a chocolate Martini where ever we're going.”

Amy: “Certainly! I'll do it, Sue should be saving for her wedding!”

“Did you pick a date yet?”

Sue: “Not quite yet, we're decided between two dates in the spring of '08. So what are guys doing out besides getting chocolate?”

“We were grabbing dinner at the Corner Bistro, and we just met up with Sara and Frank returning from the game.”

Amy: “The Met game? How'd they do?”

“Mets won 3-2, Pettite thought Endy was bunting, instead he swung and hit a two run home run. One more win and Frank loses our bet.”

Amy: “Oooh, a bet. That sounds like fun. You guys going to any more of the games?”

“Nope, I'll have to wait until they come to Yankee Stadium to see them beat the Mets I guess.”

We arrived at the bar Amy and Sue were headed to, and found ourselves a semi-empty corner to hang out in. As is typical when we go out to bars, we ended up forming a circle so that we could all talk to each other.

Sue: “You guys look like you're already a little tipsy, a bit too many beers with dinner?”

“You know we can never pass up those McSorley's. It's just a shame that the real bar is always so jam packed.”

“We had a couple of beers ourself at Shea. It's such a rip off but I can't help myself.”

“Just trying to drown your sorrows huh Frank?”

“Absolutely.”

Sue: “So what's new with everyone? What have you guys been up to? Any dates recently?”

“I was on a date just last night actually. It was kind of a bore.”

“You never did mention how that went. I noticed you didn't come back with him and you certainly weren't home very late.”

“Well you know he was a guy from work. He really seemed to not want to talk about anything except work. We talked office politics, coding solutions...it was just like lunch in the cafeteria.”

“What a snooze.”

“Exactly, I didn't even have to make up an excuse to part ways after dinner, he wanted to go home because we had work the next morning.”

“As I recall, you're asleep early most nights too.”

“Yeah yeah, we don't all have the luxury of your schedule.”

Amy: “Still doing well with the Poker I take it?”

“It pays the bills, and it certainly beats rising with the sun and trudging off to work.”

Sue “I imagine it would. So Tabitha, you think you did well on your finals?”

“I think so yeah, I wish I didn't have to wait so long to find out my grades.”

“Tab, are you chewing on the appetizers menu?”

Tabitha pulls the wad of paper out of her mouth and opens it up. “Looks like it, you want more food?”

“I'm not into paper as a snack actually, I'll pass.”

Sue “So how about the rest of you? Anything to write home about?”

“I drove the M train this week!”

“Yes, that's all very exciting. You still travel a lot for work Amy?”

Amy: “Not quite as much, but still some. I have more seniority now that one of the older guys quit. Means I get to pick and choose more about which trips to take. Last week I was actually in Vegas; best trip for work ever.”

“I bet. You should have told me, I would've flown with you. I rarely pass up an excuse to go to Vegas, it's like my Mecca.”

“Yeah, he actually makes sure every time he plays poker on-line he faces towards Las Vegas.”

Amy: “Ha! Well maybe next time I go out there I'll give you a call. I assume you feel much the same about other gambling places? Atlantic City? Reno?”

“Yup, although AC is close enough that I really don't need an excuse to go there.”

We continued chatting and drinking and having a grand time late into the night, but none of us really remember much after that. Tabitha did develop a small cut on her lip, and Frank's arm felt sore the next day, and it certainly wasn't from cheering for the Yankees.

The Mets slaughtered the Yankees on Saturday, having starting pitcher Darrel Rasner leave with a broken finger in the first inning killed them. The Yankees managed to eke out the third game so Frank will not be my slave, but he does owe me a couple of drinks. I'm thinking of ordering every drink with top shelf liquor.

Guy's Night In

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Frank, Billy and Scott.

Subject: Guy’s Night In

I was playing Dr. Mario with Ann when Tabitha came and got her, and then they left. They said they were meeting Sara somewhere. I noted to Scott and Frank that the apartment was girl-free at the moment, so we decided to do some guy things while we had the chance.

“Why do we still drink crap like this? Who bought it?” asked Frank as he handed out some of the Coors Light in the fridge.

“Tabitha I think. We don’t have anything better?”

“There were some Bacardi Silver’s. I think that would be a blow to our manly guy night though.”

“Put something better in then. Dr. Mario is seriously not a man’s game.”

“MLB: The Show? Or we could just watch SportsCenter.”

“Skip SportsCenter. Look, there’s a poker game on.”

“That’d be like watching you work. How lame is that? Watching poker is totally not manly. Playing poker might be, but I’m not playing poker with you anyway.”

“So video games it is then. So where do you think the girls went anyway?”

“I heard them say something about Sara.”

“Must be. She’s usually asleep by this time. I wonder were she went.”

“Maybe she snapped under the pressure and killed someone.”

“Maybe they’re bailing her out of jail then!”

“I don’t think you get out that easily if you kill someone. She’s probably just at a co-workers apartment. I don’t know why Tabitha and Ann had to go find her though.”

“Action movies! Billy, pop in one of those shoot-em-up films and I'll get us some snacks. We do still have snacks right?”

“I think we do. You live here too, just check. Or did you forget how to use the cabinet?”

“I just leave everything I need on the counter so I don't have to use the cabinets.”

“Doesn't Tabitha yell at you about that all the time?”

“He has a cabinet full of half-eaten stuff, because Tabitha gets annoyed and puts them away, and then if he asks she won't tell him where she put it.”

“Oh yeah, that's where those moths came from that time. The half-used tin of hot chocolate that Scott had forgotten about all year.”

“I'm just an opportunistic eater. If it's not right in front of me, I usually don't want it that much.”

“First cabinet to the left of the sink, there are some pretzels and potato chips in there. Lets start watching.”

“There are some bowls in the cabinet next to the fridge.”

“Bowls? Who needs bowls? Just for that comment, you're writing the next blog entry to get Ann to stop bugging us for a while.”