I have to give a lot of credit to the company that runs these games around the Delaware Valley area.  River Chasers has a great product.  They are very professional, have some great prizes and I usually have a great time.  The way River Chasers works is that they run these tournaments at bars.  The bars put up prizes usually for the top 3 finishers.  But River Chasers also has a point system.  The top 30% of the players in each tournament are given points.  The number of points depends on the number of players in the tournament.  River Chasers splits up the year into trimesters.  At the end of each trimester the top 400 players play in a special invitation only tournament.  I actually made the tournament for the 3rd Trimester of 2008.  However it is the weekend of the AC Boat show and I will not be able to attend.

I started to play Poker at bars as a way to get out and interact with people by myself (Solo, no wing man).

I also started to really get into the game.  Poker (especially Texas Holdem) is a great game.  There is math skills, interpersonal skills and a bit of luck involved.  I started running an occasional home game with friends.  While I am at the AC Boat show I’m gonna try my luck at a few $1/$2 cash games.

So last night I was at Peppers Resturant in King of Prussia.  I have never done well (finished in the points) at Peppers.  I’ve played there probably about 6 or 7 times.

Last night I played well, but…..

There was a player that was sitting to my left.  He called himself “Pops”.  Pops looked like he was a left over biker.  His cell phone had a ring tone of a woman screaming like a horror film.  He got several phone calls and at one point said that he needed to leave.

I had about 290 chips, the blinds were at 5/10.  So I was in good shape with just under 20 times the starting pot. I was sitting in the small blind.  Everyone folded around to the dealer (Pops).  Pops decides he is going to go all in blind.  This basicly means that he didn’t look at his cards and he was going to bet his entire stack.  I looked at my cards and saw 10/Q offsuite.  Not a great hand, but with the all in blind, I felt like against any 2 random cards I was in good shape.  When Pops turned his cards over I still felt good.  No pair, not suited.

Ok, I got greedy.  I saw a chance to double up.  I forget what the cards were that came on the flop.  But in the end, pops had a straight, and I had a pair of 10s.  That was it.  1 1/2 hours of playing well, flushed down the tubes by a player who wanted to leave.  He should have just given his chips to the tournament director and left.

I was pissed.  I got up and left with out a word.  I paid my bar tab and left.

I hate free poker.  But I’ll be back.

The Eagles really man handled the Cowgirls.  I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that the Cowgirls are just not a team.  They are a collection of stars that are thrown together with a coach that will just cowtow to the Owner.  Guys like Jerry Jones, Pac Man Jones, TO, Romo all deserve this. Maybe next year they won’t be so quick to invite HBO into their training camp.

Toni and I talked about this very topic Christmas Eve.  As it turned out, my family would not be going to our traditional candle light service.  The reason for this was some dissatisfaction with the church and the way that the services were being conducted.  This tradition for me was always very important.  I’m not a very religious person, but I always felt the true Christmas spirit during this service.  We coupled attending this service with a get together at my great aunts house.  I am very close with my extended family and always enjoy their company.

So when I was told we would not be going to church, I really didn’t know what to do.  I didn’t realize that we were still going to be getting together. (You can imagine my relief when I heard that.)   I also started to think about how a lot of the traditions I have held close have also changed or disappeared.  It seems that over the past decade my immediate family because of death and divorce has gotten smaller.

However, looking back and being sad about what is not like it was in the past is not healthy.  We lose loved ones, and people move away.  Nothing stays the same, change is inevitable.  But that doesn’t mean that it is all bad.  Children are born, new loved ones come into our lives.  Our families are constantly growing and contracting.  It is important that we forge new traditions.  That we take the traditions that we have today, and shape them for what is right today.

In 2009, I’m going to try hard to create new traditions.  These might not be centered around Christmas or other Holidays.  But it is important that time with family be celebrated no matter the purpose.