It. Is. On.
2012 grind in full effect. I’ll be playing 6 to 10 hours per day, almost every day, for the rest of the year. I’m going back to the method I used to build my game up in 2008. Two shorthanded tables or one table heads up. High focus, quality over quantity, repeated hour after hour. Warm up and review, video and study.
In other poker-related news, I’ve been on a video-making tear. Sledghammer and I just recorded a two-part small-blind mini-series. We covered some fundamentals and some not-so-fundamentals. I’ve also got four new table play videos in the queue, so look for an increase in Limit Holdem content on DragTheBar.
I’m also doing a small amount of private coaching, available for $75/hour or $300/5 hours, only through my Kickstarter for Zen Madman’s Flash Fiction Folio. I’m excited about publishing my fiction for the first time, but it will be easier to focus on poker once the project is done. Only 65 hours left on the Kickstarter, so act fast if you want coaching, the book, or a postcard from online poker tour 2012!
Discount Coaching For Fiction Fans
As part of the Kickstarter for my Flash Fiction Folio, I’m offering coaching at about half my normal rate. That’s $75 for one hour or $300 for a five hour package. Each of those comes with the eBook and paperback editions of my first collection of fiction. Sessions can be for limit (small to mid-stakes), no limit (small stakes), or poker theory (including EV calcs and combo counting), and you can split the cost with a study buddy or group.
It’s super simple. All you have to do is participate in my Kickstarter at the $75 or $300 reward levels. Where else can you buy coaching through Amazon?
Out of the Clouds
I’ve been in Germany for a solid week now, and despite all the novelty – new language, caramel soy pudding – the time has flown by. It took a few days to get some poker sites set up, and I’ve yet to play a substantial number of hands. It’s time for that to change.
That’s not to say I haven’t been working. I’ve drafted an ambitious year-long plan, worked on my flash fiction project, and finished up my Poker Player Bill of Rights. But it’s time to get my grind on. Head out of the clouds, feet on the ground running. Running good, I hope.
Poker Player Bill of Rights
From superusers to colluders, from shady sites to greedy governments, poker players are constantly at risk of being cheated, swindled, and defrauded. While intelligent players look out for themselves and each other, not everyone has access to enough information to keep safe. There should be an organization keeping an eye on these things, allowing players to focus on playing.
Before an organization can fight for our rights, we first must establish what those rights are. To this end, I have drafted a Poker Player Bill of Rights. I have defined and explained each right, and followed that with an assessment of where we currently stand on protecting these rights.
For the full article, visit pokerfuse.com.
German Soy Pudding
After mixed success on the soy milk front, I decided to brave the soy pudding frontier. As you can see, I went a bit overboard and bought all four varieties. Again the results were mixed. The vanilla is mediocre, the dark chocolate is decent to good, the “milk” chocolate is very good, and the caramel ist die Bombe! This may be my lack of recent sugar intake speaking, but it’s one of the best puddings I’ve ever had.
German vegan tip of the day: look for food with the 100% pflanzlich symbol. All plant, all the time. Unfortunately, it’s found almost exclusively on soy goodies, but that’s a good enough place to start.
This will be my last food blog for a little while. I’ve got a big piece coming out on pokerfuse tomorrow, and I’m getting some poker sites up and running. More on that soon.
Gifts From The Dead
I’m leaving my homeland on Saturday night, spending the year abroad. Hamburg, Soderhamn, London, then expedia knows where. I don’t self-identify as an American, even if I am quintessentially so. But I am interested in being a citizen of the world, seeing the sights, learning the language.
In the process of putting my affairs in order, I’ve divested myself of the majority of my worldly possessions. Ideally, I’d like to own only what I can carry, but I have this really cool sword, and I don’t want to cause a scene going through airport security. So I’ve kept a few things at home.
Throwing things away is a difficult process, empowering as well. But how do you cast off gifts from the dead? So many of my belongings were presents from those no longer present. I can’t say I’ve discarded those as ruthlessly as I intended. But the greatest gifts from the dead are not things, but memories. And those I hope I never let go.
A Little Help From My Friends
Dear Friends,
- Like: Right under the video on my project page there is a Facebook Like button. Click it. Easy.
- Tweet: You can use this prefilled tweet, click the tweet button on my Kickstarter page, or compose your own tweet containing my project link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zenmadman/zen-madmans-flash-fiction-folio/
- Share: Throw my link up on your facebook, tumblr, blog, or anywhere fiction lovers might find it. If you’re more ambitious, you can embed my project video or even a full widget by using the Embed button below the video on my project page.
- Forward: Perhaps the most helpful thing you can do is forward this email to everyone you know who likes fiction and might forward it on to their friends. Friends are awesome, but friends of friends of friends are geometrically more powerful.
- Comment: Put a comment on my Kickstarter page letting me know what you think of my stories, what you’d like to see, and any questions you have.
- Pledge: It’s super easy; it goes through amazon.com - if you have an account there you don’t even have to reenter your credit card info. You can pledge as little as $1, get the ebook for $9, the hard copy for $15, or both for $20. There are a bunch of higher pledge levels, too, but i’d rather get lots of little ones than a few big ones. Of course, no pledge will be turned away. :p
To Do (Ha Ha!)
I’m a big fan of To Do lists. Maybe it goes back to my parents’ “To Do (Ha Ha!)” file, but I’m great at making lists of things to do. I’m slightly less awesome at crossing everything off of them. I’ve pretty much been moping around the house all day, not for any particular reason. But we’re coming up on low noon here on the East Coast, and that usually means I’m about to get productive. At the very least, it means I’ll force myself to write a blog. Here’s my to do list before dawn:
- Print out a copy of “No Balls, Two Strikes” and mail it to my grandmother along with a Happy New Year card.
- Get at least “very close to done” with Part 2 of my newest poker article.
- Indulge in shameless self-promotion for my Flash Fiction Folio.
- Eat some warm oatmeal with maple syrup.
- Walk my girlfriend’s sister’s dog.
No Balls, Two Strikes
I just finished up a new story for my Flash Fiction Folio. This one’s about baseball and may have too much lingo for those who aren’t fans. Let me know what you think, though. I’m always interested in the opinions of fans and critics alike. You can read it on Free Association.
Low Noon
You know how 12:00 PM is called high noon? Well, I like to call 12:00 AM low noon. It’s gonna be a thing.
When in doubt, talk about the weather.
A few days ago, it looked like winter was finally here. The temperature dropped into the 20s for the first time since last winter. But now, on the winter solstice, it got up to 59°F, and at low noon, it’s still 55°. What’s that all about? Sounds like Armageddon to me.
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