Baskin-Robbins

They are known for their 28 flavors. Too often I end up at a just chocolate or vanilla Dairy Queen. The B-R in our area is in the next town in an unattractive strip mall that I avoid for some reason. I even saw a joint somewhere that is offering bacon ice cream to pack up a favored blogger’s arteries in new ways.

When I visit Bodog, PokerStars and Full Tilt these days, it is a Baskin-Robbins experience. They offer almost all the flavors. And, I’ll admit I’ve hit about all of them. I even played a little Pineapple at the site I’m boycotting – Ultimate Bet. It is also the site that I played a lot of HORSE at. It was among the cheapest with a micro limit option that lets anyone try to go from fish to shark without leaving the table annoyed with dropping much from even a modest bankroll.

 Bloggers fill the content of their blogs with the reasons they play this or that. Over in our Chris Furguson blog, we’ve a couple of Baskin-Robbins players – mixed gamers. G-Rob has detailed the joy and frustration that seem built into NLH. Fuel55 has a bit different approach to NLH but the frustration can even pop up there too. The term that sends almost all of us to the tranquilizers is variance. But folks like Waffles embrace it.

 We’ve a little thread going about Tony’s comments about Stud8. He was evidently chemically enhanced with legal liquids. That can bring out honest thoughts – even if they are incomplete. I thought that fun/interesting so I posted about it in our forum in this thread. A long time ago, I donktailed my start at playing a bit of PLO on Poker Room – wow, pre-UIGEA. That bit of silliness won’t have Doyle inviting me to do the PLO section for Super Systems III. But, that’s how I frequently have approached a new game. I give it a cheapest go and then buy a book or study how to go from novice to moderately serious player. I got TJ’s book for that one.

 The Baskin-Robbins approach has really been my salvation in many respects. I’ve managed to be a profitable player for a number of years. That was only an ancillary goal. Like Waffles above I’ll look someone up when I know I shouldn’t. One of the forum post noted also alludes to lacking respect of others at the table. I make that mistake along with playing at a level where I can let my curiosity call that last move from the other guy – even at NL. It is a leak I’m satisfied having. I didn’t accept discipline well in the service; I don’t see why I have to to ‘enjoy’ the required discipline at poker fully even though it is -EV.

 Each of the flavors has a different discipline and challenge. When I get unhappy at one these days, I can mosey over to another one and work off the tilt with less angst. Although, I’ve tended to get decent enough at all of them; I don’t really have the push to move farther ahead. At the point it starts feeling like a job, I go find a different game.

 If your favorite game is being unkind or if you don’t have the same joy you once had, think about a flavor change. That might be temporary. But, it just may provide a new fit/challenge that keeps tilt or boredom or … from invading your space.

 ADDENDUM:

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I’m really enjoying Aaron’s ’stuff’ from the WSOP.   A late paragraph sang to me:

I got to thinking why is it that peopIle play poker? The easy answer is the money. The allure of the big score…of turning $1,500 into $500,000. Is that the only reason? Sometimes I think it is and that’s the part of the game that saddens me. Anytime there is money on the line, it is understandable that people take something seriously. This doesn’t mean you should forget about who you are and what you are though. Too many poker players lose themselves, not just at the table, but away from it. The never ending grind takes its toll and they forget the person they were before they played poker. The laughs and smiles disappear and they are replaced with the never ending worry of trying to get even… of trying to get back everything they’ve lost. It’s why I think bankroll management is one of the most under appreciated skill sets of a poker player. If everyone played within their means, poker would be a lot more fun, there would be a lot more laughter and smiles. People don’t though. They lose and try to get it back quick and only dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole.

I’ll add that it isn’t just being stuck. Greed can replace that for some.  It seems that the deadly sins aren’t always as controllable as our Congress thinks.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Journal, Poker Philosophy. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.