The Poker Project (playing and writing about poker in the U.S.)
12-05-2020
, 01:59 PM
Thanks RTP, you too. I saw a Washington Poast oped a while back that you might appreciate—Jen Shahade's "Five Myths About Chess." Her discussion of pawns was esp interesting to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JS
Myth No. 5: The king is the most important piece in chess.
Teachers and how-to guides often reiterate that, while the queen is the most powerful piece, the king is the most important — a principle repeated in online chess tutorials and enshrined on Wikipedia.
But eight foot-soldiers have something to say about that. The mighty pawn, the only piece that captures differently than it moves, trudges ahead one step at a time. Since it’s the only piece that cannot move backward, every push is final. Pawns form the bones of the game: Play would be a mushy mess without them.
Pawn power was sent to the lab for study when, this year, Alpha Zero played against itself in nine variations on chess. Five of the variants tweaked the rules governing pawns. In torpedo chess, in which pawns can move two squares at a time, tactical volatility was hugely increased. Another variant, in which pawns moved backward, led to fewer decisive games, since that rule allowed for the reversal of strategic errors. Change the pawn, and you shake the very essence of the game. In the words of 18th-century French chess champion Francois-Andre Danican Philidor, “The pawns are the soul of chess.”
Teachers and how-to guides often reiterate that, while the queen is the most powerful piece, the king is the most important — a principle repeated in online chess tutorials and enshrined on Wikipedia.
But eight foot-soldiers have something to say about that. The mighty pawn, the only piece that captures differently than it moves, trudges ahead one step at a time. Since it’s the only piece that cannot move backward, every push is final. Pawns form the bones of the game: Play would be a mushy mess without them.
Pawn power was sent to the lab for study when, this year, Alpha Zero played against itself in nine variations on chess. Five of the variants tweaked the rules governing pawns. In torpedo chess, in which pawns can move two squares at a time, tactical volatility was hugely increased. Another variant, in which pawns moved backward, led to fewer decisive games, since that rule allowed for the reversal of strategic errors. Change the pawn, and you shake the very essence of the game. In the words of 18th-century French chess champion Francois-Andre Danican Philidor, “The pawns are the soul of chess.”
12-22-2020
, 01:56 PM
We had an enjoyable chat a few years back in Vegas. She has a poker-focused podcast called The Grid that might be worth a listen. And plenty of chess content too as I'm sure you're aware.
Hmmm....does this mean that it's time for my long-overdue return trip to Melbourne?
Thanks for popping in and dropping some music recs! I hadn't heard of Ranglin...I like 
***
Tomorrow I'm heading to AZ for the holidays. Much is up in the air. Will I complete my hours challenge? Will I be forced to ship Garick a G? Will I survive a crosscountry drive amidst a raging pandemic?
Quote:
Would be a rich irony if I travelled your way for a poker game when we’ve gone 37 days here with zero cases. Tents by the beach don’t look so bad, must admit. Can’t see the Crown oligarchs willing to set up tent by the Yarra river, unfortunately, but I’m sure a few locals would be pleased if they did.
Quote:
Heyyyyyo
Been so long!
Before I get the chance to read some updates and seek out photos of your fuzzy friends, let me make the most of my hypomanic state and leave you with this amazing album:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2kqIg...Q7KbN2tNkBv4OA
Catchya soon.
Been so long!
Before I get the chance to read some updates and seek out photos of your fuzzy friends, let me make the most of my hypomanic state and leave you with this amazing album:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2kqIg...Q7KbN2tNkBv4OA
Catchya soon.
***
Tomorrow I'm heading to AZ for the holidays. Much is up in the air. Will I complete my hours challenge? Will I be forced to ship Garick a G? Will I survive a crosscountry drive amidst a raging pandemic?
Spoiler:
12-24-2020
, 09:07 PM
Quote:
That would be an idea! I’m sure you would enjoy it here again. Would love to show you the more interesting parts. Will be interesting to see what happens re Oz-e Millions (it’s officially postponed, of course). I’ve heard the new, smaller poker room is opening in January (the old poker space is now filled with baccarat tables), so guess we’ll hear some news soon. It’s hard to see it running without internationals—so let’s hope those vaccines work (and airlines don’t charge too much).
Another time then I will reach out to you (as I see myself playing Aussie Millions again/re-revisiting Australia) 
12-25-2020
, 06:33 PM
That would be cool! Maybe we’ll battle it out in some PLO cash, too, he he. There’s bound to be a decent gig around at the time, as well (the Healesville meditation centre is also worth a visit, if you so be inclined). Or maybe you, Bob and me can just hang out and talk about our unfinished novels and use a RNG to figure out who will finish his first!
12-25-2020
, 08:47 PM
Quote:
I was thinking about your writing marathon because I've been on one myself. Just wrapped the first draft of Chapter 3 of my diss. I also got comments from my advisor on Chapter 2 yesterday, and not too much revision needed, so it seems to be going well. Lockdown is good for something at least.
Merry Christmas from sunny AZ, yall. After sweating a Covid test in Nola
Spoiler:
I drove ten hours and camped at this festive free park in Junction, TX
Spoiler:
Then I drove another ten, arrived in Green Valley, and have spent Christmas watching NBA on the couch. EZ game.
Spoiler:
12-29-2020
, 01:37 PM
December Recap
Congrats to Joe "Kolebear" Hebert, who just shipped the US Main for over 1.5 milly. Joe is a Nola guy who's been grinding the donkament scene for a long time, and his win is much-deserved. Next up will be a HU match with Damian Salas, the Euro winner, for an additional milly and a bracelet.
Sweating the live updates last night felt weird. The whole thing is weird tbh. Some people are calling this incarnation of the WSOP's 10K buyin tourney "The Fake Main," while others are bemoaning the WSOP's handling of Upeshka De Silva, who was DQed for failing a Covid test. Will be interesting to see how things continue to develop.
Wile E. Coyote sighting
Operation Deny Garick
[1210/1200]
EZ Game!
Congrats to Joe "Kolebear" Hebert, who just shipped the US Main for over 1.5 milly. Joe is a Nola guy who's been grinding the donkament scene for a long time, and his win is much-deserved. Next up will be a HU match with Damian Salas, the Euro winner, for an additional milly and a bracelet.
Sweating the live updates last night felt weird. The whole thing is weird tbh. Some people are calling this incarnation of the WSOP's 10K buyin tourney "The Fake Main," while others are bemoaning the WSOP's handling of Upeshka De Silva, who was DQed for failing a Covid test. Will be interesting to see how things continue to develop.
Wile E. Coyote sighting
Spoiler:
Operation Deny Garick
[1210/1200]
EZ Game!
Spoiler:
12-30-2020
, 03:33 PM
He seems like a very solid player though (4th in Argentina on the HM).
01-01-2021
, 11:04 AM
Quote:
I think he FTed the Main a few years ago. Don't know much about his game but no slouch I'm sure. Should make for a fun match.
01-01-2021
, 12:43 PM
2020 Recap, Looking Ahead
Some of my favorite discoveries:
Emily Mandel's novel Station 11
The Song Exploder episode about NIN's Hurt reminded me how epic that song is—both Reznor's version and also Johnny Cash's cover.
I finally watched The Sopranos. LOL at my life!
I can remember being excited for The Last Dance when it came out—and that documentary satisfied, despite its flaws—but the true GOAT doc that I saw was OJ: Made in America.
Pokerwise, I played 100 hours of LOLive action before the pandemapocalypse hit. It was surprisingly easy to go without playing. That said, I still feel a strong attraction to the game and I look forward to the day when I can return to the live felt. Given how things are shaping up with the vaccine, I doubt I’ll be playing live anytime soon—possibly not till next fall—so I plan to dedicate some time to studying/light online grinding.
I taught three classes over Zoom and tbh it was fine, even preferable in certain ways, thanks to small class sizes that fostered dialogue. I’m a little worried that my next one is expected to have 20ish students—still a small number, all things considered, but much tuffer to keep everyone involved. I can’t imagine lecturing into a computer screen to fifty students with their cameras turned off, or spending all day digitally babysitting dozens of elementary-schoolers and their helicopter parents. Please send some words of encouragement to your full-time teacher friends when you get a chance. It’s been a rough year for many of them.
On the writing side, I made progress on my book—about 80% of a full draft, 300 pages, if I had to guess. There were definitely some tough stretches. A few months into the year, after I’d sent my agent 100+ pages and a revised proposal, she completely ghosted me. Imagine how this non-news might be received: you put in hundreds of hours of work to move a project forward, send things along to the person who’s (in theory) most committed to your success, and instead of hearing “meh” or “you suck,” there’s no response at all—nothing. Unfortunately, this is the way things can work in the publishing world.
At the time, it was tempting to "take a break," to find a new agent, or even, as my housemate casually suggested, to abandon the project altogether. I decided to just keep writing. I'm glad I did. It was liberating to write exclusively "for myself," without any external constraints or expectations, and it reminded me how much I love the process of learning and discovery, which, for me, the act of writing facilitates.
I think I’m done with writing-oriented volume goals, for now. I have an aversion to goal-setting, life hacks, self-help, workism, hustle culture, etc—even as I aspire to be productive. As I look ahead to this year, I want to focus on the quality, not just the quantity, of time spent working. This is no easy task. As anyone who's seen The Social Experiment knows, our attention is constantly in danger of being hijacked by whatever device we happen to be using.
So what's the GTO play? Go completely off-grid a la Craig Mod? Follow Dubnjoy into a remote Tibetan village for a month-long meditation retreat? Say **** it and load up another Netflix dramedy? Tricky questions, for sure.
I do love me some arbitrary challenges—this is the notorious inglorious PGC subforum, after all!—and so I give you
Bob's Books [0/52]
Aside from one year during grad school, I doubt I’ve read more than thirty books in a year, so this will be a fun challenge for me. I plan to keep updating this thread in much the same manner: a little about writing, a little more about books, some obligatory puppy pics, and some poker sprinkled in.
Thanks, as always, to the readers/lurkers/poasters itt. GL in 2021!
Some of my favorite discoveries:
Emily Mandel's novel Station 11
The Song Exploder episode about NIN's Hurt reminded me how epic that song is—both Reznor's version and also Johnny Cash's cover.
I finally watched The Sopranos. LOL at my life!
I can remember being excited for The Last Dance when it came out—and that documentary satisfied, despite its flaws—but the true GOAT doc that I saw was OJ: Made in America.
Pokerwise, I played 100 hours of LOLive action before the pandemapocalypse hit. It was surprisingly easy to go without playing. That said, I still feel a strong attraction to the game and I look forward to the day when I can return to the live felt. Given how things are shaping up with the vaccine, I doubt I’ll be playing live anytime soon—possibly not till next fall—so I plan to dedicate some time to studying/light online grinding.
I taught three classes over Zoom and tbh it was fine, even preferable in certain ways, thanks to small class sizes that fostered dialogue. I’m a little worried that my next one is expected to have 20ish students—still a small number, all things considered, but much tuffer to keep everyone involved. I can’t imagine lecturing into a computer screen to fifty students with their cameras turned off, or spending all day digitally babysitting dozens of elementary-schoolers and their helicopter parents. Please send some words of encouragement to your full-time teacher friends when you get a chance. It’s been a rough year for many of them.
On the writing side, I made progress on my book—about 80% of a full draft, 300 pages, if I had to guess. There were definitely some tough stretches. A few months into the year, after I’d sent my agent 100+ pages and a revised proposal, she completely ghosted me. Imagine how this non-news might be received: you put in hundreds of hours of work to move a project forward, send things along to the person who’s (in theory) most committed to your success, and instead of hearing “meh” or “you suck,” there’s no response at all—nothing. Unfortunately, this is the way things can work in the publishing world.
At the time, it was tempting to "take a break," to find a new agent, or even, as my housemate casually suggested, to abandon the project altogether. I decided to just keep writing. I'm glad I did. It was liberating to write exclusively "for myself," without any external constraints or expectations, and it reminded me how much I love the process of learning and discovery, which, for me, the act of writing facilitates.
I think I’m done with writing-oriented volume goals, for now. I have an aversion to goal-setting, life hacks, self-help, workism, hustle culture, etc—even as I aspire to be productive. As I look ahead to this year, I want to focus on the quality, not just the quantity, of time spent working. This is no easy task. As anyone who's seen The Social Experiment knows, our attention is constantly in danger of being hijacked by whatever device we happen to be using.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig Mod
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone,” wrote Blaise Pascal. Did any of us remember how to sit quietly, alone, without a phone in hand? I certainly didn’t. By the time the curtain closed on act one of our political tragedy, if there was action to be taken, I was in no state to take it. I had long since lost control of my attention.
I do love me some arbitrary challenges—this is the notorious inglorious PGC subforum, after all!—and so I give you
Bob's Books [0/52]
Aside from one year during grad school, I doubt I’ve read more than thirty books in a year, so this will be a fun challenge for me. I plan to keep updating this thread in much the same manner: a little about writing, a little more about books, some obligatory puppy pics, and some poker sprinkled in.
Thanks, as always, to the readers/lurkers/poasters itt. GL in 2021!
Last edited by bob_124; 01-01-2021 at 12:51 PM.
01-03-2021
, 01:32 PM
Thanks for the good wishes Dr.!
I'll deliver weekly book reports if and only if you start a new PGC
otherwise monthly updates
A book about the pokerz, of course. My goal is to use zero footnotes. (I will, however, attempt to mention The Barbary Wars.) Dunno how literary. My monthly 2p2 scribblings probably give the best sense of what to expect. Speaking of...
I'll deliver weekly book reports if and only if you start a new PGC
otherwise monthly updatesA book about the pokerz, of course. My goal is to use zero footnotes. (I will, however, attempt to mention The Barbary Wars.) Dunno how literary. My monthly 2p2 scribblings probably give the best sense of what to expect. Speaking of...