Misc.

I have often said that I am a poker player who's trapped in a writer's body. That means that I understand the game a lot better than I play the game. It's another reason why so many players are glad when I arrive at the game. One day when I was not doing so well in poker and frankly was not enjoying anything about the table, I left and said, I think I'll go and play some Blackjack, where I only have to beat one player-the dealer." Usually, when I would do this I noticed a pattern. I would not only make up what I lost in poker; but, I would end up getting ahead.

Since it is easier to observe others flawed behavior, I am merely going to point out some glaring weaknesses I see in others - predominantly in the casino realm. We are all -to some degree - aware that the losses that we incur during the course of a gambling session, rooted in the same losing soil, so why not make a conscientious effort to stop the crying!

"Guess who's back, back again" -Eminem

"Become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid." -Former First Lady

Our minds are designed like a computer because we are the ones who created the computer. Our minds need time to figure out what life is dealing us. Just because you don't know the answer doesn't mean, you don't know the answer. The hour glass of time needs to process, like the computer we invented. Don't keep pressing all the buttons to solve things because that will only make your wait longer.

Today I am going to present my selection for the all time worst play in the annuals of recorded card playing history. Before I go any further, I would just like to point out that I would do this player no justice if I merely awarded this player the year-end 2005 Bonehead- ineptitude-moronic-play-of-the-year trophy! No, he rightfully deserves better than that, say like a...gigantic sign posted in his front lawn, stating in part: "You ain't 'gon believe how badly this guy who lives here, played this poker hand at the neighborhood casino"

Having to miss Australia as well as the start of Tunica - I have had to do with playing the daily Bellagio events. But even then things seemed to go downhill as far as poker was concerned, by becoming the victim of a heavy cold. In the past, this did not deter me from going and playing tournaments. However, (as I have mentioned in past articles) feeling rundown and poker do not mix. In fact, my only series of losses came during a period when I tried to defy similar conditions. I therefore made a promise that I would never play poker when unwell. However......

Editor's Note: This feature is an adaptation of material that may be part of Ms. Eolis' book in progress, Power Poker Dame.

When Charlie Prince's invitation popped up in my E-mailbox, I assumed, at first, that it was another under-capitalized, disorganized filmmaker, anxious to cash in on the current poker craze. Would I care to participate (with scores of others) in the definitive made-for-television documentary that would chronicle the ever colorful sometimes tempestuous, and never snuffed-out poker scene in the Big Apple, he asked.

Your Goals Are Closer Than They Appear
This year I will quit smoking...
This year I will lose weight...
This year I will love more...
This year I will finish the book I've been writing for the past five years...
This year I will not miss any of my children's sporting events...
This year I will buy my wife the Mercedes she's been asking for forever...
This year I will retire...
This year I will hug and kiss my family more...
This year I will in at least two poker tournaments a month...

...or do you get your poker hand first and make the pot later? Or do you make the pot and then get your hand?

Ab ovo-would you play the poker hand different if you could start it again? Ab ovo usque ad mala-the translation is "From the eggs to the apples"!

It was first penned by the Roman poet Horace-and in poker talk, it would mean-starting with one thing and ending up with another.

Horace, in the account of the Trojan War, began with the mythical egg of Leda, from which Helen (whose beauty sparked a war) was born.

"If I was a rich girl, na, na, na, na, na, see I'd have all the money in the world if I was a wealthy girl...Think what that money would bring, I'd buy everything." Now, I'm not a materialistic girl by nature but this Stefani song was playing over and over in my heart the other day at the casino. I was born a grand dreamer, I cannot help it, it's the way my soul is wired so when something extraordinary happens like it did that day, I can't help but think of the possibilities? "If I was a rich girl."

It is only fitting that I start this column off talking about Mr. Las Vegas, the Midnight Idol, Wayne Newton. As you already know, Newton ended his run at the Stardust this past April, halfway through his 10-year contract with the resort.