Philosophy

Less ego, less expectations, less demands, less lies, less resentments, less jealousy and less 'BS' means MORE MONEY.

BEING PRESENT is the ultimate blessing in poker and life. Just get rid of those distractions that keep you from being who you really are. If you are not who you really are, you are no one and nowhere. Call Mapquest for driving directions. Without your current location, they cannot help you.

IMAGINE LOVING PARENTS who hold no judgments, resentments, anger, jealousy, frustration, depression, resignations, expectations, etc.; whose memories, thoughts, ideas and beliefs that create stress are banned from their being; who are open vessels with clear, confide nt, and compassionate outlooks on life.

I hope the meaning and significance of this is clear. Even more important is the belief that we can work towa rds this goal and make meaningful progress in this direction.

In poker and life people find it very difficult to focus for long periods of time. I once overheard Phil Ivey giving someone advice where he emphasized focus, focus, focus. Like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, what separates Phil Ivey from the rest of the field is his ability to focus at the highest level while playing. We all have watched many play, whether in poker, basketball or golf, focus at the highest level.

But, few of them can maintain their focus day in and day out, month after month as Phil, Michael and Tiger do.

How many of you are fans of the Twilight Zone Show? For those who are not familiar with the old TV Twilight Zone from back in the 60's, it was mostly half hour science fiction TV plays. It is still shown frequently on TV today because it carries deep universal messages that touches very deep issues in us, and wakes us up. It is more real than life, and it scares and shocks us.

CONFIDENCE. "Be as wise as the serpent, yet as harmless as the dove." So many people who "think" they are confident and "all that," miss the second part of this ancient wisdom and if you miss the second part, your so-called confidence is invalid, next! When you are truly wise, then you become confident. So many people use the power of wisdom to manipulate, it takes humility to be the dove, the symbol of love and light, they unfortunately use their knowledge for selfish gain, invalid, next! A great player is confident in the true essence of the word, which is harmless, yet very powerful.

Playing poker all my life as a marginally successful player, I awoke to the fact that all the poker knowledge and experience in the world would not help enough to play my best game. My skill level and knowledge of the game had reached a ceiling and to become a better player I needed to raise the whole ceiling. This was a life issue as well because it seemed obvious that to become a better player I needed to become a better and happier person.

In article after article, and forum post after forum post - the issue of 'bad beats' in online poker continues. On one hand, the conspiracy theorists throw out a variety of imaginative and intriguing suggestions as to why these occur. On the other; we have the counter arguments that focus on the actual odds of these so called 'bad beats'. The truth is, bad beats are part and parcel of the game.

Do you believe in karma? I sort of do, I say sort of because I'm not so sure about the Buddhism and Hinduism beliefs of a person's fate being predestined in his next life or state of existence in accordance to how he lives in the present. However, I believe in bad creating bad and good enhancing good, so if that is a form of believing in karma then count me in.

There are times in my life where it seems I could walk on water. Reality usually sets in sometime around when I step into a tub full of water. In addition, since I am a hardheaded individual and summer time has arrived, I tried it again at the neighborhood pool. Splash, help lifeguard! Actually, I can swim but that is not the point. The point is, life can be very good sometimes reflective in attitude and demeanor which translates to the winning spirit. Now, the winning spirit is what you see many times at the poker table.

Once upon a time, there were three demons.