Poker Stories: Calling A Loudmouth’s Bluff
I returned to the Commerce Casino outside Los Angeles for another poker road trip last week. As usual, the place was packed, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, when every table was full -- remarkable considering the place has over 200 of them! In case you...
Random Poker Thoughts
I like when there's conversation at a poker table. The more social players are with each other, the more fun it will be. I've been in too many games where no one says anything for hour after hour -- so boring! Too many of them just plug in their earbuds and shut out...
Poker Stories: Your Quads Are Moot
I was in south Florida recently and played some poker at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, which was very busy because a tournament series was in progress. That meant lots more cash games, too, so I had plenty of choices of what to play. I stuck mostly to $5-5...
Poker Maturity
When I'm at the poker table, I don't show my cards unless I have to. For instance, if I bet and my opponent calls, the rules say I'm obliged to turn them over first. Or if the reverse happens and she shows a hand I can beat, I expose my hand. But if I win because my...
Movie Review: “Molly’s Game”
In 2014, I got my hands on a copy of Molly Bloom's memoir, "Molly's Game," about her experiences running high-stakes underground poker games in Los Angeles and New York, drawing celebrity players like Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio -- along with several...
Molly Bloom, Underground Poker Organizer
With the movie "Molly's Game" (starring Jessica Chastain, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin) opening today (listen to my review here), here's my 2014 conversation with Molly Bloom, the former underground high-stakes poker game organizer, who wrote about her...
Road Trip: Return To Commerce
In June, I wrote about playing at the Commerce Casino outside of Los Angeles. A couple of friends read it, heard me say that every poker player should try it at least once, and said they’d like to go with me sometime, so we made the trip this weekend. Commerce...
Road Trip: #VegasStrong
Some friends were surprised to hear that I went to Las Vegas this weekend, only a week after the massacre at Mandalay Bay. They asked if I was worried and had considered cancelling the trip, but I told them no, there was no reason to do so. That would be like refusing...