I was first introduced to poker for $ late my freshman year of college (2003). I was studying finance at NYU at the time. One of my friends asked me if I wanted to play a $10 game of poker. Rewind about 3 years to high school. There was a big blackjack craze at our high school where dur... Read More
Whenever I think about my favorite poker memories, my mind always goes back to the home games I played in college. To me, that was when poker was the most fun, the most exciting. Back before it was all grind and rakeback and downswings and equity calculations, back when it was beers and bad play and never winning or losing more than fifty bucks in a night. I was so new to the game then. God help me, in those days I would actually c ... <a href="/blogs/j-mac/42021-The-Home-Game">(continued)</a>
The following very well may be my  favorite Emil story, which is interesting because a) it has nothing to do with poker and b) I wasn’t even there when it happened. Nevertheless, ever since I heard it, I have always retold it, and I have always enjoyed it. During our junior year of college, Emil went out to the bars one night with some friends. At the end of the night everyone was hammered and starving so they we ... <a href="/blogs/j-mac/26591-Maybe-my-favorite-Emil-story-">(continued)</a>
I think a lot of people, especially when they first start playing poker, have a few poker players they idolize at least a little bit. For some people it might be Sam Farha, the consummate suave gambler with the dangling unlit cigarette. For some it might be Scotty Ngyuen, laughing and knocking back Michelobs, taunting with, “You call, it’s gonna be all over, baby.†For some, especially when they were just st ... <a href="/blogs/j-mac/17401-Let-me-tell-you-about-Phil-Ivey">(continued)</a>
Way back in the fall of 2005, I was living with Emil and our mutual friend Tom. We were all in our senior year at NYU . We all had pretty light schedules and a short commute to class. We also all played poker seriously. Not surprisingly, none of us graduated on time. But this post is not about our lackadaisical academic attitudes. This post is about what happened when Tom and I convinced Emil to buy his first plasma TV. Mind you, ... <a href="/blogs/j-mac/11491-Double-Vision">(continued)</a>
Some of you whippersnappers may be too young or too new to remember the great Krantz-Ellipses duel of 2007. Well, have no fear, for I will tell you the glorious tale. In the summer of 2007, Jay, Emil and I were all living in downtown Manhattan. They were playing cards and I was working as a distribution analyst for the retail chain Steve and Barry’s. Jay and Emil were both longtime successful hsnl players, but that summer they b ... <a href="/blogs/j-mac/6051-Ellipses-Period-">(continued)</a>