Photography Appreciation

Was that player not familiar with Willie Nelson?

That player was not familiar with much of anything that required concious thought. He eventually stopped coming because he got frustrated with always losing in the end. We practically screamed at him to fold, but he stayed in no matter what. We would have rather had him keep his money and keep coming to the games!

If you don't mind me asking, how much does each player bring to the table (i.e., how much does one person stand to lose)? I enjoy playing poker, but I do not have the stomach when money is involved.

Anyone is free to choose. A typical buy-in at the beginning of the night is $25, but you can buy in for more or less or rebuy at will. What you find is that over time the odds even out. I lost $60 last time (not a good night) but over the years I have probably come out slightly ahead, but most of us over time are close to even.

That's reasonable. I was under the impression you played for much more.

So there are no Phil Iveys in your group?

Nah. The three "core" players who have played the longest are the ones who are most likely to take it to the mat occasionally -- I dropped most of the $60 on two hands where I had the second-best hand -- the odds were well in my favor -- and got beaten by the nuts. We have also had some "blasters" show up who would bet/raise the maximum every time hoping to drive everyone out, which can take some of the fun out of the evening. One (or more) of the core players will usually take them out to teach them a lesson.

There is an art to raising and bluffing. It is not simply a case of raising the pot and hoping for the best. You must have potential for a hand (and others must know that) and you must consider the hands that others may be holding. Of course, knowing the theory doesn't help when, like me, you lose your bottle when the pot gets too stacked. Do I really want to see his $50 when I have a good hand, but there is potential his hand is better? Or is he bluffing me? Excuse me while I go to the bathroom . . . .

Pot odds should generally rule the day. If your pot odds are higher than the odds of hitting your draw, in the long run you will come out ahead. You just have to accept the fact that it means that you will lose some of those calls in the short run.

Bluffing is also completely misunderstood. Many people think of it as only meaning that you bet when you have nothing, but a good player will rarely if ever do that. Bluffing to a good player who is thinking of the long run means betting in a fashion that is out of character with your current hand and position on the table: for example, betting in an early position even though you are only holding a low pair (which from a standpoint of long-term odds has a negative expectation) or betting like you caught your draw on the turn even though you did not -- but keeping in mind that you could still catch it on the river!

People who regularly bluff when they are holding nothing and are not on a draw will lose money in the long run every time.

Yes, it is certainly fun to watch masters suck players in as they gradually increase the pot while holding a strong hand. Especially when those same players have gotten used to the other player betting when holding a low hand or even nothing on previous hands.

Now I want to play, thank you very much!

I do what I can.

I printed several of my Japan photos for a photo collage frame in the living room. I had done one with pictures of Eve earlier. They work together perfectly. Here is a shot taken with my phone -- not much detail, but you get the idea. (Forgive the reflection of the photographer visible in the glass!)

That looks awesome. They look even better positioned next to each other. I like your choice of frame. It is plain and elegant enough that it does not draw your attention away from the photos that are inside.

Thanks! I actually put a great deal of thought into the selection and arrangement of the photos. The horizontal frames are all scenic, with long shots of various castles in the upper frames and closer shots of interiors in the bottom frames, and of course Fuji-san in the middle. The vertical frames are all sculptures, with some subtle arrangements. (For instance, the "dolphin" in the top vertical frame goes with the long shots of the castles since it is used on rooftops, while the lion on the bottom goes with the interior shots since it is used in things like interior spaces.)

Looks really nice.

I'm not sure if it would work, but have you considered swapping the top-left photograph with the top-right? I'm just wondering if that would balance the collage even more.

Funny that you should mention that. I tried it both ways and could not make up my mind -- I ultimately decided to go with the first way that I tried it since I could not decide otherwise. (The old "Don't second guess" priniciple.)

I will try to get a shot of the Eve collage frame when I get home.

We will extend you artistic licence, but don't expect that to be the norm!

I would like to do a collage myself. Unfortunately, I need the photographs first . . .

The collage of pictures of Eve is another one that I played around with the arrangement for some time before settling on one that I liked. In that case, I printed the pictures that I liked the most and made them fit together. In the case of the Japan collage I selected specific pictures that would go together -- not necessarily my favorites.

Well, then, let's see a picture of these pictures.

I will get 'er done.

Once again, you will have to forgive the fact that this is a cell phone camera image, and reflections on the glass make the prints look uneven or tinted, but you get the idea of the arrangement:

Dammit. Looks blurry, too. Hard to tell when you are looking at a cell phone screen.

I'm thoroughly amused that a photographer resorts to using a cell phone camera to post online shots.

I assume most of the shots are fairly recent, but is the one at the bottom right of Eve when she was younger? It looks like she's sporting long hair. And what’s up with the shot above that? You trusted someone else with your camera?!

I like the arrangement. It's too bad Ridley (or is that another pup?) wasn’t looking at the camera in the shot that's second from the top-left.

That was Stanley, our first dog. It is hard to tell from that shot, but I like it because they are looking at each other, rather adoringly. And the picture in the lower right is of Eve on our honeymoon over ten years ago. She cut her hair after a few years.

The reason that I used my cell phone camera is for the ease of uploading the picture. Taking a picture of pictures in a frame is never going to be the best no matter what you do.

I was only poking fun.

It is a nice collage.