Another year has come and gone and so much has happened in the microcosm of the poker world, as well as in the universe at large. What has touched so many lives in poker is but a small and relatively insignificant subset of the larger picture when you consider not only what is good for poker players, but what is good for the world in general. The world has faced some good times and some truly horrific and sad times. There are wars in many parts of the world. We continue to fight the war on terrorism here on our home soil, and there are countries being ravaged by illness, violence, and hunger. This likely sounds as though it is going to be a downer of a column, but that is not at all my intention. Having mentioned some of the things that are truly of consequence to the majority of humankind, there is so much for so many of us (sadly, not all of us) to be thankful for. This is true both in the world and in poker!
2006 was a banner year for poker. New tournaments debuted and records were broken in most poker-related events around the country. The
World Series of Poker had a main-event field of nearly 9,000 players. Card Player Cruises sold out every poker cruise on its schedule. Online poker continued its phenomenal growth. Poker rooms opened and expanded to meet the growing numbers of players. So, what could possibly be in store for 2007?
Unfortunately, with the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and its subsequent signing by the president, the growth we all have seen in online poker is definitely in jeopardy. How will this affect our rights as U.S. citizens to play poker online? Only time will tell. There are many organizations and individuals who are working feverishly to overturn this legislation. If you have not already joined the Poker Players Alliance (pokerplayersalliance.org), I strongly urge you to visit its website and then make your decision to join. For $20, your voice can be heard and we can make a difference.
Some poker players fear that the passage of this bill is the beginning of the end of poker. Au contraire, I believe. There was plenty of poker before the Internet, and while I believe this is a huge setback, I think that the Internet taught many players how to play and encouraged them to visit brick-and-mortar cardrooms. The growth in land operations has been huge, and I think so many people are used to playing now that cardrooms will continue to flourish. I don't think you can unring the bell, so to speak, and I think that so many poker wannabes have become players that they will find that there are plenty of cardrooms in the vicinity of their homes, and they will learn to play live-action poker. That, of course, is a great thing. Also, many sites have remained open and available to U.S. players, and you can find out which ones they are by looking at the many ads in Card Player for that information.
Getting off that high horse (please help me down, as I did turn 50 this year!), I personally had many highs and lows in 2006. I enjoyed a year of wonderful travel and was fortunate to go to Japan, the Bahamas, Africa, and the Philippines, and took five poker cruises (including one to Egypt and the Mediterranean) and many road trips (to the East Coast, Midwest, West Coast, and Mexico). I met so many wonderful people and learned about cultures that were new and foreign to me.
I even had another brush with death! Without dwelling on it, I am healthy again. Thanks to many of you for your concern and get-well cards. I got a nasty "taste" of some food poisoning back in early November that resulted in a five-day stay in the hospital with total renal failure. While considering the possibility that life as I know it might have been different forever had my kidney function not returned (it did, thankfully), I have tried to slow down a little and smell a few more roses. I have a few friends who were diagnosed with cancer in 2006, a few who passed on, and a few more who are still struggling with other ailments that they have had for years. I have friends who are invalids and some who are missing limbs and organs. I look at my 2006 surgeries and other hospital stays as part of a life that is so blessed. I applaud all of my friends who are living with conditions that may or may not be fatal, and thank them for the wisdom they have shared with me about what it is like to live with the daily knowledge that today may be a good day, or may not, and we will deal with it when we know. I thank everyone in my life for their friendship, their help when I am down, and their willingness to share their good times; and I'm thankful for my ability to share with them their bad times.
2007 will be a good year … I insist on it! I am going to put things more in perspective. I am going to use my recent near-death experience as a growing tool and appreciate my friends more, love a little more, hate a lot less, and learn to be more patient. Poker is just a game. It is a great game, and one that has been the center of my universe for 30 years now. I don't know where I'd be without it. It is a game that has brought me to where I am now and encircled me with 98 percent of the people in my life. I would be lost without them, and want to make 2007 a year in which I show people how much they mean to me and stop sweating the small stuff. I think a by-product of that will be that I will become a better poker player (see how I fit that in?), and a more kind and gentle person. I think we all could use a little of that, eh? Getting hit with the more kind and gentle stick a few times might help us all to smell those beautiful roses a little more, love our families and friends more intensely, and not fall in love with J-8 suited on the button. You all passed and graduated in 2006; well done!
Class dismissed.
As always, please contact me at [email protected] with your poker-related questions, comments, and column ideas. Also, please visit cardplayercruises.com for poker cruise information.
