DOYLEISM OF THE DAY: “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree on.”

Well, I did it. After reading some of the other poker player’s blogs, I noticed the ones that got the most response and comments were about politics. So I decided to give my opinion on a couple of controversial political topics and sure enough, there were tons of answers and criticism from the various places my blog appears. I noticed Lee Watkinson wrote about it and had 65 comments under his blog. I actually think readers don’t want to read about poker hands unless they are very unusual or happen in a big tournament at a crucial time. But if someone writes about getting two queens beat by A-K or someone making a flush to beat trips, does anyone really care?

For the record, I do have some concerns about today’s government. Do Americans really understand the healthcare bill? It’s downright scary. I’m really worried about the mounting debt we have, the unemployment, the illegal immigrants, the oil spills, terrorists, N. Korea, Iran and on and on. What the heck do people think is going to happen if Iran gets nuclear weapons and starts thinking about Israel? Talk about World War III. Israel will never wait to be attacked, they will strike first. I know if we can’t produce products in America that compete pricewise with imports, we are in for a long recession. If we don’t get to the polls and vote, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.

I got back from Costa Rica just in time to play in Star’s Big Game, a cash poker game to be aired on Fox sometime in June. I can’t give away any results before it airs, but I believe it will be a very good show, rivaling High Stakes as the most popular poker show. The set was spectacular and is the best I’ve seen.

Speaking of Costa Rica, that 3rd world country is really shaping up. I’ve been going there a couple of times a year to visit Doylesroom’s home office. It has changed immensely in that time with new modern buildings being built everywhere. The streets are cleaner and wider than they were and China is building a huge 130 million dollar sports stadium for Costa Rica. Something to do with a political favor. With the addition of DirecTV on Continental Airlines, the flight is much more enjoyable.

On my flight, when we stopped in Houston, the lady sitting next to me started asking me questions about Texas and Texans. She was a schoolteacher from Ohio and when she found out Texas was my home state she wanted to know why Texans loved their state so much. I gave her a brief summary of Texas History, complete with the story of the Alamo and our fight with Mexico that we won to become a Republic. We do have certain bragging rights because when we joined the U.S. as the 29th state, we were given the honor of being able to fly our flag at the same height as Old Glory. We can’t help it if we talk about our heritage as Texans.

I don’t like the response poker is getting about wearing sunshades at the poker table. I’ve been campaigning against allowing them for 20 years. I didn’t know it for years but is a fact that any marks on cards can be seen better with dark glasses. I agree that 99% of the time the person wearing them is innocent of any wrongdoing, but the tournament directors should take control of the danger. Even though lots of the players don’t like it, the human element of seeing your opponent should be a part of poker.

If you remember my referring to my neighborhood as Kittyville, a terrible thing has happened. Despite our calls to Animal Control, they wouldn’t come get the 3 dozen feral cats running loose around here. I noticed there were fewer and fewer animals so I asked one of our security guards if he knew what had happened to them. He reported seeing a Kit Fox (whatever that is) coming across Spanish Hills with a cat in its mouth. Also, there are coyotes roaming around looking for cats and small dogs. My dogs don’t get outside unless someone is with them.

I really felt old this week at the poker table when I said my hometown of Sweetwater, Texas has an unusual record. In the 1st draft into the NFL Hall of Fame, Sweetwater, a town of 10,000 people, had two inductees. They were Sammy Baugh and Bulldog Turner and no one at the table had ever heard of them. It reminded me of a poker interview when the reporter asked me who was the greatest poker player I had played with. I told him, “Chip Reese” and he didn’t know who he was. I guess this quote I have on a plaque in my office is true. “No one remembers the headliners of yesterday. Awards tarnish, achievements are forgotten and accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.”

Perhaps that is as it should be.

-DB