January 2012
AverageThere’s a scene in the film (of the book, no less) World According to Garp where the lead couple are viewing a house. As they do, a biplane crashes into the first floor, semi-demolishing it. Garp immediately buys the house: “Well, this is the safest house in America. What are the odds of something like that happening twice?”
December 2011
Las Vegas, Show Business and the MobBy Johnny Hughes
Show business and gambling have always gone hand in hand. The recent poker scandal involving Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Tobey Maguire gained a lot of attention for high stakes, illegal poker, much like the Frair's Club cheating scandal in Los Angeles in the 1940s.
November 2011
Nick Wealthall on MugglesI recently started watching the Harry Potter films in reverse order. I didn’t plan it; I went to see the most recent film when it came out because it seemed like the kind of thing that might come up at dinner parties. I realised that, having missed seven films and about 9,000 pages of stories, I might struggle to keep up. But I figured everyone who looked 12 years too old for their part must be a goodie and took it from there. Turns out it’s a pretty good system.
September 2011
Nick Szeremeta: Why a flush beats quads!The ranking of hands in poker – that is, what beats what – is based on the frequency of the hand-type in a deck of cards. The less frequently a particular category of hand occurs – ie the fewer ways it can be produced – the harder it is to obtain.
August 2011
Mind the GapI played a live event last month – the Newcastle UKIPT, my first serious live event of the year. On top of that, I’ve played way less poker this year because I’ve been busy with other things. So I was excited to play and also a little rusty. It’s funny how that happens with poker if you don’t play – you don’t really forget any knowledge but your instincts get a little dulled.
July 2011
Poker, Self-Esteem, and the Accuracy of Self-Efficacy by Johnny HughesBy Johnny Hughes
Titanic Thompson said, “To be a winner, a man needs to feel good about himself and have some kind of an advantage.”
June 2011
Those Gambling O'Malleys – a short story by Johnny HughesBy Johnny Hughes
Being an O'Malley, I was learning the grift by age 14 and I drove a car across Texas all by myself in 1937. You go ask any old person in the Southwest if they've seen my uncle Sky O'Malley's act and they'll remember and laugh. They had this ol' bi-plane during the Depression.
May 2011
The Rush by Johnny HughesBy Johnny Hughes
"The difference between a good player and a great player is that when a good player gets lucky, he'll win a big part of the table. When a great player gets lucky, he'll win the whole table." – Johnny Moss
April 2011
Poker and the Gambler's FallacyBy Johnny Hughes
Have you been down to half your chips and thought,"I am due – one big pot and I will get even”? When the poker game is great and you aren’t catching any real starting hands, do you anticipate with certainty an impending change of fortune? Do you play double up and catch up, taking more risks when you are behind?
March 2011
The O’Malley Family TonicBy Johnny Hughes.
Saratoga, New York, 1925. A fictional memoir
“The hardest thing in the world is to find an honest partner in a skin game." – Arnold Rothstein.