Uncle Billy

From My Poker Blog:

I started playing poker in 2003 after moving to Sitka, Alaska. Ever since that time I have always had poker buddies. Much like drinking buddies or fishing buddies, our conversations revolved around our hobby. Sure, every once in awhile we would wander into discussion about family or friends or work or sports or whatever. The basis for our friendship had started in poker, and therefore the dialogue would inevitably end up there.

Usually these poker buddies would become my best friends. I spent an inordinate amount of time with them over the years. Each poker tournament ran at least three to four hours. Our cash games would run through the night. Our phone calls would go on and on about this bad beat, or that great rake. At work we would pass the time talking over strategies or felt stories that amused us. We would dream together about one day sitting at a prestigious final table together and having EPSN do a feature about these two friends making it all the way.

This past week I saw the passing of one of my best friends – one of my favorite poker buddies. My Uncle Billy died while I was out on the boat. I found out on Thursday.

Billy was the most driven poker player I knew. He lived alone and spent much of his time away from work working over the fish at PokerStars. My first Christmas gift to Billy was a poker book, a poker DVD, and a set of cheeky card protectors. His first gift to me was Harrington’s second Hold’em book. Family made Billy my Uncle, but Poker made Billy my friend.

Billy and I grew closer than ever over the last seven months or so. I flew to Vegas to watch him and my dad play in the WSOP event #2. Along with the time I spent stalking his play for day 1, I spent a ton of time with him elsewhere. We watched movies up in the room. We went to nearly every meal together. We ran to the strip to play various cash games and tournaments. Probably the most important part of the trip – we swapped cell phone numbers.

Since that trip we’ve been in steady contact on the phone. Somewhere along the line he learned to use the text messaging feature on his phone. Along with the 380+ email conversations over the past year, we’ve also added phone conversations to our repertoire.

Billy has also staked me in multiple games above my bankroll. Most recently he bought me into the Sunday Warm Up. He also was planning on having me fly out to Vegas this spring to buy me into the WSOP circuit event that was coming to town. At every step it was apparent that Billy treasured our new friendship as much as I did.

Really all I can do now is treasure that friendship. I will cherish the time God brought Billy into my life. I will grasp at the memories that bring a smile to my face. It is one thing that helps when my brain is running and trying to logically explain why he is gone now. Or worse, when my brain tries to run through scenarios that have me miraculously calling or emailing him at the right time to derail him from the course of events that lead to his death.

My other help comes from the family and friends that I have on and off the felts. My daughters can’t help but make me smile all day long. My dad is like an anchor, in spite of losing one of his best friends in Billy. My friends at Railbirds are amazing in their support, proving to be a form of therapy for me. I look forward to playing games on Full Tilt with them soon.

This has been a busy month for my blog. I will be taking a needed break from publishing through the remainder of the month. In the meantime I will be appreciating more time with my family, and trying to smile more than usual.

2nd Hand Borrowing of Creativity

I've started following quite a few blogs recently. One of them posted something this evening that deserves a visit, especially if you love THE Star Wars Trilogy and the Muppets like I do. Check it out here.

Home. Again.

I’ve been couch-contained since just before the New Year. I had “minor” surgery on the 30th. Minor meaning there’s nothing for my friends to worry about and there’s plenty to affect my life. Yesterday I tried work for the first time. A high percentage of people have no problems within a couple days. I waited a whole week and had plenty of problems. I was home by 10:30. I felt worse yesterday than I did last Thursday.

I really hate the feeling of involuntarily leaving responsibilities at work. I say “involuntarily” because I really have no problems deciding to skip out on work. That’s behavior I’ve had since birth! It’s also part of the reason I scheduled this procedure during our boat’s in-port period. Of course, the upside is more time at home with the family. I have also had loads of time to work on hobbies (work? lol) such as Blogger and poker.

I’ve found some new reads as far as blogs go. It’s nice to have something new to read every time I log on. My new poker blog is going great. I’ve designed a header and background for it using my minimal graphic design talents. I’ll use this opportunity to shamelessly plug it again ;-)

http://cgcook38.blogspot.com/

I love Blogger’s feature that allows me to set the time that a blog gets published. This allows me to write multiple blogs at once without throwing them all out there at the same time. This is perfect for poker, as I am always thinking about it. There’s always something for me to write about. Also, when my boat leaves for an entire week I will have the ability to publish while I am gone, which is wonderful!

I Finally Found One!

I found someone who believes the Chargers have a shot! But then, all he considers is the performance of the team. Probably not something that would be understood by the four-letter network, or anyone else. Regardless, this blog looks fascinating and I will be following it from now on!

With a Title Like That...

I've been following a blog lately called Giant Battling Robots. I found it on the Blogs of Note, and it's a wonderful fit for me. The writer keeps me entertained regardless of whether the topic is of interest to me. Usually I am very intrigued with his topics though, as the entire blog is based on games and statistics. It’s like a dreamland for me. =)