This Bogus Poetry

The Greek guy in seat three resembles former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton after the 1990 World Cup Semi Final - chubby, sweaty and with the haunted look of defeat in his eyes. Greek Peter Shilton thinks I am from Denmark, as only a 'Denmarker' would play in the fashion I am playing. Greek Peter Shilton is buying another rack of $5 chips. I am pleased about this as he is providing much of my daily wages. Greek Peter Shilton is not a very good poker player. The 15/30 at The Oaks is not too different to the 6/12 game. The players are a bit better. They think they are a lot better. And you get half price food. It's possible for a good player to make a lot more money at this game as they rake is a lot smaller proportion of the pot, so the house makes less of a percentage from each hand, taking less out of the game. Today I have been playing for a few hours and running very well. I have a large stack of chips in front of me. Greek Peter Shilton open limps from middle position...

6/12 Limit Hold’em at Oaks Cardroom in Emeryville, CA. It has been described as ‘the most ghetto cardroom in North America’ and I can see why. One of the first times I was there, a guy on an adjacent table flashed a gun and was swiftly pounced on by six security guys. That was at a No Limit table though. There is no such drama in the Limit section - after the gun incident, the middle aged lady next to me soon went back to her sudoko in between hands. Today the game is pretty average and I’m killing time whilst waiting for my seat at the 15/30 table. The lineup is something like this: - Your hero - Jovial middle aged white guy who looks slightly uneasy in casual clothing. I christen him ‘Mr Friday Night Poker’ He’s the home game with business buddies kind of guy. He watches the World Poker Tour and dreams of being Phil Hellmuth. He can’t beat 3/6 but insists on playing 6/12 'to beat the rake'. I get double pleasure from taking money from this guy. -An elderly black man (EBM) ...