Above and Beyond

ABOVE [uh-buhv] -- adv. or prep. -- in, at, or to a higher place; over.

Gotta say, the first week of April was definitely above average over here at Hard-Boiled Poker. Did play a small number hands of limit hold ’em this week in preparation for Vegas -- only 9 more days! -- but continue to spend most of my time at the PLO tables ($25 or $50 max buy-in). Ended up with a nice pile of cabbage at the end of the day on Saturday and decided to go back and see where the week rated for me all-time. Turned out to be my fourth-best week ever in the two-and-a-half years I’ve played online. Mostly I’m just peddling the nuts and getting handsomely paid for my lack of creativity, although I will mix it up now and again, depending on the table. (Will share a hand or two next post.)

Also have had some nice things said about me and the blog here and there over the past week. As anyone who keeps a blog well knows, such feedback can be very inspiring. Sort of like the way dragging a decent-sized pot emboldens you as you play subsequent hands. I’ve mentioned before how I’ve done some writing in other contexts, and while I’ve occasionally enjoyed some readerly encouragement there, none of it has been as immediate (or, frankly, as meaningful) as I’ve been fortunate enough to experience here. Much appreciated, all!

BEYOND [bee-yond] -- prep. -- on, at, or to the farther side of; outside the understanding, limits, or reach of; superior to; surpassing.

One source of such good vibes has been Beyond the Table, the weekly poker podcast hosted by Karridy Askenasy, Dan Michalski, and Tom Schneider. I mentioned a few posts back how the hosts had decided to move the show from Hold ’em Radio where it aired live every weeknight and then later was made available as a downloadable podcast. Now the show is prerecorded (live, essentially) during the week and posted each Friday. Doing so has at least a couple of benefits. For one, being able to choose their recording time makes it more likely all three co-hosts will be able to appear each week. Also, shows will now be rolling out on a steadier schedule. (As good as Hold ’em Radio is, they’re often a bit slow getting shows posted for those of us who can’t always catch ’em live.)

Another cool new side to the show is they’re making it available via a number of outlets, including iTunes, a new RSS feed, and other ways -- including right here at Hard-Boiled Poker. If you click on the player over on the right, the episode will play as long as you remain on this page. You can also click on “Listen in Pop-up Player” to play the show in a new window as you continue to surf around. If you haven’t heard the show before, this week’s episode is a great one with which to start. Very funny stuff throughout -- these guys will crack you up, I promise you. There’s some thoughtful discussion about several current topics of interest in the poker world as well. (Here’s a post over on Pokerati listing the several items the trio talked about this week.) If you’re curious, I’ve discussed the show before here and here.

Let me know if you run into any problems with the player. I am aware that for some reason the playlist ain’t loading properly in Internet Explorer (although the pop-up version seems to be working just fine). Meanwhile everything appears to be functioning as it should over in Firefox, as far as I can tell. I’ll be working out the kinks here.

(EDIT [added 4/10/07]: Said kinks are all now un-kinkled. Player now appears to be working fine in both Firefox & Internet Explorer. Do send along a comment or email & let me know how it’s working for you!)

And if you like the show, go on over to Pokerati and let the guys know. Sort of thing goes a long way.