Shamus the Scribbler

Clearly the poker world has changed drastically since Al Alvarez went to visit John and Edna Luckman back in the early 1980s when researching his book The Biggest Game in Town. The Luckmans were the proprietors of the Gambler’s Book Shop in Vegas (now run by Howard Schwartz). Alvarez met Schwartz there as well, and in his book describes John Luckman and Schwartz as each having “the obsessed enthusiasm of a scholar for his subject.” He tells how both are also a bit dismayed, however, at how few locals (at that time) were coming in to see what they had to offer.

“‘I bet we don’t have six dealers who come here on a regular basis,’ Luckman says. ‘Players aren’t readers.’”

As I say, all that has changed, thanks in part to the efforts of the Luckmans and Schwartz. Players are readers now -- at least most of them are. And a lot of them are writers, too, it seems.

When I started playing poker, I also started reading about poker, picking up strategy books and other works like The Biggest Game in Town. Then, a few years later, I decided to start writing about the game as well and began Hard-Boiled Poker.

Like a lot of folks -- including the authors of the hundred or so blogs I’ve listed over on the right-hand column and to which I subscribe -- playing poker and writing about it are closely associated activities. Here I’ll quote Amy Calistri’s line where she says (on her blog Aimlessly Chasing Amy) “I started writing about poker the first time I played poker. For me, it was like the proverbial cigarette after sex; a way to savor one of life’s great moments.” Indeed, I can’t really imagine doing one without doing the other.

(By the way, I had no choice but to quote that because I fear Amy is going to notice someone hitting her blog after searching “calistri and cigarette and sex and poker.” I knew I’d read that over there somewhere, but couldn’t remember where.)

Anyhow, looks like I’ve found a few other places in addition to Hard-Boiled Poker to keep on with the scribbling, and I wanted to pass the news along. Most recently, I was added to the roster of “BigPoker Bloggers” over at PokerSift, a newly-launched site where about a dozen of us will be contributing. PokerSift was an idea conceived by the guys who do Rounders, the Poker Show, a terrific weekly poker podcast that will be changing its name to the “Two Plus Two Poker Podcast” (I believe) at the start of 2008. The show will also have a forum of its own over at 2+2, so do check that out.

I published my first PokerSift post yesterday, sort of an introductory “glad-to-be-here”-type entry. Am not sure as yet what exactly I plan to do over there. Those of us who keep personal blogs have been invited to “syndicate” ourselves over there (so to speak), and while I may do some cross-posting I’m leaning toward doing something a little different on PokerSift. We’ll see how it goes. (Any suggestions?)

Have also recently been added to the group of posters over at Pokerati, where I’m putting up occasional posts introducing new episodes of Beyond the Table. Those posts are appearing over at the Beyond the Table website as well. Here’s the latest one describing the guys’ most recent show, “Live and Otherwise.”

Finally, a publication called Gambling Online Magazine has reprinted a couple of old HBP posts in recent issues. (Am still waiting for them to send me copies -- anyone out there happen to see them?) They reprinted one of my UIGEA recaps as well as another one about record-keeping. So, if you happen to pick up a recent issue, you might just see something in there by Short-Stacked Shamus.

So thanks, poker players, for also being readers. And writers. And if I don’t get back here in the next few days, have a good holiday.