One of the most comforting feelings in the world is being "in the know." Whether it's knowing where you stand in a relationship or all the dynamics at your work, being aware of your surroundings breeds confidence. Without that information and assurance, our human nature often inserts uncertainty, doubt and negativity disproportionately. Even if being "in the know" means being aware of challenging news, we are better able to process and respond to it than facing the unknown.

Other areas we enjoy being "in the know" about are the subjects of our passions, be they rich, famous, athletic or entertainer. We revel in their details. We marvel at their lives, mixing varied parts of judgement and admiration. We get to live vicariously through them. We get to compare their lives and decisions to our own.

A good example of this enjoying being "in the know" phenomena can be seen in the current popularity of the book "Ship It Holla Ballas! How a Bunch of 19-Year-Old College Dropouts Used the Internet to Become Poker's Loudest, Craziest, and Richest Crew" The book recounts stories of Phil Galfond, Andrew Robl, Tom Dwan, Peter Jetten, Jonathan Little, David Benefield, and Travis Rice as they came up in the poker world living fast and brashly. Anyone who has been involved in the online poker world the last decade knows these players and some of the heights that their poker acumen has taken them. Fans eat up every juicy story and tidbit from their youthful indiscretions and degeneracy.

The being "in the know" concept also applies in the world of commerce. This week there has been a very heated reaction to Caesars properties beginning to abandon a long standing practice of not charging resort fees on all their bills. They built a reputation of steadfastly being against those pesky and unnecessary charges. They built a loyal following which feels deceived and cheated. Similar would be the rage if Southwest Airlines, who has carved out a strong business from resisting the urge to nickel and dime their customers with baggage fees and seat fees and food fees etc., were to join the other feckless airline companies. Customers like to be "in the know" on what they consider fair charges. The companies themselves are woefully poor at explaining a reasonable purpose for why they aggressively court customers with one advertised price, then constantly surcharge their customers into annoyed and alienated submission.

I'll use an example of keeping your customers "in the know" from my days running my art gallery. We imported art from Africa. Immediately, many people would come into the gallery assuming some model of exploitation because you were representing Third World art. If all they knew was that our marked retail price was often 10 times what we paid the artist, they would likely righteously rebel. But instead of some slick marketing approach built around deception, I tried to share a transparent story with them so they could be "in the know" about how our art world worked.

In a typical local art gallery the art is all consigned, so there isn't any heavy investment or risk if the art doesn't sell. The next month, a fresh new consignment of art is exhibited with little regard for the prior month's stock. In our gallery's case, we traveled half-way round the world to purchase and arrange shipment back. A process that could take 6 months or more. Due to the challenge of securing the art, it couldn't be returned. We owned the art and paid significantly to get it out of the country and back to the U.S. where we would remain with the art forever, until sold. Unlike most artists, the Zimbabwean stone sculptors were paid in cash up front. They gladly accepted a lesser percentage knowing they didn't have to face any wait or risk in some hoped for eventual sale. The strength of the U.S. dollar was also a powerful negotiating advantage both for the buyer, and the receiver of the foreign currency in a struggling economy rife with inflation.

So while the stated retail price was often 10 times the original purchased price, it didn't reflect the cost of the art for it to arrive in the gallery. The marked retail price also didn't represent the final sale price as most art collectors relished aggressively negotiating the final price of their selected sculpture. What customers could respect was my revealing the historical distribution of the art in our gallery where one-third of the eventual sale price represented the true cost of the art, one third covered the overhead of running the gallery, and one third went to some theoretical profit or at least compensation of the gallery owner, me. Even with that seemingly reasonable ratio, there was a pressure on the gallery to turn over a certain percentage of the owned art or risk sitting on negative returns. Whether they eventually bought or not, customers felt "in the know" about the process and could get behind why there was a need to charge what we did. As informed consumers, they could feel comforted in understanding the process and motivations from all parties.

A friend reached out to me last week to mention he had really enjoyed last week's blog - "Positivity." At the time, he remarked that some of his favorite blogs have been about my African adventures and the lessons I gained. Surprisingly what has resonated with me since that conversation is a lesson I haven't learned fully and which came from a part of the world I have yet to visit - Japan. The concept is simple enough to understand, but much harder to put into practice. There are tasks we do every day. Some call them chores, or routine activities. We have made them all a part of our daily life. Everything from showering and brushing our teeth to cooking, cleaning, eating and even playing poker. Although we do these tasks daily, we often approach them with varied attitudes of reluctance, drudgery or annoyance. The routine nature of these less than seemingly exciting activities places them low on our scale of excitement or enthusiasm.

Traditional Japanese society found a way to infuse ceremony and meaning into the most routine of tasks. Back in college, I was introduced to probably the most famous example of ritualizing the routine when I studied the Japanese tea ceremony. A routine activity that happened every day, the preparation and consumption of tea, was influenced by elements of Zen Buddhism and given formality and reverence previously unseen. The Japanese tea ceremony became a "transformative practice" developing its own aesthetic. By always observing the same considered process, those involved gained a means of experiencing personal insight and inner peace.

What I took away from my brief introduction was that any routine activity can be transformed if only you brought the proper level of respect, consideration and thoughtfulness to it. There are no activities that are inherently better or richer. We are responsible for attributing the appropriate level of meaning. Relating this concept to my own experience has been quite helpful. As a kid I didn't have to do many chores. My mother took care of most of our needs and I had a healthy dislike of routine tasks that kept a household going. As a young independent man, I ranged from avoiding, hurriedly completing or generally loathing most routine tasks and chores. As time went by, I realized that these activities were as necessary to my day as the other activities I seeming favored.

Each task played their necessary part. As the years went by and my attitude changed, so did the experience of completing them also evolve. I no longer found the same level of annoyance or reluctance. While I can't say I equally embrace cleaning a cat box, flossing my teeth, folding the laundry, vacuuming, or doing the dishes, each has come to be a regular respected part of my routine. When I am in my best space, I can take pride in the process. I have developed my own sequence and technique for each. I have taken ownership over my responsibility for them. While I can't say I have yet attained a reverence for my daily routines or that I find extreme enlightenment from them, nor may I in this life, I can see how the Japanese and other societies have instilled great meaning and spirituality in the mundane.

Ritualizing the routine can be applied to the poker world as well. I often hear how successful regular grinders develop healthy mindful routines both in preparation, play and the aftermath of their daily online sessions. Whether it be working out, hydration, ergonomic settings and taking meditative breaks, they are all attentive practices that maximize their positive approach to the game. The goal is to have utmost respect for the game and putting yourself in a position to make the most optimal decisions. The outward goal may be to make profit, but the inner goal is peace, awareness and informed intuition. I still have much to learn about the process, but I respect and admire the notion of ritualizing the routine in an effort to find meaning and enlightenment in all our life's activities.

"How are you always so positive on your blog?"

The question posed to me caused me to think ...

Have I always been a happy-go-lucky person? No.
Was my background privileged enough to insulate me from negativity? No.
Was I the beneficiary of lots of wonderful achievements and recognitions that would give me such an upbeat outlook? No.

As such, I wanted to trace the path that caused me to arrive at this point nonetheless.

Looking back at my formative years, some might have classified me as lacking purpose, relatively indecisive and unfocused, sometimes sensitive, angry or even sullen.

Several events allowed me to evolve my perspective.

1. I took risks. Instead of bowing to conventional wisdom of pursuing a sound financial job after college, I chose to volunteer in an experimental school program and travel throughout Africa. The experiences and confidence gained by managing these challenging adventures opened my eyes to the world and its people. Africans had the least possessions of any I had ever encountered but didn't dwell on it. In the face of extreme adversity, they were determined positive hard working people. The children I worked with revealed my interest in education and reaching out to those in need.

2. I found love. I was 24 and had never experienced love. My longest relationship being but three months long. A woman with a troubled past walked into my life and announced that she had fallen for me. We overcame many challenges, including many of my own, to build a life and family together. Her belief in me ignited a belief in myself. Once it took hold, it was mine. Twenty years later, and in the face of recent marital difficulty, that belief in myself can't be shaken.

3. I experienced life. I could never have predicted the path my life would take. I never took the conventional or financially most beneficial route, choosing instead to select occupations that inspired me. Through each experience I learned that nothing is to be gifted to you. Only through hard work, a positive attitude and some luck will things progress. I learned that comparing myself to anyone else is fruitless. Their experience and history can never be repeated, much as mine can't. We should embrace our unique paths.

4. I simplified. Looking back, I can see so many different directions I could have taken in my life. Many different people, opportunities or activities I could have pursued. Somewhere along the line, I realized that I did best by simplifying my life. That meant focusing on fewer people, things and activities to give more of myself to those that remained prioritized. This life was not meant for what if's but rather being at peace with the decisions I had made.

I don't mention any of these events or qualities to make myself sound special. I am the most ordinary of men living in a vastly complex world. But if I am to share myself with the world outside of me (e.g. through blogging), I choose to have it be the best of me. I don't have the formula for happiness, hope or boundless optimism, but as my life has developed I find myself continually fighting to find the positive out of every situation. I can no longer fathom why I would ever select otherwise?

In the wake of last week's blog on Poker and Nostalgia, I was contacted by one of the top PLO players in the world. He asked me to pick up the torch on a heartfelt issue in poker - fair rake. For a game to survive and prosper, a fair rake must be charged that allows some proportion of players to profit in tandem with the poker room's take. Anything short of a "fair" rake and the game economy will degrade and deteriorate over time.

Online poker rooms already recognize that different games like LHE need a different rake structure. The poker rooms can and do charge different rake structures, offer different buy-in amounts, and different rake caps for different games and limits. The most successful rooms work in concert with their players to evaluate and adjust their rake when it is out of "popular" balance.

Despite playing at astronomically different limits from my high stakes PLO friend, the dynamics of the game are similar across all limits.

1. Given four cards with their myriad of possibilities and combinations, many more players will see a flop than in Hold'em. They will often have proper odds to do so despite 3 and 4 bets pre-flop.

2. Because the equities between made and potential drawing hands are so much closer than NLHE, players will play much deeper into hands inflating the pot. Thus the average pot size and rake paid per hand is considerably larger than NLHE.

3. Therefore with the same rake structure as NLHE on PokerStars, the effective rake for PLO is significantly higher than its NLHE counterpart. PLO specialists have calculated that the game's current rake is 1.5-2 times more than NLHE in bb/100. The ratio increases along that scale at the lower stakes.

The "rake-reduction PLO cause" is being spearheaded on 2p2 by "Napsus." He established three posts to explain, educate and plea his case to PokerStars, the largest poker room in the world, to reduce their effective rake.

In his first post, "Napsus" details how rake, time to act, and ratholing all affect the game.

In his second post, "Napsus" polls the PLO community on what should be the minimum buy-in for PLO at standard cash tables on PokerStars. The poll documents that 87.77% of 2p2 respondents feel that the minimum buy-in should be raised to create a better and fairer playing environment.

In his third post, "Napsus" summarizes and polls the community on whether they should be treated as two different games. 96.75% of the nearly 300 respondents say the game should be treated differently.

In reaction to the community feedback, PokerStars responded by moving the minimum buy-in in regular PLO games from 30bb to 40bb. Although an easier response than reducing rake, it shows PokerStars will listen to community feedback. When the community organizes around "fairer" practices, it can affect change. The SSPLO community feels it's paying an effective rake of 18-22bb/100 on PokerStars now, which drives many players to seek alternative European sites.

The PLO community is asking for their game to be considered differently from NLHE, just as Fixed Limit games are. In PLO it's so easy to get potstuck. More people see pots, the pots get bigger and you stick around due to the size of the pot all leading to more and bigger raked pots. It's harder to overcome gigantic rake when edges get smaller. As the overall pool of players improves, the differentiation decreases and the rake becomes a bigger obstacle to staying in the game.

I'm glad to lend my blog to furthering a worthy cause, that of treating PLO players more fairly so they can continue to develop their game and potential profitability playing something they love. PLO is a game that attracts the aggressive action player; the most profitable for a poker room. Let's hope PokerStars and other sites realize that treating that community to a fairer rake is in their best long term interests to grow the game.

For several weeks now I've been struggling to find the words to accompany a blog on "nostalgia." I was initially inspired by a couple of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis music videos "The Town" and "My Oh My" which both capture a tremendous feeling of nostalgia for the Seattle area. Lately, I've also been feeling nostalgic for a less troubled time.

- Who doesn't know a poker player who doesn't occasionally wax poetic for the days of Party Poker when so many players worldwide were new to the game?

- What poker player hasn't shared fond memories of the online poker economy pre-UIGEA?

For U.S. poker players who have gone without online poker for nearly two years, there is a legitimate sentimental longing for previous battles with wild Scandis, maniacal Italians, bull-headed fellow Americans and fishy French.

We are all experiencing nostalgia. Our wistful memories exhibit a yearning for an earlier perceived better time. It is the same dynamic that has millions pouring over Facebook checking out photos and details of high school acquaintances and exes. As time passes, we romanticize the past. The negatives that may have balanced our perspective at the time are eroded away leaving the memory of a simpler happier time.

Some professionals assert that nostalgia "can give meaning to our seemingly dull lives." In the midst of our often mundane and routine lives, those past experiences and idealized memories remind us of a former purpose and meaning. Finding loneliness in our current life can spur us to revisit relationships or unconsummated friendships of the past. If times are seen as bleak now, looking back to "better times" seems like a completely natural impulse that makes us feel good.

As we get older, the power of nostalgia increases. There are many more experiences to look back on with a further removed eye. With each new loss and heartache from our complicated lives the appeal to reminisce and sentimentalize our past increases.

This lifelong attachment to the people and culture of the past heavily influences the business world exhibited in the recycled styles and subject matter seen in fashion, products, and entertainment.

Where nostalgia can be problematic is that it diverts our attention from the present and future. Experts in the field go so far as to say that those stricken with extreme nostalgia don't even care to plan for their future because they prefer to reminisce about former times. People get stuck in the fantasized past instead of focusing on present challenges and planning for the future. Nostalgia becomes overly influential when you flee from the loss of control in the present and forseeable future.

For poker players, fondly recalling a more profitable time isn't negative. But if it diverts your attention from making your current playing conditions as positive as possible it's counter-productive. Times are always changing. Players are revolving and evolving. We can never return to the past. So look back with affection, but keep taking the steps to ensure you survive the present and prosper in the future.

The end of the year is the time when you see lots of Top 10 lists, so I thought it would be fun to put together a few (5) poker themed top 10 lists. Have a Happy New Year!

Top 10 Worst Moves In Poker Over the Last Decade (listed, not ranked)

1. Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and the Full Tilt team - The level of mismanagement, fraud and player mistrust has never been seen as Full Tilt continued to enrich its owners despite operating in worsening legal and economic conditions. Only with PokerStars stepping in 20 months later have funds been returned to rest of world players while over $150 million is still owed to U.S. players who will likely wait many more months for a chance to collect their funds via the U.S. Department of Justice. Lederer, Ferguson and the entire Team Full Tilt took huge hits to their once sterling reputations within the poker industry. Ray Bitar has been identified as the leading scapegoat, but a meltdown of a nearly $1 Billion dollar valuation company can't be pinned on one person's malfeasances.

2. Joe Sebok - The once very likable poker pro and personality ruined his reputation by choosing to represent himself as the people's savior of a reformed Ultimate Bet, who continued to deceive and defraud players despite Sebok's claims.

3. Viktor Blom - In my estimation, the player who has both won and lost the most money in online poker over the last few years. Tremendous aggression, fearlessness, no bankroll management or tilt control led to Blom losing $4.2 million in a single day to Brian Hastings on Full Tilt. A PokerStars and new Full Tilt sponsored role haven't diminished the Swede's ability to win and lose millions of dollars consistently.

4. UB/Absolute - The super-user scandals at both sites that eventually merged has no peer in the level of cheating conducted by online poker sites violating player trust. It is estimated that well over $20 million was stolen from players by individuals using the poker site software to see their hole cards. Russ Hamilton took a lot of the blame for the UB super-user scandal but UB ownership and management were also involved. Absolute pro Mark Seif went to great lengths to deny cheating at Absolute and was ultimately proved completely wrong.

5. Prahlad Friedman - Spirit Rock did the unthinkable. He forgave being the largest cheated super-user victim to become a paid proponent of a falsely reformed UB, thus becoming twice cheated and losing the respect of the poker community.

6. Jose Girah Macedo/Haseeb Qureshi - The falsely self-hyped Portuguese player, in concert with Qureshi, misrepresented and cheated players of money, sponsorships and even Lock Poker contests.

7. Annie Duke, Jeffrey Pollack and the Epic Poker League - Duke, as League Commissioner, staked her reputation on the free spending Epic Poker League following up her years representing the failed fraudulent UB. Pollack and CEO David Goldberg mismanaged and overspent based on overly optimistic predictions and left players with over $1.4 million in unfulfilled promises before going into bankruptcy.

8. The host of high-profile multi-accounters - The pressure to succeed is tremendous in online poker. Unfortunately prominent players like Joshua 'JJProdigy' Field, Justin 'ZeeJustin' Bonomo, Nick 'StoxTrader' Grudzien, Sorrel Mizzi, Nick ' gbmantis' Niergarth, Mark 'TheV0id' Teltscher, Brian Townsend all violated poker site rules and other player's trust by various forms of collusion, ghosting, account sharing and multi-accounting.

9. Poker rooms that cheated players - A mention must go out to all the online poker rooms that cheated players by suddenly closing for whatever reason and not returning all player funds. Sadly there are dozens of examples; going back to Dutch Boyd with PokerSpot.com to UB/Absolute, Doyle's Room, Purple Lounge, and the Everleaf Network.

10. Phil Hellmuth (I call him the teflon don) Over the last decade, Hellmuth has had more disrespect for players at the table, extremely self-indulgent WSOP entrances, name dropping fiend, verbal gaffes and regrettable quotes, questionable poker strategy books, and long-time association and profit off of the sleazy Ultimate Bet. Despite all that, his WSOP success has kept him relatively immune from a tarnished public reputation.

Top 10 Most Popular Poker Players in 2013 (predicted list, not ranked)

1. Antonio Esfandiari - A massive 2012 will propel Antonio into an even more visible brand in 2013.
2. Marvin Rettenmaier - The german pro will continue to shine and realize his place amongst the best tournament players in the world.
3. Phil Ivey - New training website and TeamIvey will keep Ivey in the public spotlight.
4. Dan Smith - Unknown to most fans, but his results have been too huge to ignore in 2013.
5. Jason Mercier - With his huge 2012 slump behind him, Jason will again see positive results and visibility.
6. Daniel Negreanu - The ever-present one will once again be the top spokesperson amongst poker pros.
7. Bertrand Grospellier - Diversified appeal from gamers, Euros, and even fitness/MMA fans.
8. Sam Trickett - Tremendous at cash games and tournaments. Needs to be more visible rather than just killing the high stakes games in the anonymous Macau poker scene.
9. Gus Hansen - The face of the new Full Tilt is on a roll online and should be a force in 2013.
10. Phil Galfond - A new training site and an emphasis on value laden advice and interviews will keep this player in the spotlight
* Honorable mention to the continuing emergence of top former gamers and now high stakes pros Benjamin Spindler and davin77.

Top 10 Online Poker Industry Predictions for 2013

1. Legal and regulated online poker returns in Nevada with a dozen or so sites live by year's end.
2. New Jersey and other states will continue to push their own online gaming process forward but none of them will go live during the calendar year.
3. Companies and individuals with ties to previous US facing online poker over the last few years will have difficulty getting licensed.
4. The majority of U.S. players don't receive their funds back from Full Tilt due to DOJ delays and legalistic difficulties put in place to recover funds.
5. The biggest and best run online poker brand, PokerStars, continues to leverage its lead internationally and due to its tremendous resources will find a way (i.e. buying the Atlantic Club in Atlantic City) of climbing back into the U.S. market via New Jersey regulation eventually.
6. One more of the rogue online poker sites will have funds seized and be closed down to U.S. traffic.
7. The Merge network will implode due to defections and worsening climate for its business.
8. A U.S. government agency will raid some bitcoin co./individuals to send a message to that rogue industry. (Semi-related as there are some smaller poker sites that allow their usage)
9. The worldwide online poker scene will continue to struggle overall dealing with heavy handed government regulated markets and recovering and uneven economies.
10. No federal poker legislation will occur again in 2013 due to the myriad of competing interests (state lotteries, tribal interests, horse-racing interests, moralists, typical legislative gridlock and infighting).

Top 10 Luckiest Poker Players Over the Last Decade

1. Chris Moneymaker (2003)
2. Greg Raymer (2004)
3. Joe Hachem (2005)
4. Jamie Gold (2006)
5. Jerry Yang (2007)
6. Peter Eastgate (2008)
7. Joe Cada (2009)
8. Jonathan Duhamel (2010)
9. Pius Heinz (2011)
10. Greg Merson (2012)

Obviously anyone who wins the most visible poker tournament of the year (the World Series of Poker Main Event) against many thousands of good players has to be considered the luckiest player. They win millions of dollars and fame for years to come. Most never see that level of success ever again.

Top 10 Personal Online Poker Memories (sequential, not ranked)

1. First deposit of $50 on Party Poker, tripled it, then lost it all before I ever read a poker book.
2. Joined CardRunners, studied, got involved in the community and mastered freerolls.
3. Deposited $50 on UB, starting at .01-.02 with extreme discipline.
4. Befriended and regularly railed my first poker pros online; GreenPlastic, Stinger, LatestLines2, and MuddyWaters.
5. Traded to get money on Full Tilt and slowly moved up NLHE stakes making several thousand dollars.
6. Switched to PLO after a significant NLHE downswing and never looked back.
7. Railed many epic high stakes matches amongst the top pros; Dwan, Sahamies, Blom, Sahamies, Ivey, Antonius, Hansen, Galfond, Hastings, South, and Cates.
8. With emphasis on creating and running PokerCurious, found my groove in two tabling Rush PLO funding parts of the development and hundreds of freerolls for members.
9. Black Friday ended online poker for the last 20 months (recently playing PLO freeplay for fun on Winamax).
*10. Make my first deposit onto a 100% licensed and legal Nevada online poker site in 2013 to play when I'm there on business (*forward looking)

Last week, we decided to add another member to our information team at PokerTrip Enterprises. I placed an ad on CraigsList for a Portland based part-time poker data entry position. Over the last week, I received roughly 200 responses. Although the time commitment became much greater than I expected, I read every cover letter and resume.

Here are some of my thoughts that might benefit you when you respond to your next help wanted ad.

1. Pay close attention to the ad - If the ad asks for a cover letter and resume, make sure to you respond with a cover letter and a resume (10-15% didn't). Find a way to address each concern or desire mentioned by the potential employer.

2. Connect - Every company and job is different. Look to connect with the company or position by the specific characteristics of the job. I was amazed that nearly 70% of respondents didn't specifically mention poker. It's not that they couldn't be perfectly good at data entry without being a poker pro, but if you can't bother to mention an awareness or interest in it you are much less likely to connect with your potential hirer. Something as simple as googling/researching something about the company or job can make a big difference.

3. Differentiate - Everyone is going to say you are a reliable hard working employee, but if everyone says it whether it's true or not it loses all meaning when you read it over and over. You can choose to not say it at all. There isn't one accepted format for a resume. Find a creative way that differentiates you from the crowd and expresses who you are and what you bring to the table. Understand that their time is precious and that articulate brevity is key.

4. Don't tell me, show me - It's not enough to list your traits and experience. Find a way to show me how those qualities exhibited themselves in your previous job. Were you a hard worker? How many hours did you work? What dedication did you bring? How did you go the extra yard for a previous employer? What make you special? Show me examples.

5. Distinguish yourself from the crowd - One person earned an interview despite having no specific data entry experience or connection to poker by showing his dedication and earnestness by volunteering to work for a week for free. While I would never take him up on it, it demonstrated his desire and willingness to sacrifice for the position. Confidence is an attractive quality, but it's important to back it up with action and experience or it comes off as false and forced. intrigue me to want to know more about you.

6. Consideration and Follow-Up - Very very few people followed up their initial contact or their interview to write a thank you or show appreciation for their consideration. Persistence and thoughtfulness of communication in seeking a position can prove how determined you are to get the job and how you might act once you do have the position. Seeking a job can seem a demoralizing process, but inject humanity into it wherever you can.

7. Two-way street - I spent many hours over the last week managing the process, reading, cataloging, evaluating, interviewing and hiring the new employee. Even though my boss thought it was unnecessary, at the end of the process I spent a couple hours sending an email to every person who responded thanking them for responding, indicating that we had found our candidate, and wishing them well in their job hunt. To those that I interviewed, I included an additional personal note. I've already received numerous responses thanking me for that consideration and kindness. I've had my time on the other side, and I feel for anyone looking for that next meaningful job.

What have they got that I don't have? Every aspiring poker player has wondered at one time or another what distinguishes truly successful players from the rest of the poker population. While there are elements of experience, skill, great reading ability, discipline and emotional self control, one of the least discussed common elements is a great memory. Top players typically have a tremendous ability to recall key hands and situations and then access that memory at crucial points in their current play. The natural question then is are these players simply genetically advantaged?

In doing some research for this topic, I learned that there are three main subdivisions of memory each stored in a different part of the brain. The working memory resides in the prefontal cortex. The long-term memory is stored in the hippocampus. The third memory category is called skill memory and is stored in the cerebellum. It is the combination and interaction of these three types of memory that form our identity and define our abilities. One can be conscious and aware of the senses around them, but if no memory is stored and easily recalled the benefit of that experience is lost. We need memories to give us context and influence on which impulse to act on in any given future moment. The collective learning from accessing previous mistakes and positive experiences is essential to making "wise" decisions.

Further research on chess masters suggests that people aren't necessarily predisposed, but rather develop advanced skill memory through becoming an expert in a particular challenge. That memory advantage doesn't usually transfer to other areas of their lives. But rather as you develop your skill through effort in a particular field, your ability to remember aspects of it also improves. This notion gives hope to those who don't think they naturally have a great overall memory. Malcolm Gladwell, in his 2008 book Outliers, popularized the notion put forward by Anders Ericsson that investing 10,000 hours in a particular task is the benchmark to achieve success. The combined message then seems to be that by bringing our passion, focus, and effort on poker, our memory of key hands, situations and the resulting skill will more closely resemble those successful players we have often admired.

In my own personal case, while I've never aspired to be a top poker player my memory capacity has always seemed lacking in comparison. My memory is not as good as it once was. It never was great. Back in my school days, I didn't like memorization and recall tests. On the other hand, I did quite well with multiple choice and recognition tests. Memories were formed and analysis developed, but quick reliable retrieval was the issue.

In the last few years, my memory has worsened. The blame often is laid on our family history of Alzheimer's, but I've identified a different cause. The last seven years have been heavily invested in doing online work which has rewarded processing, presenting and discarding tons of information. Whether it be writing, information analysis, or tournament data related work, the emphasis has been on quantity of tasks over quality. The speed with which one researches, creates and produces the work is lightning fast. One can't hold onto each of these fleeting memories or have their mind turn to mush from an overload of information. In essence, my mind has been trained not to hold onto the memories except for the brief present moments it is necessary to deliver the work.

In the advanced digital age, the lesser memory isn't a problem when one can google anything. It is when I am away from the computer amongst family and friends that I can seem more scatter brained and unaware of details told to me recently. Given time, my mind can slow and focus but the sheer pace and complexity of my work consumes most of my functioning mind. So sadly, I appear prematurely addled. I wonder if it's a widespread phenomena of our modern age? Has the online poker world with its massive multi-tabling, utilizing HUD's and tracking software created a similar dynamic that erodes the poker memory skill for poker players?

The other interesting aspect to this discussion of memory is the notion of identity. Our memories and perceptions of our memories define our reality. Observing people who suffer Amnesia, Alzheimer's or False Memory Syndrome each demonstrate how an individual's identity and personality disappears when their memory does too. Our decisions and reactions are based on our memories. Traumatic memories can stall or heavily influence all future memories. As much as we would like to project into the future that what we want to be...

I am who I remember I am.

Several thoughts came to me the other night as I sat next to a doctor who was also waiting to pick up his daughter from ballet rehearsal. Although he's a friendly guy who showed surface interest in knowing about my work, his eyes betrayed a confusion and disbelief of why I work and play in the poker world. In a crowded waiting room with very little time, there wasn't the opportunity to try to share with him my perspective.

Isn't that what blogs are for, anyways? I've addressed how my experience in poker has enriched my experience and perspective numerous times. In fact, I recall a blog I wrote in February of this year entitled "12 Things I Learned from Poker." Instead of rehashing blogs of old, I decided to share some present examples of how playing poker influenced decisions in my life in a positive manner and let that speak for itself.

1. Limits - I read in the newspaper yesterday (yes, some people still receive and read them) that a majority of homeowners under 40 are underwater. That means they suffered from the real estate collapse that saw home value decrease below the value of what they owe on their mortgages. Many of these people were enticed with ever decreasing mortgage interest rates and their sky-rocketing home values to refinance and take larger and larger 30 year mortgages. I chose not to do that because I felt comfortable playing at my present limits. We had refinanced to what historically was a decent rate for a 15 year mortgage that would have our home paid off right before my first child started college. Having more money back then would have been nice, but there was more risk too with moving up levels of debt too. I was satisfied playing at the limits I was at instead of moving up levels too quickly.

2. Stay in the game - We live in a cut and run society. When you experience hardship, be it in business or in your relationship, the trend is to flee and look for a seemingly better new opportunity. Poker has taught me if you are making good decisions and getting unlucky, you can keep playing and see things out. In a recent PLO session, I found myself losing buy-in after buy-in. My opponents were making unprofitable spewy plays but outdrawing me. I stayed in the game and things finally returned to normal and I climbed out of my losses and into significant profit by staying in the game despite being down significantly. The same approach applies to sticking out tough work and relational situations where it seems that things are going against you when you can discern that you are making plus EV decisions.

3. Play within your bankroll - Being an entrepreneur and contractor, you are bound to experience periods of unsteady income or no income at all. Although it has been unpopular with my family, I've often had to make decisions to live within our means. As a result our levels of debt and being over-extended are much less than others who spend more freely in good times and even bad. Those lessons are directly related to the concept of playing within your bankroll. The concept is to play so you never go broke, even if it requires you moving down levels or cutting back on where your ego would like you to play.

4. One big session - Every day we are faced with challenges. We often make impulsive decisions thinking they don't have a long term effect, but the decisions we make today affect tomorrow. Each decision affects our image and identity. Each rash action (e.g. wild party binge, social media gaffe, anger and thoughtlessness, illegal action etc.) without thought of the future can have ramifications In poker, we can often focus on particular winning or losing sessions, but when you start to look at your time in poker as one big poker session that is when you realize it's key to always make optimal decisions as it affects your ultimate winrate.

5. Manage your emotions - Last night we received a call and email from the high school wanting us to explain our daughter's missing a class yesterday. Calling back today, they didn't want to accept the explanation that it was a confusion of schedule on the first day of a new trimester. I reminded the lady that my daughter was a straight A student who hadn't had a previous tardy or missed class in her first year and a half of high school. I would need to see a pattern of behavior before I start to mistrust my child and treat her like a deceitful student. One of the most valuable skills developed in poker is learning to manage your emotions as you play the game. Don't get too high when you win and don't get too low when you lose. Keeping all your experiences within a greater context helps you to remove the excesses of emotion and focus on making sound decisions.

6. Don't be predictable - In a busy world, people love to make quick assessments and judge people by stereotypes. You benefit by not being so easy to read. I'll use the humorous example of @PokerGrump on Twitter. He loves to tweet about playing and winning with 2,4 or his new favorite hand 3,6, which he calls the Spanish.Inquisition. He profits because he realizes that people are quick to type him or assume he's an older reg who plays a tight range. We can all benefit from being unpredictable and difficult to type.

In the end, I'm not saying playing poker or being involved in the poker world is any better or worse than any other occupation. I'm simply saying that what you do isn't as important as how you do it and what you take from it.

Poker pro Tim West put out a tweet this week seeking input on why he should start a blog.

@TheTmay Anyone have any blogging tips? I feel like it would be lots of fun and therapeutic.

He received some good advice:

@ShaneSchleger Brevity is the soul of wit.

@robertcroak Blog the way you tweet. Sincerity and be yourself.

Coincidentally, @taylorcaby came out with a well written blog the next day "The value of blogging has changed" which addressed professional and personal development reasons to blog in today's environment.

My advice is a bit more fundamental. I blog as I breathe. Once I started it was never a conscious choice. While no single breath is any more important than the next, they each sustain my life. Each renews me and helps my life along. Each expresses who I am. Each captures moments of my life and my impressions. Although there are a finite number that I will have, I recognize the importance that I take them regularly.

I don't plan or think about each new breath to come. I can concentrate and try to take a particularly deep breath, but they inevitably bubble up when they are ready. That is not to say that I'm not constantly aware of those breathing around me. I am sensitive to their need to breath also. My goal is not to take their oxygen, but simply to find enough to sustain myself.

Poker writer @_otis_, who also had a recent poignant mourning blog Dads, expressed it thusly, "the only way I really understand something is if I write it."

Blogging gives you a voice that the complicated world around you doesn't always provide. The process of blogging forces you to consider your world differently than just letting it pass by. Whether you have a large or small audience doesn't matter in the end. That you are true to yourself does. Chronicling your experiences and finding the goodness within them means more than all the rest. If someone else benefits from your sharing, all the better.

My advice is to keep breathing.