 |
| |
| Jesse May |
| |
 |
| |
| Jesse May,
multiple author in the gambling field and sometimes dubded the "voice of
poker", writes a bi-weekly column. |
| |
Most people know Jesse as "the voice of poker"
from his colourful commentary in CH4's late Night Poker. Jesse is also the
author of the widely respected novel, Shut Up And Deal, which looks deep into
the poker playing life. Its the hard faced 21st Century
Cincinnati Kid.
Jesse
is also the creator of The Gambler's Guide to
the World, an insiders look at the action and games around the
world. |
| |
Email : Jesse May
|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
A lot of Europeans made the trip from the
motherland to tackle the pioneers in Reno, Nevada, at a month long poker
tournament held there in January. European results were less than adequate,
especially considering the quality and breadth of the contingent they sent. As
I've tried to tell the Europeans, it's very tough to beat American poker
players when they're only paying $18 a night for their hotel room. We Americans
thrive on that stuff, that nit-picking, angle shooting, expense covering, four
dollars a day for your overhead and play so tight as a Monte Cristo sandwich
kind of poker. You don't think there was any actual gambling going on there, do
you? Well, maybe someone got really drunk. To beat an American poker player,
it's nice to have them off their home turf. It's nice when you open up their
noses, when they bleed a little, when they start complaining about being
charged for water and having to tip the waitress and how there's not enough of
the little soaps in their room. The Americans were virtually all off their
games this past November on the Isle of Man. It was a pool of
blood.
Team Carborundum is in deep on the Oscar markets, now just
thinking about escape. It's mostly Cato's fault. Cato the Greek, a charter Team
Carborundum member, has long been the TC goto guy on Oscar night, making his
bones one long cold dollar betting frenzied evening when he emptied the room by
backing long odds on and covering all bets against the now fabled Pele the
Conqueror for best foreign film. Back in the day you couldn't even get a legal
bet on the Oscars, and serious punters resorted to formal gatherings with large
stacks of dollar bills, beer, and the biggest TV we could muster. Betting, as
always, was fast and furious, and not limited to the categories. Wagering on
what tattoos would be visible through Cher's dress was always an action event.
But Cato has always been spot on with the Oscar nods, racking up
impressive results in all major categories while paying no attention to the
ill-informed masses. Therefore, when he made the pronouncement about Gladiator,
"This is no Titanic", Team Carborundum nearly tripped over its own feet in the
line to the betting window, shoving across money with both hands in that tried
and true method of "Bet now, think later."
The Greek's foils are Traffic
for Best Picture and Geoffrey Rush for Best Actor, and a multitude of bets
highlighted by the holding of an 84-1 exacta ticket on both those events will
see TC comfortably strapped in for the awards ceremony. However, the death of
all bettors, the second guess, has reared its ugly head in the worst way,
because calls have come in to the Team Carborundum hotline with some shocking
news. Crouching Tiger, the Chinese outsider for Best Picture and Best Director,
is actually a good movie! It's information like this that TC just doesn't need,
heading happily into the bliss without having actually seen any of the movies
up for awards, content with the knowledge that quality means nothing in
relation to the prizes themselves, and the good punter, the smart bettor,
thinks only about politics.
So you can understand the danger Team
Carborundum now faces. Should it go deeper in the markets, covering
eventualities by betting on quality? What you have before you is clear. Nothing
is so disturbing as a man on Oscar tilt.
|
|
Main Menu
ales of Team Carborundum
