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22 JUNE 2006

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do-it-yourself raku & haircut

G: This weekend I attended a raku workshop at the community center. I scrounged up some stuff around the studio since I hadn't made any pots that weren't already glazed recently.

I had some good results - but maybe the pictures don't do it justice.

Everyone really enjoyed the workshop and we're looking forward to doing it again.

J: While riding the online roller coaster of poker this week, I've been listening to Dr Yo radio, my favorite radio station ever!

Hair cutting update: I've been cutting my own hair for a while now, using the electric shears that Gina used to cut Booda's hair with. In an effort to conserve electricity and, uh, Luddism, this week I decided to do the job with a pair of scissors. Furthermore, I felt that using a mirror constituted cheating, and it would only slow me down anyway. So I cut my hair in the shower without a mirror. It really doesn't look so bad, and I only injured myself once, when I cut my finger. No stitches, but it did bleed a bit. Over time I expect to get better at cutting my hair (and not my fingers); and if I go blind someday this is one skill I'll still be good at, sort of. I'll probably go bald before I go blind though.

I like to fantasize that news of my solo haircuts will spark a cultural revolution, and ten years from now all the barbershops will be self-serve, like gas stations are today. Except in New Jersey of course. In New Jersey you'll still have to find a barber to cut your hair.

roshamboldem

There exists an interesting behavior among some Texas Holdem starting hands that reminds me of the classic Rock-Scissors-Paper game. Take Ace King, for example. It's the Paper of Holdem. Like a clean sheet of paper, Big Slick can often look too nice to fold (e.g. after a bad flop) and can get you into trouble, but nonetheless can cover many hands, including Jack Ten suited, which loses to Ace King about 59% of the time. Jack Ten suited, the Rock of Holdem (good old rock), pounds on low pairs like Fours, winning a little more than 52% of the pots against them. Finally, the pair of Fours, acting like a pair of Scissors, cuts through the delicate Ace King 54% of the time.

As in Rock-Scissors-Paper, playing these hands can involve quite a bit of psychology and double-think. For example, if I have a Rock (JT), should I hide it or start pounding away with a healthy bet? Has my opponent represented a pair of Scissors (44), by perhaps just calling the big blind? Or will she raise my bet, claiming to be able to smother me with Paper (AK)? Should I believe her? And so on.

This circular, seemingly paradoxical relationship between such starting hands (where AK > JT > 44 > AK) is one small reason why Texas Holdem remains a wonderfully complex game. Sure, fifty-something percent is nothing more than a slightly weighted coin flip, but over many games a few percent can add up to a few dollars, so playing with a knowledge of these kinds of odds provides a good base for strategic poker.

:-j

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