Falling In Love....
An email thudded virtually into my inbox last night from the Poker Bastard.
His legion of fans will be relieved to hear he is still around ready to expose, ridicule and puncture the odd inflated ego.
So, what did I owe the honour of a correspondance from the esteemed PB?
Back in February Poker Europa ran a rather personal attack on me. On the same page there was an article praising the PB. I wrote an email to the PB suggesting it would be rather damn fine if he wrote something rather nasty about Nic Szeremeta who I assumed penned both articles (I have since discovered even though the pieces had a byline of Nic Sz his serpentine former assistant Phil Shaw actuallty penned the bile). The PB responded that if I wanted to write something he would put it up on his blog with total anonymity. I was so damned angry at the time I was sorely tempted to take the caped crusader up on his offer. But, for some reason which escapes me, I decided not to.
Last night's email was basically repeating the offer.
Now, this time, I know why I'm not going to do it.
Because I really don't care anymore.
It's not that I don't support what the PB has set out to do. I do. There is a ridiculously high percentage of tossers, shysters, wankers and gits in poker. I hope the PB exposes as many of them as possible.
It's just my days as the angry young (or not so young) man of poker are behind me.
The reason? Jake. He has changed my priorites completely. I don't care if player A cheated at the Vic. I don't care if player B abused player C at Luton. If player X wants to con player Y, well that is really nothing to do with me.
Jake is the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. And most of the time in between too. Yes, I've gone soft. And to be honest I don't really give a damn if that's what you think. Because it's true.
I think I know by now who I can trust in the world of poker and who I can't. I know who the good guys are (and I am relieved to report there are alot of them around) and who the bad guys are. I will just stick to the company of the people I like and trust when I venture back into the poker.
If someone can look at themselves in the mirror and be satisfied what looks back at them what point is there in me telling the world what a tosser they are? It achieves very little apart from making me an enemy. And I've got far too many of them regardless.
Yes, some things continue to upset me. There is a very talented young player I know. He is a good kid and could become a top class player. I fear he is getting himself into the wrong company and will be lead off the right tracks. But, instead of telling the world what is happening to him on this blog, I will buy him a beer and have a quiet word in his shell like. That will be my modus operandi from now on. Keep my head down and get on with my business.
And my business is Jake and Katharine. I think I'm falling in love. And damned good it feels too.
Here's one more picture of Jake just to prove he really isn't ginger. (Not that there is anything wrong with being ginger. It's just that he isn't!)
His legion of fans will be relieved to hear he is still around ready to expose, ridicule and puncture the odd inflated ego.
So, what did I owe the honour of a correspondance from the esteemed PB?
Back in February Poker Europa ran a rather personal attack on me. On the same page there was an article praising the PB. I wrote an email to the PB suggesting it would be rather damn fine if he wrote something rather nasty about Nic Szeremeta who I assumed penned both articles (I have since discovered even though the pieces had a byline of Nic Sz his serpentine former assistant Phil Shaw actuallty penned the bile). The PB responded that if I wanted to write something he would put it up on his blog with total anonymity. I was so damned angry at the time I was sorely tempted to take the caped crusader up on his offer. But, for some reason which escapes me, I decided not to.
Last night's email was basically repeating the offer.
Now, this time, I know why I'm not going to do it.
Because I really don't care anymore.
It's not that I don't support what the PB has set out to do. I do. There is a ridiculously high percentage of tossers, shysters, wankers and gits in poker. I hope the PB exposes as many of them as possible.
It's just my days as the angry young (or not so young) man of poker are behind me.
The reason? Jake. He has changed my priorites completely. I don't care if player A cheated at the Vic. I don't care if player B abused player C at Luton. If player X wants to con player Y, well that is really nothing to do with me.
Jake is the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. And most of the time in between too. Yes, I've gone soft. And to be honest I don't really give a damn if that's what you think. Because it's true.
I think I know by now who I can trust in the world of poker and who I can't. I know who the good guys are (and I am relieved to report there are alot of them around) and who the bad guys are. I will just stick to the company of the people I like and trust when I venture back into the poker.
If someone can look at themselves in the mirror and be satisfied what looks back at them what point is there in me telling the world what a tosser they are? It achieves very little apart from making me an enemy. And I've got far too many of them regardless.
Yes, some things continue to upset me. There is a very talented young player I know. He is a good kid and could become a top class player. I fear he is getting himself into the wrong company and will be lead off the right tracks. But, instead of telling the world what is happening to him on this blog, I will buy him a beer and have a quiet word in his shell like. That will be my modus operandi from now on. Keep my head down and get on with my business.
And my business is Jake and Katharine. I think I'm falling in love. And damned good it feels too.
Here's one more picture of Jake just to prove he really isn't ginger. (Not that there is anything wrong with being ginger. It's just that he isn't!)
11 Comments:
top stuff
being a dad is great, wait til your a grandad ;-)
Davey Newth
Good Health & Luck to you and your new family member Keith.
Hope it makes you a softie when in the blinds too.
Regards
Lawz
Keith.
I've never had kids, but I have a similar attitude to that which you now have. What puzzles me is why it takes parenthood to change most people's minds. I see so much campaigning seriousness out there (politicos are the worst offenders) and mutter to myself "but why do they care so much?"
Fortunately most of them eventually become parents and change overnight.
But it really would be nice if people were capable of changing before parenthood was thrust upon them.
Welcome to the land of "There are more important things than .... (insert your choice of word here)"
Pete.
Keith,
to clarify... what actually happened is that i was handed an (in my opinion) rather out of context snippet regarding your comments on Marcel Luske by Nic, and despite pointing this out was instructed to run it anwyay. Therefore i sought to bolster it by adding the remaining paragraph on your comments regarding pokerstars donations to charity from my own observations.
Regarding this latter section of the piece, my opinion was and remains simply that if youre going to open your big mouth about a sensitive issue like this in a public manner then you can hardly complain when someone asks who the fuck you are to be making such proclimations and what exactly your moral credentials are. I happened to have been in close contact with the core of the Pokerstars team in the months before this and play regularly on the site (as you know) and thought them to be extrememly well intentioned in every direction, hence the impetus for the piece.
So, of course i accept responsibility for this. But the rest, and the actual desire to print the article are nothing to do with me, and obviously relate to you feud with nic which i have no inling as to the origin of, or quite frankly care.You have always seemed perfectly reasonable when ive played with you online, and since i dont even know you bear you no animosity.
Anyway, congrats on the new addition to the family... and stay out of my HU matches ;-)
Phil
what a fine post. and congratulations.
thanks again for the jeffrey bernard recommendation - i'm absolutely loving his stuff.
you've always been a big softie to me, long may it continue
Keith, don't change too much - you weren't that bad as you were.
I think some of the not so good guys in poker deserve to be named and shamed appropriately, and generally you have done not a bad job.
Keith you are simply evolving, you shouldn't drastically change. Evolution not revolution
Keith,
discovered your blog recently and have spent a couple of weeks at work picking my spots well reading and enjoying the printouts from the start. so ive finally got here and would just like to say well done. also congrats with the new baby.
Cheers
Aidan
A very pleasant read sir. It makes me think of an esteemed friend of mines comments while we were wetting the head of his second son. He passively said "kids are like farts; you can just about stand your own"
Jake's a lucky lad
How about an anagram competition using
Nic Szeremeta.I'll start you off.
SM create nazi
Jake looks ......well, jake.
Regards,
Karabiner
A soft cuddly,compassionate Camel.
Its a miracle!
Rejoice!
Everything is loverly,and the world is truely wonderful.
There is a song in our hearts and life as we know it ,from now on ,is rosey.
Thank -you Jake,I can't wait to see the next pic,ignore the cynics,you have all found nirvana.
Post a Comment
<< Home