PresidentTracker: One of the world’s 100 Most Influential People of 2009 at the WSOP in 2011.
(Photo: PokerListings)

Plenty of talk about polls as we head into the homestretch of our 2012 US Presidential election. Who’s up, who’s down, who asked what and margin-of-error how? Just remember: no matter where you are on the political spectrum, in the horserace journalism of it all, the mainstream media are primary beneficiaries of a tight race. At least that’s what I keep telling myself after making some rather significant wagers on essentially a “gut” feeling that the national economy was improving and no way more than 43 percent of Americans would vote for a guy who strapped his dog to the roof of a car.

But proper analysis is apparently not so simple.

No wonder so many pundits are looking to a former online poker semi-pro to tell us who’s the best bet for president.

Nate Silver, 34, is author of The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-but Some Don’t … and he’s all the rage among the politerati these days. His book apparently brings multi-level thinking taught by hand histories into the political sphere. And in doing so, Silver puts online poker on the same level as other imperfect but predictive sciences such as hurricane tracking and counterterrorism. (And nobody seems to be laughing at the comparisons!)

The Signal and the Noise came out the chute in September on the New York Times bestseller list, where it’s currently #15 among all non-fiction books. And at the time of this posting, the book ranked #1 on Amazon for books about math, #1 for technology, and #2 for politics and social sciences.

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Here’s a good post from a non-poker blog, written by a dude named Tony H, which is sorta like Tony G but different:

Everything I Know about Business I Learned from Poker

It’s a pretty comprehensive analogy … though he does leave out one chapter I’ve got working in my poker/business book — “Beware of Fuggit Mode”.

Seen last night at a Las Vegas Target:

Poker is clearly booming dying.

… and so are weddings.

Two years ago, poker items were the hottest holiday shizznit in the retail stores. It didn’t matter if you were shopping at Oshman’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, or CVS … the poker goodies were on prominent display and selling like proverbial hotcakes. Then last year, you saw some of these same items — only they were marked down on clearance, as their didn’t seem to be too much demand for the crappy variety of poker supplies. I’m guessing the real poker merchants still did fine, but don’t know for sure.

This year, I again took note of poker’s place amongst the Christmas merchandise … and here’s what I found:

Who knew that Popeye the Sailor Man played poker? This t-shirt did, and it was the only poker-related apparel I saw in the whole mall.

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In my last post, I responded to an email that I received from Ralph, a nice young guy who wanted to become a professional poker player. I told him that if he hadn’t read at least 15 books he might not be taking his attempt at playing professional poker seriously enough. On Tilt commented that I must be kidding about 15, and wondered if I was exaggerating to make a point.
The answer is no, I wasn’t kidding. I was dead serious.

I have a few questions for you:

How many books do you think a lawyer reads about law before becoming a professional? How about an accountant? Pick a doctor to perform back surgery on you. Do you want the guy who hasn’t read anything since med school or the guy that has read 15 books in that time? The answer is clear for me. That’s why doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc. are required to go to continuing education to keep their license.

Besides, why wouldn’t you read virtually every book that might help you make money in your chosen profession? Why should poker players take their job less seriously than other professions? There are times when I have read a book and picked up some tips and thought what a dumbass. If I had read that book 6 months ago I would have made an extra $20,000 over that time by using that strategy.

One of the most ridiculous excuses I hear for not putting in proper study time is from people who claim to be “running good” and not wanting to screw up their play. How stupid are you? For those who don’t think they are capable of ignoring bad advice, don’t read the following: Chocolate ice cream is the best way to lose weight.

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Pokerati brother-in-law Will in Omaha writes in to inform us about one of his former students who’s apparently in good with the poker gods. Recent UT grad Jess Newman earned more than $160k by winning the $3,000 Festa al Lago event. Very well done.

OK, so maybe this took place almost a month ago … but hey, it takes time for the evangelical Christian blogosphere to link up with the poker blogosphere, so hopefully we can be forgiven for the reporting delay.

By the way, if you are ever a little curious about Godstuff, I strongly encourage you to read Will’s new book … The Kingdom of Couches: Fighting for Communal Faith in an Individual Age. While I still contend he should have gone with my suggested title (Aces Full of Kingdoms), it’s a good read … better than Sklansky, that’s for sure. Seriously, even if you’re a card-carrying heathen and doubt the probability of life after poker … you’re still likely to be entertained by the antics of a born-again blogger who tries to save souls during Spring Break beach parties and prays with cheap hookers in the New York City subway system. … only to discover Christianity itself might need a little saving.

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