Each week, I try to figure out what will be the most interesting topic to write about. Usually, driving down the road or standing in the shower, I have a lot of ideas and start thinking about an outline for the article. I come across one key line of thought, usually a sideline of what I originally intended the topic to be. Around that particular thought, I am usually able to build out an article, and every once in a while it comes out well enough that a few of you out there enjoy it and get some value out of it.

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Here are some of the topics bouncing around in my head this week. Some are not worthy of anything more than the one or two lines they’ll get here, some I may turn into full articles, and others are probably off base enough that at some point I’ll look back and wonder what in the world I was thinking.

– Starting hand values change as we evolve and as the games we play evolve. Many players get stuck at one stage and never value hands appropriately for the game they are playing. Hand values when you are 50 big blinds deep are much different than when you are 500 big blinds deep.

– Don’t be afraid to teach others. You will learn more than they do. The ones who get better would have gotten there anyway. The others will appreciate your efforts, think they are getting better, and keep doing what they have always done, all the while blaming their losses on the bad play of others and luck.

– For any of you out there who don’t think Daniel Negreanu (pictured) is a great player, you are wrong. He is one of the best and hardest working players out there. He makes sure he continues to adapt and improve. What do I like best about his game? He is willing to admit that others may be better than him at a specific type of game, put in the time and effort to learn and understand what they are doing, and incorporate it into his own game.

Negreanu is really, really good and he is a truly good guy to boot. Even when I disagree with him, I respect and value his input. In my experience, he has always been the same toward reasonable people who disagree with him. The St. Jude’s fund raiser he just pulled off was tremendous. All vegans aren’t that bad… Who knew?

– Open Face Chinese Poker is an extremely complex game. I enjoy the discussions about the game more than I do playing it. I’ve had some great discussions with poker guys, math guys, game theorists, and intuitively good hustlers who love to be on the curve of any emerging game before the “smart” guys figure it out. Everyone has a different thought process and reasoning behind everything right now. Almost nothing is standard and there are solid arguments against plays that were so intuitive for me that I knew they had to be right.

– It is hard to believe I have been playing poker seriously for almost a decade now. I graduated college in 2003 and had never played poker for any real amount of money. The little I had played was some sort of dealer’s choice game with wild cards where $20 was about the most you could ever win or lose, and I didn’t even do much of that.

– The impact poker has had on my life is immeasurable. When I think about where I would be had I not started playing poker, I almost always end up feeling extremely lucky that I was lucky enough to get involved with the game and the community when I did. I have met amazing people both in my local poker community and the global poker community and have had amazing experiences. I have gotten lessons in business, networking, risk management, and many other topics at a fraction of the cost of what it would have taken to get that knowledge elsewhere, and I have had a blast doing it.

– Playing poker is fun. Make sure you enjoy it and that those around you do too.

Court Harrington has worked on the business side of the poker industry in roles including tournament reporting for PocketFives, radio hosting for PokerRoad Radio, coaching for the WSOP Academy and privately, and a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibilities for poker media businesses. He also plays in cash games and tournaments. Harrington is currently doing consulting work and exploring business opportunities outside of the poker industry. You can contact him at Court@CourtHarrington.com.

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