So I’d like to recount one of the hands I had at poker over last week.

The Setup: I was playing Texas Hold-em at a 1 / 2 No Limit Table. The average bet was around $12 and average pot around $75. I

The Hand: I was dealt Pocket Rockets (Aces) and bet $20 pre-flop. Everyone but one person folded. The flop falls, an ice hits the felt (Yes, I go!) Trips. He checks. I check. 4^th street falls a random card. He bets $20, I double the bet. Now there are 2 flush draws on the table and I figure he’s playing a flush draw. The final card falls, a 2 of diamonds. I go all in, he calls. I lose. It turns out he started with 3 / 5 diamonds and was playing an inside straight draw all the way through and he caught it on the river. I played the hand text book perfect, bet heavy to fight off fisherman, checked on the ace and re-raised on 4^th (representing a high flush draw) and he still called, played the hand horribly and won.

The lesson here is no matter how well you play your hand, you can still lose all your chips.

PS. I left the tale swearing and pissed J

I spent a few days in Cape Cod & Martha’s Vineyard (first time there) and it’s interesting. It feels like The Hamptons but less younger people, less to do though more relaxing because it doesn’t have the same exodus of NYC feel. Very nice beaches in Cape Cod, relaxed little town in Martha’s Vineyard with a ton of ice cream shops (I think I counted 5 on one block). Fun vacation though I think I prefer the Hamptons.

So I just spent a couple of days at Mohegan Sun and while it’s a gorgeous hotel, I have terrible luck there. I’ve been there 3 times. The first time I was extremely depressed and read about a serial killer (really good for when you’re in a bad mood), the second time it was the tipping point leading to a break up with my then gf of 5 years. Finally this week I lost money on 3 bad beats at poker. Arg!

 November is quickly approaching, with the promise of Thanksgiving and the winter holidays (and vacation!) not too far away.  For many of us, the holiday season reminds us of great memories of family, friends and yes, great food. 

But for the nearly 1.3 million New Yorkers who rely on emergency food services to feed their family, it’s this time of year that can be the most difficult, offering them a stark reminder about what they are missing.  

 I am writing because I’m hopeful you’ll join me in making a difference in the lives of those New Yorkers most in need.  I’ve decided to join Robin Hood (www.robinhood.org), New York City’s largest anti-poverty organization, as a Co-Chair member of their Food for Good initiative, where they are partnering with Fresh Direct to deliver holiday meals to 120,000 New Yorkers. For just $50, you can purchase a delicious holiday meal, complete with turkey and all the fixings, that will feed a family of eight.  100% of every donation will go to helping to feed people.

I want to invite you to join me on Thursday, November 12th at Robin Hood’s Food for Good event at M2 in New York City from 8pm-11pm.  

Robin Hood is known for their events, and this evening will be no different.  It’ll be an amzing crowd with celebrities and people from every conceivable industry, great music, lots of drinks, and an inspiring message.  Price of admission:  The purchase of at least one $50 holiday meal through Fresh Direct, with a VIP ticket available to anyone purchasing at least 10 holiday meal boxes ($500 donation).   

Even if you can’t attend, I hope you’ll still consider helping those less fortunate this holiday season by going directly to Fresh Direct and donating at least $50

Just visit foodforgood.eventbrite.com to purchase your meal and donate to the cause.

Just be sure to let me know when you donate, so I can keep track of who’s attending the event and ensure that you are on the list, and so I can see how many New Yorkers my friends can help feed this holiday season.

Thank you in advance for considering this request.  I know for many of us, it’s been a challenging year.  Yet I think we all also recognize that we are fortunate compared to so many others who are having trouble simply putting food on the table.  Working together, we can brighten the lives of many people in need during this time of year, and give them some great holiday memories of their own.

I hope to see you on November 12th!

Warm regards,

Richie 

p.s.  And help us spread the word about Robin Hood.  Follow Robin Hood on Facebook at www.facebook.com/robinhood and on Twitter at @RobinHoodNYC (http://twitter.com/robinhoodnyc)

As some of you might already know, I have been brought in at the last minute as an Associate Producer of a film titled,  How To Seduce Difficult Women, an hilarious comedy in which a smooth, yet flawed, Frenchman writes a best-selling book and teaches a group of loveable losers the secrets of woo’ing women. Definitely a must see film as it is as romantic as it is funny. The film comes out on October 30^th  at The Village East Cinema in New York, where it will be featured there for two weeks before its  nationwide release.

I am helping to promote this film with my dear friend, the amazing Ms. Evelyn YK Lee of www.vinegroup.com. She was invited by the movie’s Producer Mr. Richard Temtchine (at the last minute), to advise on marketing & distribution strategies (because of her seasoned international business experience). Evelyn is a part time New Yorker and global trotting entrepreneur.  I was brought in to work as part of her team. Evelyn said “yes” to Richard because of the fun nature of this movie. We’re helping Richard to spread the word about the film and bring awareness among our friends and members of the media industry. 

Richie

Check it out!

R

Focus magazine covers 25 things they learned about business from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  Must read, if you’re as much a fan of the depraved show as I am.

Two other lessons they could draw from the sleeper success of the show:

• “If you build it, they will come.”  The show languished in the ratings for a while, but kept putting out great content. Eventually, Hulu came along and the show’s popularity skyrocketed.
• As the quotable H.L. Mencken phrased it, “No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.”  The show proudly plumbs new lows of immorality, and it’s always fun to watch.

EVERYBODY’S ___________!

In reality, here’s an alphabetical list of what “everybody’s” doing:

• semi-actively setting personal goals
• semi-passively seeking entertainment
• sleeping or worrying
• thinking about family
• thinking about food
• thinking about friends
• worrying or sleeping

Happy Discoverer’s Day, y’all!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/business/2009/05/15/your.money.vaynerchuk.intv.cnn?iref=videosearch

Gary does such an amazing job that it actually feels like a rehearsed TV infomercial - yet this is CNN!

Watch it and Crush It!!!

Richie