It had been a good while since I had been back east for a visit to my adopted home of more than 20 years in Virginia. I sent some non-poker social time with Barry K., Patte K., and Bob P., as well as a number of relatives. The last few days of the trip, I spent playing poker in numerous games with my old home game friends (Tom W., a Chinese poker pro, Jim N., an Omaha maniac, Ralph D., a short-handed wizard who took the time to re-acquaint me with the many games in the area, and Jim R., a no-limit pro, who also helped me greatly with my early writing career.)
I observed a number of things: First, the number of games and players had both grown tremendously. Next, almost everyone was playing no-limit-either tournaments or live games. Finally, there is little that can match the joy of seeing and spending time with old friends – especially those with whom you have spent countless hours playing poker.
