Book review, and taking a dip

I am going to take a slight detour from the ostensible poker theme of this blog to write a short review of a book that I recently read. There is a poker connection involved, and I'll keep the review brief for those of you whose minds wander if "pot odds" and "cracked Aces" aren't mentioned in every other sentence.

The book is Sunken Treasure by Wil Wheaton, whom some of you know, or at least know of, as an actor, writer, award-winning blogger, and poker player. Sunken Treasure is a "sampler" collection of Wil's writings from his blog, his previously published books, and a couple of things that have not appeared anywhere else. I have enjoyed Wil's candor, humor, and willingness to tell it as he sees it in all his writings, and this book is no exception. Each entry is filled with Wil's engaging insights on a variety of aspects of life and its ups and downs. Whether he is writing about his relationships with his sons and wife, or about acting, or about memories of video game arcades, he always offers the reader an entertaining, informing, and often touching account of his experiences. Go order Sunken Treasure now at lulu.com; you'll be glad you did. And don't forget his other books, which you should also have in your library: Dancing Barefoot, Just a Geek, and The Happiest Days of Our Lives.

The poker connection I mentioned? Well, besides the fact that Wil is an avid player (when he has time between writing and acting projects) and once was a member of Team PokerStars, he includes in Sunken Treasure a sketch about a poker game that he wrote for ACME Comedy Theatre, a group Wil worked with a couple of years ago in Los Angeles. The sketch, titled "William's Tell," is fall-down hilarious, and especially so for poker players. It is worth the price of the book on its own, IMO. Get it, already.

So, on to poker news. Variance (and some less than stellar play) have led to a couple of losing cash game sessions of late. I also played in my first BBT4 event, the Brit Blogger Game earlier today. I finished a lowly 36th out of 61, mostly because I got very little to play with. I'll still be plugging away in the micro-stakes games at PokerStars and FullTilt, and I hope to get in some time on Bodog as well. Balancing my family time with poker time is, as many of you know, a trick of its own, but I have managed to keep things agreeable at home so far. Let's hope it continues that way.