Hey what’s up? As you probably know from past posts, I basically live for games. If I didn’t make money playing poker I’d be playing some other game, probably for a lot less money. Since I play poker most days, I only allow myself to play one person games (i.e. video games) for small periods of time. That said, I’ve been playing a lot of Rome Total War, which is fun, if a little slow paced. During last year’s WSOP, I played a ton of Oblivion. When it’s 120 degrees outside in Vegas, sometimes the best thing to do is sit back with a Corona and hit the Xbox. Recently though, Oblivion has taken a back seat to Assassin’s Creed. I’ve heard the game can get repetitive but right now I’m loving how the main character (who looks like a complete badass) runs, jumps, and climbs everything in sight. Kind of a cross between Splinter Cell and Sonic the Hedgehog. When I was in London last summer, I watched a few guys practicing parkour, which is basically what the main character in AC does. Pretty amazing to see these guys jump off a roof, land on a fire escape, propel themselves through sets of horizontal bars, etc. I won’t be doing much of that with my torn MCL but I am happy to report that my knee is improving daily. I can actually run again (with a brace), which is huge.

That sums it up for video games but I’d be holding out on you guys if I didn’t tell you about Settlers of Catan. In my opinion, Catan is the coolest board game invented. It’s a cross between Monopoly and Risk. The object of the game is to accumulate points. You do so by controlling land and collecting resources from the land. There are a number of ways to win. I like it because, due to luck and what your opponents are doing, your strategy changes throughout the game. Also, because the board pieces are assembled randomly, no two games are the same. I’ve also played some Super Smash Bros., Tripoli, and Quoridor. Good stuff.

As for poker, I’ve been playing exclusively heads up cash games. Come find me online. : Paul