Shalom, baby! Do you remember how you learnt to play poker? I barely do, so lost in years of decadence have the beginnings of this habit become. But however you learn, there’s no doubt it has had a big effect on how you play. In my case, it turns out learning from old books and old people on limit games makes you tight – something I have since over-corrected.

Because of this I feel a special responsibility when I introduce people to poker – sometimes I’ll be giving them a new hobby, sometimes I’ll be boring them, and sometimes I’ll be the catalyst for their slow slide into the all-consuming poker void.

Last month I went to Israel to do some work for an online poker site.