(Remember when you'd just started playing NL hold'em? You'd been playing 3 months and thought you were pretty damn good. Then you read some books and played and practiced more. Then you thought you were about as good as the pros, about as good as you could get. You had dreams of 'making a living' at it. A year later, if you kept learning and playing, you came to realize you weren't quite as good as you thought you were. There were many things you didn't know back then, perhaps how much to bet, when to overbet, bankroll requirements, looking for situations to steal with any 2 cards, position steals, beware of the UTG limps, awareness of weak bets, knowledge of % missing the flop...so many new things you knew now, that you didn't know then...you were pretty good then, but it was mostly from having all balls and cards. If you kept reading, studying, learning, playing, you HAD gotten very good now. Now do you see other players and can tell what level they are at by things they say? or how they play? or bet? And you realize their mistakes, but know that THEY don't realize their mistakes? NOW maybe you COULD make a living at it. You ARE at a much higher level now. Not many make it this far. )

Morgan had always stuck his gun out when he shot. One day he accidentally stubbed the end of the barrel on the holster lip and the concussion made him pull the trigger prematurely. But he realized that it was a very fast shot. Hmmm, he thought. The 2nd time he did it on purpose without the stubbing. He just barely cleared leather and fired from the holster. But his barrel wasn't level. So he tried leaning his hip forward and tilted his upper body back at the same time. After a few tries, he was hitting the 15 foot target with this new method of fast draw. Except it was 50% faster. He kept it up. He learned he could fire twice now, with accuracy, in the time it used to take him to fire once. Then he tied his holster where IT tilted forward, but was still snug to his hip, and it sat a little higher up, not the so called conventional wisdom of lower. Now unbelievably he could fire three times, by fanning his single action Colt with his left thumb, then middle finger, and finally pinky finger, each time pulling his right forefinger to shoot. He practiced this a hundred times a day, the fast rapid pull of his right forefinger. Then he had a gunsmith loosen and weaken the trigger spring, so that it was easier to pull in a faster motion. A year ago he was good. But now...he was scary good, WAY better than a year ago. He now knew things almost nobody else knew...or would ever know.

Morgan rode into town one afternoon...he'd gone in to get some beans, flour and coffee. He wasn't feeling too well that day. He was a bit under the weather. But he had to get some supplies. As he was untying his horse ready to go home, he saw a young cowboy purposely striding toward him. The kid's gun was low and the loop off the trigger, Morgan noticed.

"Whew. Not another one." thought Morgan.
"Hey, ole man...are you Frank Morgan?"
Morgan rolled his eyes..."no kid...a lot of people have made that mistake...I'm Roy Walker, just in to get some beans and coffee" as he held them up to show the kid. Morgan didn't feel like any kind of confrontation today.
"I thought you were Morgan...are you SURE? I'm LOOKING for him!!"
Morgan smiled and joked "I'd sure hate to be in his shoes then. You look like you're plenty handy with that thing" nodding toward the kid's gun.

The kid looked at Morgan's tilted high up holster and thought it kind of queer. Thinking this can't be him, carrying his gun in a stupid way like that, acting so submissive like he was. The kid walked off, not knowing he could have been notch 19. Not realizing what genius he had just seen and that he'd just possibly met the best and fastest gun alive.

Morgan hadn't turned his back on the kid, waited for the kid to turn first and walk away.
Then he got on Buck and rode in the opposite direction, back around the stores and back to his ranch.

(Ever NOT feel like playing poker but you did anyway? Ever feel a bit off, or something was bothering you, you were pissed at something else earlier that day? but out of some kind of misplaced stupid feeling of obligation you played anyway? Then you lost quickly? Played stupidly? Got put out early? )

to be cont'd...

(at times, has poker taken over your life? Are you missing out on more important things? Only you can answer this.)

It was a pleasant Fall day in Colorado. A beautiful young woman by the name of Julie strolled hand in hand with her 6 year old daughter, Patty, down by a stream Both had blue eyes and blonde hair and a twinkle in their eyes.

Down at the cabin was a 51 year old man chopping wood. He looked 40 and was lean and mean, but had a good heart. Julie was his wife and Patty was his daughter. They lived in the valley and had a good water well, 10 gpm. Plenty of aspen, spruce, pine and fir surrounded their idealic ranch. Mule deer and elk frequented the little stream close to their cabin. A bear or wolverine cave was found down the nature trail. Huge rock outcroppings were all around and the air was clean and clear. They were all happy and at peace on their new ranch.

Patty came skipping up to her Father..."Daddy, here's a daisy for you!" "Hey! Tell me the story of the gunslinger again"
"Patty, how many times do you want to hear that?" he said with a grin on his face.
"Ok, well, just tell me the ending pleeeeease...it's so romantic!" "tell me again why they buried the wrong man that day. Tell me how he faked his death and how they buried some guy named John Doe in the coffin instead. Tell me about who the lady was that the gunslinger gave it all up for...and, and how he had bought her a gold wedding ring that day."

"Sounds like you know the story pretty well already Patty" he said with a wink
"But Daddy...were those two men really faster than you??"
"Heh, darlin...no way! Hey, my tombstone DID say, the fastest gun ALIVE!"

..."well....that lady was your MOM! ... and you and her were the true gold I had buried all those years...I just didn't know it yet. I just had to find you. So I buried the gunslinger and dug you two up!" "Your Mom was the most beautiful thing I ever saw...worth a hundred notches on any gun."
"Oh, Dad!!!!" Patty grinned and gave him a hug. Julie hugged his neck from the back and smiled.

"you know...there's no limit to how nice something can be, if you look in the right place and go all in for it" Patty said. . . from the mouth of a child.

That's going to be the riddle tomorrow.
It was all one big set up for this riddle.

(wait for official instructions though)