Mean Gene

One Last Time!

It seems like every August I think about buying a laptop. I ask you good people for advice, you generously give it, and then I don't pull the trigger. Well, this is the year! In the next day or so I'm going to make the kill and get myself a brand-new laptop.

So, again, I ask you computer experts for your advice. I want a nice, basic laptop. I don't need anything with massive processing power or capable of extreme multimedia magic. I'm gonna surf the net, write, play a little poker. I'd like to be able to watch and burn both CDs and DVDs.

In the past people have recommended Toshiba as a reliable brand, and that's where I've been looking, though I haven't quite found what I'm looking for there. I know lots of people with Dells, and they're quite happy, but then you hear about people having nightmare experiences with Dell. And then there's the whole battery recall going on as we speak.

People have also cautioned against getting a computer with a Celeron chip. I've mostly been looking at computers with the Pentium M, but some of them only have the Celeron M. Is this something I should be worried about? And what is this "Core Duo" chip I keep seeing?

As before, any advice will be appreciated. And, in this instance, put into practice.

OK, here's some actual poker content. Just played a SNG. The guy to my right wins a pot early, and then he sits out. For the rest of the game. The guy to HIS right also sat out for much of the early action. We get down to five, there are three guys with 3K, Mr. AWOL, and me with about T850. I'm pretty much screwed, as the other guys keep stealing the missing guy's blind and I'm card dead. I need a hand or some luck when suddenly two of the present players get into a raising war. All the money goes in preflop. Oh baby! They turn over KQ and AJ. Eee-yuck! All-in with those hands? Go get 'em! The flop comes A-K-10, so now they're rooting to hit the other guy's kicker. A queen comes on the turn, a blank on the river, and suddenly we're 4-handed.

A quick check of the stats and I find to my delight that I have about 1BB more than the guy who isn't there. And he's on my right, so he pays the blinds first. I turtle like Markus Naslund (only die-hard Penguin fans will get that) and happily fold my way into 3rd place. The chip leader even graciously folded once on the button, giving me a little extra cushion. "You're good people" I say when the missing guy finally went bust. I don't think I've ever been prouder of my play.

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