I Love Poker

In lieu with all the drama (no, not mine) that has passed this week, I deem it appropriate to write something about it.

Love is like a poker game. It depends on how much (and how long) you’re willing to gamble to win the game. The rules are simple. If you play your cards right, you win. If you don’t, you lose. If you don’t have the guts, then you will most probably lose too. There are four kinds of players. The first kind is the high rollers. They’re the ones who make the high bets all the time. They’re the ones who are not afraid to raise the stakes, go all in, and lose the game if need be. Then there’s one who bets but bets so little that you barely see them there as competition. They fly low under the radar. You usually don’t feel their presence, only until the end when everyone has lost and suddenly they’re the ones left with all the chips. I call this type the darkhorse. The third kind is the one who likes to play it safe. They’re the ones who checks all the time. They like to remain in the status quo and not do anything in fears of losing their bet. I call them the seguristas. And the last kind of player I call the bluffers. They’re the ones who usually don’t get the good hand but participate in the stakes nevertheless and pray damn hard their opponents wouldn’t notice and question their credibility. Sometimes they end up winning and sometimes they also end up losing. So which player are you?

Just like poker, love is a mind game. You constantly have to guess what your opponent is thinking. Does he have triple aces? Or maybe he has flushes? Is he going to fold? You constantly have to size up your opponent. Does he have the means to go all in? Is he bluffing? You constantly have to be on your feet, taking note of all the cards that has been laid out and those that has not been laid out. You constantly study your opponent’s moves and base your succeeding actions on them. Is he going to raise the bet? Am I going to follow suit?

Just like poker, love can be a messy game. Sometimes you get the good cards. You win. Sometimes you get a bad hand, you lose. There are times when you keep on winning the rounds and you think, “Hey this is great. This ain’t bad at all.” then just when you thought you had it in the bag, you suddenly lose the next round and everything starts going downhill from there. You think, “What the?!!” You end up more confused then ever before.

Just like poker, a lot of love is based on gut feel. You’ll never know what cards you’re going to have. You’ll never know if you’re going to win the next round. Or lose the next next round. You don’t know how much you’re going to win, or lose for that matter. You’re not sure if betting high will be worth it or betting low will be the key for you. You don’t know who your poker playmates are going to be. Am I going to enjoy their company? Will he be an asshole? Will he be a charming playmate? But despite of it all, you still want in on the game. Win or lose, you still want to continue on playing and hope that the next round will be a better round for you.

Blood Diamond

I recently watched Blood Diamond. It is based on real events. Aside from Leonardo DiCaprio starring in it (hehe), one should watch the movie to get a bigger sense of how much fighting and suffering is going on in Africa. It makes you realize all the fighting that’s been happening isn’t really so much about one’s struggle over one’s ideals. It’s not about the struggle for a specific cause but rather on who gets what—who gets the land, who gets the oil, or who gets the diamonds. Self-serving people fight over possessions and a lot of the innocent are thrown in the middle of it. It’s already bad as it is to see widespread poverty and HIV all over, then you see all these senseless deaths that the African people so do not deserve.

Based on the movie title itself, the movie tells about conflict diamonds (or blood diamonds) which are mined in war-stricken Sierra Leone and are sold to this rich diamond company who supposedly hoards all of the diamonds in the world to sustain the demand and keep the price soaring high. Mura lang pala ang diamonds! Hmnn…After watching the movie, one would think twice about buying diamonds, conflict diamonds that is. Now whenever I would see all these gorgeous diamond pieces, instead of admiring it I think about Africa and remember how much blood was shed just so people (like us) could look pretty and glam. Is it still worth it?

Now I don’t want to sound a hypocrite because just like any other girl, I don’t like like diamonds. Hehe Just like the love for cars or sports are innate in men, it’s the same thing with girls when it comes to diamonds. It’s just a food for thought for all of us. Now that we know what’s really happening, we shouldn’t turn a blind eye on it. Let’s make sure we don’t patronize war diamonds. Ask before buying. (Haha Nagpaka-advocate ba talaga.) Note: Both Bvlgari and Tiffany claim they sell blood free or conflict free diamonds.