Free write

Many people think Texas Hold‘em is the game of luck but it is much more than that. The psychological aspect of the game is intringing and is unlike any other card game. Texas Hold’em is not only a measure of the cards that each player has, but also a vigirous test of the mental strength that each opponent possesses.  The game of Texas Hold’em can be won with certain skills. One of those skills is called “reading someone.” Doing a read on someone can be tough at first, but once you pick up on the small things, it can start to become easier and easier.  One way I read someone is by their physical tells and betting style of certain hands. A physical tell is when the opponent sighs, groans, or even bites their fingers. Small things like that can reveal the strength of the cards they possess in their hand. Another skill that is used in Texas Hold’em is “bluffing.” Bluffing is used to represent a strong hand when possessing a weak hand, it is basically lying about your hand. This skill can either reward you with a large amount of chips or punish you with a loss of your chips; this is where the “gambling attitude” comes out of certain people. The last skill that is used by skillful poker players is “slow playing.” Slow playing has to do with trapping someone to make them think you are waiting on a card to come out which will better your hand. This skill is used when the player who is slow playing, knows that he has one of the best hands possible. In reality, the player is just waiting on one of his opponents to try and bluff in order to win the hand. Usually, a bluffing player will risk a large amount of chips, so the slow playing player wants to take advantage of the bluffing opponent. All of these skills can help you become a better Texas Hold’em player in the future. 

No it's Not Your Opinion

Jef Rouner on the article “No it’s Not Your Opinion. You’re Just Wrong” is trying to explain the differences between a good opinion that is not taken offensively, and a bad opinion that could probably bring the whole world against it. One example of a “bad opinion” is trying to give an opinion about a fact. Trying to state an opinion on a fact is useless Rouner says. “You might as well have a poll on which number is bigger 15 or 5?” With this being said, it basically tells how idiotic stating an opinion about a fact is. However, an example of a “good opinion” is an opinion that is unique to me, or so that’s what Rouner says. “My favorite color is black,” this is an example of a good opinion that cannot be verified outside of the fact. Last but not least, the reason behind people taking offense to opinions. Some people state opinions about races or mass events of humiliation that someone feels uncomfortable about hearing. Rouner says “some people are also of the opinion “the Holocaust was fake…” This is a simple opinion that can drive anyone crazy due to how the event happened.

George Saunders

In this graduation commencement, George Saunders shared some important experiences throughout his life to grasp the attention from the student body to not regret kindness. The reasoning of him sharing these experiences throughout his life was to try and influence the graduating class of 2013 at Syracuse University, to become a better person and be kind to others. Now although it is true that everyone is stated to their own opinion, I feel the need to state mine as if it is a fact. We live in a world filled with corruption and hatred. After reading Saunders’s speech, the first thing that went through my head was “FINALLY!” and the reason why is because I am tired of seeing people being taken for granted and treated wrong. Saunders is simply trying to argue that people need to be kind to others. But it is easier to say “Be kind” rather than actually being kind. With all this being said, Saunders’s speech is extremely effective because it’s true, we need to become a kinder generation rather than being rude or obnoxious to other people. With all the experiences that George Saunders has shared in his speech, it is time we share what was said and make a difference within the world. Be kind to others as you would want others to be kind to you.

Pope’s Speech

The Pope called attention to the issue of community responsibility by stating “Each son and daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility.” This stood out to me the most because what he said is very well true. Everyone in this world has a responsibility, whether it is to work in the workforce or manage a business. Congress’s responsibility is that they are the face of this nation. There is not a single person in this world that does not have a responsibility in this world. So when The Pope said what he said, it points us in the direction that responsibility in the community needs to be visualized as an important characteristic within people.

Another topic that The Pope had mentioned in his speech was violence. The Pope brings up this topic by saying, “Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities.” This topic stood out to me the most because it has to do with the biggest problem in this world, violence. There is always an event occurring on the news that has to do with violence and crimes and it has gotten worse and worse and somehow we have no control of it. No matter what we do, some people in this world will do the craziest things just to gain attention from the world.

Mark Berman on The Washington Post criticized The Pope’s comments about the death penalty in the US by stating all the facts about the penalty. Mark stated that the four Supreme Court Justices were sitting in front of Francis Pope when he said that the practice of the death penalty was “inhumane” and “unacceptable” regardless of the crime. Francis Pope also wrote a letter to the International Commission saying, “It is an offense to the inviolability of life and to the dignity of the human person which contradicts God’s plan for man and for society and his merciful justice, and it fails to conform to any just purpose of punishment.” With that being said, it is obvious that Francis Pope is disgusted by the practice of the death penalty. Berman continues bashing on the quotes that Francis Pope stated in his speech by stating facts of the death penalty. In my opinion, I believe that the death penalty is acceptable because it shows the world how valuable life is and how fast it can be taken away from unacceptable behavior.

Celebrity I Chose to Write About

Will Smith

The person I am writing about is Willard Carrol Smith, Jr. A.K.A. Will Smith. Will was born on September 25, 1968 in West Philadelphia. Will Smith was raised Baptist and attended Overbrook High School. One thing that is pretty neat about Will is that he did not apply to college but his mom’s friend worked in the admissions office of Massachusetts Institute of Technology which would have given him a high chance of getting into MIT. Although he did not want to go to college, Will wanted to build a career in the rap industry. He gained a lot of success in the rapping industry back then and went by the name of “The Fresh Prince”. Will received a contract by NBC to become an actor for the famous sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” at age 28 (1990-1996). The production of the show was the start of his acting career. Will never thought that he would become an actor but he had no choice because of the bankruptcy stage he went through that got him a contract NBC. Will went into bankruptcy because he spent his money freely in 1988 and 1989 and the Internal Revenue Service assessed Will with a $2.8 million tax debt. In other words, NBC saved Will’s career and pulled him out of bankruptcy.  With all that being said, Will wanted to study the film industry and set a goal to be the most powerful actor in the world. Coincidentally,  he has established himself as a “Powerful Actor”.

Update on Things / Something About Me

College has not been stressful to me yet. I’ve kept up on all my homework assignments and have not gotten behind on anything at all because I spend about 4 to 5 hours in the library every Monday and Wednesday. I want to keep this going throughout the whole year because it will help me in all my classes. The things I have learned so far in these first few weeks of college is responsibility and time management. Learning both of these will bring me good fortune in the future, if managed well.

After the first week of college, I endured a feeling of nervousness that school would get a little stressful. The good news is that it really has not gotten stressful at all. I enjoy working hard and obtaining the responsibility to get all my work done in my freetime. What I really enjoy about college is my Tuesdays and Thursdays and the reason why is because I am at school from 10 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon. The best part of those days is being in my reading class because I feel like my vocabulary is already enhancing just from being in that class for 3 weeks so far. My other favorite class I enjoy is economics because it has to do with businesses and how shortages and surges can cause the market prices to drop or rise. Money interests me and I know for a fact that I am not the only one interested by it.

The other good news is that the other day, when I was in the library, I believe I have finally made my decision on what I want my major to be. I have decided to major in Computer Engineering and the reason why is because growing up, I have always loved playing with my computer. I hope to specialize in hardware designing for computers because  I built my own computer at the age of 14 and still till this day, I am always adding more onto it. In other words, yes I am a nerd, But no one would ever think that I am because I don’t seem “nerdy”. With all this being said, I guess I can say that I am really enjoying College so far.