One of the most fun blogs that I read is one that belongs to my friend and colleague, Jason Steinhorn.  It’s called, “The Steinhorn Stare”, I’m assuming after his now infamous poker face, captured on television as part of the World Series of Poker.

Here is a great example of why I love reading Jason’s blog:

2006 Legends of Poker

Now, I will be the first to admit, I am clearly a voyeur of the recent poker boom that has hit Las Vegas, the internet, and about half of the engineers and techies I know.  I really appreciate the way that Jason’s posts capture the subtlety and complexity of the game.  Poker is a fascinating blend of psychology and math, with a distinct advantage to those who know how to manipulate the perception of their play vs. just knowing the odds.

As a result, Poker lands squarely into my “sweet spot” of fascination – an arena where the ultimately rationale (statistics) intersects with the ultimately irrational (human emotion & perception).

So while I may never be a great poker player, I like living vicariously through Jason and other friends who participate in these events with $10K buy-ins, and who actually win.

True story: Last year, Jason & I were both managers in the same division of eBay Product Management.  At our regular Monday managers’ meeting, Jason was nowhere to be found.  He was still in Vegas, having won 2nd in the World Series of Poker, and close to a quarter of a million dollars.

That news would be cool enough, but what I liked is that Jason had faxed in the winning check – like a “doctor’s note” to be excused from class that day.

This is Jason’s last week at eBay, and he’ll be sorely missed.  But he’s off to a new adventure at another cool company, and I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to learn from him these past two years.

Now, if he would just post more regularly to his blog…