Phil Gordon:  Entrepreneur, Poker Player, Author, Philanthropist
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Woodwhispering... more like shouting...

8/27/2011

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When my family moved to the inland northwest a few years ago, the property we bought had a "shop" on it -- essentially 2000 square feet of "man space" full of equipment I've never used.  A jointer, planer, table saw, drill press, all kinds of grinders, belt sander, routers, etc.  "This is my woodshop," I said proudly to guests.  "What have you built?" they'd ask.  "Um, I'm working on a few things."

Like every guy, there has been a special place in my heart for "The New Yankee Workshop" since I was a teenager.  I have the geeks from the "Woodsmith Shop:.  I've marveled at Roy Underhill on "The Woodwright" and how he insists on doing everything by hand -- no power tools!  I've come to like Tommy Mac and "Rough Cut" and I have a subscription to "Fine Woodworking Magazine" too.  I envisioned throwing together a few reclaimed boards in 30 minutes or so using the table saw, jointer, planer, and a few well placed mortises and tenons along with some Titebond 3 (good for outdoor applications).  I thought I'd just whip up a humidor, a jewelry box, a chest of drawers with perfect dovetail construction.

So, off I went to my wood shop.  And then, I quickly realized that these pieces of equipment can really hurt you.  Every woodworker I know has missing fingers or some war story about a close call.  I play piano.  I like my fingers, thank you very much.  So, I hired a coach and took a few classes.  We built the obligatory first projects: a checkerboard cutting board followed by a breadknife.  I thought I was ready to make a mission style inspired chest of drawers.

For the next year, projects sat half started, half baked, and mostly screwed up beyond repair.  I spent a few hours a week noodling around, not really accomplishing much, but it was a good distraction nonetheless.  I had a few small wins when I made my wife a jewelry box that didn't suck and fixed the boys broken wooden toys (cyanoacrylate glue rules the world).

All along, I of course kept buying more advanced tools.  "If I just had that new Festool Domino I could build XYZ," I thought.  And so, I bought the domino, used it twice on practice boards, and haven't found a purpose for it again.  There aren't many joints that require a domino in a 6" wooden airplane that needs its wing glued back together.

Here's the bottom line: woodworking is very hard.  Those guys you see on TV?  I call bullshit.  One second they are cutting a panel using the mitre sled, the next they are dadoing perfect half lap joints.  They don't show the 17 minutes it takes to change to the dado blade and they certainly don't show the 19 minutes it takes to cut the test piece to make sure the dado is set correctly.

It reminds me a little of poker on television, come to think of it.  The audience at home sees the "highlight reel" -- the big bluff, the 50/50 race with QQ vs AK, the great call, the final table.  They rarely get to see the 200 hands that were played the eight hours before where the studious player was taking careful notes, measuring up the opponents, carefully calculating a winning strategy, and then waiting for a chance to execute.  Those "prep" hands aren't all that interesting, but that is where all the skill is.  Hell, put me in Norm Abrahams shop and have his assistants set up all the machines and I can push the wood through the saw and make a perfect angled, haunched tenon too!  And you can be sure that tenon will glide into the mortise with just a little bit of resistance -- the perfect fit.

I'm proud to be known as a good poker teacher.  I know how much work it takes to distill the elements of the game into an easily digested video or text that can help take someones game to the next level.  I have put thousands of hours into teaching -- those books don't write themselves!  I labor over the set up, each word.  I know that the devil is in the details.  Much like woodworking.

I needed a teacher, a mentor that could help get me going.  Fortunately, I found Marc Spagnuolo at thewoodwhisperer.com.  Here is a guy that really knows how to teach.  He shows every step in the process, not just the highlights.  He gives really detailed plans.  He patiently explains the traps, the problems you are likely to encounter.  He doesn't pull any punches about how hard something is going to be.  And he's willing to admit and show his mistakes.  In short, his teaching style for woodworking is exactly what I try to do with my teaching style for poker.

I just finished building my first project -- an Adirondack chair in the style of Greene and Greene.  It is built with Honduran Mahogany with Walnut accents.  I couldn't resist.  You can never have too many outdoor chairs, and I loved the design.  I have about 50 hours and $400 in wood and various accessories into the project.  After the teak oil dries, I'll be sitting on my chair, cracking a beer, and proudly telling my very patient and understanding wife, "Honey, I finally built something."
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More Expert Insight

8/8/2011

1 Comment

 
A few months ago, I was desperately searching the web for information about caring for an our pet Western Painted Turtle.  His shell got accidently smashed a bit, and he was lethargic, sitting idly under the heating lamp, and wouldn't eat much.  This went on for about five days, and I wanted help for the little guy.  There wasn't a qualified herpetologist anywhere nearby.

After scanning the internet for a few hours, I found a website that seemed to be authoritative and helpful.  I emailed the website owner, sent a picture of the little guy, and described the symptoms.  A few hours later, I was delighted to get a return email that addressed most of my concerns (this is normal behavior for slight injuries, turtles face much more challenge in the wild, he'll be fine in a week or so).

A few things struck me about my interaction with the turtle-expert:

* I would have gladly paid the "expert" a nice sum of money for his knowledge.  Had a qualified vet been in my area, I'd have taken the turtle in for a visit and paid around $50-$75.  The world-class expert would have been a much better value at the same or higher price.

* The time the expert spent on my problem was valuable -- giving away that time is large unsustainable, and should he get many requests like mine, he'd probably be forced to remove his email address from his website or stop responding.

* There wasn't a readily accessible internet-driven mechanism in place for me to do so.  The expert could have asked for a PayPal donation after the fact, I suppose.  I might have even offered one.  But, the fact is, the expectation of "free" advice was implicit by the fact that he posted his email address on the website.  If he had a convenient link that said something like, "Click here to buy a 30 minute consultation for $50" I would have clicked.

There are plenty of everyday items that require "Expert Insight" that I'd gladly pay for:

* I have a sick Maple tree in my front yard.  Is there a Maple tree expert out there that can tell me what to do?
* My son is having a hard time with the "SP" sound -- any one out there with suggestions?
* My woodworking planer blade has a nick in it.  How do I sharpen it?

I'm currently investing in technologies that allow consumers to tap the pool of "Expert Insight" that exists in the world.  There are a few companies that are making attempts at solving some of these issues:

* Skillshare.com -- a portal for people to offer classes on just about everything, accept payment, and offer enrollment .  Currently, Skillshare is offering classes only in NY, but this idea and platform can scale.

* ExpertInsight.com -- a portal for one-on-one video consulting via the internet.  With more than 150 experts in diverse fields (poker, chess, economics, architecture, etc.) this is a model that can and will grow.  I'm currently offering my time at $150 / hour -- we can talk about just about anything.

* Vokle.com -- one-to-many video broadcasting.  Again, another way for people to interact and share knowledge.  Interactive Q&A is done quite well.  The ability to charge for these sessions is coming soon.


The writing is on the wall -- the company or companies that facilitate the transfer of expertise as smoothly and as quickly as possible will be a big, big winner and the next household internet brand name.
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Expert Insight

8/1/2011

1 Comment

 
A year ago, my friend and fellow poker player Brandon Adams and I had breakfast.  He had a "great idea" -- a marketplace where experts from around the world and from various disciplines could offer consulting services via video over the internet.  I loved this concept.  In my estimation, this is the next great category of growth for the connected world.  I imagine being able to video chat with the world's leading experts in all fields at a moment's notice, with completely transparent and easy payment.

I liked Brandon's idea so much that I convinced him to let me and my tech team build it for him.  We spent a few hundred thousand bucks building out the initial phase of the technology and got Brandon to his launch.  Since, he's done an incredible job attracting some of the world's leading experts to the platform, including Nobel prize winner Gary Becker (economics), Steven Levitt (Freakonomics author), and Tom Dwan (online poker phenom).

This month, I'm trying an experiment.  Instead of the "usual" $500/hour rate, I'm listing my time at $150.  I am available to discuss any and everything with you -- have a start up company?  Thinking about taking the entrepreneurial plunge?  Need some contacts in the poker or tech community?  Have a problem with your poker game?  Thinking about a backpacking trip around the world?  Let's talk about it.  One on one, via internet video.

I'm available for about 6 hours every weekday, scheduled at your convenience.   Let's get Brandon and ExpertInsight off to a great start.  I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Interested?  BOOK HERE.
Phil

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    Poker Player, Entrepreneur, Author and Philanthropist

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